Avon and Somerset Police Public Access System - Speeding/Redlight Tickets

• I did not know the road
• I didn't see any workers at the road works
• I was distracted
• I did not see the signs
• I was late
• It was late at night/early in the morning
• The road was clear
• I do not think the speed limit is suitable for that road
• This is my first offence
• Other drivers were speeding
• I did not see the camera
• The speed limit has recently changed
• The vehicle behind me forced me to
• I was just following the flow of traffic
• My Satnav told me the speed limit was different/did not warn me that the camera was there

The SEU will not cancel a Notice for of any of the above reasons. If you believe that you have mitigating circumstances or a defence the only way to challenge the alleged offence is to request a court hearing.

The Notice includes a request, made under Section 172 of The Road Traffic Act 1988, for the addressee to provide the SEU with details of who was driving during the alleged offence within 28 days of the Notice issue date.

An admission confirming you were the driver or a nomination of a new vehicle keeper or driver at a UK address may be made by logging into this Public Access System website or the addressee can reply in writing with a signature by completing the page 2 Reply to Notice Form and posting it to:

The Company Secretary, Director, a Partner, the Sole Trader or similarly authorised person should reply to the Notice providing the driver's details. They may do so by logging into this Public Access System website and completing the form on the Nomination page if the new keeper or driver has a UK address or by completing the page 2 Reply to Notice Form and posting it back to the SEU. A direct reply from the driver will not be accepted.

The only way to contest the alleged offence is to request a court hearing. You would then be sent a Single Justice Procedure Notice in due course to enter your plea and state any mitigation you may have or reasons for pleading not guilty.

If you plead or are found guilty the courts cannot sentence you to a workshop, only penalty points or disqualification and/or a fine. The amount of any fine and/or penalty points would be decided by the Magistrates and may be higher than the Fixed Penalty. A Victim Surcharge will be awarded, this will typically be 40% of the fine amount, the surcharge is used to fund victim services through the Victim and Witness General Fund. If you plead guilty the prosecution would normally ask for £90 to £110 costs. If you pleaded not guilty but are found guilty at a trial the prosecution costs would likely increase and if they have had to instruct an expert witness to support their prosecution the costs could be substantial.

If the offence can be settled out of court by accepting a Fixed Penalty or attending a workshop, on receipt of a completed Notice where we have a driver admission, if eligible, further information will be issued. If the only option is for the case to be heard in court, you will receive a summons in due course.

Important: By applying for the Fixed Penalty or workshop you are confirming that you were the driver and accept that the offence occurred. Once the workshop has been attended or the Fixed Penalty fine has been paid and your driving licence endorsed the SEU will consider the matter closed. There is no appeals process.

Having a DVLA issued provisional driving licence does not prevent you from applying for a workshop, as long as you have been offered this disposal and meet the criteria.

If you currently have a DVLA issued provisional licence you may apply to settle the alleged offence by accepting the Fixed Penalty as long as that option has been offered. Any points on your provisional licence will be transferred to your full licence when you pass your test. There is a 2 year probationary period after you pass your first full driving test. If you gain any penalty points during that period which take the total to more than 5 the DVLA will revoke your full licence. You would then have to apply for a new provisional licence and retake the theory and practical tests to get a new full driving licence.

There is no legal requirement for speed enforcement cameras to be made visible to drivers. However the SEU and Highways England have voluntarily had their static camera heads covered with yellow retroreflective paint or sheeting. There are also high visibility markings on the SEU mobile speed camera vans and motorbikes. Camera Enforcement Officers may wear high visibility clothing for health and safety reasons.

When enforcement is carried out from private land permission has been obtained from the owner in advance. SEU vehicles can park in Police laybys and often have dispensation to park in Resident Parking Bays and similar restricted parking areas when they are carrying out Policing activities, such as enforcing the speed limit.

Even if the SEU vehicle was found to be not clearly visible or parked illegally the evidence of the alleged speeding offence would still stand and so the Notice would not be cancelled.

Drivers can only legally cross the stop line when the traffic light for their lane is displaying green. It is illegal for any part of a vehicle to move over the stop line while the traffic light is red, not just the front of the vehicle. It is also illegal to cross the stop line when the light is amber but there is a statutory defence if stopping would have been likely to have caused a collision.

Traffic lights normally display from 2.8 to 3 seconds of amber before the light turns red. The SEU allows the National Police Chief's Council recommended 1 second grace period of red light before any action is taken.

A goods vehicle is defined in law as any vehicle that has been designed or adapted for the carriage of goods. It is therefore not always relevant what the vehicle is identified as on the V5C Registration Certificate as it may have been incorrectly classified or modified since it was registered. It is the vehicle's physical characteristics that define if it is treated as a goods vehicle. Generally if there is a dedicated goods storage area in your vehicle it must be driven within goods vehicle speed limits. However there are two types of goods vehicle, car-derived vans and dual-purpose vehicles, that are exempt from the lower speed limit and so can be driven at car speed limits.

Heavy goods vehicles, which have a maximum laden weight of more than 7.5 tonnes, have a maximum speed limit on the motorway of 60mph. Goods vehicles have a maximum speed limit of 60mph on a dual carriageway (a road with a physical central reservation or barrier) with no regular system of street lighting and a maximum speed limit of 50mph on a single carriageway with no regular system of street lighting. On a Restricted Road (sometimes referred to as a Built-up Area) which is a dual or single carriageway road with a regular system of street lighting, goods vehicles have the same 30mph speed limit as cars.

To be classified as dual-purpose a van must have an unladen weight (the weight of the vehicle including any permanent fixtures but not including the driver, passengers, goods or fuel) of no more than 2040kg and either:

• Have four-wheel drive.

• Have a transverse row of at least two permanently fitted fixed or folding passenger seats to the rear of the driver's seat. They must be padded or sprung and have upholstered back rests. When in use the distance from the back of the rear most passenger seats to the steering wheel must not be less than 1/3 of the distance from the steering wheel to the rear of the vehicle's floor.
• Have windows on both sides of the vehicle to the rear of the driver's seat which have a combined area of at least 1850 square centimeters.
• Have a window in the rear which has an area of at least 770 square centimeters.
• Have a permanently fitted rigid roof.

You should assume that any road, except a motorway, that has a regular system of street lighting is a Restricted Road (sometimes called a Built-up Area) and has a 30mph speed limit unless there are signs showing otherwise.

A regular system of street lighting is defined in law as at least 3 lights which are spaced no more than 200 yards (600 feet or 182 meters) apart from each other. The lights do not have to be on lamp posts, they can be mounted on telephone or power poles or on the side of buildings. Although it is sometimes called a Built-up Area there is no need for there to be pavements or buildings along a Restricted Road. Both single and dual carriageway roads can be Restricted Roads. The speed limits of 70mph for a dual carriageway and 60mph for a single carriageway only apply if there is no regular system of street lighting.

There is no legal requirement for there to be terminal speed limit signs at the start and end of a Restricted Road but there normally are. If there is no terminal sign the 30mph speed limit starts at the first light in the regular system. It is illegal for 30mph repeater signs to be displayed on a Restricted Road. However there may be advisory speed camera enforcement signs which consist of 30mph speed limit and camera enforcement signs together on a blue background.

A road is classed as a single carriageway if there is no physical separation between the lanes heading in each direction. A road is classed as a dual carriageway if there is a physical central reservation or barrier separating the lanes heading in each direction. In either case it does not matter how many lanes there are.

For the 60mph single carriageway or 70mph dual carriageway speed limit to apply there must not be a regular system of street lighting. If there is a regular system of street lighting the road will be classified as a Restricted Road and so have a 30mph speed limit unless there are signs showing otherwise.