Speed awareness

[Dieselman]

SWMBO recently got caught doing 35mph in a 30 zone.

I was stopped for doing 63 on a dual carriageway in Weston-super-Mare , which was a 50 zone.

I was photographed at 35mph in a 30 zone on the A3024.

Surely, you can't be ticketed for breaking a speed Zone...a Zone is an area. One gets ticketed for breaking a speed Limit.

If you were ticketed for doing something in a Zone, you should appeal.

 

[flango]

You mean they actually raised the speed limit !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I know a couple of who have guys (one has a PSV licence) speed awarence course and both said the same thing, job creation scheme for ex plods

This is exactly right, I keep getting asked to teach these courses and won't as its not about road safety and education its about ticking boxes for government statistics. They do nothing for education and safety at all, the course content is at best a good reminder of what you should already know and be practising.

SWMBO did one a while ago she spent most of the time picking them up on points of law they were presenting which were incorrect.

Total waste of time IMHO If I get caught I'll just accept the consequences and take the fine and points, most decent insurance companies don't increase premiums for one lapse anyway

 

[Deleted member 6183]

I have been twice and was absolutely delighted to have the opportunity to avoid the points.

My favourite bit is when the instructor has to warn the belligerent delegates that they can be sent away and take the points instead - instant smacked-**** face!

 

[RWDpetrol]

About a year ago I heard some insurance companies were giving lower premiums where a driver had 3 points (vs. Clean licence). The reason being these drivers were more likely to behave. Completely agree, I have a clean licence and drive it like it's stolen all the time.

 

[Rayny]

Surely, you can't be ticketed for breaking a speed Zone...a Zone is an area. One gets ticketed for breaking a speed Limit.

If you were ticketed for doing something in a Zone, you should appeal.

OK I'll take the bait as I have nothing to do for 1 minute -
Which one of us said that we were 'ticketed'?
<Sunday evening pedantry> We all stated that we had been caught/stopped/photopgraphed at a particular speed in various zones (a synonym for area) where there was a different speed limit in force.
</Sunday evening pedantry>

 

[Dieselman]

<Sunday evening pedantry> We all stated that we had been caught/stopped/photopgraphed at a particular speed in various zones (a synonym for area) where there was a different speed limit in force.
</Sunday evening pedantry>

Glad we got the Limit bit sorted...

If it was a Zone you would be expected to drive at that speed in that Zone, it's a Limit, which you must not exceed.

 

[ChrisA]

The course is not with plod mate.

Was fortunate enough to offer my presence on one of these day courses 23 yrs ago and it was 100% conducted by a serving Traffic Officer. Was expecting it to be boring and clock watching but to be honest, very informal, humorous at times and over before we knew it.

Did I learn anything from it? Yep....take a flask of tea next time

 

[NOMONEYBUTAMERC]

Surely, you can't be ticketed for breaking a speed Zone...a Zone is an area. One gets ticketed for breaking a speed Limit.

If you were ticketed for doing something in a Zone, you should appeal.

Go and put your bloody mac on and stop nitpicking.

 

[ringway]

I got snapped doing 37 downhill in the Oxfordshire countryside and was glad of the opportunity to keep my licence clean by attending the S.A.C. which taught me a thing or two and wasn't and boring as I thought it would be.


The subject of the insurance companies delving for information came up and the police are seriously hacked off about this. Their viewpoint is that the course educates people to become more aware of the dangers of inappropriate speed and therefore, (hopefully) makes for safer drivers and that if an offender knows their indiscretion will be revealed to the insurers, some drivers just won't bother to attend the course resulting in no education.


One of the things I failed on was the sign below. Some got it, but a fair few didn't have a clue what it meant.






How many of you knew what this sign meant?

 

[Ted]

Minimum speed 30.
I didn't look it up.

 

[Dieselman]

Go and put your bloody mac on and stop nitpicking.

It's not nitpicking, there is a difference...unless you have just adopted American slang.
Proper English is not a hard language to grasp...for a lifelong UK citizen.

 

[Dieselman]

One of the things I failed on was the sign below. Some got it, but a fair few didn't have a clue what it meant.






How many of you knew what this sign meant?

Minimum speed 30.
I didn't look it up.

Ohhh... A minimum speed limit sign for a Zone...

 

[Giantvanman]

Give a clue……………you've all seen it many, many times!

EDIT: Too late. Beaten to my post.

EDIT: Poor choice of English on my part.

 

[Dieselman]

EDIT: Too late. Beaten to my post. Minimum speed for motorway is where it will have been 'seen' most frequently.

Really? I've not seen one on a motorway, they are normally reserved for such areas as tunnels.

 

[flango]

Its a mandatory minimum speed limit for a speed zone, the end of the zone is designated by the same sign with a red diagonal line through it, not used just on motorways though.

 

[Deleted member 37751]

Minimum speed 30.
I didn't look it up.

I thought all the numbers on signs were minimums Ted...

 

[Charles Morgan]

A very useful sign which should be used much more often. The only problem I can see is that 90% of the driving population would slow to below it.

My speed awareness course was taught by an ex-con who did psychological profiling of convicts. The one useful thing I remember was let tailgaters pass as soon as possible, they're all psychos.

 

[Crazyfool]

SWMBO recently got caught doing 35mph in a 30 zone. The fine was £60 and 3 points or £80 for a speed awareness course. It was a first offence and she took a day off work and did the course. She said it was very informative. I spoke to the insurance company and they said that seeing that she had taken the course, and her licence was not endorsed, it would not affect her premium. Not two weeks later and she was caught doing 37 mph, on the same road ! This time £80 and 3 points, no messing about ....... and she wonders why I don't let her drive the amg

I went to a speed awareness course and found it very informative. It was also a real eye opener. I couldn't believe how many people didn't know the speed limit on the different national speed limit roads.

Someone also admitted getting caught by a Gatso on the way to the course.

 

[E55BOF]

I did a course just over four years ago (39 mph in a 30 zone - oh, very well, DM, a 30-LIMIT zone - entirely deliberately; I knew for sure that the speed limit along there was 40 mph;always had been, always would be. Sadly, it was not, and never had been). It was not boring, but I was very disappointed that there were no cautionary photographs of the dreadful aftermaths of fatal accidents.

There was a driver on that course also who had been caught by a Gatso on the way there. The only other driver I recall was an old boy who was utterly convinced that on a three-lane motorway the left-hand lane was for lorries, the centre for cars, and the right-hand for overtaking. I don't think he was entirely convinced otherwise after the course, either.

I did not learn an awful lot on the course -most of the content I knew already - and my driving changed not one whit as a result of it. The benefit to me was a (still) clean licence.

 

[Giantvanman]

I was very disappointed that there were no cautionary photographs of the dreadful aftermaths of fatal accidents.

Out of interest, would it have changed the way you drive at all if you had seen such photographs?