A Man has lost an estimated £30,000 of his children’s inheritance after unsuccessfully fighting a £100 speeding fine.
Retired engineer, Richard Keedwell challenged the “unfair” fine and hoped his case would help uncover an error in the system that could save thousands of unlucky motorists hundreds of pounds.
Mr Keedwell was accused of driving 35.4mph in a 30mph zone while out Christmas shopping with his wife in Worcester in November 2016.
Convinced that he was not speeding, he spent two and a half years attending seven court appearances to fight the fine issued by West Mercia Police.
Speed camera error?
He hired an expert witness in electronics and radar, Tim Farrow, who analysed the images of him allegedly speeding and said that he could have been caught out by a malfunction with a speeding camera known as the “double doppler” effect.
This occurs when the camera’s radar measuring the speed of a passing car accidentally deflects onto a second vehicle travelling in the same direction.
Mr Keedwell instructed barristers for his first appeal hearing in June 2017 up to his last hearing in August this year, which he estimates cost him £22,000.
Lost three hearings
He has since paid the fine but is facing heavy legal fees of more than £6,700 after losing three hearings and is now deciding whether to appeal for the third time.
He said: “I never saw the flash of the camera and I certainly didn’t feel like I was doing faster than 30 mph.
“I was incredibly annoyed when I got the fine through the post.
“I am convinced that Tim knows what he is on about and that there was a misreading.
“If he told me to just pay the fine, nothing has happened here then I would have accepted it and paid it.
“But when you start looking into this, you realise that it’s more about them getting money than road safety.
“Ordinary working people like me are getting done over by the system. I have not been listened to and there has not been any justice in this case.
“I obviously regret losing that amount of money and I have often woken up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat because I am so panicked. But I couldn’t let them get away with it. The system is flawed and it needed challenging.”
A spokeswoman for West Mercia Police said: “All of our speed enforcement cameras are calibrated regularly and are Home Office approved.
“This particular offence was dealt with by the Courts, who after hearing all the evidence found the defendant guilty.”
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