Celebrities are certainly no strangers to the law when it comes to driving as stories of speeding stars litter the press on a fairly regular basis.
Earlier this month it was reported that football boss Kevin Keegan has been banned for driving for six months after he was caught speeding on August 27th last year.
The former Newcastle United manager was doing 36mph in a 30mph zone on the A69 between Carlisle and Newcastle has also been ordered to pay £800 costs.
He received the automatic ban after reaching the legal maximum of 12 points on his licence.
If events such as this do not discourage people from speeding and they find themselves being caught out and issued with a penalty, it is likely that nothing can be done about it.
However, if a motorist believes that he or she has been given the fine mistakenly, there may be some help at hand as there are instances when they can fight a motoring ticket.
To begin with, a speeding charge must be challenged by returning a completed section 172 notice within 28 days of receiving a Notice of Intended Prosecution.
Even if a person does not believe that they were driving over the limit, they must still respond and provide their name as the driver of the vehicle.
But how do people know if they have a case to contest a speeding ticket?
According to Which? advice, there are four main defences which can be used.
The first is for a person to prove that they were not speeding and the second is if they were not driving the car when the incident occurred.
If there was not a proper and clear notice of the speed limit in the area where the motorist was going too fast then this can be used as a defence, as can a car being caught on camera being misidentified.
Once this action has been taken, Which? explains that the police may then send a conditional offer of a fixed penalty.
"Conditional offers have no official system for appeals, though, some police forces do accept informal letters of appeal, especially if the speeding ticket has been issued in error (such as the vehicle having been reported stolen at the time of the alleged speeding offence)," the organisation continues.
If motorists find this happening to them, they should write to the address provided and give full details as to why they believe they are not deserving of the speeding ticket.
This letter should be in accordance with an individual police force's guidelines.
Although it may seem like an effort to people who must go through the hassle of contesting a penalty when they are not to blame, these procedures may help to avoid receiving points on a licence or a hefty fine when they are not needed.
Fight an Unfair Motoring Ticket News from Lawpack: advice and information on disputing speeding tickets and parking tickets.
Written by Rachel Crook
