Busted.....my so bad

And I make myself unpopular when I drive along there at 30 mph. I see cars in my rear view mirror whose drivers are obviously thinking I should be driving faster. I'm guessing the boys in blue are waiting a reasonable time so that they can argue that the 40 mph limit was revised X months ago, sir. I have heard, however, that speed traps are sometimes set up in response to complaints of speeding from local residents.
 
Having cameras everywhere, all it will be is mean drivers wont focus on the road and just spend the whole journey staring at the speedo.

Near me, they've been secretly reducing all speed limits.
one road now reduced from 30mph to 20mph, no idea why - maybe to save the snails - jes.... I may may as well walk as I can CYCLE a lot faster than that on an 18 year old bike.

another wide 60mph now to 50 mph with traffic islands so people cant overtake, so people just tailgate now (not me, but well done council divs). they also reduced the size of the road to accommodate a cycle path that noone uses and there is a cycle path 200 yards away (lazy cyclists) and even then the selfish odd cyclist doesn't use the new cycle path and cycles on the road! - wasted £3million on this "scheme"

Was in Milton Keynes at the weekend. speed camera hidden behind a tree on a 70mph road. loads of drivers slamming brakes on. I wasn't as I was driving my 12 year old pug
 
Last edited:
Fit dash cams and use them as evidence!
If your 'keeping up' with traffic then counteract the police evidence.
Note - this doesn't work if your involved in the cannonball run, Mongol rally or doing over 100mph..
 
Finally received my offer of a Driver Education Course today.
You have 4 months from the date of offence to complete the Course.
As had been said previously, once the Course is taken, you are unable to take another such Course within 3 years of the offence date.
Your details are retained on the Database for 6 years after the original offence date.

Good news is that by participating in the Course, you don't receive 3 Penalty Points and you don't have to pay the Police Fine.
Good news is that you can pick from a myriad of venues - I'm doing mine at a local Hotel.
Good news is that you can pick from a reasonable set of dates - including the weekend.

Bad news is that you have to pay £85.
Bad news is that you have to sit there for 4 hours.
Bad news is that you must demonstrate satisfactory behaviour to pass the course.

All in all, I'm lucky to have been offered the course and certainly avoids the 4 years of points on my licence / 5 years of telling the Insurance.
Also, cheaper than the fine which is now at £100 I believe.

Just got to be good during the course and demonstrate satisfactory behaviour.

PS They also offer Option 2: Take the Points / Fine
Option 3: Court Hearing.
 
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Insurance hikes are the main thing that would bother myself.....just smile all day...get it over with
 
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This happened to me 35 in a 30 by a speed gun in a sleepy village on a sunday morning!
I was on my bike and literally was just warming it up and cruising along minding my own business in a tiny village which is 10 miles from anywhere with a high street or a train station (you get the picture bum f**k nowhere)
I got pulled over and i refused to believe i was speeding when i was told by the officer he clocked me doing 35mph.... so i asked him to show me and he kept making excuses about him seeing it on the speedgun, i was like ok great can you please show me on that speedgun that it showed me doing 35 and after about 5 minutes of excuses to why he couldnt show me he gave in and let me go!

In other words he was ******* lying and couldnt prove i was doing 35mph, he was hoping i would admit to doing 35 and of course i did not.
Not saying to be a cheeky ******, but sometimes it is worth questioning them like it was in my case AND NEVER ADMIT ANYTHING!

Also got pulled for doing allegedly 70mph in a 30mph and got off that too but thats another story!
 
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I've only ever been properly caught and convicted (speed course taken, no points) by a fixed camera. I have had four run-ins with Speed Gun users all of which I have driven away from; Twice in the same spot by the same jobsworth officer within a week, as soon as I informed him I had a dashcam running through the entire section of road I had apparently been 'considerably breaking the speed limit' through he backed down immediately. Second time he got me I was in my Dads car, obviously shocked him when I got out again!!

Got another one in a 20 zone, asked to see the logs showing the device had been correctly calibrated within the previous two weeks, ticket was revoked upon this request being received. Last one was a Community Speed Check zone which we have a few of where I live, where residents are given a speed gun under supervision to catch the people they complain about. Pleaded incompetence on the users part, ticket was dropped!

I will always argue! Will end up getting arrested for it one day! lol
 
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The speed awareness course is actually quite good. It certainly makes you think and appreciate the reasons why we shouldn't be speeding in built up areas.
 
The above couple of examples are why the Police really have a bad name with "normal law abiding citizens".

Still, it's keeping family, friends and work colleagues all very amused that I (Mr Slow) have been "busted by the pigs" for speeding !!

Still gonna be a long 4 hours - although I am grateful that this option is now available.
 
Speed Course taken.

Wow, that's a long 4 hours to tell me what I already knew !!
1 cup of coffee - no biscuit.

22 people in attendance - 99% for doing 35mph in a 30mph.
All of us moaning about how hard done by we are and haven't the Police got better things to do !!
22 people all now with a lower respect for the Police - times this by the number of daily Courses and that's a lot of respect disappearing.

All in all though, am pleased that this Option was available - saved me 3 points for 5 years, yay !!
 
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I had the same experience with my "course". It was patronising cr@p, I learnt nothing and felt like 4 hours of my life had been stolen. I'd still do it to avoid the points but it was of no value to me. I didn't intentionally speed through built up areas before and I don't plan on doing it now. I was caught doing 82 on the M40. They should have thrown away the key.
 
I might be due a ticket. Was doing 80 on the M25, midnight on Friday, empty road but no variable limit in place, got flashed twice by a gantry speed camera.

Hear a lot of mixed things about it -

- If it flashes 3 times then that's bad, 2 flashes are a warning...
- You won't get a ticket if there isn't a variable speed limit in force.
- You will get a ticket

Need to wait 2 weeks now! :grimacing:. Though I have been flashed twice by two separate M25 cameras at 6am...both on the same journey!...and didn't see anything through the post, so I suspect they're just trigger happy.
 
Ignition1 said:
I might be due a ticket. Was doing 80 on the M25, midnight on Friday, empty road but no variable limit in place, got flashed twice by a gantry speed camera.

Hear a lot of mixed things about it -

- If it flashes 3 times then that's bad, 2 flashes are a warning...
- You won't get a ticket if there isn't a variable speed limit in force.
- You will get a ticket

Need to wait 2 weeks now! :grimacing:. Though I have been flashed twice by two separate M25 cameras at 6am...both on the same journey!...and didn't see anything through the post, so I suspect they're just trigger happy.
Click to expand...

The most valuable takeaway from my speed awareness course was finding out that the M25 gantry speed cameras are only operational when the variable speed limit is in force
 
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I love this thread and its mix of moral high ground OR I was only a little bit drunk officer mentality OR its just a money making scam comments

Its interesting that there is also a lack of honest John "I had blasted along that section 1000's of times before without getting caught" comments

IM(boring Wednesday afternoon)HO the reality is that we all speed at some point to varying degrees and if we get caught whether its 1mph or 20mph above the limit we should just accept the medicine, learn and move on
 
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jassyo06 said:
Insurance hikes are the main thing that would bother myself.....just smile all day...get it over with
Click to expand...

I thought that you had to inform your insurance company if you took a speed awareness course or am I wrong? And I also thought that some will hike your premium as a result? If so that seems a bit tough.
 
Can insurance companies find out that you've done a speed awareness course I know Admiral are known for penalising you even though you've not been actually given 3 points and taken the course instead, but there treating the sac exactly the same as 3pts and hike up your insurance.
 
I don't think that's right.. Can't you just book it without being told to by a the police?

What if a new driver wants to do it?

As for speeding, its a touchy story, different between 5mph is life of death for someone.. speed limits are there for a reason, no matter what time of day, so many friends have died from crashes, its just getting stupid now...
 
I think 30mph is fine for built up areas...or REALLY narrow and busy roads are 20mph which is right.

But the national speed limit should be 80, not 70.
 
I can do 90 and still have everyone overtake me... Ive often seen most the traffic move about 100.
 
Most do 90, in my experience - though I'm comfortable hovering at between 80 and 85 on a motorway.
 
BAD BOY V said:
Can insurance companies find out that you've done a speed awareness course
Click to expand...

They told us on the Course that the Register was only for their purposes to know when you'd completed the Course.
This would then determine what Options were made available to you should you be caught again i.e. the 3 Year Rule.

Definitely no access / not shared with Insurance Companies - or anyone else for that matter.

What they did say though was if you volunteered the information to your Insurance Company, then some Companies would increase your renewal and record it on your "Insurance Record", while others wouldn't increase the renewal, although would still record it on your "Insurance Record".

There was a further assumption added that the Speed Course should reduce your Premium as you were now a safer driver having been on the Course. Don't think any of the 22 on my Course bought this one though.

My view: It's all about the money from start to finish.
Cops "hiding" in prime spots defeats their feeble defence at road safety. Stand in an obvious spot then and do the same - same outcome of slower traffic achieved.
Insurance company job is to get as much money out of you before you go elsewhere - and hopefully, have to pay nothing out in the meantime.
 
glospete said:
I agree - so what is the point of changing the speed limits?
Click to expand...

I do half agree that they should be changed to 80. The 70mph limits were set back in the days of Fred Flinstone, where cars weren't built the same and stopping distances were much greater than what they are today.

On the other hand you'll have grandma out on her 40mph sunday drive with everyone else doing 80mph around her. We should have minimum speed limits on roads at times I feel. Driving too slow can be just as dangerous as speeding to other road users.

Germany cope with their autobahns nicely enough and some drivers do insane speeds out there!!
 
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And not only will Grandma be cruising at 40, she'll be occupying the middle lane!

But what I wanted to ask is whether anybody has any experience of being busted for speeding in one of the average speed check zones. I live between two 10 mile 50 mph stretches on the M3, so whichever direction I take I have to endure a 50 mph limit for what seems a long time. So far so good, but the number of drivers who carry on as if there is no 50 mph limit is concerning. What do they know that I don't? Last Sunday evening I had white van man glued to my rear bumper as I ventured into the outside lane to pass a couple of drivers who didn't seem to know what speed they wanted to maintain - very difficult to follow! I edged up to 60 to oblige white van man but he remained glued to my bumper and was gone in a flash once I pulled back into the middle lane. If only there was some way of checking whether there were any consequences for him. I'm hoping there will be none for me!
 
The Road Policing Unit is the only police unit that has targets to meet. Normal police don't get judged on the amount of arrests they make or they don't have to make a set number, but RPU have a number of tickets for the fatal 6 that they have to hand out each month.
So if you get caught early on in the month then you have no chance of talking your way out, as the officer has to get his numbers up. However if its later in the month, right attitude and words may mean no ticket.
 
wideboybloke said:
But what I wanted to ask is whether anybody has any experience of being busted for speeding in one of the average speed check zones.
Click to expand...

There's an average speed zone (50 mph for about 3 miles) by me and it really looks like nothing happens.
However, every so often the local paper publishes results of people who have been fined.

There are 10s of 1000s quoted.

Penalties must range from Speed Awareness Course to 3 points and a £100 fine to outright bans for some people.
 
wideboybloke said:
And not only will Grandma be cruising at 40, she'll be occupying the middle lane!

But what I wanted to ask is whether anybody has any experience of being busted for speeding in one of the average speed check zones. I live between two 10 mile 50 mph stretches on the M3, so whichever direction I take I have to endure a 50 mph limit for what seems a long time. So far so good, but the number of drivers who carry on as if there is no 50 mph limit is concerning. What do they know that I don't? Last Sunday evening I had white van man glued to my rear bumper as I ventured into the outside lane to pass a couple of drivers who didn't seem to know what speed they wanted to maintain - very difficult to follow! I edged up to 60 to oblige white van man but he remained glued to my bumper and was gone in a flash once I pulled back into the middle lane. If only there was some way of checking whether there were any consequences for him. I'm hoping there will be none for me!
Click to expand...

I definitely feel other drivers know something I don't when it comes to those average speed checks. However knowing the 10% + 2mph rule I'll do 55 in any 50 zone...have done so for years. Wouldn't go above that though...not worth the risk just to shave 5 or 10 minutes off a journey.

glospete said:
I agree - so what is the point of changing the speed limits?
Click to expand...

To make it legal to do 80.

I could get 3 points and a fine doing 80 on a motorway, since the 10% + 2mph rule means above 79MPH the police can nick you.

Perhaps they should up the limit to 80, introduce a minimum speed of 60 and make it a 5% + 2mph rule. At least then you can do 80 or 85 legally - which is what everyone does anyway.
 
Speeding course is good teaches you a few things you probably wont know and it is very mediocre you're only allowed to do one every 2 years.
 
Ignition1 said:
↑
I agree - so what is the point of changing the speed limits?
To make it legal to do 80.
I could get 3 points and a fine doing 80 on a motorway, since the 10% + 2mph rule means above 79MPH the police can nick you.
Perhaps they should up the limit to 80, introduce a minimum speed of 60 and make it a 5% + 2mph rule. At least then you can do 80 or 85 legally - which is what everyone does anyway.
Click to expand...

But we all know that if the limit were 80 then 90 would be the new 80, and so on! We will all exceed the limit by a "x% margin" (and each individual decides what x equals) and if the limit were 80 then can you honestly expect that people will stick to 85? I doubt it!
 
As far as I'm concerned these 'Speed Awareness' courses as just a replacement source of income for the Camera Partners. They only came in to existence when the government stopped the camera partnerships from keeping the fines generated by their cameras.
 
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glospete said:
But we all know that if the limit were 80 then 90 would be the new 80, and so on! We will all exceed the limit by a "x% margin" (and each individual decides what x equals) and if the limit were 80 then can you honestly expect that people will stick to 85? I doubt it!
Click to expand...

It doesn't work that way in reality. Many before-and-after traffic engineering studies have shown that changing the speed limit up or down has no effect on how fast the traffic moves, or how many fatal crashes occur. Most people drive at the speed the road was designed to handle. Here's the Arizona government's view on it

http://azdot.gov/business/engineering-and-construction/traffic/faq/establishing-speed-limits
 
glospete said:
But we all know that if the limit were 80 then 90 would be the new 80, and so on! We will all exceed the limit by a "x% margin" (and each individual decides what x equals) and if the limit were 80 then can you honestly expect that people will stick to 85? I doubt it!
Click to expand...

Probably not - there will be some people wanting to "beat" the speed limit and try to go faster than everyone else. Though I think part of that comes down to those drivers knowing the 10% + 2mph rule.

If it was reduced to 5% + 2mph but the speed limits increased then I think that's enough deterrent.

One of the downsides is that if the Govt introduce an 80mph limit, then they'll probably throw in a LOT more speed cameras on motorways to control speed. I guess at the moment people can do any speed they want as long as they keep their eye out for police - they don't have to worry about always-on gantry speed cameras (for now).
 
Germany still manages quite well with some lengths of autobahn without any speed limit at all. But German drivers tend to be better drives and understand lane discipline better. They have to pass a much stiffer test that we do in the UK which includes normal, night and autobahn driving.
 
One thing that I have found now that I am fervently sticking to the Speed Limit(s) - apart from Motorway - is the amount of vehicles that are overtaking me. Some go flying past - now that's what I call speeding.

Had a Cop Car behind me the other day in a mandatory 20mph zone.
I was crawling along and as soon as I turned off, he was off like a rocket.

It is quite fun mind you with a trail of vehicles "stuck" behind you going 30mph and less.

So, the Course has had its desired effect and slowed me down by that fateful 1-5 mph.
 
Audimad said:
For all of you who think that it's ok to speed just google cerys edwards.
Click to expand...

No doubt about it that is a pretty heartbreaking story.

Looking at the mangled wreckage though I would assume that moron was doing considerably more than 35mph.

......but don't get me wrong, we know what you're saying.
 
I have changed my habits since the speed awareness course. I think it just takes away that complacency and makes you think more. Not saying I'm a saint, but I'm a lot more cautious and observe limits more consistently than before......especially 30 and 50 zones. One thing that did make me a little annoyed though was the sight of some trained up oap's today with a speed gun noting down people over the limit in my local area. I can kind of understand it if it was on a dangerous road, but it wasn't. Do they have nothing better to do?! Think they call it community speed checks.
 
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