Faulty Speedometers & the law

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

Exactly, ignorance is not an excuse. Not knowing about something doesn't make you exempt from the consequences.

 

[SV6_stormrider]

so far no speeding fine in the mail...been about a month now. readings still vary by about 5km either way but not as bad as before. anyway, looking to get rid of the car soon & replace it with a 2nd hand Monaro CV8-Z

 

[atuclb]

What a load of crap! In NSW all traffic offences are strict liability meaning there is no mensrea component to them. Hence if you exceed the speed limit you are guilty of an offence, whether you knew you were doing it or not. You might get some leniency from the magistrate but you won't get off.

Even if he does go to court, whats he going to do? Subpeona the person who checked the speedo to give evidence that there was nothing wrong with it when he checked it!!!

Correct, there is no need to prove that the person knew that they were speeding. The offence of speed can be committed and you are guilty even if you thought that you were not.

Strange thing is that a non working speedo is not defectable!

 

[policehoon]

Correct, there is no need to prove that the person knew that they were speeding. The offence of speed can be committed and you are guilty even if you thought that you were not.

Strange thing is that a non working speedo is not defectable!

I didnt say that we had to prove if the offending driver knew he was speeding, just that the offending driver has to prove to the magistrates court that he was not.

As my last post said 20 kilometres over the speed limit, I seriously doubt he could prove he was not.

 

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

Strange thing is that a non working speedo is not defectable!

It is in WA.

 

[satos]

As the previous posters have said you are responsible for the road worthiness of your vehicle and that includes the speedometer being out of calibration.
Ignorance as an excuse will not hold up in court.

 

[1991_Vn2nV]

It is in WA.

And SA. It is an ADR requirement that the speedo be within 10% accuracy so it is in fact defectable nation wide.

 

[Exidor]

Quite a few years ago now, the then Victorian Police Commisioner
said publicly the police would give you a margin of 10% plus 3 kph
over the posted speed limit.
Fast forward to the 21st century and the 'Safety Camera' and the 'Speed Kills'
mentality (we should all be dead!).
You now have to keep one eye on the speedo and one eye on the road which
is not possible.
What the margin is now? One can only guess it's much lower!
I'll stop my rant now!

 

[HoldenOnn]

It is an ADR requirement that speedos be within 10% accuracy...that is correct. But this is only from the factory. After it has left the factory and been sold off the dealer showroom floor, the responsibilty is then with the owner of the vehicle.

Just like maintaining a car with roadworthy tyres, lights that work correctly etc, its up to the owner to make sure that his or her speedo is accurate. In previous years it was harder and more costly to check speedometers. It could have been done with a vehicle dyno, or at a police checkpoint every so often when they would put up a speed checking sign with a radar.

But now, there is no excuse with the price of GPS units that give you an accurate speed reading, plus alot of phones even come with a GPS which is another method of checking.

As with anything on a car, it is all up to the owner to maintain and check and make sure everything is working as it should and in roadworthy condition. Nothing is failsafe and we can't expect things to work perfectly throughout their lifespan.

 

[policehoon]

As the previous posters have said you are responsible for the road worthiness of your vehicle and that includes the speedometer being out of calibration.
Ignorance as an excuse will not hold up in court.

Ignorance as a defence will not hold up in court but "Mistake of fact" will.

Has it been used in court to get out of a speeding fine???????.

I have not read any case law to say it has been used to acquit the offending driver.