Speeding Advice / Entrapment

kimwp

user1977 said:

kimwp said:

Are you saying that the speed limit on one sign changed from 60 to 50 or are you saying that one sign was 60 and the next sign was 50?

The latter, is my interpretation. Not really sure what the issue is or why "slamming on the brakes" would be necessary? Isn't the normal limit for enforcement purposes 57mph? So brake from 59 to 56...

I believe that anything over the limit can be prosecuted. But I agree, slamming on the brakes is unnecessary, given how far the gantry's can be seen and the alleviation given for cars driving past them just after the speed limit reduces - the system is set up to allow safe driving.

RandomTourist

1. All you are being asked to do is to identify the driver. Failure to do that costs 6 points, a biggish fine, and grief on your insurance premiums for a few years (insurance companies would wonder why you were concealing the driver).

2. You've been given sufficient information to decide who was the driver. That's all they have to provide (indeed the photos are not a requirement) and it's all you need to make that decision.

3. Once the police know who was driving, they can then deal with the driver. There is still no requirement on them to submit all (or any) of the evidence they'd rely on for a prosecution. The fixed penalty (or course) saves the driver time and money, saves the police time and money and depends on a driver who knows they've got it wrong admitting the fact.

4.You'd be entitled to the full evidence if you chose to go to court; that will include a photo of your car and of the speed limit as displayed on the gantry. However pleading guilty in court will be a bit more expensive and cost you 3 points; a not guilty plea followed by conviction will cost much more as you'll be paying costs as well; the total bill will be several hundreds - and three points.

In short - good observation skills are needed but the speed limit changes and enforcement changes are arranged in such a way that a reasonably observant, competent driver wouldn't be caught speeding.

mr_stripey

vacheron said:

Just FYI the gantry cameras on the M62 will not activate for the first 3 minutes after an aspect change to prevent motorists from being penalised for exactly this reason, so there is no way that a change from 60-50-60 which was less than 3 minutes between aspect changes would have resulted in the enforcement camera activating.

The cameras also capture, but disregard, the 20 seconds prior to an aspect change, even though the camera will flash. This is why many motorists reported being flashed, but then not receiving any prosecutions in the post.

The cameras also test their flasher module every 24-48 hours, usually around 3am, which has also probably freaked out its fair share of innocent motorists too! 

My reason for knowing this is I designed the LED signals on the M62 ATM project and spent 2 years doing all the compatibility testing with the camera systems (which we do NOT manufacture before anyone lynches me)!

very interesting - thank you for the information

Baldytyke88

Alondonboy said:

Police turning the screw and only have days to respond.

I do think this is unfair, especially with the increasingly poor postal service. It's unfair to double the penalty just because you are slower with paperwork, more older people use mail and will not pay online.

Iceweasel

Baldytyke88 said:

Alondonboy said:

Police turning the screw and only have days to respond.

I do think this is unfair, especially with the increasingly poor postal service. It's unfair to double the penalty just because you are slower with paperwork, more older people use mail and will not pay online.

The law says 14 days - how much longer would you suggest?
A month? Two months?

user1977

Baldytyke88 said:

Alondonboy said:

Police turning the screw and only have days to respond.

I do think this is unfair, especially with the increasingly poor postal service. It's unfair to double the penalty just because you are slower with paperwork, more older people use mail and will not pay online.

Sorry, who are these older people who are (a) breaking speed limits (b) have too hectic a lifestyle to deal with their post and (c) too much of a luddite to pay online?

Baldytyke88

Iceweasel said:

The law says 14 days - how much longer would you suggest?
A month? Two months?

Many people don't get a daily postal service and then when sending mail the post box may not be emptied daily, think about people living in rural areas or flats, maybe they have gone on holiday for a while, not just older people.

So I think a month would be adequate in these changing times.

Car_54

Baldytyke88 said:

Alondonboy said:

Police turning the screw and only have days to respond.

I do think this is unfair, especially with the increasingly poor postal service. It's unfair to double the penalty just because you are slower with paperwork, more older people use mail and will not pay online.

Where do you get "double the penalty"? Are you thinking about council civil penalties rather than the OP's (alleged) criminal offence?

born_again

ThorOdinson said:

Too many people slow down slowly when limits charge. You need to throw out the anchor and get under the limit before reaching the gantry. Beware of people not paying attention who might not brake in time.

There is no need to throw anchor out. You see gantry & lift off the throttle, engine breaking will reduce speed by more than enough for10 mph, in the distance between seeing the speed reduction & the gantry.

Mind you it would help if people stopped using GPS speed & used car speedo as you should, given how a speedo reads lower anyway. 
The average 3mph difference is not going to make much difference to your trip time.

Car_54

Iceweasel said:

Baldytyke88 said:

Alondonboy said:

Police turning the screw and only have days to respond.

I do think this is unfair, especially with the increasingly poor postal service. It's unfair to double the penalty just because you are slower with paperwork, more older people use mail and will not pay online.

The law says 14 days - how much longer would you suggest?
A month? Two months?

The law says 28 days.