Speeding Ticket Loopholes – Everything You Need To Know

Did you get a letter saying you were driving too fast? This guide is here to help. Every month, more than 130,000 people visit our website to understand their fines and parking tickets. 

In this guide, we’ll talk about:

• What a ‘Notice of Intended Prosecution’ is
• When you have to pay a speeding fine
• How to say you shouldn’t have to pay
• Times when you might not need to pay
• What might happen if you don’t pay

A group of MPs and Peers say FPNs, which can cost up to £10,000, are hard to understand and might be unfair.¹ So, it’s quite common to feel concerned.

Don’t worry; we’re here to explain the speeding ticket loopholes and help you manage your situation effectively.

What’s the loophole?

When you are ordered to pay a speeding fine (or other road traffic offence) more than 14 days after the alleged infringement, you don’t have to pay!

In short, if the Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP) doesn’t arrive within the specified deadline, you should send it back as ‘out of time’.

Check out this message posted on a popular forum by a motorist who got a NIP three months after an alleged speeding offence.

Source: Moneysavingexpert

Keep in mind that if you’re not the vehicle’s registered keeper, you should first check if they didn’t receive the NIP within 14 days. If they did, your ‘out of time’ argument wouldn’t work.

If you don’t get a NIP but receive the court summons, you have a valid defence against the speeding fine.

In short, you could have a good reason to dispute the fine.

That said, you must reply to the summons by sending in a ‘not guilty plea’. Plus, you’ll have to argue your case in court and win to get out of paying.

The reason is that the police only have to show that the fine should have reached you within 14 days – under normal circumstances!

What other ways can I avoid paying a speeding fine?

You could get out of paying a speeding fine if it’s your first offence.

You could be offered a speed awareness course instead. It means that you won’t have to pay the fine when you are a first-time speeding offender.

Providing you attend the speed awareness course, that is!

How will I know if I get offered a speed awareness course?

The police will let you know if you qualify for a speed awareness course instead of getting fined and receiving penalty points.

It’s at their discretion whether you’re offered this option provided you haven’t attended one in the last three years.

I was only just over the speed limit. Is the fine valid?

Yes, it could be.

There is a 10%+2mph tolerance, but not always. So you could still get a speeding fine when you are 1 or 2 mph over a given speed limit.

My advice? Keep to the speed limit, and don’t chance your luck!

How can I challenge a speeding fine?

Challenging a speeding fine is not easy.

In fact, it’s challenging because there’s no real defence to going over a set speed limit.

You could challenge your speeding fine because:

• The fixed penalty notice was incorrect. For example, the location of the speeding fine, date or time shown on the notice is incorrect
• The camera equipment was faulty, which is hard or nigh on impossible to prove

Fixed Penalty Notice Appeal Reasons

I’ve put together this table to help you better understand some valid appeal reasons and increase your chances of success.

Issue to check	Possible evidence	Important limit
The alleged offence did not occur	Contemporaneous photographs, video or reliable records.	The relevant legal elements and evidence must be assessed.
Valid insurance or entitlement	Policy documents or DVLA records covering the exact time and use.	Holding a document now does not prove cover or entitlement at the time.
A recognised statutory exemption	Evidence establishing the exact exemption, such as an applicable medical exemption.	An emergency or misunderstanding does not automatically amount to a defence.
Identity or vehicle details	Evidence of a mismatch, mistaken identity or cloned vehicle.	Follow the notice’s response requirements; do not invent a driver or account.
Signage or equipment	Photographs and reliable evidence relevant to the alleged offence.	A malfunctioning speedometer is not a general defence to speeding. Seek legal advice before contesting.

FPNs do not use the same appeal procedure as council PCNs. Follow the notice; contesting the allegation may require a court hearing. Paper tax discs have not been required since 1 October 2014.

If you want to learn more about the appeal process, be sure to read our specialized guide.

Should I get a solicitor or a barrister?

It depends.

You could hire a barrister or solicitor to challenge a speeding fine if you know the high penalties you face.

In short, if you were caught speeding on a motorway and risk a driving ban, it may be worth having legal representation. Otherwise, most speeding offences are settled before going to court.

You could get penalty points, a fine, or you could be offered a speed awareness course instead.

That’s if you’re not a repeat offender!

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How can I get out of a speeding fine?

As mentioned, you could be offered a speed awareness course. It means you get out of paying the fine and getting points on your licence.

However, it’s not a given. It’s up to the police to offer you the option.

Plus, you won’t be offered this option when you’re a repeat offender and got a conviction within the last 3 years. 

How many people get caught speeding in the UK?

Figures released by the Home Office show that over 6,000 motorists are caught speeding daily in the UK.

Moreover, fixed penalty notices for speeding hit a record high in recent times.

The last word

There are a couple of speeding ticket loopholes.

One more obvious one is to go on a speed awareness course. It gets you out of paying a fine and having penalties on your driving licence.

But you can’t ask to go on a course. It’s at the discretion of the police!

Then there’s the lesser-known speeding fine loophole. Namely receiving a Notice of Prosecution more than 14 days after you committed the offence.

Statistics show that thousands of motorists commit a speeding offence every day.

That said, it’s not a defensible offence. It’s against the law to go over a speed limit, and the 10%+2mph tolerance rule doesn’t always apply!

You could hire an expensive lawyer or barrister to argue your case in court, and many celebrities have done just this. Successfully.

But it’s not something that everyone can afford to do!

References

1. UK Parliament — FPN