Bribe and prejudice

You regard speeding fixed penalties as bribes. I see them as alternatives to those who admit the offence to have their case settled without having to go to court. Rarely is there greater evidence of guilt than one's admission. For any offence in this country, those who are prepared to admit guilt are entitled to a discount from the sentence that would otherwise be imposed had the matter proceeded to trial and conviction. I see no difference to a motorist being offered the opportunity, when a burglar is told the same thing. For the motorist, the incentive may be a modest fine and the lack of a court appearance, for the burglar being told the same thing, the credit for a guilty plea can often make the difference between going to prison and staying out. Same principle. Don't admit that you were speeding? Fine don't accept the penalty notice and it will all come out in the wash, but if witnesses come to court and you are convicted, you can expect to pay a contribution towards the cost of it. Not guilty of that burglary? Fine, enter a not guilty plea, we'll have a trial, but don't expect to be dealt in the same way if you are found guilty after witnesses have been required to come to court and give evidence at a trial which is conducted largely at the public expense.

Asked on 28 March 2009 by

Answered by Honest John

I disagree. You have a choice of accepting the "evidence" and a lesser penalty, or fighting it. I expect that hundreds of thousands of drivers (of the 2.5 million a year "convicted") accept the bribe of a lesser penalty rather than suffer the expense and lost time involved in attempting to prove their innocence. That is disgusting. And quite apart from the issue of deliberate entrapment, where speed
limits are suddenly lowered from a safe higher limit as a deliberate revenue earner. Campaigner Idris Francis adds: “The 1688 Declaration of Rights stated very clearly that there should be no penalties without conviction in court. Agreeing those terms formed
the basis for William and Mary to take the throne, and therefore for the line of succession to our present Queen. Those who wrote those terms and conditions – and those who wrote Magna Carta - understood full well the nature of tyranny, and that one way tyrants can convict anyone they like, guilty or not, is to threaten much greater penalties for failing to admit guilt. 10,000 people a day pay speeding penalties, a significant proportion to my knowledge even when they know or think they might be innocent, because the penalties for defending themselves and losing are so much worse than for lying and admitting guilt.”

Tags: speeding driving police speeding fines