question about a friend getting points on their license

darto150

Hi

A friend got some points on their license, they have 6 and got a letter about another 3.

The recent one, they were driving down a road that was 30 at some point  and I think they maybe didn't remember the 30 and just had in mind the limit mentioned on Google Maps which said 40 and along the entire road. They have screenshots showing how Google maps has it as 40 for the whole road.

Would that reason for mistakenly going over the speed limit, have any use in a court in challenging their most recent penalty?

Thanks

Sandtree

Ignorance, didn't see the sign, believed Google over the sign etc are not going to wash as excuses

onlyfoolsandparking

Another reason to add to my 'list' of why I don't use Google.

The_Fat_Controller

I don't think the "Google said" defence is going to work.

[Deleted User]

30mph zones are clearly signposted when you enter them and there are lots of signs whether actual signs like repeaters or indications like street lamps etc that it should be a 30. If in doubt, go slower. Obviously what they see on google is not evidence.

If they offer you your friend a speed awareness course then tell them to take it and they might learn something. I don't know if you can get one if you have points already, the police site isn't clear as it only says you can't if you had been on one in the last 3 years

Car_54

If your friend had been watching the road rather than his phone he should have seen the signs. And the street lights, which indicate 30 unless signs say otherwise.

onlyfoolsandparking

Deleted_User said:

30mph zones are clearly signposted when you enter them and there are lots of signs whether actual signs like repeaters or indications like street lamps etc that it should be a 30. If in doubt, go slower. Obviously what they see on google is not evidence.

If they offer you your friend a speed awareness course then tell them to take it and they might learn something. I don't know if you can get one if you have points already, the police site isn't clear as it only says you can't if you had been on one in the last 3 years

Only if it's the same speed infringement from what I learned very recently. Example being if someone was caught exceeding a motorway variable speed limit and were given a SAC then they cannot be given another course for that same offence for 3 years BUT if they were caught exceeding the limit as stated and then get caught again within that 3 year period on say a B road or single/dual carriageway etc  exceeding the limit, then they 'can' still be offered another SAC.

This was told to a friend of mine by the SAC facilitator who he had the misfortune/fortune of meeting a couple of months ago. 

Car_54

Deleted_User said:

30mph zones are clearly signposted when you enter them and there are lots of signs whether actual signs like repeaters or indications like street lamps etc that it should be a 30. If in doubt, go slower. Obviously what they see on google is not evidence.

If they offer you your friend a speed awareness course then tell them to take it and they might learn something. I don't know if you can get one if you have points already, the police site isn't clear as it only says you can't if you had been on one in the last 3 years

Points don't matter. The only criteria are the (1) the 3-year period and (2) the recorded speed.

Ebe_Scrooge

darto150 said:

just had in mind the limit mentioned on Google Maps which said 40 and along the entire road. They have screenshots showing how Google maps has it as 40 for the whole road.

Would that reason for mistakenly going over the speed limit, have any use in a court in challenging their most recent penalty?

I would like to think that if if you your friend told the court that they were so busy looking at Google that they didn't see the signage on the road, they ought to be given a "driving without due care and attention" rap on top of the speeding fine.  It's not too dissimilar to these stories you hear of people driving into canals because the satnav told them to.

I'm honestly struggling to believe that you're even asking the question in the first place.  Or that people could blindly follow what a satnav tells them without actually looking at the road and surroundings around them.  Sadly it seems that some people do just that.

AdrianC

Hopefully, they'll get a place on a speed awareness course, because it sounds like that will actually be useful for them...

They seem to have forgotten one of the most basic things they learnt before their test - how to tell the speed limit of ANY AND EVERY road in the UK within about 100m, just by asking yourself three questions.

1. Are there repeater signs?
Yes? That's the limit.
No? Then...

2. Are there streetlights?
Yes? 30.
No? Then...

3. How many carriageways?
One? 60.
Two? 70.

That's it. That simple. Google is a total and utter irrelevance.

Penelopa.Pitstop

Rules might be simple in theory, but speed limits get lowered for different reasons and general rules don't apply. No excuse to not look at the signs.