Safe Speed Forums

Per "Manchester Evening News" - 17/12/04 - reporter Dean Kirby:

A revolt by motorists has led to 450 of them being let off speeding fines!

They were all cuaght on scamera exceeding 30mph at road works. But someone forgot to cover up a 40 mph sign only yards away.

They have not learned - they are still trying out this little number on the M60 at J8

Now GMP has dropped the fines against people caught out by this scam over 4 days in July.

If they had all paid their £60 - a whopping £27k would have been raised by the scammers! " Anyone who has already paid must come forward and the fine will be refunded and the endorsement removed from their licence " says GMP!

Kevein Kiernan from Rochdale: "We were determined to take our cases all the way - even if that meant fighting it out in court. Some drivers took legal advice and were told they were caught fair and square - but those fines were worth thousands to the scammers and no-one would have been the wiser if we had not made this stand of resistance!" What a jolly good bloke!

All the drivers were copped at 40 mph through the roadworks on the A663 Broadway road in Oldham between July 7 and July 10 2004.

Mr Kiernan and some other drivers refused to pay up and shut up, after they discovered that the 40mph sign had not been covered over - as far as they were concerned - the limit was 40mph and the sign waas immediately before the scamera !

The scam was set to ping at 30 mph inside the new 30mph zone and the sign was not covered over until July 10th.

Retired Chief Inspector Neil Longsden backed the campaign. The former second-in-command of GMP's motorway unit said:

"Someone in authority should have taken a proper look at the signs on this road. They were clearly inadequate!"

Karen Stringer (a Manchester Prat) said: "There were signs on that road, but we improved this after a review!"

Yes Luv - after you cash registered several thousand pounds

She confirmed that the 450 known to have protested about their NIP and who passed the scam between July 7 and July 10 were not being fined.

If you were fined on this road as you travelled through roadworks on A663 Broadway, Oldham, Manchester - between 7-10 July 2004 - please contact the Manchester Central Ticketing Office: Those 3 points are a quarter of your licence and have knock-on effect on your insurance!

Yes, a brilliant result.

http://www.oldham-chronicle.co.uk/NEWSTH01.html

(link likely to expire within a few days)

==============================================

Drivers' speeding fines quashed after campaign

PEOPLE power has won justice for hundreds of motorists given speeding tickets for driving too fast through the Broadway roadworks in Chadderton.

They were caught by a speed camera leaving the A627M motorway and heading for Middleton Road, normally a 40mph stretch.

However, cones were being placed ready for major roadworks on Broadway near Eustace Street and the speed limit had been changed to 30 mph.

But Greater Manchester Police now admit there was confusion over the signs and have agreed to refund the £60 fines and remove the three penalty points from driving licences.

Rochdale man Kevin Kiernan began a campaign to overturn his speeding fine when he wrote to the Chronicle in July after he was booked. He refused to pay and chose to go to court.

And a second story in October led to Mr Kiernan, who uses the road every
morning to travel to Manchester, receiving letters from 25 more angry
motorists.

Now he has been told by Karen Stringer, manager of the GMP's central ticket office, that no action will be taken against him.

And 450 other drivers caught between July 7 and 10, before extra signs went up to warn of the 30 mph limit, are to have their tickets cancelled,
potentially costing the service £27,000.

Karen Stringer told Mr Kiernan, a despatch manager from Shawclough:
"Numerous complaints have been received from members of the public,
suggesting the signage at this locations was either misleading or
insufficient."

She told the Chronicle: "We had something in the region of 60 letters from
members of the public for the period July 7 to 10.

"The majority of motorists going through were travelling at 40 mph.

"At the outset of the roadworks, two 30 mph signs were placed on either side of the road, but there was another issue with a 40 mph sign on a lamp-post.

"Until we covered up that sign and put up further signs it was only fair
that notices were cancelled. Not all drivers have paid, some wanted to go to court.

"But we have to treat everyone in the same way, not just the ones who wrote and complained. We are going through them all at the moment."

Special courts will refund the fines and the DVLA will remove the penalty
points from licences.

But she warned this could take several months. If new photo-licences are
issued to replace old-style paper licences, GMP will foot the bill for
replacements, not drivers.

Mr Kiernan said: "It is really very satisfying that they have contacted all
the people involved. If you feel there has been an injustice it is best to
complain.

"I feel justice has been seen to be done."

==============================================

As the Manchester area representative for the ABD, I have been in touch
with Kevin Kiernan throughout this campaign, but the result is all his own
work.

He's been very determined in the face of various threats and has in the end achieved an excellent result. The remaining drivers who were holding out had recently received court summonses and it is only when they expressed their intention to defend these that the authorities backed down.

It is a very sad reflection on official policies that they persevered with such
trumped-up charges when it was increasingly clear that they didn't have
a leg to stand on.

Unfortunately this is all too typical of the attitude of scamera
partnerships.

_________________
"Show me someone who says that they have never exceeded a speed limit, and I'll show you a liar, or a menace." (Austin Williams - Director, Transport Research Group)

Any views expressed in this post are personal opinions and may not represent the views of Safe Speed

Wonder if the Chief Constable will stil get his bonus?

What a great result for this man to stand up to these highway robbers and win..WELL DONE

Andrew

_________________
It's a scam........or possibly a scamola


Homer Simpson