Motorists gambling in Court on Internet advice
1 Apr 2005

Nobody likes to get a speeding ticket and more motorists are choosing to take their case to Court, often basing their defence on 'expert' advice from Internet sites. But drivers who choose to take a gamble and go to Court instead of opting for the standard £60 fine and 3 penalty points were left reeling today after the West Midlands Casualty Reduction Partnership stated that 97% of these cases that are taken to court end in a guilty verdict.

The Partnership said that each year thousands of motorists attempt to get out of a penalty, quite often by using information gained from so-called 'experts' on Internet chat forums.

On a serious note the Partnership warned that such Websites were giving motorists questionable advice that often results in higher penalties than if the standard penalty had been accepted.

A Partnership spokesman said;

"Only last week a case went to Halesowen Magistrates, where a motorist, who had been getting advice from one of the motoring Websites over the past four months, was eventually fined £145 and received 4 penalty points. If the driver had gone through the normal fixed penalty process, the matter would have been dealt with in a matter of weeks, and he would have received the standard penalty."

The Partnership suggested that a few recent high profile cases, such as the Colin Montgomery and Hamilton cases were encouraging other drivers to take a chance and go to Court, even when they accepted they were speeding.

"If you are eligible for a fixed penalty, our advice is to take it. In our experience if you know you were speeding when you were photographed there is no winning defence. In extreme circumstances some of the defence methods suggested on these websites can end in prison sentences for attempting to pervert the course of justice."