Multiple speeding fines in the same location - Can I challenge them?

Receiving more than one speeding penalty from one location during what was effectively a single journey can lead to uncertainty. You may wonder whether there has been a mistake, or whether you are being unfairly punished twice for one incident. Many people wonder whether it is even legal to be charged with two road traffic offences arising from the same incident. In fact, it is usually not possible to be charged twice and you can often challenge the decision.

Section 28 of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 offers a key protection: where two or more offences are committed on the "same occasion", a court can endorse only one set of penalty points rather than adding a set for each conviction. This applies even if the convictions occur at separate times, provided the alleged offences occurred on the same occasion.

However, the question of whether offences happened on the same occasion is especially relevant to a defence for multiple speeding fines. "Same location", "same occasion" and other phrases do not have a strict legal definition, and the offences need not have happened simultaneously to count, although they must be linked. An experienced motoring lawyer can advise you on whether two speeding offences amount to one occasion and argue your position during court proceedings to deliver the best possible result.

JMW's expert motoring offence solicitors defend drivers across England and Wales, and our speeding offences team can advise you on what to expect if you defend a conviction in court, and the steps you should take if you are concerned about losing your licence. Here, we outline how the law treats multiple speeding offences committed during the same journey and when and how you can challenge speed camera evidence.

What Happens if You Are Caught Speeding Twice on One Occasion?

The starting point for anyone caught speeding more than once on one trip is section 28 of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988. This provision deals with how penalty points are attributed when a driver is convicted of two or more offences committed on the same occasion, and it states: "Where a person is convicted (whether on the same occasion or not) of two or more offences committed on the same occasion and involving obligatory endorsement, the total number of penalty points to be attributed to them is the number or highest number that would be attributed on a conviction of one of them."

In plain terms, this means that a second offence from the same occasion does not automatically attract its own separate set of points; the court works as though only one offence was committed and only applies the highest number of points. If a conviction for the second offence occurs later, the amount of points that can be endorsed will be restricted so that the maximum number of points is not exceeded. For a driver who already holds points on their licence, that difference can be the line between keeping a licence and losing it.

With this said, the protection is not automatic and the court has some discretion to decide how it should be applied. The law allows the court to decide that the offences should be treated separately, where it believes this is relevant. Further, the question of whether separate road traffic offences can be deemed to arise on the "same occasion" is one for the magistrates to determine based on evidence regarding the timing and context of the driving offences.

However, it is vital to challenge multiple offences in court to have them treated as a single occasion. If you receive and plead guilty to two Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs), you will receive both sets of points without any intervention by the court. This can lead to an automatic driving ban and other penalties, so it is vital to seek legal advice at your earliest opportunity if you find yourself in this position.

Can You Receive Multiple Notices for One Journey?

Not all circumstances will be considered a single occasion, and you can receive more than one speeding notice even for a single journey if the court does not view it as one occasion. The courts have indicated that "same occasion" does not simply mean a single continuous course of driving, so being caught on the same road during one journey is relevant evidence rather than a guaranteed result.

For example, on many UK motorways, several cameras sit along a stretch of road at periodic intervals. This means that a few minutes of driving above the speed limit on restricted roads can produce two or more separate detections in the same day. Even if these occur during the same period of time, they may not constitute a single occasion but represent sustained speeding across a journey.

Each detection can produce a Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP), a formal warning that the police send when they intend to prosecute. This is typically followed by a Fixed Penalty Notice or a requirement to attend court. If your journey crosses from one police force area into another, you may even receive separate prosecutions from the two forces.

If this happens, there may still be an opportunity to defend the tickets or push for the incidents to be viewed as a single occasion, with the support of an experienced solicitor. At JMW, we will work to prove that multiple offences constituted a single "occasion" under the law, to reduce the number of points you receive.

How to Respond to Charges for Multiple Driving Offences from the Same Journey

If you are caught speeding by a camera, the police must serve a Notice of Intended Prosecution on the driver or the registered keeper of the car within 14 days of the alleged offence. Alongside the NIP, you will receive a section 172 notice requiring you to identify the driver, which you must return within 28 days. Failing to provide the driver's details is itself an offence and can carry additional penalty points beyond anything attached to the speeding allegation.

When two notices are sent based on one journey, each notice is a separate matter on paper even where the driving was continuous. You should keep every document, and maintain detailed records of all correspondence about each Notice of Intended Prosecution, including anything sent or received by post. Note the dates of service and the camera locations and check that each Notice of Intended Prosecution reached you within the 14-day window. Any irregularities in police procedure can be used in your defence, and this evidence will be key to demonstrating this.

Once the police know who was driving, they will decide whether to issue a fixed penalty, offer a speed awareness course where you are eligible, or send the case to court. You also have the option to defend your case in court if you receive an FPN, and this is often worthwhile in cases of multiple speeding tickets during a single stretch of road.

If you receive an FPN (or one FPN for each offence), you have the option to either accept them or challenge them. Accepting the fixed penalty for each offence is risky where multiple notices arise from one journey, because this means accepting each set of points cumulatively and losing any chance for the court to apply section 28. For a driver with a clean licence, accepting a fixed penalty (or a speed awareness course where offered) may be the advisable route, but this is rarely the case with multiple penalties.

The second option is to decline the fixed penalties and choose a court hearing. At the hearing you will argue that the court should treat the two offences as having been committed on the same occasion, and either defend your actions or plead guilty and ask the court to endorse only one set of points. It is important to bear in mind that the court can impose a higher penalty than a fixed penalty would have, and on the facts it can still decline to treat the offences as one occasion, in which case the driver can still be prosecuted separately. As such, it is vital to consult with an experienced solicitor before taking the matter to court.

How Many Points Will I Get for Multiple Offences?

Being caught speeding twice may result in higher penalties and can act as an aggravating factor, especially where the matters are treated as separate. A speeding conviction carries at least three points and up to six penalty points, or a disqualification for the more serious cases, together with an unlimited fine on conviction. For convictions that are treated as one offence by the court, this means you will receive a maximum of six points even if you initially receive multiple speeding tickets.

This is one reason why working with an experienced solicitor to have the tickets treated as the same occasion is vital. Totting up provisions mean that a driver who accumulates 12 or more penalty points within three years faces a mandatory disqualification of at least six months, or longer if you have been disqualified before. Two offences that are charged separately could result in 12 points altogether, which would result in an immediate ban.

New drivers face a stricter totting up rule. If you reach six or more points within two years of passing your first practical driving test, the DVLA revokes your driving licence automatically, and you must re-apply for a provisional licence and re-sit both the theory and practical parts of the driving test.

A driver close to 12 points, or a new driver near six, can be tipped over the edge by a single extra set of points, but keeping the endorsement to a single set of points, or successfully defending the allegation, are two key ways to protect the driving licence.

Are Multiple Speeding Offences an Aggravating Factor?

Where offences are genuinely committed on separate occasions, on different days or different journeys, they are treated as distinct matters and each can attract its own penalty points. As such, if you are convicted of one offence first, this may constitute a previous conviction for the purposes of the second, which may be highlighted as an aggravating factor. This means that, for example, if you are caught speeding twice in a week on separate occasions, that may result in higher penalties.

If offences are deemed to have been committed on the same occasion, section 28 points the court toward a single set of points and the number of notices alone does not automatically aggravate your position. As such, it depends whether magistrates determine that a set of detections by a speed camera is one linked occasion or a series of separate incidents.

How JMW Solicitors Supports You

At JMW, our expert motoring offence solicitors understand how much your ability to drive can matter to your work, your family and your daily life. We understand the anxiety of receiving multiple speeding penalties from a single journey and will work to protect your licence wherever possible, whether by defending the underlying offences or arguing the "same-occasion" point where the facts support it, to encourage the court to endorse only one set of penalty points.

We defend drivers across England and Wales and are recognised by The Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners for our motoring and criminal work. Our experts will review every notice you have received, advise you on whether to accept a fixed penalty or elect to defend yourself in a speeding offences court hearing. Where totting up is a prospect, we prepare an exceptional hardship argument, taking any aggravating features into account.