Motorway speeding ticket for 80mph?

[clk320x]

Are you too busy texting Abs?

Lol never!! My phone is securely mounted for satnav only

Honestly I’ve been driving that route very often the last year and a half, never seen a van. I heard the Swindon camera van unit shutdown, who apparently used to park on the M4 bridges nearby

 

[clk320x]

Yep, after the 50.

When did You get stung bud?

 

[merc85]

Gav, I 've driven past motorway police at 85 without a problem. Just following the flow and speed of traffic ahead of me.

Well it was the nearly the end of the month Roger, Essex Police needed the extra funds to make the numbers up, think they were hoping he would incriminate himself.

 

[Deleted member 6183]

When did You get stung bud?

It was donkeys years ago, I asked for help on here and some muppet trawled years of my posts to find it in an attempt to mock me a couple of years ago.

 

[markjay]

I agree Mark. There isn't much a patrol car can do when a stream of cars pass by all doing over 70 though.

I thought this government, well Cameron's government, were seriously considering raising the limit to 80mph a while ago?

Just two months ago
Increase motorway speed limit to 80mph to drive Britain's productivity, says Government minister

It's a case of pollution vs prosperity.

Driving faster increases emissions but also increases productivity.

(In fact I seem to recall some environmental groups campaigning for reducing Motorway speeds to 60).

Following the 2008 crash, the scrappage scheme favoured reinvigorating the economy on the back of the environment. But I guess the economy has to be doing really badly for a government to be able to pass these kind of schemes.

 

[gramey]

There's more to that than the report states I can almost guarantee that, is it possible there was a reduced speed limit in operation for roadworks or weather conditions as normally a) whilst new digital speed cameras can cope with very high volumes of offences I doubt they have the staff to process the volume of tickets setting them at 79 mph would produce b) unless the person in question pleaded not guilty if it were simply 10 mph over the limit it would have been dealt with by either a speed awareness course or fixed penalty notice of £100 & 3 points if they've already done a speed awareness course in the last 3 years. If on the other hand they were doing 80 mph in a reduced 50 mph limit it would be dealt with at court?

 

[baxlin]

Going back to post #1, I wonder why this went to court, aren’t speeding offences like this usually dealt with in correspondence/fixed penalty, unless its disputed by the offender?

But this chap admitted it in court, so I suppose he must have chosen to go to court to try and 'do a Beckham'.

 

[Steveml63]

To the OP - there has to be more to this case than the simple newspaper report.
Firstly - it seems that the offender failed the attitude test with the officer that stopped him - like “go out and catch real criminals” - that normally winds them up a bit!
Secondly - you would normally be offered a fixed penalty for that sort of speed - again the offender may have refused this at the roadside and offered to “see them in court” - it seems he got his (more expensive) wish!

 

[geraldrobins]

Don't forget potential errors in all this as you may think you're doing 80 but in fact its only, say 77.

 

[219]

I’ve never seen a camera van on a motorway.

A roads yes. Motorways never. I drive a lot too.

They often sit on overhead bridges , or use the police refuges at the side ; occasionally they will be on an adjacent bit of road which affords a good view of the motorway.

I had a ticket for 82 back when these vans first came into being .

 

[Alfie]

Very interesting thread.

Here are the sentencing guidelines on this;

https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/MCSG-October-2018-FINAL.pdf

Page 152

Basically any speed over the limit is deemed an offence. In the 'older' days when stopped by an officer you could hopefully have a pleasant chat and get away with a warning. These days its all automated. The camera system actually triggers a Notice of Intended prosecution. (NIP). This is checked by a human and then posted. If a guilty plea is accepted by post then you may get offered a speed awareness course if the speed isnt too great. If not then your plea is accepted and dealt with under the single justice system. This is a single magistrate sitting in a room with a legal advisor going through the documents setting the penalty and the fine.

A Band A fine is half a weeks pay (deemed to be £120 if on benefits or £440 if not declared)
Ban B is your weekly pay, Band C is 1.5 x your weekly pay.

Remember also that the court can impose a discretionary disqualification for any single speeding offence. This is usually only for first time offenders who are hugely over the speed limit but worth remembering.

A guilty plea by post can be accepted by the court and then adjourned for sentencing if the offender is a 'totter'. That is they have 9 or more points already or the offence will attract enough points to reach 12 or more. In this case the offender is summoned to appear. This usually means the court is considering disqualification. If the offender doesn't appear they can be disqualified in their absence so they are warned not to drive on the day of the hearing. It has happened that an offender is banned in court in their absence. The ANPR system is updated immediately and they are caught within minutes of driving whilst disqualified!!!!

Remember also that should one plead 'Not guilty' and subsequently be found guilty at a trial, the costs rise from £85 to £620!

The cameras on the M4 and M25 are definately 'live'.

 

[clk320x]

Very interesting thread.

Here are the sentencing guidelines on this;

https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/MCSG-October-2018-FINAL.pdf

Page 152

Basically any speed over the limit is deemed an offence. In the 'older' days when stopped by an officer you could hopefully have a pleasant chat and get away with a warning. These days its all automated. The camera system actually triggers a Notice of Intended prosecution. (NIP). This is checked by a human and then posted. If a guilty plea is accepted by post then you may get offered a speed awareness course if the speed isnt too great. If not then your plea is accepted and dealt with under the single justice system. This is a single magistrate sitting in a room with a legal advisor going through the documents setting the penalty and the fine.

A Band A fine is half a weeks pay (deemed to be £120 if on benefits or £440 if not declared)
Ban B is your weekly pay, Band C is 1.5 x your weekly pay.

Remember also that the court can impose a discretionary disqualification for any single speeding offence. This is usually only for first time offenders who are hugely over the speed limit but worth remembering.

A guilty plea by post can be accepted by the court and then adjourned for sentencing if the offender is a 'totter'. That is they have 9 or more points already or the offence will attract enough points to reach 12 or more. In this case the offender is summoned to appear. This usually means the court is considering disqualification. If the offender doesn't appear they can be disqualified in their absence so they are warned not to drive on the day of the hearing. It has happened that an offender is banned in court in their absence. The ANPR system is updated immediately and they are caught within minutes of driving whilst disqualified!!!!

Remember also that should one plead 'Not guilty' and subsequently be found guilty at a trial, the costs rise from £85 to £620!

The cameras on the M4 and M25 are definately 'live'.

Which M4 cameras are you referring to? The only ones are the SMART section in Bristol and Newport?

 

[E55BOF]

The HADECS cameras on the M25 are live, but I'm pretty sure there are no longer cameras in the VSL gantry camera boxes.

 

[clk320x]

The HADECS cameras on the M25 are live, but I'm pretty sure there are no longer cameras in the VSL gantry camera boxes.

What do you mean by VSL?

If you mean those grey boxes that sit behind the gantry, then I’ve seen them flash on the m25 and m4 (Newport)

 

[Steveml63]

VSL = Variable Speed Limit - the variable speed limit that is displayed on the overhead signs on managed motorways.

 

[Deletedmember130310]

Driver exceeds speed limit
Driver gets caught and prosecuted
Drivers is upset..


Crazy world....

 

[como]

I used to subscribe to the belief that doing 80 on a motorway/dual carriageway with a 70 speed limit would not attract a fine etc. That was until June when I got caught doing 80 in a 70 by a camera van and got the choice of 3 points or a Speed Awareness Course. That blew that theory out of the water for me

 

[sturgeon]

With the lorry races and the Honda Jazz drivers "overtaking" (parallel parking) the lorry races, who ever gets the chance to do 80 for more than a few seconds in the middle of the night? Seriously unlucky to get booked for it!

 

[BTB 500]

I used to subscribe to the belief that doing 80 on a motorway/dual carriageway with a 70 speed limit would not attract a fine etc. That was until June when I got caught doing 80 in a 70 by a camera van and got the choice of 3 points or a Speed Awareness Course. That blew that theory out of the water for me

79 mph is the ACPO guideline speed for a FPN to be issued (or SAC offered). 80 mph indicated on the speedo would typically be below that.

 

[Alfie]

Last Friday a driver was banned. His speed was 78mph in a 70mph limit. He had nine points already. Picked up three more giving him 12. Six month ban. The only saving grace for him was that after the six months his licence comes back (when he applies for it because it doesn't come back automatically) there are no points on it. Also worth noting that you cannot drive after your ban until you have the licence in your hand otherwise even though the ban period has expired you would be then guilty of driving without a licence!

The variable speed limit cameras on the M4 are live as are those on the M25. Ditto any fixed cameras.