General Chat

Two things. Has anyone FIRST hand experience of people being prosecuted for 31 or 32 miles an hour in a 30 area? One hears so many tales of brothers in law 3rd removed who have perhaps embellished stories to tell.

Secondly, is there still an allowable margin for speedometer errors?. In the old days you used to be allowed a 10% error.

Happy days

"how is it that anyone driving slower than you is a bumbling dawdler, and anyone driving faster than you is an irresponsible idiot?"

I think the rule is 4 mph + 10% speedo error.
ie in a 30 mph you should get nicked for 38mph and above and a maybe a warning between 30 - 37.

I got nicked for 36mph in a 30mph zone, 3 points and £60 fine, or take a Speed Awareness course and pay £60.35p. I paid the £60.35p and I do the course on 31st January.

Some one told me that the automatic 10% margin was abolished a couple of years ago and is now discretionary only. So it is possible to be caught doing 31 mph.

Recently we had a temp restriction with cameras on some road works near us, and it was announced in the press that they had given some leeway, and were only prosecuting if you topped 47 in a 40 restriction.

So it seems it might vary.

Harry nice to see you........

as I understand it, the usual rule is 2mph +10%
(I always used to belIeve 3mph+10%)3mph +10% =36 therefore at 37MPH you're nicked!

IPG I heard that also..depends on the constabulary area......specially Wales!!
BUT bearing in mind that most mechanically driven speedos,(by that I mean taken from rpm of the road wheels)are at least 2 mph optimistic at 30 Mph which to my mind means that a speedo reading 30, the car is actually running at around 28 mph road speed.
this comes about because as your tyres wear, the wheel becomes smaller, thus rotating faster for a given road speed.and also the speedo is calibrated/ made that way, because if a speedo under-reads, you might have a case against the car manufacturer.......
this phenomena can be checked against a GPS device, which I have been advised is 100% correct (in a straight line).
owners that claim " my car will do say 120Mph,flatout, are deluded, because of this over reading..their car is likely no where near that fast indicated speed does not always mean actual speed.

there-fore no one should........if they have their nose glued to the speedo,(instead of watching the road.......)should ever be guilty of exceeding a speed limit!!

but in answer to your original question... MY brother claims to have been done by a speed camera at 41 Mph(40 limit),


and as an aside, you cannot be done for speeding by a gatso camera that is FACING you........truvelos are a different case entirely..

Bob

Someting as simple as over or under inflated tyres, low profile tyres or off-road type tyres will all affect the accuracy of a speedometer. Then there is also the inhererent inaccuracy of any mechanical speedometer to be taken in to account.
I'm sure one cannot be held responsible for the accuracy or inaccuracy of a speedometer fitted into any road vehicle. There was a time when speedo accuracy was always measured in car and motorcycle roadtests in magazines.

Very interesting and informative replies for which I thank you, on a subject which does gets peoples goat - mine included; but my belief is that they are partly responsible for our pretty safe roads, by comparison to other countries.

Nice to see a post from your good-self Bob.

happy days

I got done for 36 in a 30 totally my faultdidnt see the signs had changed and was going on what it had been when I lived there.
3 points and £60 fine or the awareness course but was miles away so chose the points and fine.

And why is it although the points are only valid for 3 years you cant get them wiped off your licence for 4 years.?

Don;t know why the last one Dawnie. Interesting choice of punishment though.

Happy days

Harry
I wouldnt be using my licence for getting a job and it didnt make any difference to my insurance as were first points

I would of had to go to Oxfordshire for the training and couldnt get back in time for school run so no choice really

Thanks for the replies. 32 seems a bit mean and low for a conviction. Letter of the law and spirit of the law type of thing.

Happy days

Generally speaking, if there are NO signs obvious and the area has street lighting, then its odds on that its a 30 limit!
30 limits dont need repeaters but 40-plus, do

what gets MY goat is short stretches of the same road that have differing limits, 30-40-30 for the sake of a couple of hundred yards make it ALL 30. then we wont get caught out!

If you are reading what I posted earlier, regarding your speedos, if you are indicating 30 then its odds on you are well under the limit no need to go 25 ....just in case!!!??

I DO hate it when drivers do that......if 40 is the limit, then drive to it!!
unless conditions dictate otherwise!!

Did you read on another thread that someone had been fined for flashing oncoming traffic ,warning them of mobile speed traps....?

WellI and hubbby would be guilty of that ,and many other motorist I encounter!
One lorry driver was hanging out of his cab window, flagging down drivers to warn them of a single'almost hidden' police patrolman with a speed gun .lol

Mixed feelings about that one Sandie. Arguments both ways. Good job you put in the proviso on your last paragraph Bob, or i would have disagreed with you.

Happy days

I agree with drivers keeping as near to the speed limit as possible. Slower drivers do cause a hazard by causing others to make foolish manoeuvres in a 30 m.p.h. and sometimes near to the cameras.
I have to confess that a driver flashing his lights did save me a speeding fine. The same day ,the same location my next door neighbour, also got flashed by an oncoming car, he didn't take any notice and got fined for travelling at 36 m.p.h.
As for Dame Shelley's somewhat pompous remark (lol)of just travelling below the speed limit, how lovely it must be to have the full concentration of watching the speedo. Having had to commute for two hours a day, not by choice, and having a stressfull job meant that my brain certainly didn't switch off the minute I left work and knowing that I had 7 cameras the last seven miles of my journey didn't make the concentration any easier. Thankfully now I have a car with cruise control which allows me to set the speed,if I choose, particularly in the 50 mph road works.-jle

My last call on this one. Thank you girls. Two very interesting replies.

Best wishes Happy days

Harry~~ Yes I agree , arguments both ways.

I've been booked for speeding on an uninhabited road past a large Steelworks (now closed), no exits on that area, speed limit is 30mph , I was doing 36 according to my summons .
A colleague of mine ,whose hubby is a Policeman (he's not traffic police ) checked her on video on the same stretch of road the same day doing 35
was not booked ! I knew I'd been clocked and I was returning to work so advised anyone I that I thought travelling that road to be aware!
Agree with me or not :)

I would not ' flash ' someone that was obviously exceeding the speed limit.. their fault !
It does however take your attention off your driving if you are constantly having to look at your speedo, there's not a lot of difference in 30 and 35 on a long straight road.. not excusing myself at all.

Son has a Citroen C2, which has a large constant Digital read out of his speed, pity more cars didn't have that, he's 22 and not a boy racer .lol
He couldn't be in that little car ! He also drives mine which has an ordinary speedo read out but he is a steady driver:))

Sandie.