9:21am Wednesday 13th August 2008
By Dan Goater
DRIVERS wrongfully punished for speeding could be due for half a million pounds in payouts, a motoring law expert claimed.
This follows magistrates overturning three speeding convictions a woman received in 2007 after driving through Chideock.
Barrister Joseph Kotrie-Monson, who is pushing for a judical review on the issue, said: "The Dorset Safety Camera Partnership, as the public body administering fines, could be responsible for paying out something like half a million pounds in fines and court costs.
"And of course it is local tax payers that will ultimately be coming up with the money."
His comments came after Kathleen Wallis, 56, appeared before the Weymouth court with nine points on her licence from speeding' convictions.
Simon Brimacombe, representing her, told magistrates her case followed an earlier hearing at Dorchester Crown Court at which it was ruled that speeding legislation in Chideock was flawed when she was punished.
The crown court ruled that because the road was referred to as Seatown Road', rather than the correct name of Duck Street in legislation, that speeding convictions from there were technically unlawful.
Mr Brimacombe said Wallis, of Barnslose Mead, Dulverton, Somerset, was banned under the totting up' procedure after speeding' three times in February and April 2006.
Prosecutor Anita Gibson-Lee asked magistrates to reopen the case and immediately dismiss it, which they did.
Wallis heard the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) would be informed that nine points should be removed from her licence.
Mr Brimacombe was told legal and travel costs incurred by Wallis during those cases could be refunded, but other claims - such as loss of earnings - would require an application to the Dorset Safety Camera Partnership.
Following the Wallis case, a spokesman for the partnership said there was no further update' regarding compensation for wrongfully convicted motorists, but that it was working with government departments to try to resolve the issue.
Commenting on the situation, Mr Kotrie-Monson, head of motoring law for Mary Monson Solicitors in Manchester, said people who paid fixed penalty notices rather than go to court could be in line for their money back as well as those who paid court fines.
He said: "This mistake could have caused tens of thousands of pounds worth of damage to people's lives.
"We're in contact with around 40 people who wrongly paid penalty charges.
"When we get that figure to between 50 or 60 people we will effectively be in a position to launch an action that could lead to a judicial review.
"I expect to make a loss in doing so but I think it's very important to do because it's a scandal."
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