Due to the postal strikes, up to tens of thousands of motorists may evade CCTV fines for speeding, due to the fact that drivers cannot be convicted of speeding unless they receive notification of the offence in a two week time period.
After the postal workers went on strike last week around 20,000 notices of CCTV prosecution were stuck in the backlog, meaning that quite a few lucky motorists are off the hook this time. If another three day strike occurs as planned on Thursday a few more thousands will also be delayed.
Those who are lucky enough to have their notices delayed will avoid paying a £60 fine, and the addition of three points on their license. For a driver who already has nine points this can mean avoiding a six month license suspension.
The news is not so good for authorities, who estimate that they receive about £6m a week from speeding CCTV fines, and that the delayed notices will cost them about £1.2m in revenues a day.
Christ Sweetman, a road traffic lawyer, said that a driver cannot be prosecuted if they receive a notice over 14 days after the offence allegedly occurred, due to the fact that it becomes ‘out of time’ in court.
