REMEMBER WHEN

GOLD COAST BULLETIN Thursday, March 30, 2006

A PENSIONER who successfully took on the Queensland Police Service to contest a speed camera ticket urged others to fight “Big Brother”.

Mermaid Waters grandfather Craig Hannon Webb, 65, denied doing 76km/h in a 60km/h zone in Ashmore Road, Bundall, on June 2, 2006.

So he represented himself and appealed against the $135 ticket and three demerit-point loss in Southport Magistrates Court and, much to his surprise, he won.

After the three-hour summary trial, Magistrate Dermot Kehoe found him not guilty of exceeding the speed limit.

Outside court Mr Webb, a retired farmer, said he had thought the odds were stacked against him and believed the magistrate would have sided with police.

‘‘I didn’t expect that (the not guilty verdict) after he (Mr Kehoe) did say I had a case to answer,’’ he said.

‘‘But that is a relief and it was worth the fight. I thought I would be made to pay court costs if I lost.’’

In court, Mr Kehoe said he had reasonable doubt the speed camera had been set up correctly.

Mr Webb had denied speeding and argued the speed camera unit was not set up according to correct standards because it was near a steel fence, reflective road signs and tall buildings that could have affected the radar.

He said the camera was also set up about six lanes away from his car and it was possible the radar picked up the speed of a car moving in the opposite direction but only photographed his car.