BAH! Just got nicked!

A friend of mine was picked up recently doing 95mph on the M58 near skelmersdale, the copper doing him told him it would have been a ban for doing 96mph + , cant remember the outcome but it was big points and fine iirc, hard luck btw.

bad luck guys - fingers crossed for you both!

i really find this whole anti-speed thing annoying - in particular on motorways/dual carriageways. OK I'm not saying have no limits, or allow 60mph past schools or something, but a lot of the time they enforce in paces which are 'accident blackspots' NOT due to speed but due to people driving like numpties.

I reguarly commute in all weathers on the A3 (3-lane dual carriageway with hard shoulder). In the last few year I have only ever seen evidence of one accident there, and this is despite the general traffic flow regularly at 90mph+ and fast lane often c. 110mph+. There are few junctions, fairly good vis and somewhere safe for someone to pull off to if there's a problem.

Now to be fair they rarely do speed traps there, but the point is if I got pulled at 100mph and banned i'd be pretty peed off as it isn't like i've ever even had a near miss on that road. So if speed is so dangerous why have most people who speed at considerably over the limit there never had an accident?! And why must people like Tomcat and Jamaxx be made to feel guilty for doing something which didn't pose any danger to anyone else?

Were you on the bike or in a car and did you get pulled by the officer operating the equipment,was it in calibration,was he authorised to use it did, you get shown the display,was he wearing uniform while operating the equipment,was he more than 10mts from the carriageway,what distance was the equipment being operated at,is there photographic evidence. I have just had a brief defend me for speeding,a bit more than you and I was very very lucky to get £150 + 3points, plus a £1800 legal bill but my offence could easily have been a ban

Originally Posted by Jamaxx

What would I say though? Thing is I knew how fast I was going...yes, it was a clear road, dry, bright and no hazards, but I'm still guilty nonetheless no?

Would I not be better to just put my hands up and say 'sorry'?

Yes of course you would. But the factors in mitigation... it's a very wide road, there was nobody else on it, it was dry and bright, excellent visibility, no danger to anyone else, that is not to excuse speeding and you hold your hands up, realise it was silly, won't do it again.

Aw that is unlucky. In my view there are two factors at work here:

a) It's a 60 limit and you did 90. So don't try to get out of it, just say you are very sorry.

b) 90mph is just a number, it is situation that is everything. 90 through traffic past a school is atrocious, 90 on a clear three lane road is not bad at all. So I would write a letter or get one written explaining the circumstances. Hopefully they will be lenient.

Good luck!

[Stu]

Originally Posted by Jamaxx

90 in a 60. Sounds bad but it was the Selby bypass, 3 lanes wide and as straight as a runway, ....

Did you mean 3 lanes in each direction? If so,
Why is the speed limit 60?
If not, sounds like you need a good solicitor to get you off completely like a 'friend' of mine who got away not guilty of 101 in a 30

[flymo]

I got pulled by a cop with a rader speed gun on the A5 on Anglesey. I was in a Vectra about 4 years ago and he clocked me at 105mph in a 70 zone.

I opted to go to the court to put my hand up and say sorry, I prefer to do this stuff face to face rather than be treated like another peice of paper on the pile.

A duty solicitor was there for free, he did put my mitigating circumstances forward and explained that I was obviously a good character () for taking the trouble to turn up at court.

I got 6 points and a ?250 fine that I opted to pay there and then. Job done.

Originally Posted by Fizzy Fish

3-lane dual carriageway

A what?

Originally Posted by fizzwheel

No its the NIP that has to arrive in 14 days.

They have 6 months to get a court summons out to you. What exactly did the copper say to you when he pulled you over ?

SHE said....(see below)

Originally Posted by Luckypants

If you been told that you will be reported for the offence and that you will be summonsed to court, that is a verbal NIP and you been had. Bad luck dude.

Like the idea of having the duty solicitor defend me though

Lets wait and see what happens. Need transport for work so can't take a ban. I know a couple of legal types so will take some advice on writing a letter. I am a School Governor after all. Oh wait, shouldn't that make me MORE responsible

did u ask for a certificate of calibriation for the speed gun. Dont they need to be able to present this to you on request?

Not calibrated daily....say the gun must have been faulty as i was doing 60 officer?

No.....ok. im sure i read this somewhere tho. Im of to find where now