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Driver wins illegal speed limit battle
Apr 6 2003
By Paul Malley, Sunday Mercury
A midland driver has had her speeding conviction quashed after an astonishing legal blunder highlighted by the Sunday Mercury.
Dorothy Silcock was hit with a £60 fine and three penalty points after being clocked driving at 39 mph on the B4118 near Coleshill, West Midlands in April last year.
But in February we revealed the authority had used the wrong traffic order to reduce the 40 mph limit to 30 mph on the busy stretch 15 years ago - meaning all subsequent fines could be invalid.
Now, following a complaint by Mrs Silcocks husband John, West Midlands Police has quashed her fine and reinstated her penalty points.
Every other motorist issued with speeding tickets for travelling between 30 mph and 40 mph on the Castle Bromwich to Water Orton road since 1988 could win similar appeals.
The Association of British Drivers first highlighted traffic order blunders affecting roads across the country in a special investigation by the Sunday Mercury last October.
But at that time no Midland council would admit that they had incorrectly imposed new speed limits by using the wrong order.
That was until Mr Silcock, of Yardley, Birmingham, challenged his wifes speeding ticket.
The confusion on the B4118 dates back to 1972 when Warwickshire County Council, which was then responsible for the road, imposed a 40 mph limit.
Then in 1988 Solihull Council, which now controls the route, issued an order reducing it to 30 mph.
But the local authority admits that it applied the Road Traffic Act incorrectly - rendering the speed restriction invalid.
Last night Mr Silcock thanked the Sunday Mercury for bringing the traffic order blunder to his attention.
After I spotted your story last year, I decided to investigate my wifes case, he said. I wondered whether Solihull Council had made a mistake when it reduced the speed limit and was astonished when it admitted that it had.
West Midlands Police have now written to us to tell us the penalty has been cancelled. The points will be wiped off the licence and the fine repaid.
But many other drivers may have been similarly affected and some may have lost their job after being disqualified under the totting-up procedure.
When our reporter contacted the council, a spokesman said the Silcock victory did not change a thing.
Nothing has changed from our point of view, he said. We take the view that, since 1988, there has always been a 30 mph order in force on this road.
We feel that anyone convicted for doing more than 30 mph has been properly convicted. It is a matter for the courts to decide if that is not the position.
He added that the council was in the process of making a new order for the road to remedy the irregularity.
Jonathan Walker, a solicitor with Birmingham firm Challinors Lyon Clark, helped the Silcock appeal which, he said, could open the floodgates for similar claims.
A number of other people will have been convicted for exceeding the 30 mph limit on this road, he added. I would advise anyone who thinks they have a case to seek legal advice.
John Dean, of the Association of British Drivers, said: This is a warning shot across the bows of councils to make sure they operate within the law.
Collecting fines from motorists is easy money and in the rush to reap the rewards they are forgetting to take account of all the legal requirements. paul_malley@mrn.co.uk
