For reference, I'll put some advice down for all to perhaps benefit from:
There is no guidance on what will or won't happen when it comes to a speeding offence....
However, as with any driving offence the court will have to "hear" any mitigating circumstances and decide whether to take them into account when passing sentence.
As yogi said, you can absolutely plead what they call "exceptional hardship" which means that if they choose to ban you and this could result in you losing you job, home, marriage etc then the effect would be worse than the punishment the offence would normally attract. But it is NOT a garentee.
In any case where you want to plead the above you may be requested to attend court, and provide evidence supporting the claim. For instance a letter from your boss, and a copy of terms & conditions of your employment stating that should you lose your licence you will be unable to carry out the duties required to forfil your job. I.e you'll be unable to continue in your current role and have your employment terminated. (I have copies of this if any of you need them
In cases where this happens, you may get points and slightly more hefty fine. However it is not advised to plead for a hefty fine as a "incentive" to give less points. If your represented by a solicitor they may cleverly say "..should the court decide to impose a substantial fine in addition to penalty points, my client would be able to pay this in within a satisfactory period".
As people have said its sometimes based on circumstances and in some case these are detailed to the court. What I mean by this, is was it near a school, open road, quiet road, early morning etc. So... Its very unlikely that the policemen who pulled you will turn up if you plead guilty (I assume you are
) so the circumstances will not be detailed to the court. The paperwork from the officer will just state, day, time, road, speed limit and your speed and the offence. Namely speeding in a 60mph zone etc. Again, because they will not have contrary evidence it is unlikely you can argue it was a quiet road, early morning etc to try and play down the offence. They can't prove either basically.
I can honestly say, if you really want to try and get things reduced you can try lots of angles. Calibration of equipment, is it tested on bikes, is there photographic/video evidence, was it on a road with Camera signs? Where they clearly visible? All very accepted methods of counter plea, but obviously can be futile.
In this case, I would have to say that I think you would be looking at around 6 points plus a fine. But could be more, could be less. I would be surprised if they ban you to be honest.
What I would do is wait to hear and see if the NIP arrives. If it does, and requires you to attend court on a specific date then it may mean they feel the offence is suffecient to ban you. I would the advise pleading the above hardship reasons (you will need to tell ya boss and/or employer). If the NIP just simply requires you to plead guilty or not guilty then its likely your gonna get points and a fine without the need to attend court.
HOpe this helps, and wish you the best of luck. Fingers crossed you get a magistrate who has a nice car and drives slightly faster than he/she should
Not like me the first time I got done, I got some haggered old cow who didn't drive and obviously had not got laid for quite some time. If I thought it would have helped me and others I would have offered my services for the good of mankind.
