To court, or not to court - that is the question!

[SKAVIA]

Hello all - it's been a while since I've posted, but today I got my Ed30 plaque and that made me remember you lot!
Anyway, back to the point:
I was stopped by an unmarked police car yesterday for jumping a red light.
Now I know it was amber as I approached but it may have turned red before I went through it.
There was only one policeman in the police car and he came out of the car and breathalysed me (unusual - but obviously I hadn't been drinking).
He then told me I'd blatantly jumped a red light and that I was getting a fixed penalty (3 points and £60) and started writing the ticket.
He gave me the ticket and said I can go to court if I'm not happy, but that there was a video camera fitted to the car (I saw it in the front windscreen) and I had no chance.
I asked him how late I had jumped the light and he said "ridiculously", so I asked him to show me the video (which is what the police normally do to show you how bad your driving was) and he replied  "no, that only gets shown if you go to court".
Now, I'm not sure if he is telling the truth about the video (it may not have been on?), but that is his only means of proof as otherwise it's just my word against his, as he was on his own.

SO - do I just lump it and accept the fixed penalty, or risk it and go to court and either find he has no evidence and I get off, or he has an incriminating video which may get me a higher fine and more points.
I already have 3 points for speeding  .

Your input and thoughts are valued!

[R32UK]

I would speak to a solicitor straight away. Esp if you think you went through amber, and it was safer to go through that slam on. How close was he behind you?

[wellzee]

I was stopped for speeding by an unmarked car a couple of months ago and the first thing he did was sit me down and show me the video of my driving. It seems starnge to me that he would deny you the chance to see it if he had it recorded, but im not sure where your legal stance is on this - as R32 said i would contact your solicitor asap. if you take it to court and they produce indisputable evidence i would expect your fine to go up, but not your points - unless its a really blatant and stupid offence - which it doesn't sound like. good luck with it anyways 

[illyun]

I thinik its at their discretion although it sounds like the guy was a total t055er 

[the dude]

Think you would struggle to get off in court,
Even if his video wasn't recording then its a police officers word against yours, and the general rule of thumb is that the police don't lie....
And if you admit yourself to going through amber then that doesn't really help your case.
Let us know what you decide on.

[SKAVIA]

Thanks for the feedback guys.
He was actually the first car in the lane next to me, so once he saw me go through the lights he immediately flashed the blue lights behind his grill and followed me.
If it is my word against his then yes, he'd probably have the favour of the judge BUT we are innocent until proven guilty right?!
I've got a few days to think about it but to be honest I'll probably just put it behind me and forget about it.
If I decide to go to court then it will be playing on my mind until the hearing and is not a nice feeling....
Think it's time I changed my driving style as it's probably too aggressive - especially now I've got a little one due in April.
Been seriously considering getting a 535d sport estate and let the mrs have the Ed30!
They look tasty with 19s on!




 

[Hurdy]

If it was definitely on amber when I went through and got pulled I'd go to court. If you are unsure I wouldn't risk it an pay up

[Edition30]

They do show you the video as I found out when I got done for speeding back in October.

Im not sure if you can request a copy of the video or not...would also like to know this myself as I got my court date through on Saturday.

[Edition30]

Think you would struggle to get off in court,
Even if his video wasn't recording then its a police officers word against yours, and the general rule of thumb is that the police don't lie....
And if you admit yourself to going through amber then that doesn't really help your case.
Let us know what you decide on.

They can only do it based on two eye witnesses, e.g 2 coppers.

[R32UK]

Having heard exactly what happened I would definately get a solicitor involved. If he was the only person in the car and does not have a video of you then they dont stand a chance of making it stick.

The fact that other officers have openly shown others a video of their offences there is no real reason why he would not have shown you yours.. In addition to the fact that he said that the video "only gets shown in court" could be another reason to show why he may infact have been telling porkies.

Might be worth a quick call to a solicitor/police station/citizens advice bureau just to find out if this is the case. If its a police station you choose to call you might want to refrain from telling them the exact situation as no doubt they will try to cover their collegues a$$. Im quite sure a solicitor would be happy to tell you where you stand over the phone.