Polite letter

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PXW

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My wife has just received a letter from Surrey Police informing her that her car was recorded exceeding the 30 mph speed limit (at 11.52 on a Saturday a couple of weeks ago - very precise!), and that whilst the police are satisfied that an offence has been committed no further action is being taken on this occasion.

Not complaining, mind, but do we now have a three tier system - points/fine/court if you're well over the limit, the offer of a remedial treatment course if you're a bit over and a letter if you're not enough over the limit to qualify for that? Or was she just lucky that they had their quota for the day , but she was zipping along quickly enough for a rap across the knuckles? She, needless to say, has no recollection of the incident:rolleyes:
 
Is it genuine ? I could knock you out a good looking letter on a colour laser in a couple of minutes .
 
Isn't this what drivers receive when they have been clocked by the civilian-operated speed traps?

A friend of mine does duty in his village once in a while: a group of residents who have been trained by the police use a police-issued laser gun to measure motorists' speeds through the village.
The offenders get a letter as described since the speed was only recorded by a civilian, not a police officer.

Philip
 
Isn't this what drivers receive when they have been clocked by the civilian-operated speed traps?
That sounds like exactly what it is. Treat it with the contempt it deserves and drop it in the bin.
 
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Isn't this what drivers receive when they have been clocked by the civilian-operated speed traps?

A friend of mine does duty in his village once in a while: a group of residents who have been trained by the police use a police-issued laser gun to measure motorists' speeds through the village.
The offenders get a letter as described since the speed was only recorded by a civilian, not a police officer.

Philip

Quite - a traffic warden was attacked with a brick yesterday - at some point someone will object to civillians meddling in police business and there will be reprisals at the side of the road .

Whilst we all agree aboiut speeding :rolleyes: , shouldn't this be left to cameras or police officers?
 
It means that although she was speeding they don't have legally admissible evidence of her speed.

As mentioned it could have been a 'neighbourhood watch' speed trap, or she may have been followed by a Police vehicle that didn't have a calibrated speedo. (van or similar), or maybe a lone officer in a non-traffic vehicle.

A reminder to brush up on her observation skills as next time she probably won't be so lucky!
 
Ho, ho, ho, I was breaking the law and how dare anyone criticise me.

If this was not an official police letter then I would want to know who, what and where these folks got my details from?

If I was speeding then I would breath a sigh of relief that I got away with it.

If I was driving at that particular time, at that particular place and I never saw any type of speed detection equipment, then I am driving without due care and attention; but I know I'm perfect and there was no such equipment so this must be a hoax letter and I would take it to the police and demand they take action. If it was me, and there was this detection equipment then prosecute me for driving without due care and attention and speeding.

How dare anyone criticise me. :devil: :)

Regards
John
 
Quite - a traffic warden was attacked with a brick yesterday - at some point someone will object to civillians meddling in police business and there will be reprisals at the side of the road .

Whilst we all agree aboiut speeding :rolleyes: , shouldn't this be left to cameras or police officers?

I often wonder about this. As the schemes have been running so long, I suspect the risk has been assessed and deemed to be very small.

The sad truth is that there aren't enough policemen (and, at 1.9% pay package for this year, it is safe to assume that police numbers will not shoot up any time soon) and cameras cost too much and their location is quickly learned and "worked around". The schemes seem like a good idea to me but I would always feel a little vulnerable if I were working on one.

Philip
 
Ho, ho, ho, I was breaking the law and how dare anyone criticise me.

If this was not an official police letter then I would want to know who, what and where these folks got my details from?

If I was speeding then I would breath a sigh of relief that I got away with it.

If I was driving at that particular time, at that particular place and I never saw any type of speed detection equipment, then I am driving without due care and attention; but I know I'm perfect and there was no such equipment so this must be a hoax letter and I would take it to the police and demand they take action. If it was me, and there was this detection equipment then prosecute me for driving without due care and attention and speeding.

How dare anyone criticise me. :devil: :)

Regards
John

I don't think that's it at all John - I really don't agree with people(civvies)by the side of the road holding a speed gun and snapping number plates - at some point someone will get hurt .

The letter should state clearly how the information was gathered .

You mention that you think that drivers who don't spot a speed trap should be nicked for driving without due care - but in these days of cameras an anpr systems - we don't know when we are being snapped . The police could be using two fixed cameras and doing average speed calcs , and whilst they may not be sufficient to prosecute , they send out a letter as a warning.
 
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Yeah, keep speeding, it's the intelligent thing to do.
I guessed my comment would elicit this sort of response, because it's the pre-programmed knee-jerk reaction that our governments have been trying to instill in us for the last 15+ years. But that's not what I said. As I see it there are at least three problems with this "hobby bobby" approach:
  1. Speed guns are not reliable if they are not used properly. I've personally seen civvies in villages waving them about and quite obviously misusing the technology in their haste to "catch" someone. The readings they get are questionable at best and more often than not worthless. They certainly don't constitute "evidence" in the strictest sense, and can't be used to support a prosecution;
  2. If there's a real problem with people dangerously exceeding the speed limit at that location then it's a Police matter to detect the crime and take appropriate action - whether that be a warning or to initiate a prosecution. If a member of the public wants to report a crime there's a mechanism to do that and it works (on the whole);
  3. This sort of scheme can and does put well-intentioned members of the public in a potential conflict situation which, IMO, is plain daft
The sooner these hair-brained schemes are seen for what they are (inneffective "policing" on the cheap) and thoroughly discredited we may actually get the properly trained Traffic Police back out on the roads, doing their duty detecting bad driving, that we desperately need.
 
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I guessed my comment would elicit this sort of response, because it's the pre-programmed knee-jerk reaction ....... Police back out on the roads, doing their duty detecting bad driving, that we desperately need.

Yes, that's all well and good, but what you wrote - the thing that elicited my response - was a glib, smarty comment from you that clearly implied you had contempt for the whole issue of speed monitoring and enforcement.

Why not in the first place just post something that reflects your clearly intelligent opinions on the subject?

And the disapproval of speeding is not a knee-jerk reaction that has been programmed into me by a malevolent, big-brother government. That one belongs up there in your first post, not this one.
 
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Yes, that's all well and good, but what you wrote - the thing that elicited my response - was a glib, smarty comment from you that clearly implied you had contempt for the whole issue of speed monitoring and enforcement.

Why not in the first place just post something that reflects your clearly intelligent opinions on the subject?

And the disapproval of speeding is not a knee-jerk reaction that has been programmed into me by a malevolent, big-brother government. That one belongs up there in your first post, not this one.

I don't think that's what he said at all , but he said it so it is for him to comment.

This "community action" nonsense seems like a cheap way of placating people who have an issue with speeding in their local area - what there should be is a proper speed trap rather than well intentioned people who have no idea what they are doing waving a hairdryer about.
If someone knocked at your front door and said they were a neighbour who wanted to check your TV license they would probably get a punch on the hooter - it is the business of properly appointed and trained officials to enforce the law.
 
I think we are all agreed that community speedwatch is not a great idea. However, the civilians involved do this because is a shortage of policing resources and they suffer a real problem with speeding motorists. It is no good saying that if there is a problem in a specific location the police should / would come and do something about it because they can't / won't. Fact.

I live in a small village with a large speeding problem. We have regularly requested a police trap for 7 years and one has never been set up for even a single afternoon. We also don't qualify for the community speeding scheme since our community is deemed too small.

I think it is unfair to describe the civilians who do undertake community speedwatch as having "no idea" and simply "waving a hair dryer about" - they have gone through a formal training programme and are perfectly capable of operating the speed measurement devices to obtain an accurate reading. After all, it is just a case of waving a hair dryer about :)D ).

You might not like the scheme or agree with it, but if you aren't exceeding the speed limit (Fred - I know you respect limits) it won't affect you.

Philip
 
I don't think that's what he said at all , but he said it so it is for him to comment.

This "community action" nonsense seems like a cheap way of placating people who have an issue with speeding in their local area - what there should be is a proper speed trap rather than well intentioned people who have no idea what they are doing waving a hairdryer about.
If someone knocked at your front door and said they were a neighbour who wanted to check your TV license they would probably get a punch on the hooter - it is the business of properly appointed and trained officials to enforce the law.

Ditto.

If the area in question has a speed problem the police should be involved because its only a matter of time before one of these busybodies (granted well intentioned busybodies) gets hurt or worse and that would be a shame.
 
I live in a small village with a large speeding problem. We have regularly requested a police trap for 7 years and one has never been set up for even a single afternoon.

What exactly is a large speeding problem? :confused:
 
Ditto.

If the area in question has a speed problem the police should be involved because its only a matter of time before one of these busybodies (granted well intentioned busybodies) gets hurt or worse and that would be a shame.

I didn't like to use the term "busybody" but in truth that is what I thought.

We've all admitted that we don't really enjoy being penalized for speeding issues and at some point some herbert is going to take offense . While some of our less savoury elements may argue with a policeman , they are unlikely to clump them one - at some point I see someone stopping and notepad and hairdryer disappearing into the ether.
 
I hate the thought of busy bodies interefering with my private life but I find it slightly wrong to argue with Philip iover his views.

Those that live in larger urban areas complain about the lack of police presence and no doubt they have a legitimate complaint, but for those that live in a rural area, they have NO police presence. ZERO, nothing, zillch. They are lucky if they have a footpath, or full street lighting, yet if they complain to the police about speeding motorists terrorising pedestrians then if they are lucky they will get a polite letter saying how busy the police are, or they will pay more attention to the area, all of which is meaningless. There only option might well be this alternative and I stand by my previous post; if someone fails to see these serlf appointed civilian speed dectors then they are quite clearly driving without due care and attention. Yes we can start waffling about camouflaged ANPR vehicles or whatever but the bottom line is that iuf omeone is pointing a speed detection device at you and you don't see them then you are CLEARLY not paying attention. I would assume for health and safety reasons these civilians will have reflective clothing and probably warning signs, but if the drtiver failed to see them, then I doubt they would see the warning signs either.

I keep saying this but it never sinks in, I am no angel, and just like the majority of motorists I used to break the speed limit, but I would never complain if I got caught! My decision to break the law, my decision to speed ande I suppose it would be my decision to cry if I got caught?

Does it matter who catches us or what catches us, we are the cause of being caught and I gaurantee there were signs placed in highly visible locations stating speed limits and perhaps this campaign was also mentioned?

When folks post messages they must surely expect replies that may not agree with their point?

John
 

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