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Case is dropped over speed camera doubts
Published on 02/02/2007

A BIKER escaped having points slapped on his licence after he challenged the accuracy of speed cameras.

Keith Hechle, of Sloop Street, Barrow, was clocked doing 37mph on Salthouse Road — a 30mph zone — on July 1.

Only a week before, the 34-year-old was caught doing 44mph on the same road.

A surprised Mr Hechle accepted this speeding charge and later took his Yamaha bike to a garage to have the speedometer checked.

But when he received the second charge of driving at 37mph, Mr Hechle was sure it was wrong and decided to challenge the accuracy of the speed camera in court.

He told the Evening Mail: “I had read in the press that speed cameras are not tested on bikes.

“I knew I wasn’t speeding so I pleaded not guilty and challenged the charge.

“I asked the prosecution to provide calibration certificates showing the camera has been approved by the Home Office, which would prove the camera was working properly. But they couldn’t do it and the charge was dropped.

“It was up to me to prove my innocence.

“ I’m glad that justice has been done.

“I hope lots of other bikers stick to their guns as this shows challenging can work.”

Mr Hechle was due to appear before Furness Magistrates’ Court on Monday but the case has since been dropped.

In a letter to Mr Hechle, prosecutor Mr David Mellor said “there is not enough evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction”.

The case comes weeks after magazine Motorcycle News launched a petition to freeze all speeding fines against motorcyclists until the Home Office test speed cameras on bikes, which are difficult targets. The government said no to the petition.

But in a response to a Freedom of Information request made in September, the Home Office admitted: “We have not carried out tests specifically on motorcycles to establish separate operating criteria for their measurement.”

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