Instructions for Speed Camera/Radar Infringement

Notices

More and more people are becoming victims of those revenue raising
devices that have become a cash bonanza for the State Government. Whilst
most would agree that dangerous behavior on our roads is unacceptable for
our community, there exists a perception in the minds of the public at large
that speed cameras and radar guns are more about raising revenue than
about road safety.
Those who would see this approach to thwart infringement notices and
fines as a somehow morally wrong course of action, are asked to consider
the following points:
1. All law enforcement agencies in the State of Victoria must comply with
all of the laws of the Commonwealth.
2. The Commonwealth Constitution states in Covering Clause 5, ‘This Act,
and all laws made by the Parliament of the Commonwealth under the
Constitution, shall be binding on the courts, judges, and people of every
State and of every part of the Commonwealth, notwithstanding
anything in the laws of any State.’
3. Section 109 of the Commonwealth Constitution says, ‘When a law of a
State is inconsistent with a law of the Commonwealth, the latter shall
prevail, and the former shall, to the extent of the inconsistency, be
invalid.’
4. The Commonwealth Act for regulating and enforcing compliance with
respect to legal metrology is the National Measurements Act 1960
(Cwth).
5. Legal metrology is defined as taking measurements for ‘any legal
purpose’.
6. To date, speed cameras and radars do not conform to the National
Measurements Act 1960 (Section 10) in respect of calibration, testing or
pattern approval.
7. Victoria Police refer to Section 83 of the Road Safety Act 1986 (Vic) when
questioned about testing and calibration of the speed detection devices.
The Section refers to the device being tested or sealed in the prescribed
manner. The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology is the testing
body in respect of these devices for Victoria Police. The RMIT are not an
accredited testing authority in accordance with the National
Measurements Act 1960 (Cwth).
8. If the Victoria Police is acting within the law in regard to their operation
of speed cameras and radars, they should be able to easily verify their
claim and produce documentary evidence to substantiate that claim.
9. If the Victoria Police is not operating within the law in regard to their
operation of speed cameras and radars, then they are perpetrating a
fraud upon the people of Victoria on a massive scale.
 Instructions for Speed Camera/Radar Infringement Notices

10. It is reasonable to request that anyone who makes a claim on you that
involves a fine or forfeiture, verify that they have a lawful right to make
the claim by producing appropriate proof of claim, usually by sworn
affidavit and supporting documentation.
11. Itis not reasonable that anyone, upon asked for proof of claim, should
refuse or ignore such a request, and continue to demand compliance
with their unsubstantiated claim. To attempt to do so offends all basic
principles of equity and fairness.
The response letters accompanying this letter are designed to assist you to
require those who would come at you with a claim requiring a fine or
forfeiture from you, to provide specific proof of claim. It follows that if the
claimant is unable to provide any proof of claim that they are acting in
accordance with the laws of the Commonwealth, then they are in agreement
with the reasonable terms and conditions placed before them. The default to
your request is acquiescence. Webster’s Dictionary defines acquiescence
thus: to accede, agree, consent, submit, yield, comply, concur, and conform.
We do not offer a bullet proof guarantee that you will walk away every time
unscathed. Much depends on how you handle each individual set of
circumstances.
There is a maxim of law that says that he who leaves the battlefield first
loses. In many cases we are finding that those who bring these
infringements are choosing to leave the field of battle when up against the
task of proving their claim.

First Letter – Conditional Acceptance

Remember that it is important to respond to their demands/notices in a
timely manner.
The first letter that your send back in response makes a point of not entering
into argument. The claimant may prefer to get you into court to argue your
case before a magistrate. You are not seeking to get into argument here, or
to go into court.
What you are doing is conditionally accepting their claim in relation to the
infringement notice.
The condition upon which you will accept the claim and pay the fine is their
verification or proof of claim. It is your right to ask for it. It is their
reasonable duty to provide it.
Fill in the fields with your details
Fill out the blue and red fields with your own details and those of the officer
making the claim. If your Notice has come from a collection agency such as
Civic Compliance Victoria, then insert their details as well.
You may need to find the postal address of the place of work of the sender,
e.g. Smithville Traffic Management Unit, 1 Copper Street, Smithville VIC
3333. Click on ‘Edit’, and then from the scroll down menu click on ‘Select
All’; then click on the ‘Font Colour’ button on your toolbar at the top of the

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 Instructions for Speed Camera/Radar Infringement Notices

screen and select ‘Automatic’ to change all the text to black. Don’t forget to
save your copy to your hard drive and then print out your letter.
Make three Copies of your signed letter and send the original by Registered
mail with a return signed receipt slip attached to the envelope (ask your
post office).

Possible Responses & Actions You Should Take

If you receive a phone call

Some people have received phone calls from Victoria Police after
sending the first letter. Be courteous but firm in advising the caller
that you will respond to any enquiry they may have in writing. Ask
them to please put their question in writing and mail it to you. Do not
enter into any verbal discussion about the matter, or attempt to tell
the Police that they are acting unlawfully etc. It is important to avoid
the temptation to make your point or get into argument. That may
negate everything you have done and you could end up in court
wondering what happened.

If you receive another notice

You may receive another notice or warning whilst you are waiting for
the 28 days to elapse. This may be from another agency, like Civic
Compliance Victoria or the Perin Court. Send them a copy of the
Conditional Acceptance Letter with a note saying that you are waiting
on proof of claim so that you may proceed and pay the fine.

Clarification Letter
You may receive a letter stating that a review has been undertaken and
containing statements such as:
I am satisfied that the alleged offence was committed and the
issue of the notice was justified therefore my interference in this
matter is not warranted.
If you disagree with the decision, you may contest it in a
magistrate's court
Under the Infringements Act 2006 you are not entitled to make
any further applications for internal review of this infringement
notice.
If this is the case, then your first letter has been misunderstood and you
should write back, pointing out that they have not addressed your first
letter correctly.
Use this letter template and:
fillout the blue and red fields with your own details and those of the
officer who wrote to you
attach a copy of your first letter.

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 Instructions for Speed Camera/Radar Infringement Notices

Make three Copies of your signed letter and send the original by Registered
mail with a return signed receipt slip attached to the envelope (ask your
post office).

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Second Letter – Default Notice

After 28 days have elapsed, fill out the coloured fields in the Default Notice
with the appropriate details, have the letter witnessed by a Justice of the
Peace, make three copies and send the original signed and witnessed copy
by registered mail as you did with the first letter.
You will notice that the last paragraph of the Notice says; ‘Wherefore I now,
in the presence of a Justice of the Peace, acknowledge and accept the default
by Senior Constable Iva Gunn and VICTORIA POLICE as agreement,
settlement and closure between the parties.’
Remember that the only way that the Police Officer and Victoria Police can
not enter into this agreement with you is by supplying the sworn affidavit
and document/s supporting their claim within the 28 day time period. To
acquiesce is to accept.

Third Letter – Notice of Private Settlement Agreement

You will notice that this Notice is addressed to the claimant together with
other relevant parties. Fill in the address field of the court nearest you. Have
two people witness your Notice. Make three copies. This Notice and copies
of the first two letters are now sent to the claimant and to any other
relevant entities (Police Commissioner, Police Ombudsman etc.) to establish
witnesses to the Private Settlement Agreement. They now become witness
to the private settlement.
An extra optional action that you may take is to have your Notice of Private
Settlement Agreement published in a newspaper. This certainly puts the
Notice plainly in the public domain.
You now have established an un-rebuttable paper trail that is a matter of
public record. In all likelihood, the infringement will be dropped and the
matter will quietly fizzle away. If however, you do find a claimant game
enough to summons you to court, you have a head start that will place you
at a tremendous advantage. Handled correctly, the charge would most
likely be quickly dismissed.
What we have here is a first line of defence in these letters that may prevent
you having to go to court. If you did happen to go to court, you have
documentary evidence, on the public record, un-rebutted, of the default by
the claimant. Behind that is the vast wall of factual evidence that can be
used to defeat the claim that Victoria Police are acting in accordance with all
of the laws of the Commonwealth in respect of speed detection devices.

Further assistance
For further assistance send an email to speedcamerakit@yahoo.com.au

Disclaimer:

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This letter is not intended to constitute legal advice. Individual

circumstances may vary and require specific legal advice from a qualified
legal practitioner.

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