A motorist accused of driving at 37mph in a 30mph zone has had the case against him dropped after the prosecution decided it wasn’t worth the trouble.
Michael Ives, 68, a self-employed, semi-retired plumbing and heating engineer, had received a speeding notice in the post alleging that he had been driving his Ford Mondeo at 7mph above the limit.
Most people would have looked at the evidence with resignation: two photographs accompanied the notice, one clocking his car 260 yards (239m) from the camera, the other at 54 yards (50m).
But Mr Ives had never had points on his licence and wasn’t about to start now. Determined to fight the case, he investigated, using the Freedom of Information Act to find out at what distance mobile speed cameras are guaranteed to be accurate. The manufacturer replied with some interesting information: the tripod-mounted laser mobile cameras were accurate only up to to 109 yards (100m).
Armed with this knowledge, Mr Ives pleaded not guilty at Norwich Magistrates’ Court to speeding, arguing that the camera reading may have been inaccurate. In response, the prosecution considered the number of experts it would have to call – and the cost of bringing them to court – and announced that it was dropping the case. Peter Tidey, the Chief Crown Prosecutor and chairman of Norfolk Criminal Justice Board, said yesterday that a “pragmatic decision” had been taken and proceeding with the case was not worth the aggravation.
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