| The man, who did not wish to be named, says at the very least the minor offence will end up costing him around £500 as he now has to travel to London to plead his case for a visa at the American Embassy.
“I’m worried they might not give me a visa at all just because of a driving offence,” said the man, who lives with his wife and two boys aged nine and seven, in the Douglas area.
“I was on the M60 near Penrith when I got flashed by the camera,” he said. “It was reduced to 40 mph because of roadworks, but it was a Sunday, nobody was working, the road was really quiet and I didn’t really notice my speed.
“I pleaded guilty by letter and asked the magistrate not to impose penalty points because I was worried I might not be able to hire a car in America, so he fined me £160 and banned me for 21 days instead.
“Because of the conviction, I have to travel down to the embassy in London where I’ve been told it’ll probably take four hours. I’m going to fly down from Dundee, that costs £127, there’ll be B&B costs plus the tube fares, and I’ll have to take a couple of days off my work.
“The whole thing could cost me about £500.
“I can sympathise with the Americans about terrorists after what happened to them, but it’s not as if I’ve served a prison sentence. I really think it’s over the top.”
The man has contacted Dundee East MP Iain Luke.
Mr Luke said, “I have had discussions with this gentleman and gave him the embassy hotline number.
“Because of his conviction, he will require a visa but because these things are dealt with on a case-to-case basis it’s very difficult to predict the outcome of a hearing.
“I’m hoping there shouldn’t be too much of a problem for him because he hasn’t breached any visa waiver rules.
“There is a certain amount of leeway with on-the-spot fines, but if anybody is charged and has to go to court, then they must apply for a visa.”
Mr Luke’s constituency assistant Emma Thomson also had some good news for people with speed camera fixed-penalty convictions after clarifying the situation with the American Consular’s office. “If you have been flashed by a speed camera and received a fixed-penalty, and even points on your licence, without having had to go to court, then it’s not classed as a conviction by the American authorities,” she said.
“In that case you don’t have to apply for a visa.
“However, if you have to go to court, even if you’re found not guilty, then it’s a grey area and people should contact the consular by e.mail to get individual rulings.
“A reply will be sent within two or three working days if people contact them on londonconsular@state.gov. |
