Pulled for speeding and two other offences

[Maz]

Don’t you just hate undercover police…? I can understand there is a lot more of them about at this time of year but not very happy that my clean licence of 15 years is about to be tarnished.

So I get pulled for the following in this order as they were tailing me for about 5 mins or so.

Driving without due care and attention (this takes the mick as I had to change lanes quickly to miss a chav on his push-bike jumping the lights and I didn’t indicate)

50mph in 30mph (fair enough but the dual carriageway was visible and I had a clear run ahead of me)

No seat belt

How I did not see them in an unmarked BMW 5 series estate is beyond me but to be fair it looked like a tired old dirty mile muncher and it wasn’t until I was in the back seat that the M5 sign on the sills said HELLO…

To tell you the truth I was expecting a telling off rather than “that’s the worst piece of driving I’ve ever seen in my life and you will definitely be making an appearance in court”… WTF!!!

Any ideas what fine and points damage I’ve got to look forward to in 2008?

Wishing all a happy new year, and remember to drive carefully and wear your seatbelt at all times

 

[AndyMac]

Ouch! Probably 6 points and the fine will depend on your financial circumstances usually in the region of £300-£400.

 

[S3 chj]

not looking good my friend my old man works in a garage that fixes all the cop cars (south wales way) you would be shocked to here what cars they use, some of them got 4-5 diffrent plates

 

[dan.obi]

not looking good my friend my old man works in a garage that fixes all the cop cars (south wales way) you would be shocked to here what cars they use, some of them got 4-5 diffrent plates

are they aloud to use different plates, sneeky C**Ts,

Maz bad luck mate hope you don't come off to bad and just walk away with a slap on the wrist, i doubt it very much but stranger things can happen

 

[grathies]

Their ******* mate, I got nabbed doing 40 in a 30, cant find my licence so had to go to court, got that in January, gonna be a right laugh I can tell

Worse part was that was on a quiet country road at 10pm on a friday night.... in town shortly after that my mate got kicked the crap outta by some lads, no police! No wonder, there were 5 of them and 3 cars catching people at 10mph over the limit!

 

[Nickynibbles]

Sorry mate but i've got little sympathy in reality for you. Looks like you proved the reason why that road is a 30 not a 50 limit when you had to swerve to miss a cyclist, its obviously an urban area with cyclists & pedestrians likely to be about! Also driving with no belt on is just plain stupid, not just illegal! Is it that your licence is as yet untarnished due to not being caught rather than an otherwise law abiding driving style?

Of cause I agree there's plenty of better things the police can be doing with their time, but we all know they're out in force at this time of year so why do people still break the law? Im sorry that you were caught and likely to suffer fines & points, but I cant offer sympathy.

 

[Issac Hunt]

^^ Agreed. I have nine points and not a single complaint! Each time I was caught I was breaking the law!!

Not really sure what you expect the police to do when they find you travelling at 50 in a 30 without wearing a seatbelt?

As the old saying goes, if you cant do the time then dont do the crime.

 

[marriedblonde]

I agree also, I've been stopped a fair few times and given points and I can't argue with any of them.

It's a pain in the backside but you only have one person to blaim.

J.

 

[Maz]

I was wondering when the ASN do-gooders were going to have a pop… Not after sympathy chaps I know I did wrong. I just wanted to find out the costs and pts implications because they didn’t tell me anything in the car and I have been a good boy all these years so don’t know what to expect.

Yes, I chose not to wear a seatbelt and I did put my foot down and will unfortunately have to face the consequences but had it been a regular plod car tailing me I wouldn’t be in this situation right now.

Let’s be realistic, most of us with decent cars do not stick to the speed limit all the time. Maybe I have been lucky over the years but that’s down to me being sensible 70% of the time and unless the roads are clear there is no way I’m going to risk stacking my pride and joy for a quick adrenalin fix…

Just to clarify I was within the speed limit when I avoided hitting the bike – he jumped the lights… (Otherwise I would have been stopped straight away) I could have hit the brakes but decided to switch lanes and change up a gear, I just failed to indicate and plod didn’t like that. It wasn’t until the next set of traffic lights about 200-300 metres ahead when I had a front row grid position and a clear run ahead of me…

…I still haven’t received anything in the post yet and I was wondering how they can prove I was doing 50mph? Would they have video evidence recorded from their car or is it a case of taking their word for it??

 

[Issac Hunt]

I was wondering when the ASN do-gooders were going to have a pop… Not after sympathy chaps I know I did wrong. I just wanted to find out the costs and pts implications because they didn’t tell me anything in the car and I have been a good boy all these years so don’t know what to expect.



…I still haven’t received anything in the post yet and I was wondering how they can prove I was doing 50mph? Would they have video evidence recorded from their car or is it a case of taking their word for it??

Im not a do-gooder by any means, but you did open your post by asking us how much we hate the Police! I have enormous respect for the Police and the very difficult job that they do. Did you see the Police officer who was shot earlier today? Not a job I could do thats for sure.

With regards to your offence, 50 in 30 could result in a fine of say £200 and three or four points on your licence. I got £225 and 4 points for 48 in a 30. I guess it will depend on the mood your magistrate is in!

They may well have had video evidence in car, surprised they didnt show it to you if they did though - they showed it to me.

If they are reporting you for the offence then you wont be issued a ticket at the side if the road, you will get a summons through the post. I believe they have upto 6 months to summons you to court. They dont need video or speed/laser camera evience either, I was convicted by the simple VASCAR stopwatch system that works in conjuction with the Police car's calibrated speedo.

Good luck:icon_thumright:

 

[marriedblonde]

I was wondering when the ASN do-gooders were going to have a pop… Not after sympathy chaps I know I did wrong. I just wanted to find out the costs and pts implications because they didn’t tell me anything in the car and I have been a good boy all these years so don’t know what to expect.

I was just replying to your original post where you were bumping your gums about under cover police. Like I said in an earlier post I have been done many times for various driving offences and whilst it really pee's me off I only have myself to blaim.

Driving without due care and attention is 6-9 points, if I remember correctly, plus a fine depending on your circumstances.

Anyway good luck yu never know they may have just been trying to scare you...

J.

 

[Nickynibbles]

They normally would have a dash mounted camera on permanent record so they would have a video of everything you did. No where to hide from that sort of evidence really im afraid! With a previously unblemished record you shouldnt be too badly fined i'd imagine.

As a rule of thumb, if I see a car behind me "showing some interest" my 1st action is to check speed, followed by a good look in the mirrors for roof mounted aerials, have spotted a few unmarked cars this way!!

 

[Ess_Three]

I was wondering when the ASN do-gooders were going to have a pop…

I don't think it's a case of the do-gooders having a pop.
Getting caught is a matter of luck...but no seatbelt? That's just plain stupid, and any chance you had of getting off with a warning went right there, when you didn't bother putting it on.

Sorry mate...but you'll just have to take it.

Let’s be realistic, most of us with decent cars do not stick to the speed limit all the time. Maybe I have been lucky over the years but that’s down to me being sensible 70% of the time and unless the roads are clear there is no way I’m going to risk stacking my pride and joy for a quick adrenalin fix…

In my view...that's crap.
Most people with performance cars decide to exceed the speed limit when they feel it's acceptable to do so...personally I stick to 30s and 40s because you simply don't get off with speeding in a low limit area and get a warning.

I'll drive above the limit on a 60 or 70 road...and you increase your chances of being given a stern talking to and being let off.

I was stopped for driving on a deserted 60 limit road after two of us were followed by an unmarked Police car...I was 'observed' driving significantly over the limit (and over the instant bad limit), crossing a double white line, allegedly 'Racing on the Public highway' etc...but since the road was dry, and deserted, we both were keeping out distance, I slowed down to 40, then 30 when the limit changed, the car was legal and I had my seatbelt on...I was given a warning.

In my view...you be polite and drive squeeky clean (indicators, seat belt, lights all working, legal number plates etc) and you have a half chance...but if you flout the basics, you give them another reason to charge you.

 

[benw123]

No seat belt

You should count yourself lucky you were pulled up, Maz, because at an accident at 50mph - whether in a 30mph zone or not - would mean you wouldn't be alive to make these posts.

 

[Just Plain Old]

On the whole what ****** most people off, me included, is not so much getting done for a driving offence......... But that the Police seem incapable of doing anything about the 'real' criminals out there,,, and when they do actually manage to charge any of the scum (rather than let them off with a caution), the sentence is a invariabley a total **** take.........

 

[Issac Hunt]

On the whole what ****** most people off, me included, is not so much getting done for a driving offence......... But that the Police seem incapable of doing anything about the 'real' criminals out there,,, and when they do actually manage to charge any of the scum (rather than let them off with a caution), the sentence is a invariabley a total **** take.........

I think the fault really lies within the CPS and the criminal justice system rather than the Police themselves.

 

[AndyMac]

Targets mean police will always concentrate on "crime" that'll get a quick result, it looks good on a spreadsheet. Real crime is way too hard to solve as it invariably involves dealing with the scum of the earth. I'm not knocking the police, they are given an impossible task, made worse by the ludicrous laws protecting the criminals human rights and totally ignoring the victims. In order to cover their ***** so they don't get sued by the scum they then have to spend the majority of their time filling in reams of paperwork making actual crime solving almost impossible. Given the choice, targetting law abiding drivers with trivial motoring offences & no/minimal court time would seem to be the most efficient use of their time.

 

[benw123]

Consider as well that nabbing drivers for various offences nets a bit of cash for the government. Jeremy Clarkson once joked that speed cameras make less for the government per year than Simon Cowell pays in tax, but add on all those £60, 3-point endorsements plus the more serious offences upwards from there and there's easy money to make.

Ridding the streets of pondlife costs money instead, better as it is for law-abiding, tax-paying citizens.

 

[AndyMac]

To be fair that's mainly speed camera's, 2million last year = £120m in the coffers with very little cost. It costs them more than £60 in manpower to actually pull a car over but at least by doing so they can breath test, check for road worthiness etc, something speed camera's simply ignore.

 

[audialltheway08]

invest in a good radar detector

 

[LaSarthe&Back]

invest in a good radar detector

spend 85 quid on the IAM driving course and learn to spot things before they happen! Including unmarked cars! Then if/when you are stopped by the Police for speeding along deserted roads, you are able to explain why you are going at that speed and show him that you gone out of your way to get some better training than the crappy L test!

A rule I have heard from Police officers of old is "30=30, 40=40, 50=50 NSL's=whatever you can get away with.

And you should have expected the cyclist to turn in front of you, or at least had a plan in case he did.

 

[bigdavie]

really ? only £85 hmm tempted !

 

[Maz]

Is it safe for me to assume I will no longer be hearing from plod as its been almost a year...???

 

[benr]

yep. Lucky boy...

Maybe they were just out to **** you up. Which worked

 

[Maz]

woohoo, I hope so its been long enough!!!

I remember one of them was well OTT (the older one), (good cop bad cop routine I guess) I even had to tell him to stop being so aggressive with me.

 

[Essflee]

I even had to tell him to stop being so aggressive with me.

What the hell did he do to ya....??...Lol !!! his name weren't Zed was it ?????

 

[NHN]

a year, **** thats a gonna no way they take a year so you're a lucky boy, maybe they saw the cyclist bit in the video when they got back so they changed there minds & gave you benefit of doubt huh, guess no one though of that

 

[klauster]

nice one they only have 6 months

 

[JohnboyC]

Well, a few years ago in 2003 I got caught doing 36mph in a 30mph limit in Blackpool by a mobile speed camera van......I was pretty hacked off as it was on a dual carriageway that had been 40mph limit for years but had recently been reduced by the hitklers in the local council, and it was 9:00pm at night in August and no one else (car or pedestrians) were about......

I just wish I was doing a serious amount over the limit....to make the pain, £60 fine & 3 points worth while...but hey.....

Later on in Lancs they offer a speed awareness course......but I was not offered that being a serious speeder !

My view is that I should of been given a good bollocking and thats it.....then if caught again then given the fine, points etc....

Also, considering that people who commit serious crimes get time off their prison sentances for "good behaviour" or the "jails are full".....why do we not get the length of time reduced for "owning the 3 points".......oh I forgot its a money making scheme to P*ss off mostly law abiding motorists......

 

[Maz]

What the hell did he do to ya....??...Lol !!! his name weren't Zed was it ?????

... lol, if it were id be walking with a limp nowadays.

 

[Essflee]

........glad you got off !!!

 

[S3 Big Andy]

 

[MintyS3]

Well, a few years ago in 2003 I got caught doing 36mph in a 30mph limit in Blackpool by a mobile speed camera van......I was pretty hacked off as it was on a dual carriageway that had been 40mph limit for years but had recently been reduced by the hitklers in the local council, and it was 9:00pm at night in August and no one else (car or pedestrians) were about......

I just wish I was doing a serious amount over the limit....to make the pain, £60 fine & 3 points worth while...but hey.....

Later on in Lancs they offer a speed awareness course......but I was not offered that being a serious speeder !

My view is that I should of been given a good bollocking and thats it.....then if caught again then given the fine, points etc....

Also, considering that people who commit serious crimes get time off their prison sentances for "good behaviour" or the "jails are full".....why do we not get the length of time reduced for "owning the 3 points".......oh I forgot its a money making scheme to P*ss off mostly law abiding motorists......

No such thing as warnings these days. Its all about the stats. Give someone points and thats another criminal dealt with.

 

[Lee_R]

I got caught this year, i took it on the chin, i was being stupid!

NIP arrived, 3 points and usual £60, i sent it off to admit my guilt but still have not heard back, that was June. I reckon i'm safe now too!