Only in Ireland: "I never got that fine, judge. Honest!"

unkel

Article

Speeding cases thrown out of court due to lack of notice

TWO out of three people allegedly caught speeding by the new GoSafe vans have had their cases struck out in court after claiming they never received the motoring fine.

Some 24 motorists who appeared in Limerick District Court escaped prosecution after telling Judge Eamon O'Brien they had never received notification that they had been caught speeding.

The GoSafe vans -- which have speed cameras on board -- were rolled out last November and 39 motorists found themselves ordered to appear before Limerick District Court this week for offences allegedly committed last December and January.

Drivers caught speeding receive a notice informing them of the time and date of the alleged offence, and are given 28 days to pay an €80 fine. They also get two penalty points on their licence.

If the fixed charge penalty is not paid within 28 days, they are obliged to go to court where they get four penalty points and a fine of up to €120 if found guilty.

But 24 drivers in Limerick -- almost two out of three -- escaped prosecution after they or solicitors acting on their behalf claimed they never received any notice of the offence.

Judge O'Brien remarked that it was "very strange" that so many motorists had not received the speeding notice.

A garda spokesman said: "We are aware of the issue and it's being dealt with."

Last night An Post confirmed that a detailed proposal for a confirmed delivery service was presented to the gardai for consideration some time ago. An Post is still awaiting a reply.

Garda sources said it was strange that drivers received the summons, but not the original speeding fine.

jhegarty

But 24 drivers in Limerick -- almost two out of three -- escaped prosecution after they or solicitors acting on their behalf claimed they never received any notice of the offence.

Judge O'Brien remarked that it was "very strange" that so many motorists had not received the speeding notice.

But it's not 2 of 3 didn't get the letter. It's 24 out of 1000s.

Because most people didn't get to court because they got the letter.

drunkmonkey

It genuinely happened to me. The summons was also thrown into an old address letterbox where I used to live. I was disqualified for 2 years and didn't even know it. Had to get a set a side to have the whole thing heard again when a Garda went to arrest me.
The figures might be startling but if your going to start legal action against someone you have to prove the person had full knowledge along the way anything else is abuse of the legal system.

What's going to happen is the letters will have to be registered, this is going to make the cost of speeding fines go up because I can't see the government taking a hit on this stealth tax.

Pat Mustard

drunkmonkey wrote: »

What's going to happen is the letters will have to be registered, this is going to make the cost of speeding fines go up because I can't see the government taking a hit on this stealth tax.

That's the point, right there. They've been sending out the fixed charge notices by ordinary post for years and hoping for the best. It's just stupid. They should send them by registered post like they send summonses.

Gophur

drunkmonkey wrote: »

.........
What's going to happen is the letters will have to be registered, this is going to make the cost of speeding fines go up because I can't see the government taking a hit on this stealth tax.

|And what difference will that make? It's not a big deal

An Post charge €4.50 (ish), extra, to register a letter. It's not outside the realms of possibility a bulk purchase rate, much less, could be negotiated.

unkel

drunkmonkey wrote: »

What's going to happen is the letters will have to be registered

This has been obvious for decades. We've discussed it many times on this forum. And the fines are still not sent by registered post. The waste of very expensive court time and loss of massive fine revenue is entirely avoidable.

Needler

Unregistered post gets lost and there is no way of telling. How is this news or an "only in Ireland" thing?

Alanstrainor

This thread is a duplicate of this one. link.

No point having two. And this one came after the other one.

Closed.