As a motorist it is important to be aware of the speed limit at all times to ensure that you are driving safely and that you are not breaking the law, but there have been a couple of speeding-related stories in the news recently which may change how likely it is that you will get caught if you were to drive a bit too fast. Here at PetrolPrices, we want to keep you informed and updated on all the latest speeding-related stories.
Wear your seatbelt
The first update is less to do with speeding itself and more to do with speed cameras, as more than a third of British police forces have admitted to routinely using mobile speed camera vans to catch people breaking other road laws.
This tactic saw 8000 drivers who were not wearing a seatbelt and 1000 drivers who were using their mobile phone while driving getting fined, with 500 more being caught for unnamed offences in 2016.
With 16 out of 54 police forces using these vans to crack down on motorists, they have been able to dish out £100 fines for not wearing a seatbelt and £100 fines plus 3 penalty points for using a mobile phone behind the wheel (although this has doubled to £200 and 6 points since 2017).
Among the forces who say they routinely use mobile speed camera vans to catch unlawful behaviour are Hampshire, Northumbria, Kent and North Wales, and there are also 4 other forces who say that they use this method occasionally.
Could this revelation be enough to encourage people to wear their seatbelts and not use their phones whilst driving due to the fear of being caught? It is thought that this could be the key to changing drivers’ behaviours, but can this really be more effective than campaigns showing the kinds of horrific crashes that can occur when a motorist is distracted by their phone or not wearing their seatbelt?
Tighter regulations
The topic of scaring people into following road laws has been present in another speed-related story this week as Chief Constable Anthony Bangham came under fire from other police leaders for suggesting that officers should be less lenient on those speeding even 1mph over the limit and that the 10% buffer should be scrapped.
In addition to this it was suggested that he was backing the implementation of websites where people can upload dashcam footage of unsafe drivers to alert the police, causing campaigners to argue that the roads are already covered with CCTV, speed cameras and Automatic Number Plate Recognition Systems and motorists really don’t need to be watched any more closely.
It has also been said that this idea would cause mistrust and suspicion amongst drivers, especially as the UK has the most surveillance cameras in Europe and the network responsible for monitoring motorists takes 40 million photos per day, people do not need to feel like they are being spied on by fellow road users too.
In reaction to Bangham’s claims that officers were not doing enough to enforce speed limits, a speed camera was set up outside his office in Hindlip Hall near Worcester by the Sunday Times to see what kinds of speeds were being driven closer to home.
The results showed that 117 motorists were caught speeding in the 30mph zone within an hour, at a rate of 2 per minute, with a quarter driving between 31 and 35mph and the highest recorded speed was 51mph which shows how much more work would need to go into clamping down on minor speeding offences.
Following this, Chief Constable Anthony Bangham has clarified that his aim of penalising even those going 1mph over the speed limit would not be achievable and has said that it would be suitable on occasions where someone was driving over the limit outside a school for example.
Tickets revoked
It was also revealed in the news that almost a quarter of a million speeding tickets issued in the last year were cancelled. Greater Manchester police revoked 28% of their tickets, West Midlands 21% and Bedfordshire 19%. On the other end of the spectrum, both Staffordshire and North Wales police stood by 99% of their tickets. Gloucestershire Police said that 43% of tickets cancelled were because of officers not being able to trace guilty drivers. Previous Home Office showed that 53% of cars broke motorway speed limits, 53% also breached 30mph areas and a huge 81% went over 20 in a 20mph zone.
With these types of stories highlighting speeding issues and other violations too, hopefully, it will put these factors at the forefront of drivers’ minds so they are less likely to commit them themselves.
Do you think speeding regulations need to be stricter? Would you expect a speed camera to check for seatbelts? Let us know
Do you use the M1 between J16 to J19 in Northamptonshire – Since Smart Motorways have been installed 735 motorists have had speeding tickets in 8 weeks… They tell you what the fastest was, but no mention of the slowest speeder, how much over they don’t dare say… Cash cow again?
The speed limits are there for a reason and if more people stick to them we will all get home safely.
But Bob 81% of people speed, what’s the disconnect?
I’m confused. I attended a speed awareness course where folk were attending for doing 31mph. This is in Oxfordshire. I also know a colleague in south London booked for 31mph a few years ago. So it would seem that the 10% allowance has not being appliedbeen for some time
I agree with Bob that speed limits are there for a reason but sometimes the reason is not obvious. Having lived abroad for 30 years, I find driving in UK is not a pleasure anymore. Most of the country roads I used to drive on in Surrey and Sussex now have 40MPH limits on them and 20MPH limits seem to be largely unnecessary where I have encountered them. The 70MPH limit on motorways is too low for many; car capabilities and safety have improved dramatically since that was introduced.
Alan, Cars are only safe depending on the person who is driving it no matter how advanced the safety systems are on modern cars.
As I remember, the 70 mph limit was introduced not in the interests of safety, but in an attempt to save (at the time in very short supply) fuel.
No, it was introduced as a temporary measure in 1965 as a knee-jerk reaction to serious motorway accidents in fog. As far as I am aware it is still temporary, just extended for a long, long time.
No. My recollection is that it was introduced as a knee-jerk reaction to AC Cars testing their Cobra at 150mph at night on the M1.
it was 185 MPH
Knutsford to London in an hour, who needs a fast train.
I f only driving skills would improve. Most motorists have no interest in improving their driving. Big insurance discounts for drivers who take the trouble to take further training might tip the balance, here, but re-tests for persistent offenders would help.
Agree, the speed limits need more rationalisation, so town centres, school locations, elderly housing areas etc should be 20mph, and the National Speed Limit on narrow country lanes should be removed, as 30mph is fast in those type of roads. It’s just common-sense. Having cruise control helps too.
Two things, one, having a single limit across a wide area does not reflect the different risks across an area. It is still down to drivers to drive appropriate to the conditions. Two, without proper and sensible enforcement limits are irrelevant,
We should differentiate between outrageous speeding and excessive speed for the conditions (even within the limit), –
both of which should invite penalty – and indavertant speed creep or marginal speeding on a deserted motorway such as <10-12% – it should be more a determinant of the conditions (traffic, weather, vehicle, driver, accident prevalence in area, etc.).
There might also be more tolerance towards speed enforcement and adherence to the limit if there was equal amount of 'enforcement' applied to other breaches or activities that can often sponsor speeding – motorway lane hogging, slow driving in specific lanes, speed restricted roadworks where no-one is actually working, using front and rear foglights in weather other than fog! There are possible workarounds to all these activities but speeding is the dominant focus and probably why it invokes claims of cash cow and so on.
Speed cameras should not *only* check for the wearing of seatbelts as it should be a system based on priority: if speeding is detected and further offences are discovered (such as seatbelt wearing and more) then all offences should be charged – it suggests a driver that is inattentive to important things and possibly someone that might need retraining. It is no different to the police legitimately stopping a vehicle for an offence and discovering more offences (defective tyres, DUI, illegal substances, etc) and for police to prioritise which offence is worst and consider if necessary to charge for all detected offences.
Yes, I’m annoyed by posters on these forums who are very self-righteous and write “If you don’t speed, you won’t be caught and fined”. Who can honestly say that they haven’t occasionally exceeded the limit by a few mph whilst watching the road (as they should) rather than the speedometer? Not everybody has cruise control.
Cars don’t take 5 minutes to get passed the 30 mph anymore and they do it with ease
I quite agree Mark. Older drivers with unblemished driving records are really not the problem on the roads. There are many more offences far more potentially serious. I guess speeding fines are easy and quick cash.
Moreover, the speed awareness courses are a nice little earner for the people who run them, who are usually related to the chief constables and the senior staff. No wonder they want a fine for more than 1mph over the limit. I thought there is a law about corruption and devious practice.
I feel that a lot of accidents are caused by a combination of driving too fast too close, in particular on motorways and dual carriageways.
What is the point of getting tight behind a vehicle that is driving at the same speed of the traffic in front of it but leaving a safety gap for itself?
would it be possible for a device to be fitted in your car which could read the road sign speed limits and then say something like ” SLOW DOWN,YOU CLOWN ” IF YOU EXCEEDED THE LIMIT.
Maybe some passengers already use similar requests
My car has one – well it bleeps not talks, but I can set it to stop me accelerating above the limit.
Still my responsibilty though if it doesn’t see them or the 30 /60/70 doesn’t have a sign. And I can talk back ‘don’t be stupid, that sign was on a side road’ and turn it off.
Leave us motorists alone. There are bigger fish to fry. 1 mile over the limit, Bangham needs to resign or go after real criminals. There’s enough of them out there.
Sorry Daniel, but the real criminals don’t have a registration number on them so the police would have to do some “work” to catch them. Cameras don’t catch bad driving which is more dangerous than speeding.
Whilst speed can be dangerous in some instances, I would like to see more attention paid to better awareness of road conditions & distances between vehicles & braking times in particular. No good being within the speed limit, yet tailgating! Whilst someone driving over the limit, say on an empty road could potentially pose less of a risk.
Driver awareness is the key.
I have been hit up the back twice with serious consequences, by drivers not paying attention to red lights whilst being stationery. The disabling effect on the 2nd caused by a Dr whos car hit at 50mph in a 30mph zone! The other a 42 tonne lorry in Spain who went straight into the back & turned us over because he had not noticed the stationery queue!
Awareness, Awareness, Awarenes!
Recently one of these signs where a green smiley face shows if you’re doing 30 or less or a red sad one if you’re going faster, has appeared on a road near me. Approaching it recently, it said 31 so I glanced at my speedo- which said 28. I have a small digital speedo too which comes on when cruise-control is off. It said 28 too.
My point is that speed-measuring instruments in cars are not spot-on accurate though radar devices are, and that the 10% margin was to allow for that. Is this the case?
Distractions are the real issue when looking at vehicle speeds. If the vehicle is travelling at 30mph it’s 44ft of road and activity per second that the driver misses.
Think then what’s in that space and you can understand the issue with speeding where more road and activity is missed.
We need to accept that driving, hiking and cycling need our full attention on uk roads which are at best busy and at worst congested.
Bin the ciggy and e-cigs, food, drinks, makeup, combs & brushes, shavers, and definitely mobiles. Occupy the kids and tell the other passengers when you need to concentrate on your driving.
Bikers need to be considerate of their bikes potential to ‘arrive’ quicker at a point in the road than most other users would anticipate.
Cyclists need to be aware of other road users and that vehicles cannot move to avoid them as easily as they can move their cycle.
If we all increase our concentration and observation speed will not become such a big issue as we will adjust to conditions and other road users more intelligently. Policing will not be so essential nor legislation.
The alternative is we decline into a selfish, aggressive situation remedied by police walking along in front of vehicles with a red flag!!!!
There will always be idiots who speed, they can’t resist it when they have a clear road!..if the police concentrated more on enforcing the important things in society we would all be safer, i noticed the council tax has a larger ‘bit’ for them..what is that for??
The motorist has always been and will remain easy pickings for cash cow police forces especially those of us who keep our cars legal and pay our dues an taxes.
Why don’t they concentrate their resources into catching the uninsured and or untaxed or no licence or MOT?
Usually one of the above equates to a combination of or all of the above which would go a long way to saving the tax payer money and lowering insurance premiums rather than trying to extract more money out of us that have contributed in the first place.
Firstly, the C.C. should know better. If he had been in ‘Traffic’ for any length of time he would have known that speedos’ can have an allowed error of + or – 3%. Having attended ‘quite’ a few of fatal and serious accidents in my time there is no doubt speed is a large factor. Education and enforcement has to be the way- whether this includes ‘shocking motorists’ by one mean or another.
Absolutely spot on, Ian. I have had the same experience as you over the years. It is amazing how inaccurate speedos and cameras can be. We only have to compare them with GPS device speed indications. Inappropriate speed has always, and always will be an issue, but rules have to be made, even though we all know some limits are questionable. CC Bangham is out of order, and I believe he has back-tracked a little on his original statement.
It is fair to say, however, that the police in the USA are more aggressive in their speed intolerance.
There are going to be more accidents with people constantly looking at their speedos and not at the road, besides how many speedometers are correct? I have a new mobility vehicle and I have a Garmin Sat Nav if I set my cruise control on 30mph my sat nav tells me that I am doing 26mph also the matrix signs at the side of the road tell me I’m doing 27 mph what speed am I doing? What speed would a speed camera say? Sometimes if you are trying to be good and stay “at 30” you aren’t and that’s why the “1 mile over and your breaking the law ” system should not be enforced.
I totally agree.
Talking of cruise control, mine can be set to cruise at speeds as low as 19 mph, but (maybe as a fuel-saving measure) it allows the car to exceed the set speed downhill. On a steep hill I’ve picked up speeds well over 10 mph in excess of that set, and have to brake and / or engage Low gear and Hold to prevent the car running away even on a relatively mild gradient.
How cynical would it be to find speed cameras positioned half way down such hills (you’ve noticed them too?) if the intent to enforce even 1 mph over the limit is carried out?
Perhaps this is why most speedometers show your speed to be slightly exaggerated – I too have noticed my ‘true’ speed as shown by my Garmin to be up to 5 mph less than that shown by the speedometer.
Are we really now to be expected to drive strictly within the speed limit at all times, even if this means we have to obsessively keep checking the speedometer in case our cruise control was allowing our car to pick up speed? Would this not be tantamount to an offense if it were a phone we kept being distracted by?
And would strict adherence to speed limits not constitute a danger if, for example, we wanted to overtake a slow-moving vehicle? I understood that there are occasions when it’s permitted to exceed the limit as long as such a manoeuvre was done safely.
Indeed should the emphasis not be so much about 1 mph, but more about safe, attentive and considerate road use?
Most speed limits now are to low. But it’s for a reason. The police have a vested interest in making money and the motorist is the cash cow. 20 miles àn hour is pathetic. If so many driver’s exceed the limit surely it must be to low. The motorist is treated with contempt and it needs to change
Peter, the assumption you make is not backed up by a solution as to what you consider to be “safe speed limits”. I would agree that 20mph limits are somewhat low and even taking into consideration a 10% error that would would only be 2mph above the limit but such a limit is worth it outside schools etc. I have always maintained that even todays modern cars are only as safe as the person who is driving it regardless of any speed limit, so in your opinion how would you justify raising speed limits whilst considering safety on our roads.
it is not the police who set the limits but councils. Some of them listen quite intensly to the anti car Nazis out there. The police have a difficult job on their hands dealing with the job they have to do with contracting resources. Cameras are an eay fix but only tackle a very small area of road “crime” in the “good old days ” when we did have a good number of traffic officers on the road, a whole load of serious crime was detected or detered due to the “coppers nose,” that sixth sense that something was not quirte right about a vehicle and it got pulled over. Unfortunately the police resources are now so thinly spread the chances of getting caught for illegal acxtivity on the road other than speeding past a camera are minimal. Therefore we are stuck with “Road safety” cameras and a falling standard of driving because people feel they can get away with just about anything as long as they avoid the cameras.
How’s about those who use fail to stop at a amber and worst of all red lights.
I had many near missed due to this. Even on motorway slip roads.
Why do cars speed when speed limiters coupled to gps could automatically govern a cars speed. Surely it is the manufacturers responsibility to ensure that their products are safe. Self drive cars will have to employ this technology so why not congenital vehivles
81% exceeding a 20mph limit? Does this not tell you something? The limit is clearly inappropriate for the road.
I can’t help but feel that motorists are becoming neurotically fixed on their speedometers in a bid to stay within the limit. I am a lifelong member of the Institute of Advanced Motorists and have never received a speeding ticket – until a month ago. This was picked up by camera. I appealed the prosecution because of my lifetime good driving record (over 60 years) and the very tiny excess speed limit (one mile per hour) but my appeal was declined and I have to pay £100 and will have 3 points added to my licence.
This has done nothing to increase my confidence in fairness and leniency by the Police. My age and the tiny excess speed does not indicate that I am a motorist likely to be a danger to the public.
That’s outrageous. However, as you know, you can’t argue with a moron and the system is moronic. Camera says No, so that’s it, pay up. On the other hand, drive without functioning lights, have bald tyres, do a bit of tailgating or center lane hogging and cut a few cars up – you’ll never be caught.
Absolutely disgusting. Where’s this +/- tolerance on the speed? I reckon it’s ignored for the cash content! They know most motorists won’t appeal..
I absolutely totally agree. It doesn’t make you a speeder. But it probably feels like it. I know I’ve been there. I was caught by 1mph. And the camera was at the bottom of the hill within 50 metres of end of the the speed restriction !! How stupid and ridiculous is that. I’m beginning to loose respect for speed enforcement. No wonder people joke about it.
If a speed camera can get a good pic of your car then it should be able to pick up on mobile phones and seatbelts
I have found that l have an expensive problem driving in places like Brighton and London in 20mph limit areas. I have now got rid of my automatic V8 Range Rover as I found driving at these speeds I rarely got out of second gear and it was getting to the stage where it was easier to take a chance and drive at 30mph than pay the price of petrol. The only problem is the points one accumulates in trying to save money. So I bought a diesel and now have the threat of paying more after being encouraged to do so by the government. As a driver these days you get two choices loose or loose.
“Gloucestershire Police said that 43% of tickets cancelled were because of officers not being able to trace guilty drivers,” I thought the owner of the Vehicle had to say why was driving or get done for the offence him/herself, so that is really a load of tosh.
We have just had a 20 mph zone put up on my estate but no one is taking any notice of it because no one is enforcing the law, so why should they bother.
The current EU regulations covering speed recording devices fitted to modern vehicles allow for an accuracy tolerance of plus or minus 3%, this tolerance is also affected by the size of tyre fitted to the vehicle, some manufacturers tyres differ significantly in circumference from other manufacturers tyres of the same stated size, and thus slightly affect the gearing of the vehicle and its speed, I worked for a large transport company, and when vehicles were taken for the mandatory Tachograph calibration, we had a spare set of wheels that were fitted with new tyres, we fitted these wheels to the vehicle due for testing so that they were calibrated with new tyres on the wheels that drive the Tachograph, and thus gave the most accurate reading at calibration. As a Chief Constable, a person would expect Mr Anthony Bangham to be an educated, capable and knowledgeable man, all he has done by making a statement like this, is to show that he is actually none of these things.
I think the 20 mph limit is unreasonable it’s just a joke. This is why people break the law. It’s all abought making money. Using safety as the front.
I think too much is being said about speeding . The standard of driving generally these days is disgusting , people do not appear to have any knowledge of the highway code , they cut corners ,park anywhere and have no knowledge of lane discipline. Drivers do not think ahead if they are turning right 4 miles ahead they get in the right lane of a dual carriagway and compromise other drivers. The driving test is supposed to have got harder but the standard of driving is so low it does not follow. The Police are not interested in these things only the easy jobs ,speeding .seat belts they dont even seem to be interested in mobile phone users. No one thinks about cars with defective lights blinding other drivers or no ligts at all. Illegal use of fog lights and blue lights, lane hogging, listening on headphones whilst driving and these things that cause as many if not more accidents than speeding.
Totally agree, in any occupation where an employee is under preforming then a training plan is implemented. if it were compulsory to sit a refresher course on the highway code at the renewal of your driving license, then in my opinion this would be far more effective than any fine system. the majority of drivers do not read the highway code once passing their test.regulation awareness would make our roads far safer.
It’s not that the police aren’t interested, there just aren’t enough of them around (thanks to the government. As a matter of interest, MPs are well protected at Westminster – police cuts don’t seem to apply there.) Back to he topic – an effective roads policing presence would obviate all of this topic. The traffic patrols were there, in the same environment as the motorist, and assessed transgressions, having a word were necessary, and booking were necessary.
I doubt this will ever be the case in the future.
The problem is that modern cars ‘cocoon’ drivers. Road noise is zero, wind noise zero, and stereos that are as good ad you have at home. All sense of speed is therefore lost, and therein lies the problem. Add that to the ‘last minute rush’ life syndrome that so many live under today and you have the perfect ingredients for excess speed.
This obsession with speed is getting tiresome and ridiculous when figures show that only 5% of accidents have speed as the main cause. Driving whilst using a phone is far more dangerous than a few mph over an arbitrary limit which in a lot of cases recently are stupid slow.
But do the police stick to the speed limit
Without a blue light on, they should but how do you know if it is or isn’t an emergency because to stay with them you have to speed.
Not all spedometers are not so accurate as to be spot on on gps it is more accurate
I have 2 speed cameras near where I live. When I pass them I always make
sure my speedo reads 30mph. One says I am doing 28mph the other says I am over the limit.!!!!
I agree with charging people using their mobile phones but what harm are drivers doing within the 10% limit. I think police Resourse could be but to better use like getting drugs off our street. What’s happened to true policing. Yeah right
I’d like to know what really causes deaths and serious injuries on our roads. After every accident the police carry out a thorough investigation to determine the cause, write a report and then lock it away and won’t let anyone read it. Avon and Somerset police say this is because they contain personal information, but this is the excuse not the reason. The people involved could be identified by code names and the personal details put in an appendix. They have had 20 years since the Data Protection act came in to do this. The result is that we cannot campaign for solutions to the real causes of injury on our roads.
I read that it was reported that the 20 mph speed limits were causing more pedestrian accidents due to people just walking out in front of as the 20mph limited gave people a false sense of security in crossing roads
But will not remove the restrictions due to the cost of removing the signs ect.
I live in London and most of the time traffic is bad that you cannot drive at 5mph now what do you need for the roads near where I live are now 20mph.
I understand that it is needed outside of schools, but when it is on a road that has no houses it is ridiculous.
Speed is not the main problem, I feel it is a case of the low standards set to pass the driving test allowing inexperienced drivers straight onto the roads with a lack of experience, I feel that the test should be set up over a year or 18 months. Starting off with the initial test for safety and ability to recognise the dangers on modern roads. This first part allows them to drive unaccompanied and allowed to use A roads to gain experience. They should be taught by a school to drive at faster speeds on busier and faster roads but not on motorways. They should then be tested to see if they have passed stage 2 and are capable of driving on these faster and busier roads. Then another test after 6 months to allow them to take lessons on motorways, lane discipline, correct maneuvers when overtaking, not lane hogging and being able to drive safely at the speed limit on congested motorways. Only then should they be given free reign. Then after 6 months they should be testes to see how they have improved and be capable to continue driving. If they fail then they go back to stage 1 and start all over again. And somewhere towards the end of their learning they should be taught how to deal with a skid situation ( in the Scandinavian countries this is basic learner driver requirements).
Speed cameras are a joke. What do they really do apart from catching people in the same places all the time and not really tackling some of the speeding issues in areas that never ever see a police car or even a speed camera !! Police authorities even publicise when they are out with their cameras and where. Yes I agree with speed limits but I’d wish the police and other authorities do it realisticly and not in the same place, same time and at the bottom of a hill !! No wonder people have no respect for speed or speed enforcement because it’s becoming a regular cash income rather than any kind of safety issue.
Congestion on roads, seems to be a contributory factor towards drivers speeding to make up lost time because you are held up and late for an appointment – regularly by pedestrians pressing button then crossing leaving drivers stopped at a red light no one crossing + traffic lights green with empty roads beside them etc. Poor driving standards are also to blame, especially young ‘racers’ along with uninsured drivers not giving a hoot
Make everyone take one of the advanced driver courses within 6-8months of passing driving test, those with years of experience need to also …. yup what a logistical nightmare !!
I live on a country lane in a village. Our road is not the main road and it has a 20MPH speed limit. It is winding, narrow (in most places, two vehicles can’t pass each other) and it does not have pavements. The road has numerous semi-blind vehicle exits onto it from homes. The average speed of around 90% of vehicles passing through, I estimate at travelling at 35MPH +. When I have to work in the road, sweeping up debris or hedge cutting, I always put warning cones out and I wear reflective garments. Do drivers slow down? Very few, most don’t even change down a gear! They shoot bye passing within inches of me, seemingly oblivious of other road users that maybe just around the bend, or the car that is pulling out of a drive. Is common sense, together with common courtesy, a thing of the past? Drivers travelling too fast, on any road, should not be thinking “will I get caught speeding”. They should think “will my actions cause a traffic collision”? Or even worst, “will I be responsible for the death of a pedestrian or motorist”?
If instead of thinking I’m travelling at 20MPH, they converted it to Miles Per Feet, they might realise the significance of travelling at approximately 30 Feet Per Second, plus of course, thinking time and breaking time on top!
Which combined, amounts to around 66 FEET PER SECOND. Will that child just around the corner, survive!
The authorities admit to 1 million vehicles that shouldn’t be on the roads due to vehicle or driver issues. There are nearly 38 million registered vehicles according to the Office of National Statistics (ONS). So unfit vehicles make up 1 in 39 vehicles but the ONS says they’re involved in 1 in 5 incidents. Surely that’s where enforcement efforts would be best focused. Yet according to Gloucestershire Police in the article above 43% of speeding tickets were ripped up because they couldn’t find the vehicle. I wouldn’t be surprised if that proportion also applied nationally. But surely they’re the ones that need finding and prosecuting the most to get them off the road thus potentially reducing incidents by 20%. Of course this would require some ‘proper’ old fashioned Policing. So don’t hold your breath!
The police have gotten lazy, like the MPs. Catching real criminals is too much like hard work. Easier to let a camera boost your figures and revenue. As for the MPs, it’s easier to rubber stamp edicts from Brussels than draft, debate and vote on bills.
Just being reading some of the points…I agree with hitting the morons who drive around at night with one headlight out! Even worse if it is the OFFSIDE one! How do these idiots get through the MOT? My car has two Speedos,one digital. If the normal one is showing 30, the digital one is on 29 mph? Thus if I don’t want all the tech info on screen I leave the digital one on.
Reducing the speed limit is a gimmick to catch on the whole law abiding motorists, roads that were previously 60 mph now 50 mph, 50 mph are now reduced to 40 mph, 30mph reduced to 20 mph on the pretext that there was an accident on that road. If you look at the reasons, 99% of the time you would find out that the accident was caused by the driver vastly exceeding the speed limit, not driving at it.
If a law is stupid then people tend to ignore it hence the ridiculous amount of speeding tickets issued and why Gloucestershire Police said that 43% of tickets cancelled were because of officers not being able to trace guilty drivers. is it because they use false number plates?
I agree with using dashcam footage to send to Police as there are just not enough police on the roads and some of the drivers I have on my dashcam should be banned, going through red lights which nearly caused a headon crash, drivers on the wrong side of the road. the list is endless and these drivers are getting away, no wonder people break the law there’s no one to police it.
Watching the latest series of Police programmes containing joy riders (if that’s the right term), criminals and the like . What amazes me if they get caught, the Judge awards them 12 months ,18 months etc. ban when they haven’t even got a licence and may be £150 fine, a joke. Just watching a New Zealand police programme one person was fined 5000 dollars. When are the government going to come to their senses and up the punishments. Example if a helicopter is used in your chase fine increases by £1000, if you damage a police car the damage is added to your fine ,or if you can’t pay your sentence is extended. God sake come to reality at what it cost to catch a criminal.
Before retiring from my last job as a ‘white van man’ delivery driver, I once had 9 points on my licence for 13 months before the oldest three points expired, giving me a bit of breathing space. All my speeding offences were SP30s (exceeding the 30mph limit) and my speeds were all between 32-34mph. It’s an occupational hazard in that job. During my ‘nine points’ period, I stuck rigidly to all speed limits as another three points would have led to a ban and loss of employment. I suffered tailgating, headlamp flashers, fist shakers, and horn honkers and had to take it on the chin. Theoretically, the 20mph limit near schools means you could be done for 23mph at three o’clock in the morning during the school summer holidays, instead of just during school hours. Cash cow indeed!
In a similar situation, with nine point and counting, I routinely used cruise control. Then I was nabbed by a Scammera Van, allegedly at 35mph.
I fought it, going through seven pre-trial hearings, eventually extracting the police video and getting it scrutinised by a real expert (not the paid ones the Police use).
His three reports summarised to “given the lack of proper calibration for the preceding eight months and the slipshod alignment checks done, this camera was more likely to have been clocking a passing light aircraft”.
The CPS folded, rather than let my trial go ahead and lost by them – because then all of the eight months’ worth of fines could have been disputed and would need to be repaid!!
During all of the seven court visits, the entire court’s attitude was “you are guilty, shut up and pay up” – i.e. guilty until proven innocent.
I still use cruise control and I still yearn occasionally to open her up, but this experience reminds me of the real reason speed is so important an issue to the powers that be – money
If those powers really wanted to reduce road deaths and injuries, then they should have the balls to require a re-test every three years and ideally introduce a more difficult Driving Test, to improve the standard of driving.
One road death costs around £1 million.
i think that the police should maximise the use of technology to identify and prosecute drivers who put the safety of others at risk. The focus should be on increasing the likelihood of those exceeding the speed limit by a specified % amount ( 10% for example) being caught. If motorists knew there was a high chance of being caught they would change their behaviour. The same principle should be applied to using hand held devices and penalties for being caught should be an automatic 6 month ban.
I hardly think 1 or 2 miles over the speed limit is worthy of the penalty to the motorist. Bigger danger keep checking we are not 1 mph over. Of course if someone is injured or killed we look at things differently but I would suggest that the reasons for hitting someone whilst driving are not vas a result of being 1mph over the speed limit. The impression is lots of effort into collecting money and less time for serious crime.
Far too much emphasis on speeding a fraction over the limit and not enough on driving skills. To cruise at 80 mph on a quiet motorway in a modern car in good weather for an experienced driver is far safer than driving at 28 mph in a built up area with a 30 mph limit. I have driven over one million miles over 43 years and never once had an accident yet break the speed limit on a regular basis.
Place large florescent warning signs before the road cameras – allow the motorist to trim speed – and pass safely through. If speeding then there’s no excuse. Also, if cameras are only placed in blackspots then the roads will automatically become safer and have the backing of most people – instead of being thought of as spies and cash-cows!
Again we see motorists persecuted to top up revenues when we are talking 1 mph over the limit. If this is the route we are going to face on an ever increasing level then manufacturers will need to make vast improvements on the speeds we record. I have owned many cars where the markings on the speedometer are just not accurate enough or far too small. A Kia Magentis was a prime example of this, it was hard to judge within 3 mph the speed travelling.
Do you use the M1 between J16 to J19 in Northamptonshire – Since Smart Motorways have been installed 735 motorists have had speeding tickets in 8 weeks… They tell you what the fastest was, but no mention of the slowest speeder, how much over they don’t dare say… Cash cow again?