Human Rights at Pedestrian Speed

Two seasoned Campaigners, Idris Francis from West Meon Hampshire and Gerard O'Halloran from London, claim that requiring car owners to reveal details of who was driving a vehicle caught speeding on so called roadside speed 'safty' camera is a breach of their right to silence.

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The Human rights group Liberty is backing two motorists in the European Court of Human Rights after the UK domestic courts rejected their arguments. The case essentially concerns the requirement for vehicle keepers to identify the driver of a vehicle identified on a speed camera.

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The applicants to the action claim this requirement breaches the right against self-incrimination and thereby their right to a fair trial under the European Convention on Human Rights.

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The case has the support of the Safe Speed road safety campaign, which believes cameras can divert motorists' attention away from the roads.

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"The so-called 'right to silence' is ancient and worthy," Safe Speed founder Paul Smith said in a recent press realease adding: "It was a severe blow to British justice when it was undermined for the sake of nothing more than needless mass prosecutions by speed camera."

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The court's ruling on section 172 of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 will procced at a pedestrian speed. A jundgement is not expected untill the Spring of next year.
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Needles to say The UK Government does not accept this claim, well there is an awfaul lot of income at stake !