Brighton Motorcyclist Beats Gatso Speeding Conviction

CPS evidence thrown out of court as “unreliable”

December 31, 2008 - Press Dispensary - Pete Barker (51) of Fiveways, Brighton, has beaten a speeding conviction issued by a Gatso speed camera; a device almost universally disliked by long-suffering British motorists. In a case tried on December 17, 2008, a judge at Brighton Magistrates Court announced that the evidence behind the £60 speeding ticket, issued by a Gatso located at Ditchling Road, north of Fiveways junction, Brighton, on June 15, 2008, was “unreliable”.

Evidence recorded by the Gatso initially alleged that Mr Barker was driving his motorcycle at a speed of 38mph and, finally, at "not less than 33mph". Mr Barker, who lives near the camera, maintains that he was driving at 30mph. He comments: “I was well aware of the Gatso, as I see it every day, and had no reason to be speeding past it. I was so convinced of my innocence that I spent months reading up about the intricacies of Gatsos.”

Mr Barker, a software engineer for Digital Journey, maker of real time traffic information systems, raised various issues concerning the Gatso and its positioning. He explains: “These days, Gatsos can be placed anywhere. The installation of this camera is suspect and is poor for a radar operated device. It is positioned with a bus shelter, an iron railing fence, trees and other things in the radar beam. These acted like a mirror and confused the radar readings, giving a false result. The radar speed reading and photographic secondary check should be within 10% of each other, or the evidence is considered unreliable.”

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decided to prosecute Mr Barker for exceeding the 30mph speed limit, saying that its experts had proved the alleged charge. The CPS evidence consisted of the record from the Gatso device. The experts called in Mr Barker’s defence - including Tony Read, who headed the Princess Diana car crash investigation in 1997 - showed a difference between the radar measurements (primary evidence) taken by the Gatso and the photographs (secondary evidence). As this difference was more than 10%, the camera was not functioning under the conditions set by The Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988, section 20(4). The CPS therefore agreed that the photographic evidence could not be introduced under section 20.

However, the CPS then tried to prosecute Mr Barker using a "novel interpretation of the law", in which it argued that the photographic evidence, whereby experts gauged Mr Barker was doing a speed “slightly in excess of 30mph”, could be introduced as “real evidence” via another route. The CPS brought up two earlier cases - DPP v Thornley, and DPP v Griffiths - where such evidence was introduced but when the accuracy of the speed camera was not in question. This approach was found to be unfair and the judge threw the unreliable evidence out of court.

The judge pointed out that the photographic evidence depended on the machine working correctly. To provide an accurate speed, the photographs must be taken 0.5 seconds apart. The judge further observed that the CPS would be relying on the workings of a machine which it admitted could not be considered reliable because of the more-than 10% difference between the radar and photographic measurements. He ruled the photographs inadmissible as evidence. The CPS then offered "no evidence" and the case was closed in favour of Mr Barker.

Mr Barker says: “Nobody wants points on their license and high insurance premiums when they weren’t even speeding. This is a victory not just for me but for motorists who will be able to use my legal case as a precedent to challenge unfair speeding convictions issued by cameras that are not always reliable. For too long, the government has stealth-taxed motorists using these devices and now it is time for the motorists to fight for what is fair. In my opinion, these devices should be accuracy checked and monitored more closely.”

- Ends -

About Gatsos
Gatso is a fixed speed camera invented by Maurice Gatsonides and manufactured by the Dutch company, Gatsometer BV. The Gatso emits radar beams to measure vehicle speed. If the vehicle exceeds the preset trigger speed, two photographs with a timed interval (normally 0.5 seconds) are taken to show the rear of the vehicle, its registration plate and the white calibration lines on the road. The vehicle's position, relative to the white road markings in the two photographs, can be used to calculate speed and is the only evidence admissible in UK courts. The speed indicated by the radar unit is considered too unreliable to be used as sole evidence, as error can be caused by multiple reflections or multiple vehicles in shot.

Until April 2007, UK Gatsos were operated by Safety Camera Partnerships (SCPs) under the National Safety Camera Programme (NSCP) and had deployment requirements. They had to be marked, made visible, located in places with a history of serious accidents, and where there was evidence of a speeding problem or community concern existed. However, this situation changed in April 2007, and they can now be placed at any location. Cameras operated solely by the police, outside NSCP schemes, do not need to comply with visibility requirements.

The funding arrangements for SCPs also changed in April 2007. SCPs no longer keep the funds from speeding fines: instead an annual 'road safety grant' is given directly to local authorities who can choose whether or not to invest the resulting funds in the partnerships.

For further information, please contact:
Pete Barker,
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