Can You Challenge an SP30 Fine Successfully?

Motoring offences are categorised under specific endorsement codes, which are recorded on your driving licence if you are convicted. One of the most common is the SP30, which relates specifically to speeding offences. If you are caught driving above the speed limit and plead guilty to a Fixed Penalty Notice, you may receive an SP30 endorsement on your licence along with a £100 fine.

This is the standard penalty for driving offences, although it is not the only option. You may be offered the option to attend a speed awareness course and, if you agree, you will not receive an SP30 endorsement. For serious offences, you may receive a court summons and be asked to defend your actions at a court hearing, which can lead to more significant penalties.

You also have the option to reject the Fixed Penalty Notice and attend court, if you believe that you were not speeding when the alleged offence was committed or believe that the punishment you have received is unfair. 

Here, the expert motoring offence solicitors at JMW explain when you might receive an SP30 endorsement, how fines can be challenged at a court hearing, the reasons why you might wish to challenge the penalty points you have received, and why professional legal advice is vital to your case.

What Is an SP30?

There are a range of speeding offences that can result in an endorsement on your licence. An SP30 endorsement applies when a driver is caught exceeding the statutory speed limit on a public road. This differs from the SP40 offence, for example, which applies when exceeding the passenger vehicle speed limit, or motorway offences covered by SP50.

The police have a certain degree of discretion on when to charge someone with speeding, and will often apply the National Police Chiefs' Council recommendation of only charging a driver whose speed exceeds the speed limit by 10% + 2 mph. However, you can be issued a speeding ticket for exceeding the limit by even 1 mph, and this may result in an SP30.

Is an SP30 the Same as a Fixed Penalty Notice?

If you have been caught speeding, you (or the registered keeper of the vehicle involved) will usually receive a Notice of Intended Prosecution (‘NIP’) and be asked to identify who was driving the vehicle at the time of the alleged offence. Following this, you will receive a Fixed Penalty Notice (‘FPN’), which outlines your legal options. This is not the same as the SP30, which is the code for the endorsement (penalty points) that will be applied to your driving licence if you plead guilty or are convicted.

A Fixed Penalty Notice will usually offer:

• Three penalty points on your licence. If you are asked to make a court appearance, the number of penalty points can increase based on the seriousness of the offence committed.
• A fine. This may be a standard £100 fine for driving on a public road. If you are convicted in court, the fine will be calculated as a percentage of your weekly income, subject to minimum and maximum limits.

If you accept these penalties, the SP30 endorsement code will be added to your licence. This endorsement remains on your licence for four years from the date of the offence (active for 3). Having this conviction may increase insurance premiums and affect your eligibility for certain employment opportunities, especially those that demand a clean driving record, until the points expire.

Can You Challenge an SP30?

It is possible to challenge an SP30, but you are only likely to be successful in specific circumstances. Speeding is usually a strict liability offence, meaning that the police only need to prove that you were exceeding the limit, not that you intended to exceed it. However, there are certain situations where a challenge may be valid, and you should seek specialist legal advice if you believe you have grounds to overturn a speeding ticket. Valid grounds to do so include:

• Incorrect speed limit signage: If road signs were missing, obscured or did not comply with regulations, you may be able to argue that you were not adequately informed of the speed restriction.
• Faulty or misused speed detection equipment: Speed cameras, radar guns and related devices must be properly calibrated and operated. If there is evidence that they were faulty or incorrectly used, the reading could be challenged.
• Mistaken identity or vehicle issues: If you were not driving the car at the time, or if the vehicle was misidentified (for example, in cases of cloned number plates), you may be able to contest the charge.
• Procedural errors: The police must follow strict procedures when issuing speeding tickets. If notices were not served correctly, or evidence was mishandled, this could provide a defence.

A speeding offences solicitor can offer expert advice on your options and help to collect compelling evidence that will give you the best chance of successfully challenging an SP30 endorsement. This can help you to avoid receiving points on your driving licence and the associated fine.

If you challenge the fine, you will need to go to court. Those who are unsuccessful in challenging a ticket or defending allegations of a speeding offence typically have stronger sentences imposed by the court than are offered by a Fixed Penalty Notice. If the court convicts you in these cases, you will still receive an SP30 endorsement alongside a higher fine and more penalty points.

Why Challenge an SP30?

Given the risk of challenging penalty points in court, it may not seem worthwhile to do so. Whether you are issued a fine or offered a speed awareness course, you will have to pay £80-£100, so there is no way to escape the financial impact of a speeding offence.

Each SP30 comes with at least three points on your licence that do not expire for four years. If you accumulate 12 points in any three-year period, this results in an immediate driving ban. This is typically referred to as a totting up ban, as it results from penalty points accumulating over time. Although points that are more than three years old still appear on your driving record, they cannot contribute to you being banned from driving through a totting up ban.

If you receive more than six points on your licence within the first two years of driving, you will have your licence revoked. This means you will have to reapply for a provisional licence, and pass a new driving test, before you can legally drive again. Therefore, if you have legal grounds to challenge a conviction in court, it can be worthwhile to do so, but you should seek legal advice before going ahead.