Done (first ride out)

Got home to find an envelope on the mat, I was caught doing 80 on a dual carrigway near where I live.

If you remember the 20th of March it was a Sunday, actually it was the first Sunday that you could get your bike out and not worry about rain, salt, frostbite and all the other winter crap.

So I went to the garage to put fresh petrol in and get the bike up to temp for the first time in months.

If they do me then so be it but I have always had respect for the police but this wil test my paitence, how many of us have nearley been wiped out by baseball wearing morons in uninsured Fiestas and Saxo's.

Licence has been clean for 5 years it is a shame to spoil it just before the summer.

[NattyBoy]

Bad luck Tony...and I Echo your sentiments entirely mate. I got done for 74MPH..yes 74..on a dual carriageway last year.

Im sick of it. My car accumlated 9 points last year (but obviously my mum was driving the car on one occasion and the wife the other..so only have 3 points ) allthrough ridiculous sppeds (34 in a 30 etc).

My dad also saw a copper hiding behind a wall in the village high street walking home from the pub the other night. It was 11.20, p****g down with rain, no cars about and my dad lives in a really quiet little village where there have never been ANY accidents.

Anyway...after 4 pints of the local brew...he started yelling abuse across the road at this copper (fair play to the old boy..ha ha !!) saying he should be out catching criminals and asking him how the police expect the public to respect them anymore...sad thing is the rozzer just shrugged his shoulders as I guess he agreed.

An they try and insult our intelligence saying that its not about revenue generation.. tossers.

All the best..

Nat

To delay the process I requested photographic evidence and asked for a copy of the calibration certificate for the camera that caught me, I then filled in the form but didn't sign it

They then sent me another 2 letters one of which had the photographic evidence but no calibration certificate, pointing out to me that I haven't signed it, therefore please do so - I never sent it back and this was near on 6 months ago now and I've not heard anything since

I got caught doing 81 on a dual carriageway (A507) and I had the letter telling me I had to go to court because I was 1mph over the standard fixed penalty points and fine system. I then crapped my pants thinking I could quite possibly get a small ban and fine or a mega hefty fine

I completed all the forms and prepared to face the courtroom, I then out of the blue received a fixed penalty of £60 and 3 points with the code SP30 which usually stands for speeding in a 30 limit - so I took it and was thankful I got away with that one

Good luck!

Its all very frustrating!

If they need more money they should fine serious offenders more rather than fining people who speed which is not Dangerous (in itself)

on the other hand (being the devil's advocate here..), speed camera's are not that complicated. you see one you slow down !
they are stupid in a sence, as they will force your eyes to check the speedo, rather than the road, but then, it's not complete robbery either.
in theory, we should all slow down when we see a school sign (i probably dont, because i am not perfect), so if we can do that, i dont see what is different with speed cameras.

that's my bit.. still trying to work out why i hate them.. they are only stupid machines.
I knew this guy who kept being done in his porshe..apparently, he couldnt see them, didnt' pay attention etc.. worrying thing. The speed camera proves he has a deficiency somewhere, but unfortunately does nothing to help him. Even if he learned to spot them !

Originally Posted by stef

on the other hand (being the devil's advocate here..), speed camera's are not that complicated. you see one you slow down !
they are stupid in a sence, as they will force your eyes to check the speedo, rather than the road, but then, it's not complete robbery either.
in theory, we should all slow down when we see a school sign (i probably dont, because i am not perfect), so if we can do that, i dont see what is different with speed cameras.

that's my bit.. still trying to work out why i hate them.. they are only stupid machines.
I knew this guy who kept being done in his porshe..apparently, he couldnt see them, didnt' pay attention etc.. worrying thing. The speed camera proves he has a deficiency somewhere, but unfortunately does nothing to help him. Even if he learned to spot them !

I agree with you stef when they are near schools or dangerous bends or even where they have signs but not where there is no notice of them / police speed guns

if it were such a bad offence then they would make it criminal but its not!

Keep them in residential areas by all means but not on Motorways.

We have had the 70mph speed limit since motorcars existed, its time to increase the limit to cope with increased car saftey, brakes etc etc -just my humble (probably wrong) opinion

i may be wrong, but i think speed limits have evolved during the years.
And the morons behind the wheels havent evolved that fast.

Originally Posted by stef

i may be wrong, but i think speed limits have evolved during the years.

I think you are!? I believe 70mph has been in force since 1930's

please correct me if Im wrong

that was only the 30mph in builtup areas. cant see why we would want to raise this, even with improved brakes on modern cars.

I got done just last week pulling out of the feckin road I live in! Was a busy road and took advantage of the traffic lights changing further up the road to give me a break in the traffic.....pulled out a bit sharpish and got caught by a mobile camera that has never been see on that stretch of road before or since.......I was only speeding for about 5 seconds.......the words income generation went through my mind.....getting caught a week before the end of the tax year and in an area that hasn't had any cameras on it for as long as I remember......then again it might just have been sour grapes.....I found out the day after I had paid out £400 to replace a head gasket and associated sundries!

Originally Posted by Mark Walker

I got done just last week pulling out of the feckin road I live in! Was a busy road and took advantage of the traffic lights changing further up the road to give me a break in the traffic.....pulled out a bit sharpish and got caught by a mobile camera that has never been see on that stretch of road before or since.......I was only speeding for about 5 seconds.......the words income generation went through my mind.....getting caught a week before the end of the tax year and in an area that hasn't had any cameras on it for as long as I remember......then again it might just have been sour grapes.....I found out the day after I had paid out £400 to replace a head gasket and associated sundries!

£400!!!

and it blew on Good Friday.....150 miles from home........double

Originally Posted by SAMMYE

I think you are!? I believe 70mph has been in force since 1930's

please correct me if Im wrong

Robbed from another site -

The 70 mph National Speed Limit was introduced as a temporary measure in December 1965. It is often blamed on Barbara Castle, but at the time the Minister of Transport was Tom Fraser.

The reason given was a spate of serious accidents in foggy conditions, but it is often claimed that the MoT had been alarmed by AC Cars testing their latest Cobra on the M1 at speeds up to 180 mph.

It was confirmed as a permanent limit in 1967, by which time Barbara Castle (a non-driver) had become Minister of Transport.There was surprisingly little debate at the time: the fact that the average family car of the time could only just exceed 70 mph perhaps had something to do with this.

It should be noted that this limit applied to all previously "derestricted" roads, not only motorways.

HTH

Originally Posted by stef

that was only the 30mph in builtup areas. cant see why we would want to raise this, even with improved brakes on modern cars.

Sorry Stef but I don't agree in the slightest.........

When the original speed limits were in place people were driving around in tanks with drum brakes.......There was a major enquiry done not so long ago to increase the speed limits and I think one major reason they didn't would be having to change all the signs.......

We are now talking about much better breaking, safer braking, better tyres etc (however why they do pass most of the drivers/riders out there I can't see how) and driving too slowy/defensively can sometimes be too dangerous....

40mph and common sense (which is seriously lacked again so maybe a poor example) in built up areas...........and try not to kill yourself on the long strips of tarmac.....

Originally Posted by SteveSki

Sorry Stef but I don't agree in the slightest.........

When the original speed limits were in place people were driving around in tanks with drum brakes.......There was a major enquiry done not so long ago to increase the speed limits and I think one major reason they didn't would be having to change all the signs.......

We are now talking about much better breaking, safer braking, better tyres etc (however why they do pass most of the drivers/riders out there I can't see how) and driving too slowy/defensively can sometimes be too dangerous....

40mph and common sense (which is seriously lacked again so maybe a poor example) in built up areas...........and try not to kill yourself on the long strips of tarmac.....

Nah, I don't agree with this either. The bottom line is that there is also far more traffic on the road than there was when these limits were first introduced, around town 30 is, in my opinion, about right as a maximum. Good independant evidence shows that pedestrians struck by vehicles travelling at 30mph or less have a far greater chance of surviving than those travelling even a few miles an hour faster. Anywhere around town 30mph is acceptable and reasonable.

I do believe however that the NSL is too low on faster A roads and motorways and could easily be increased for the reasons you have given about the huge forward leaps in technology now fitted as standard to most vehicles - ABS, EBC, disc brakes, servo assisted brakes etc.

What really gets on my t_its though is the old beggars (and they all appear to be over 60) who drive EVERYWHERE at 40mph... motorways, A roads, heavily pedestrianised areas and outside schools - no apparent difference to them in terms of risk. I get even more annoyed when they shake their fists in rage when I overtake them on faster roads as if it's me that's the danger not their bloody geriatric approach to driving !