I had to attend magistrates last year (May 17) for doing 42 in a 30mph zone in August 2016. I had not recieved any previous corespondence (as far as I was aware) so was unaware of the incident until I recieved the 'notice of endorsement of driving record' - a £800+ fine and 6 points. I put in a statutory declaration explaining I had recieved no prior corespondence and I was given a new hearing (speaking to a solicitor friend a year after he said I should have requested a complete 'reset' and requested the initial fixed penalty notice as I hadn't been aware of the incident at all). Anyway in court I explained that on that particular day I was driving to work to a new place and was unfamiliar with the road, I had previously driven on it years ago and the speed limit back then was 40mph, it's one of these roads where the speed limit changes from 50 to 30 back to 50 again as you pass by residential areas. I explained I wasn't speeding on purpose, and that I was always used to it being 40 on that section of the road. Plus it was early morning and I was going through a rough period at the time. Regardless I was still fined £400 and given 6 points. Speaking to a friend recently, he said I was treated extremely harshly as 42 is just bordering on Band B (under the new rules), and even then the judges had leeway as you could argue that the speed cameras have a margin of error +/-2mph, so I could well have been within Band A. Also Band B denotes 4-6 points, and a minimum fine of £100, given the circumstances he said I should have been shown some leeway and been handed the minimum fine. I just want some advice regarding this and whether I can appeal given the timescale.
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