JT wrote:
As far as I have been led to believe, whilst speeding is a criminal conviction, it is not a recordable offence, so would have no bearing on anyone wishing to emigrate. In this respect there is, as I understand it, no difference between a fixed price ticket and a court conviction.
I actually found it very hard at the time to find definitive information on the subject. I was pretty sure that paying the fixed penalty did not constitute a criminal conviction, because of the wording on the penalty notice which said something along the lines of "we will take no further action if the fine is paid etc", and receiving a conviction would certainly not constitute "no further action" to my mind. After some searching, I found this page:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/co ... ring.shtml
Although that applies to Northern Ireland, it made enough sense when combined with other information that I concluded the same is most likely true for England, possibly the rest of the UK as well.
On the issue of recordable vs other offences, as I understand it there are 3 types of offence:
- Summary - Magistrates court only
- Either-way - Magistrates or crown court
- Indictable - Crown court only
Recordable offences seem to be the Either-way and Indictable offences. Now, from here:
http://www.canadaimmigrationlaw.net/Lib ... ctions.htm
it seems that even summary offences can prevent immigration, if the person has 2 or more of them. Speeding would be in this category.
Also, I read a forum post where someone said that they were surprised when they received the police report that they had to obtain for immigration purposes, as it showed a speeding conviction.
So, I am pretty sure that if you go to court to contest a speeding prosecution and lose, then it constitutes a summary criminal conviction, and if you get two of them in five years, it would prevent you from emigrating to Canada (and possibly other countries, too).
What I am less sure of is if you are any better off if you don't go to court, and instead just pay the fine and take the points. All I have to go off is the wording on the notice I received, the fact that there is nothing in the "date of conviction" column on my license for the endorsement, and the bbc website link above.