The speed police who operate in the Somerset area.

sidibear

sidibear

Going with the flow.
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37 in a 30 and they are making it stick. 6.40 on a Sunday morning and the only one on the road, who the f**k makes a dual carriage way a 30 zone?

Called my insurance to see how much its going to hit me, and if the awareness course is a better option, and was advised to pay the fine and get the points as it will not make any difference to the cost.
Whereas if I needed to claim, being caught speeding is still being caught speeding regardless of the penalty you opt to take, and it would still show on the record that I had been caught speeding and may affect any future claim.

My advice if you are caught? Call your insurance company before you decide to take the course or pay the fine.

Either that or blow up the speed van :beerchug:

(sidibear does not condone the blowing up of speed vans, so don't blame me if you get nicked for doing it)
 
36 in a 30 on Stratford rd mate, driving through Hallgreen. Was in a snake of traffic all doing the same speed, so I guess everyone must have been nabbed!
 
I know where you mean, and I thought that was 30 there anyway. The road I as on was like the carriageway that goes from the Maypole to the M42. I had just come off the M5 and turned left at the island, started on the dual carriageway and there was the van.
I reckon they only say its a 30 to get tourists :yes:
 
37 in a 30 is a little naughty, but 37 on any dual carriage way should be a ticket for not going fast enough. Anderson Drive, the main road through the middle of Aberdeen, is a 40 almost the whole way up but I doubt anyone goes below 50 other than at the roundabouts.

People still run across in ninja suits, exactly in the middle of the numerous crossings too, just make sure the speed limit needs to be enforced. At least they take their time crossing too, not like there's any cars coming.
 
Surely if you are offered the course it's got **** all to do with your insurance company. You were offered the course as an alternative to the points. Thus you are not convicted of any motoring offence.
 
Oranoco said:
Surely if you are offered the course it's got **** all to do with your insurance company. You were offered the course as an alternative to the points. Thus you are not convicted of any motoring offence.
Click to expand...

You obviously have not been watching the news lately. The idea of the speed awareness course is to avoid a points penalty and fine on your license, everyone knows that, even the speed awareness course knows that, but insurance company's are seeing it differently!

BBC News - Higher premiums for speed awareness courses
 
Oranoco said:
Surely if you are offered the course it's got **** all to do with your insurance company. You were offered the course as an alternative to the points. Thus you are not convicted of any motoring offence.
Click to expand...
^^^This! I wouldn't have thought you'd have to inform your Insurance if you don't have a record of an offense on your License! But telling them actually creates said record - so if you get up to 6 points, they'll treat you as though you have 9.

I think that particular advisor is trying to create a fear that they would have found out anyway, when there's really not much chance of that.

One driver in his 20s told the BBC his policy rose by £300 after informing insurance company Elephant - part of the Admiral group - he had been on a speed awareness course.

Another Elephant customer, Graham Taylor, from Oxfordshire, says his premiums rose by £80 after telling the insurer he had attended a course.
Click to expand...

I think they would need to specifically ask on your insurance submittal and you deny it, for an offense to have taken place! "do you have any prosecutions pending?" or "..any other offenses?" wouldn't cover it IMHO because it's not recorded with DVLA as an offense. I can't see the Police co-operating with Insurance Co's on this either, as they stand to lose a substantial amount of cash revenue if they did.
 
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Why did I know the shower of **** that is Admiral would be at the bottom of this. Wouldn't let that bunch of money grabbing mongtards insure my toaster
 
tumblr_mc0va1uTjN1qfbqjoo1_400.jpg
 
Personally if I had the option of a course to forgoe the points I would never turn it down. Whilst it might seem easier/cheaper to just accept the points, if 6 weeks down the line you cop 6 points and no course option you're in trouble.
 
Insurance companies are trying to get as much money as they can? Say it ain't so! Unheard of, that.

They need better regulation, so people have ANY confidence their premium is based on their own circumstances and a reasonable assessment of risk, rather than just trying to get away with charging as much money as they possibly can. They're all the same though, don't think Admiral are any worse than the rest.
 
Is it just me who thinks its logical that insurance companies up your premium if you get caught speeding and go on a driving course instead of getting points? They know that most people who go on these courses come out of them thinking they got away with speeding, rather than actually learning from them.
Insurance companies increase your premium because of the financial risk you pose based on your driving HISTORY, therefore points (which are only a way of representing bad driving), are no different to being sent on a driving course (as this also now represents bad driving). The only difference is that going on the course gives you an "extra life" before you receive a ban for totting up.

I don't like insurance companies much either, but their stance to combat this "keep your premium lower by going on a driving course" workaround that the police are offering makes sense to me. And to be honest, if anything its the police who are doing the damage here by promoting the fact you can get away with speeding and the affect it usually has on your premium. This is only going to make people less afraid of speeding.
If the police think they should ticket you because you are speeding then insurance companies aren't wrong in thinking they should raise your premium because you are a higher risk, regardless of whether you receive points or a course. They are both just deterrents to make you drive slower.
 
At times like this I watch this video, it makes the discussion of speeding irrelevant then.

This isn't a dig, and I'm not acting all 'holier than thou', we all speed, but this is a sobering reminder.

[ytv]Y7lCM9ElUqQ[/ytv]
 
Surely the whole point of the speed awareness course is to make you a more responsible driver and less likely to speed again (or get caught).
 
quattrojames said:
At times like this I watch this video, it makes the discussion of speeding irrelevant then.

This isn't a dig, and I'm not acting all 'holier than thou', we all speed, but this is a sobering reminder.

[ytv]Y7lCM9ElUqQ[/ytv]
Click to expand...

Sorry but I can't watch that bleeding heart flawed drivel for more than about 20 seconds. I work with accident data every week and speed has very little to do with accidents in the real world. Speed is just one of often many contributory factor to a collision. Even if you slashed the speed limit in half and enforced it with a rod of iron collisions would still occur and there would still be road fatalities.

I don't want to belittle anybody that's lost a loved one as it is always a shocking tragedy but jumping on the anti speed bandwagon is knee jerk and simply wrong!
 
But people make mistakes when they are going too fast, whereas if they are going slower they have more time to correct the course/speed of travelling.

So to say speed has very little to do with accidents is a bit illogical.
 
Oranoco said:
Sorry but I can't watch that bleeding heart flawed drivel for more than about 20 seconds. I work with accident data every week and speed has very little to do with accidents in the real world. Speed is just one of often many contributory factor to a collision. Even if you slashed the speed limit in half and enforced it with a rod of iron collisions would still occur and there would still be road fatalities.

I don't want to belittle anybody that's lost a loved one as it is always a shocking tragedy but jumping on the anti speed bandwagon is knee jerk and simply wrong!
Click to expand...
Don’t be silly, if you really believe what you just posted, (and I think you do) its not worth a debate.
 
It's far from illogical if you stop, stand back for 30 seconds and actually think rather than just accept what you're told. People make mistakes when driving at the speed limit or even under it as well as over it by a few mph. There are a whole number of factors in a collision, weather conditions, road conditions, vehicle type, vehicle weight, laden or unladen, tyre make model, tyre condition, tyre pressure, enviroment, external influences, driver distraction, etc etc.

At best it's terrible science to pick out one small factor and lay all the blame at its feet.
 
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spooky said:
Don’t be silly, if you really believe what you just posted, (and I think you do) its not worth a debate.
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I absolutely believe it and stand by it. And why is it not worth a debate? If you don't like my viewpoint, which you are quite entitled to, you are more than welcome to present your counter arguement.
 
To be perfectly fair it is acceptable to say that vehicle x travelling at 35mph will take further to stop than an absolutely identical vehicle travelling at 30mph.

There are a whole load of ifs whys buts and maybes that effect stopping distances equally or greater than a few mph, tyre choice being a big one
 
Take the course everytime, it has no effect on insurance as there is no record of it. It's points on your licence that insurers will "tax" you on. They ask you how many points you have not have you been done for speeding.
 
If Speed is not the cause of an “accident” Speed will have everything to do with the outcome!
 
I think it has been established over many years of research, and many many studies, that speed is a contributory factor in accidents.

Of course there are other factors, but that doesn't mean we should not try our best to reduce accidents by reducing speed.

Most studies I have read show that there is a 13.5% reduction in accidents when speed limits are reduced. it isn't a lot, but when you consider there are considered to be 700000 accidents a year, 13.5% of that is a huge number.

I agree that speed isn't the only reason, it is more likely a lack of attention that causes most accidents, but we can control speed limits whereas we cannot make people pay attention 100% of the time.
 
StateOfPlay said:
I think it has been established over many years of research, and many many studies, that speed is a contributory factor in accidents.

Of course there are other factors, but that doesn't mean we should not try our best to reduce accidents by reducing speed.

Most studies I have read show that there is a 13.5% reduction in accidents when speed limits are reduced. it isn't a lot, but when you consider there are considered to be 700000 accidents a year, 13.5% of that is a huge number.

I agree that speed isn't the only reason, it is more likely a lack of attention that causes most accidents, but we can control speed limits whereas we cannot make people pay attention 100% of the time.
Click to expand...

Fair do's on that and it's by far the most coherent arguement for the case here. I think this is a good place to draw a line under this one as it has the potential to start getting unpleasant. I have my opinion and everybody else is entitled to theirs, both with undoubtably large support. Doesn't make any arguement wrong, it is just opinion.
 
It's inappropriate speed that kills, not speed per 'se.

Oranoco said:
There are a whole number of factors in a collision, weather conditions, road conditions, vehicle type, vehicle weight, laden or unladen, tyre make model, tyre condition, tyre pressure, enviroment, external influences, driver distraction, etc etc.

At best it's terrible science to pick out one small factor and lay all the blame at its feet.
Click to expand...

In fairness though, several of those other factors such as driver distraction, tyre tread depth etc are all enforced, so i don't agree that all the blame is being laid at the feet of speeding. I know that video is a cliche, but it is hard hitting, and it doesn't focus purely on speed being at fault.
 
Another cause of accidents would be distraction;
article-2241444-164BA3A0000005DC-658_634x962.jpg
 
Back to the point in hand, I'd rather take the speeding course, and I did when caught. It brought up what I thought was a lot of useful information. Some of which I knew and some that I didn't. I got the feeling everyone walked away with some insight of how to read the road better. I went on a drivers awareness course in hampshire for speeding as opposed to a speed awareness course.
 
Ok, so I googled the road where it happened and discovered it a bit of an ongoing war on the motorist, its known as the Henslade Ambush. Its been going on for some time and instead of informing the motorist that its a 30 zone, they continue to stick up a van just around the corner so they can rake in the cash.
This is sneaky and underhand.

Click linky. No 1 is where the camera van sits and no 2 is where, wait for it, 164 people were nicked for speeding in 2 hours on the 19th June 2010.
Bing Maps - Driving Directions, Traffic and Road Conditions

The only 30 sign is on the sliproad off the motorway some way back, there are no roundels on the road or any signage to say that its a 30, you can see by the map linked above that its not like its a high street or built up area with a school. All they need to do is put up a 30mph flashing sign, but that would stop them raking in ****loads of cash.
This is why people lose faith in the police when they do sneaky underhand tactics like this.
 
Have the speed on that road been changed recently?
This is just coming off the M5 onto the A358 and I cannot see any other sign to where you was hit (think I have the right road)

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=taunton+deane&hl=en&ll=51.018982,-3.061758&spn=0.000003,0.002642&hnear=Taunton,+Somerset,+United+Kingdom&t=h&z=19&layer=c&cbll=51.018608,-3.062201&panoid=wHf6WDRKgkhT5WdTQa2JkQ&cbp=12,210.37,,0,0


Don’t know what date the google map was gone, but the park and ride had not been built.


 
sidibear said:
37 in a 30 and they are making it stick. 6.40 on a Sunday morning and the only one on the road, who the f**k makes a dual carriage way a 30 zone?
Click to expand...

Let me guess, turning East off Junction 25 (Taunton exit, driving in the opposite direction to Taunton)? I know SO many people who have been caught speeding there. Next time you come down this way, keep your eyes peeled for the 30 signs. You'll find there is one sign on the exit sliproad from the motorway, down to the roundabout. It's positioned at a point where your eyes are predominantly scanning for slowing/accelerating/lane-changing traffic, plus the busy atmosphere that is the motorway roundabout, AND a set of traffic lights. The "30" sign is amid this blur of activity, and then there isn't a single additional 30 sign along the next two miles or so. It's along this two mile stretch that everyone gets caught. If they were really so concerned about people sticking to 30, there would be some ****** signs!

Feel for you matey. You're not the first, and won't be the last.
 
I've just read the above posts...seems you've identified that this is indeed the area you're talking about. It's been this way since before the Park & Ride was built.
 
Oh down here the police are a ltd company and have ccjs extra against them loads of things that you wouldnt no, when signing a ticket you are signing a contract with them
 
The other thing that annoyed me about this is that I was on my way to a charity shoot to raise funds for the DPOA, (Disabled police officers association).
It now transpires that three other people who went were also nicked, and now the good news.

The match organisers have decided that the £2350 raised will go to Help for Heroes instead :lmfao:
 
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