Motorway speeding ticket for 80mph?

[E55BOF]

I have never known it safe to do 80mph all i do is use the 10% error in the speedo which it must be by law. So you are ok at 44......55.....66....and 77mph.

I think you may have misunderstood how the system works. Firstly, speeding is an absolute offence; whatever your speedo may show can be offered up in mitigation, but it does not alter whether or not an offence has been committed.

Secondly, the speedo is permitted by the Contruction & Use regulations to OVER-read by up to 10%, but never to under-read. If yours is accurate, when it shows 77 mph you are actually doing 77 mph. Unless you know what your speedo is indicating at an actual 30/40/50/60/70, you are not safe at all...

 

[SmartAmg]

The guy who was done for doing 80mph on a motorway by a cop, was obviously the same cop, that did me earlier this week for my tinted plates
P.C Jobsworth was his name .

 

[Deleted member 6183]

The guy who was done for doing 80mph on a motorway by a cop, was obviously the same cop, that did me earlier this week for my tinted plates
P.C Jobsworth was his name .

Are tinted plates a thing?

 

[BTB 500]

Secondly, the speedo is permitted by the Contruction & Use regulations to OVER-read by up to 10%

Current requirement is that from 25-70 mph actual speed the speedo is allowed to display 10% over plus 6.25 mph. So at 70 it could read as high as 83.25.

1. The vehicle shall be fitted with a speedometer capable of indicating speed in mph at uniform intervals not exceeding 20 mph at all speeds up to the maximum speed of the vehicle and capable of being read by the driver at all times of the day or night.

2. For all true speeds up to the design speed of the vehicle, the true speed shall not exceed the indicated speed.

3. For all true speeds of between 25 mph and 70 mph (or the maximum speed if lower), the difference between the indicated speed and the true speed shall not exceed—

V/10 + 6.25 mph

where V = the true speed of the vehicle in mph.

The Motor Vehicles (Approval) Regulations 2001

 

[E55BOF]

More probably, at least in modern cars, when it reads 77 mph that's pretty much what you're doing, though. The days of the cable-driven 'vaguelier' (Veglia) speedo are long gone, thank goodness. Mine (on the cars at least) seem to be pretty much the same in reading about 1-2mph fast at 70-ish. Hypothetically, if I needed to slow down for a HADECS installation, I'd slow to 75 mph indicated. Plenty of cars seem quite happy to go past me at least 10-15 mph faster, and I've yet to see one such flashed on the M25, but why take the risk?

 

[DoberMan]

It always amazes me when people argue about I was "only just" over the limit.

Whatever the speed limit is set at, it's the 'MAXIMUM' speed permitted. People seem to think it's a speed to attain.

It does not mean, 'well I can go faster and it's near enough'.

I am not against going fast where appropriate, but it is my absolute No.1 pet hate through villages or towns. Especially where I live. It's anti-social.

Don't you just love those 'pops n' bangs with those tw**s in the early hours of the morning.........or at any time of the day......on a straight bit of road for their own amusement ..........?

W*****s.

 

[rockits]

There are lots of anomolies though as my lane is technically national speed limit. Go figure

Google Maps

 

[whitenemesis]

Manufacturer gets into very deep water if it's shown their speedometers are under reading, so all will over read whatever approved rim/tyre combo is fitted, up to a max of 10%.
Drive to the indicated speed, don't try second guessing. Speed limits are a max not a target.

 

[BTB 500]

More probably, at least in modern cars, when it reads 77 mph that's pretty much what you're doing, though. The days of the cable-driven 'vaguelier' (Veglia) speedo are long gone, thank goodness. Mine (on the cars at least) seem to be pretty much the same in reading about 1-2mph fast at 70-ish.

I re-checked the Vito on Thursday and 80 on the speedo was 75 GPS speed (obviously this was on a private test track ... no way I'd risk that sort of speed on public roads ).

I've compared the SL (which isn't really modern but I'm sure doesn't have a cable-driven speedo ) and C Class in the past, and my recollection is that they were similar. But obviously it will vary from one make/model to the next.

 

[Petrol Pete]

The guy who was done for doing 80mph on a motorway by a cop, was obviously the same cop, that did me earlier this week for my tinted plates
P.C Jobsworth was his name .

What was the offence ? The number plate 'thing' intrigues me ,I run legal plates on my cars but my road legal off road bike has a slightly smaller (still easy to read) flexible plate so it doesn't get broken as easily as a big legal solid plate hanging off the back being roosted by stones and gravel....and the rare times I flip the thing over backwards/sideways in a muddy ditch

I know it's illegal and the big plate goes back on for the MOT. Some cop's might turn a blind eye to it as it is not a tiny plate with dodgy lettering but its still not technically legal and the maximum penalty (I have heard) altering an number can be classed as 'perverting the course of justice'... back to my question. What penalty did you receive for the tinted plates ?

 

[BTB 500]

I assume that tinted plates could be seen as an attempt to make them more difficult for ANPR etc. to read. Like the various 'anti flash' films/sprays you can get, which will also get you into trouble if spotted.

 

[SmartAmg]

The plates were tinted, darker then normal plates, letters/numbers
correct font and spaced,
and perfectly legible and still reflective at night.
Not got the penalty yet.

 

[Lizn121]

What happened?

Still waiting unfortunately as the vehicle is not registered in my name. So has to go over a few loops before it comes to me finally

With X-mas etc.. could take awhile..

 

[Dryce]

and perfectly legible and still reflective at night.

In your opinion.

But presumably technically non-compliant. And the regulations and compliance are there for a reason.

 

[SmartAmg]

Yep, my opinion, apart from being darker than usual, they were totally legal, although as you say, "technically none compliant " A warning in my opinion would have sufficed, i would have changed them straight away (which I did anyway) and it wouldn't have happened again, but nope the book was out, simply because he could. No common sense, just flexing his
P.C. Jobsworth muscles
in my opinion.

 

[Dryce]

in my opinion.

One might presume that if they were non-compliant then they were not 'totally legal'.

 

[SmartAmg]

One might presume that if they were non-compliant then they were not 'totally legal'.

Yep, not 'totally legal', but I'm sure we all do things that are not 'totally legal '
everyday, are we to be booked every time.

 

[whitenemesis]

Does seem a little harsh for a first offense, different if you had previously been warned about them. That said surely whoever made up the plates would have known they were not road legal? Were they sold as show plates?
The police officer, having no doubt come across this scenario many times, presumably though you had knowingly fitted illegal plates?

 

[Yugguy]

It's worth remembering that the police are lied to constantly. Criminals lie like the rest of us breathe, and not even good ones, so perhaps the pc was just fed up with what he expected to be just another lie.

 

[zipdip]

Wow you were unlucky,I take it you were moving when you got a pull for the plates,in my experience of running a car with a gap between the first letter and the second is that the big risk is when you are parked up ,over the years I have one warning,and one near one and a reminder at a MOT station when I forgot to switch the plates,the warning was picked up filling the car with diesel by a cop who was stuffing his face with a supermarket sandwich and parked up at a Mc Donalds again by a cop with a takeaway ,he paused and looked at the car and then hung around for a while,my grandson got a second ice cream and me another coffee,in the big scheme of things as you say the plates could be read by ANPR,so no big problem,but as you found out there are cops out there who will write a ticket.