UK Abrogates '5th Amendment' Over Speeding Tickets

They say that the American Revolution was ignited over a piddling few pence tax upon tea, or stamps on papers or some such, but this story is further evidence that Britain is descending into outright fascism.

Turns out that laws to do with the notorious highway cameras, and their application toward catching speeders has a problem: identifying the drivers.

See, since a camera records the speed without human supervision, a car caught speeding is brought to court without any human witnesses to the violation, ergo nobody can testify against the accused.

Secondly, determining who IS the accused can often be a problem, particularly at night or in clement weather. Seeing as how there is a lack of a human accuser, car owners brought to court based on photos of license tags have resorted to refusing to identify who was driving, i.e. 'taking the fifth' as we say here in the US. While Britain doesn't have a Constitution like ours, our 5th Amendment is based on a long established English common law right against self incrimination.

The state has thus fined car owners for refusing to testify, a violation of their right to not speak.

Paul Smith, founder of the Safe Speed road safety campaign said: "Despite rapidly mounting evidence that speed cameras have proved to be a deadly mistake, government appears to be incapable of seeing the damage that's being done."

He went on: "The so-called 'right to silence' is ancient and worthy. I am certain that speed cameras have made our roads considerably more dangerous by diverting attention from more important safety factors."

A Department of Transport spokesman said: "The UK Government does not accept this claim and is vigorously defending this case. We are confident of its defence, which has been upheld in the UK courts."

We shall be watching.