Safe Speed Forums

2:30pm Saturday 15th May 2010 By Andy Carswell »

A MOTORIST risked a driving ban fighting against a speeding conviction – before proving there was a fault with the camera that clocked him.

DVD footage showed an error message at the same time 37-year-old Graham Lee was 'caught' doing 40mph on the North Orbital Road at Denham, where the speed limit is 30mph.
Mr Lee, who runs a chauffeur car service, had been due to appear before Wycombe Magistrates on April 22 – but the case was dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service the previous day due to a lack of evidence.

But Mr Lee said he was concerned other motorists who drove past the same camera may have been convicted of speeding despite not breaking the limit.
He said: “These cameras are being used nationwide and it can allow authorities to prosecute people with false evidence. It will not show an error message and the speed you were doing at the same time.
“You can take a still of the video which shows your car and your speed, but it doesn't show the camera error.
“The evidence wasn't admissible in court. I'm convinced this is going on elsewhere. Many thousands of people could have been in court in this way.”
Mr Lee viewed the DVD evidence at Banbury police station – 200 miles from his home in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire – in a bid to clear his name.
The father-of-two said: “The real breakthrough was seeing the DVD – I thought, 'Blimey, there's the answer, there's the reason why it's wrong'. I didn't think I was home and dry but that was the turning point.
“I'm a principled person. I knew it was right and I thought 'I have to continue with this'.”
Mr Lee, who has six penalty points on his licence, drove past the handheld camera at the junction with Denham Green Lane at around 11am on June 16 last year.
Having denied the speeding charge he was at risk of a ban, he said.
But he continued to deny the charge, despite not being able to afford having a solicitor represent him at court.
Speaking of the possible consequences of being convicted Mr Lee said: “Financially I could have been ruined, it could have been disastrous. Not everybody would be affected in such a bad way. A couple of points doesn't matter for some people, but for some they could get the sack and lose their livelihood.”
He added: “I'm not anti-speed cameras – they do reduce accidents. It's not about trying to fight the system.”

Claire Armstrong of campaign group Safe Speed said: “For a long time we've been stating that this equipment can be faulty. This clearly shows proof of that.
“We feel speed cameras continue to divide the police/public relationship, but at least when the court can rule in favour of an innocent motorist, justice is served.”
She added: “There's never a time to drive at an inappropriate speed and we must always drive to the conditions of the road.”

Lucy Chapman, spokesman for the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “The prosecution against Graham Lee was discontinued because on review of the evidence, there was no longer a realistic prospect of conviction.
“This was because the DVD footage taken from the speed enforcement device showed an error message when recording the speed that Mr Lee was travelling at and so this evidence could not be relied on in court proceedings.”

Thames Valley Police were not available for comment at the time of going to press.

He was speeding though wasn't he.

He was speeding though wasn't he.

He was speeding though wasn't he.