Who's Counting? Fess up to Points!

[lacroupade]

The reality is that most of the time its just bad luck - wrong time wrong place.

No offence intended but I absolutely refuse to believe that people who want to drive a fast sports car like the Zed never exceed the speed limit, otherwise what the hell is the point of owning one, you may as well get a G-Whizz

There are plenty of situations where the posted limit is inappropriate, often still too fast IMHO (especially narrow windy country roads with a national speed limit), and often too slow (e.g. 40mph on a decent dual carriageway simply because the people who moved in near to it AFTER it was built whined about traffic noise) and I suspect a great many speeding offences are only technical infringements and do not constitute a danger.

I still maintain the best deterrent I ever saw and actually happily observed is the southern Irish policy of posting Accident Black Spot signs like the one below...you know they only get erected for the right reasons so it makes sense to slow down.

And fiddling the stats doesn't help. Wade through any of the TRL reports and you'll find that something like 50% of pedestrians involved in RTAs have been drinking - when was the last time you saw a drunk being fined and given points for posing a danger to motorists?

 

[Finisterre]

I think most drivers add the speed limit into the general mish mash of factors that they use to make each instantaneous decision. I don't think it has much weight with the experienced and insufficient weight with the inexperienced.

Its a fairly useless guideline existing only to discipline those that have no clue. It is good for that though. I wouldn't be without it.

 

[ronk]

interesting thread...

Passed in 1992 and have never been pulled for speeding, and have never received any points. I did the IAM test in 1994 and that has helped alot - observation is the key, and we never stop learning

Are you saying you have never broken any motoring law OR that you have never been caught?

 

[gannet]

interesting thread...

Passed in 1992 and have never been pulled for speeding, and have never received any points. I did the IAM test in 1994 and that has helped alot - observation is the key, and we never stop learning

Are you saying you have never broken any motoring law OR that you have never been caught?

Only a saint has never broken any motoring law...

I tend to stick to 30's and 40's much to the annoyance of those around me but I really don't care about that.

NSL is a different matter, have I ever broken it... yes though I won't say by how much... I have never set off a camera because you can spot them a mile off - hence the observation comment above.

I have been pulled for other reasons, but never received more than a ticking off - once was deserved and was a moment of frustration. The other was a stupid cop in a rush to get home who took offence at my road position which essentially blocked his over take into a blind corner in a 30 mph limit. He dropped it when I pointed out to him that he had no lights/sirens blaring - had he had them on he wouldn't have even seen me.

If I was to be caught speeding I would take the punishment as required.

 

[ronk]

Point taken!

I did read on another forum that there are circumstances that police do not necessarily have to use blues and twos. The rebuttle was written, as I remember, by a traffic officer. (don't shoot me I'm only the messenger!)

 

[Bing]

Point taken!

I did read on another forum that there are circumstances that police do not necessarily have to use blues and twos. The rebuttle was written, as I remember, by a traffic officer. (don't shoot me I'm only the messenger!)

They may not have to use them - I imagine that tailing a car on a motorway doing a ton would require them to speed without lights on - but they cannot then expect you to automatically give way when they are driving an unmarked car, especially in a situation as gannet describes above. Oh, and if they are involved in a RTA without blues and twos on I imagine that the weight of evidence would have to be VERY much on their side for the book not to be thrown at them.

 

[Stuart Truman]

observation is the key, and we never stop learning

Yupp

 

[marchantsuk]

I think that the speed is all about be appropriate. Doing 35 - 40 at 3pm near a school, should carry more points. Driving at 85 on a clear motorway warrants no more than a quiet word of advice.
All to often it's about targets and meeting figures laid down by men in ivory towers.

 

[Bing]

I think that the speed is all about be appropriate. Doing 35 - 40 at 3pm near a school, should carry more points. Driving at 85 on a clear motorway warrants no more than a quiet word of advice.
All to often it's about targets and meeting figures laid down by men in ivory towers.

85 on a clear motorway down here is pretty much standard - on a not clear motorway too. You can get away with driving past a marked car at 80 and not get pulled in my experience.

 

[ronk]

The great danger is that some areas have zero tolerance - That would equate to a speedo needle's thickness over an indicated speed in the wrong place and bingo !

 

[Bing]

Agree - I need to be careful when I go home as, according to my Father (who may just be being senior about things...), anything over 80 north of the border makes you fair game.

Anyone living in Scotland permanently confirm this ?

 

[gannet]

Agree - I need to be careful when I go home as, according to my Father (who may just be being senior about things...), anything over 80 north of the border makes you fair game.

Anyone living in Scotland permanently confirm this ?

in the last two days I've spotted two speed traps on the A9 - nice open stretches, just ready to pounce

 

[Stuart Truman]

Agree - I need to be careful when I go home as, according to my Father (who may just be being senior about things...), anything over 80 north of the border makes you fair game.

Anyone living in Scotland permanently confirm this ?

in the last two days I've spotted two speed traps on the A9 - nice open stretches, just ready to pounce

Oh for a strategically placed puddle right next to them...

 

[Bing]

Anyone who speeds on the A9 in any significant manner is an idiot that deserves the points - it's not the safest road and more is well known as a place they police love to catch people :roll:

 

[Stuart Truman]

If I remember rightly, driving down the A90 from Aberdeen to Dundee there were more speed cameras than I've ever seen before on one stretch of road. It was like Gatso had had a clearance sale!

 

[gannet]

Agree - I need to be careful when I go home as, according to my Father (who may just be being senior about things...), anything over 80 north of the border makes you fair game.

Anyone living in Scotland permanently confirm this ?

in the last two days I've spotted two speed traps on the A9 - nice open stretches, just ready to pounce

Oh for a strategically placed puddle right next to them...

they were in cars that and it being pretty dry up here this week

 

[ronk]

Try the M8 around the west of Glasgow - The speed limits go up and down like a whores drawers! Its more good luck getting thro that lot unscathed!