Whats the punishment for a non working speedo?

RichyRich

As far as I am aware, there is no law against having a faulty speedometer, however, having a faulty speedometer is not a valid defence against a charge of driving in excess of the statutory speed limit.

This is certainly the case with PSVs, on the justification that a professional driver should be able to accurately estimate his or her speed - however PSV regulations do dictate that the problem should be rectified as soon as is practicable.

I can't be sure on the law relative to cars, but I'd go along with TojoRalph's suggestion os using a SatNav...

ozvaldinho

If you have a working rev counter, you can mark the relevant speeds against the revs, will only really work in top gear. I used to do this on my racing motorbikes when I put them on the road.

MX5huggy

Katyag wrote: »

The gear box we have put in it isnt compatible with the car so the speedo isnt working so now we need to look for a new gearbox. As the situation has arisen and its been spoken about for hours (how annoyed we are) we were curious. The car will not be used, so no need to worry about being caught we just wanted to know.

You may need to go into more detail about the car and the gear boxes but I would think it is easier to get a speedo to work with the box than change the box, it does not have to read correctly just be good enough so you know how fast you are going.

hewhoisnotintheknow

having a broken speedo wont get you out of trouble if caught

i also dont think ti will fail the mot

If you cant get it fixed used a sat nav or engine rev speed to determine speed (if you know what your ratios are )

Conor_3

A non working speedo is not an MOT fail as it is not a testable item.
Driving a car with a faulty speedo is an offence under the Construction & Use regulations which also cover non testable MOT items.
Having a speedo which underreads is also illegal under the C&U regs.

In both the above, it's dealt with by means of a fine.

Tojo_Ralph

RichyRich wrote: »

As far as I am aware, there is no law against having a faulty speedometer.

Taken from the City Of London Police website detailing excuses for speeding.

Excuse: "My speedometer was not working, so I didn't realise what speed I was travelling at"
Response: This does not affect the notice of intended prosecution and implies an additional offence of having a faulty speedometer in a vehicle being driven on the public highway.

http://www.cityoflondon.police.uk/CityPolice/Advice/TrafficTravel/roadcameras.htm#p

pogofish

It was a few (2 or 3) points on your licence & a smallish fine a few years back when a pal of mine was caught with a bust speedo cable on his motorbike.

One tip from the officer who nicked him was "don't reset your trip counter, its a dead giveaway!"

Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers!

I'd be quite happy to see speedometers banned. They are not required for safe driving.

Katyag

MX5huggy wrote: »

You may need to go into more detail about the car and the gear boxes but I would think it is easier to get a speedo to work with the box than change the box, it does not have to read correctly just be good enough so you know how fast you are going.

A quick recap, trying to remember what the guy who is working on it said, is that we have a 2001 car but we were sent a 2005 gearbox they work off sensors so we put the correct sensor in to find its still not working and then we find out the 2001 car runs on the speedo on a ring on the gear box. Hope ive remembered that right.

RichyRich

Conor wrote: »

A non working speedo is not an MOT fail as it is not a testable item.
Driving a car with a faulty speedo is an offence under the Construction & Use regulations which also cover non testable MOT items.
Having a speedo which underreads is also illegal under the C&U regs.

In both the above, it's dealt with by means of a fine.

I stand corrected, I was going off a faulty speedo not being an immediate prohibition on a PSV. Thanks for the correction.

Tojo_Ralph wrote:

Taken from the City Of London Police website detailing excuses for speeding.

Excuse: "My speedometer was not working, so I didn't realise what speed I was travelling at"
Response: This does not affect the notice of intended prosecution and implies an additional offence of having a faulty speedometer in a vehicle being driven on the public highway.

http://www.cityoflondon.police.uk/Ci...dcameras.htm#p

The offence that article is relating to is driving in excess of the statutory limit, not driving without a speedo. All that's saying is that if you speed and your speedo's not working, it's not a valid defence. That particular piece of text does not say that it is illegal to drive with a faulty speedo, although Conor's post does.