Advice Please - Notice of Intended Prosecution - M1 Southbound Midnight - Variable Speed Limit

[Scaf]

I am not proud but I get caught speeding regularly - always in my daily, never when driving like a plank on one of my toys (which most of do from time to time).
Motorways - clear - dry - good visibility 70mph (set back in the 70’s) you must be joking ........
yes 30mph in built up and 20mph if needed..... motorways are in a different league.
As for the confusion in 40 50 mph roads it’s ridiculous, I want to concentrate on driving safely not how fast I am going v the speed limit.
Modern cars should all have tech that displays current speed v legal speed and red or green dash lights should flash as appropriate.
Variable speed limits are a con, my daughter never speeds (knowingly) and moans at me if I do (on an mway) but after a 13 hour shift in a mental health unit and at 11.30pm on a clear dry M25 she gets a ticket for 68mph in a 60mph variable speed that serves no purpose at all.
She will go on the SA course and the NHS will pay for agency cover for her days holiday.
Nobody wins - everyone loses ...............

 

[Scaf]

I am not proud but I get caught speeding regularly - always in my daily, never when driving like a plank on one of my toys (which most of do from time to time).
Motorways - clear - dry - good visibility 70mph (set back in the 70’s) you must be joking ........
yes 30mph in built up and 20mph if needed..... motorways are in a different league.
As for the confusion in 40 50 mph roads it’s ridiculous, I want to concentrate on driving safely not how fast I am going v the speed limit.
Modern cars should all have tech that displays current speed v legal speed and red or green dash lights should flash as appropriate.
Variable speed limits are a con, my daughter never speeds (knowingly) and moans at me if I do (on an mway) but after a 13 hour shift in a mental health unit and at 11.30pm on a clear dry M25 she gets a ticket for 68mph in a 60mph variable speed that serves no purpose at all.
She will go on the SA course and the NHS will pay for agency cover for her days holiday.
Nobody wins - everyone loses ...............

Sorry this should get moved to rant !

 

[Wack61]

I went to Oulton Park last weekend for the first time since last year, got on the A49 at J10 M56 then it was 50-60-30-50-60-30-60, might have been a 40 in there somewhere as well

As you go past Shell garage it's a decent straight, one of the only really safe places to go past the dawdlers doing 45 , I think you can guess where the camera van spot is.

Anyone caught speeding in a 30 deserves all they get but nobody can tell me these vans aren't put in places where it's about money.

 

[keith]

I got a combined dashcam/speed camera device- Aguri GTX200.
So I can use it in different cars without leads trailing across the dash, I power it using a rechargeable battery pack that sits on a non slip mat beneath the unit. I get at least 5-6 hours between charging. The devise sits on the windscreen on the drivers side corner, and still gives a wide enough field of view.
The Aguri has both lazer and radar detectors, and a free for life camera database which can be updated using Bluetooth and a phone app.
Downsides...
You have to rely on the audible and verbal warnings as the small screen becomes all but invisible in daylight.
The detectors like all these devices, picks up endless false warnings, but can be easily disabled in the settings.

 

[Wanderer]

Trouble with radar detectors apart from being illegal is they only tell you the radar has zapped you, too late....

 

[keith]

Both radar and lazer detectors are legal in the U.K.
However whilst your rite in saying it's too late, there are benefits.
If you pass a van or camera and the device doesn't warn of radar and lazer then theoretically it's unlikely you have been done. So at least you are not left wondering!!

 

[Wanderer]

I went to Oulton Park last weekend for the first time since last year, got on the A49 at J10 M56 then it was 50-60-30-50-60-30-60, might have been a 40 in there somewhere as well

As you go past Shell garage it's a decent straight, one of the only really safe places to go past the dawdlers doing 45 , I think you can guess where the camera van spot is.

Anyone caught speeding in a 30 deserves all they get but nobody can tell me these vans aren't put in places where it's about money.

I got two 34’s in a 30, one while I was working on EVL at Morriston, Swansea for DVLA, and one in Leeds when the shïtty autobox in my then current drive, a Cadillac CTS was hunting like mad up a hill...

The trouble with that car is the speedo could recalibrate the needle according to whether you set the computer to miles or kilometers, I had it on miles but the sweep went all the way from 0 to 260 in about 270 degrees. So on the speedo 30-34 was imperceptible....

No excuses, just sayin’!

My issue is yeah no prob if I was speeding sorry, pay up, it’s the points and the insurance hike that irks me. Come think of it I’m still driving on my Irish licence, and as I’ve no intention of returning, though I am here now, can they do me?

 

[CatmanV2]

Trouble with radar detectors apart from being illegal is they only tell you the radar has zapped you, too late....

The idea is they detect the radar before / while it's getting a lock. This gives you opportunity to stamp on the anchors, thereby causing a multicar pile up

C

 

[rockits]

The idea is they detect the radar before / while it's getting a lock. This gives you opportunity to stamp on the anchors, thereby causing a multicar pile up

C

Agreed. However it seems that is what you need to do on these variable speed limits to avoid a penalty!

 

[keith]

To be really boring and precise. It takes only a second to measure and record your speed, so if you're speeding and they are pointing at you it's too late. However the detectors rely on 'scatter' generated from checks on other vehicles ahead or around you.
The down side as I said is false detection from anything at the roadside from electric doors in a filling station to some zebra crossings. The result being you either switch the detector off or end up ignoring it.

 

[lifes2short]

The speed trap mobile units rely on 2 things, firstly you get zapped from afar to get the speed reading, at this stage the registration is not legible on the photo, then as you get a lot closer to the camera van a further photo is taken of the car with driver and more importantly the number plate for the postal notification. If you notice the police van early enough regardless of whether you've been zapped already you could simply stop if safe to do so and do a u turn. This is some info I got from someone, not personally done it myself and I'm not condoning speeding

 

[rockits]

Just found this out which is interesting and should apply in this case.
Speed Camera Reduction Grace Period

The previous speed limit was 60mph and it went to 50mph on this gantry which was the first one and the one the camera was active on.

I'm going to call the camera & ticket line this morning to find out as that should apply in this case. I will let you all know what they say and what happens.

 

[CatmanV2]

I think you'll find that this means if, on gantry A the limit changes from 60 to 50, then there's a 60s period before the cameras on gantry A also drop their trigger to 50. The idea being that if you're about to pass under gantry A and it changes to 50, you don't drop the anchors and cause a multi car pileup.

I don't think that applies in this case, does it. The limit posted on the gantry where you were flashed hadn't just changed?

C

 

[rockits]

I know what you mean and you are probably right. It may have just changed for all I know. However I am guessing the camera would flash at this point. Unless it does and they are cheating people unless they can prove otherwise. Would love to have dashcam footage of the change.....then them still catching people 1 sec afterwards. Scandal!

I could understand a 5 or 10 or even 15 sec grace period but why longer? Surely you see it change and react accordingly. If you don't see it you have gone past it. It can't be many secs you would need in the time you can visually see it regardless of it changing or not. It is all still a unclear and spurious IMHO. I am not the most academic person in the world but reasonably basically educated. There are many less so. How must this all come across to those people?

 

[cheshiremaserati]

The grace period for triggering the new limit for the camera is under the jurisdiction of the local constabulary in whose region the camera is located. That's my understanding. It is typically 10-15 seconds. I am not aware it can be as high as 60 secs.

 

[cheshiremaserati]

This chap comes highly regarded in our locality: https://www.motoringoffences.com/. Rather than second guessing your case outcome , it might be worth a free initial phone call as per this page https://www.motoringoffences.com/fees-and-costs/

 

[rockits]

Just spoke to them and the grace period is there for 60 secs after the camera is activated and Highways turn these on/off. In my case that camera had been set to that speed and had been activated 1hr 18mins before I passed it. I expect that generated a nice fat income that night.

The moral of the story is jump on your brakes early and make sure your speed is wiped before you hit the camera. In essence you could do 70mph in a 40mph area in between the cameras and just accelerate sharply then brake sharply at the start/end. If you cause an accident then so be it as it will be the person behinds fault and not yours.

Surely it can't be safe to create conditions where someone can do 70mph in a 40mph area and not be prosecuted for speeding. Slightly flawed idea. Madness!

 

[CatmanV2]

My biggest problem is not the limits, but the way you are positively incentivised to admit guilt with no evidence.

Simply on the accusation of breaking the limit, you're told 'If you don't pay up, we'll take you to court and you'll get a much bigger fine and points, and no we're not showing you any evidence, so what you have to ask yourself is 'Am I feeling lucky''....

Now to be fair I've had my share of tickets. Where I've been sent a photo, it's clearly me, no contest, pay up take the points. In my previous one there's no way I could learn from what I did, because they simply would not show me the photo without going to court (thereby guaranteeing a fine and points vs an awareness course) So I took the course.
This time I'm not even sure it's me. It might well be, but if I want to see the evidence, I have to go to court which means I'll probably get hammered more than whatever conditional offer they give me.

So right now I've said 'It's me' and waiting for the offer. If it's cheap, I'll pay and hope karma pays out. If it's not, I'll possibly chance the court.

We shall see

C

 

[Wack61]

Just spoke to them and the grace period is there for 60 secs after the camera is activated and Highways turn these on/off. In my case that camera had been set to that speed and had been activated 1hr 18mins before I passed it. I expect that generated a nice fat income that night.

The moral of the story is jump on your brakes early and make sure your speed is wiped before you hit the camera.

Or read the signs before you get to them

 

[rockits]

Keep your eye on the signs and forget about ploughing into the vehicle in-front or the one ploughing into you from behind

Driving is hard enough these days. We need to ease the burden and things to do not increase it or make it more difficult.