104 on the motorway.

[DM]

So at 3am this morning i had a bit of a mishap.

Not paying any attention to the Skoda thing, the only other bloody car on the motorway, i decide to give it a few beans on the way back from getting my son and his girl from Dover, and of course the Skoda is a copper in disguise.

20 years since my last points i cant believe it, and no doubt a quick ban for a month to boot.

Bahhh

 

[DM]

i was caught doing 107 on the motorway at nearly 1am

£70 fine (its means tested so will only be substantially more than that if you earn a lot more than 20k a year) and 28 day ban.

Most they can ban you for is 56 days unless they charge you for dangerous driving or careless driving. Did the officer mention anything about this ?

No the copper was good as gold to be honest, he said if i had been under 100 he would have let it go.

So its just the speeding.

 

[DM]

if you argue loosing your license would cause you to loose your job (you'll need your employer to verify this) you will get 6 points and a much higher fine (think £120 +) wheras if (like me) you dont - its 28 days of getting the bus and 5 years of expensive premiums ahead.

Some insurers (such as direct line) will point blank refuse to insure anybody with a ban. Thankfully lots of others are more understanding and dont penalise you for much more than they would for 3 points.

I cant say i will lose my job, but i will say give me a nutty fine rather than the ban if i get the choice.

 

[DM]

Im not sure if its automatic ban, i asked on PH's some on there said yes, some said no.

I honestly havent got a clue, a ban is a pest but not a problem really, i just wont bother going into my office the 2 days a week i go now for a month

 

[DM]

you wont get the choice, basically the process is as follows

1) you've been given a notice of intended prosecution (NIP) at the road side.
2) you await your summons to come to court. This can take 6 months so its an aganonzing wait
3) when you attend the magistrates court, its the one local to where you were caught. You will almost certainly need to take public transport there so you can take it back (you wont be driving)
4) when you do get to court, it will be a specialist speeders court, full of people like yourself who dont really belong in court, and all equally as nervous and unsure of how it works
5) when in court, you'll get called in the order you handed your slips in (with your details etc..) so be sure to get at the front of the queue when they start handing the forms out.
6) when in court, they state their case, you state yours, that your normally a good driver, motorway very empty being 3am, you know your actions were wrong so you came on the train today, got carried away etc.. etc..
7) they then take your license away to be endorsed, and you get the train home

I will get my son to take me, its all his fault anyway, if he had got on the right ferry i wouldnt have been there at 3am and so wouldnt have been speeding!

Now im getting jeered by me daughter for whining

 

[DM]

Well first off it's not a definate ban, though this is likely, either 14 or 28 days. Two of my mates were done for 110 and 115 on the toll road, ironically the second one after he buzed the first just as he had been handed his fine and was pulling off the hard shoulder, missing the unmarked BMW behind!! Both coming back from Anglesy after a Porsche day and in a convoy of Porks so stood out somewhat. I can give you Nick Freemans number, he'll come up with something and charge you an arm and a leg. I'd take the time and fine if I were you. Month off and clean licence at the end of it is worth the hassle I suspect. There for the grace of god and all that...

I will give Mr Freeman a miss and throw myself at the mercy of the court i think.

I shall now proceed to drown my sorrows in the usual manner

 

[DM]

if you dont need your car for work then what about that elederly relative/friend/random from the pub that you need your car to take shopping and to the doctors.

I think they have heard all those stories before.

No i shall take it on the chin, set a good example to my fellow ****** having a day out at court too

 

[DM]

I see what you're saying, would be nice if officers used some judgement on things like car type, road conditions, traffic etc, rather than "over 100 and they're getting pulled no matter what", especially on motorways.

I think they do take those things into consideration below 100, they just seem to have a fixation with that number.

Mind you it is too fast, what can you say...

 

[DM]

Hmm strange one really, I personally never cruise at 100+ but 3am with delays etc I can understand why one would be in a hurry.

I wasnt even cruising at that speed, i was just having a quick burst, i was doing a steady 80 before.

 

[DM]

My world record is 112 mph and got let off. Copper liked the car.

I'm not helping am I?

This copper wasnt a car buff, i could tell

 

[DM]

its people like you who make the penalty system the way it is just because its 1am you broke the law?... and you have a moan at someone who videos them selves on a bike, not even knowing if they speeded or not??

lol


paint a picture comes to mind.

Better at 1am on an empty motorway than any other time or place.

 

[DM]

DM - Check your home insurance policy - if you have legal protection cover it'll almost certainly pay for a solicitor.

Thanks for the suggestion, appreciate that, but im just going to get it up and over with.

If i thought i could slip out of it i would, but i cant so sod it.

 

[DM]

when did you last check that? My best mate has a friend of the family who is a magistrate and told us the rules were recently revised to say that the maximum short term ban they could give was 56 days. They can give long term bans, but not purely for the offence of speeding, it would need to be Dangerous Driving and Carless Driving etc..

I'l ring my solicitor on monday and check, surely you cant get more than 2 months ffs.

 

[DM]

I just got a bit paranoid there and rang me solicitor at home, he says i will get 1500-1800 quids worth of fine and a month ban, or the fine and 6 points.

Then said he was going back to sleep

 

[DM]

28 days is normal for this sort of speed. Its what i got.

Fine is means tested. £1500 is the max i only got fined £70 due to not being a massive earner and having a child + mortgage etc.. The form you get asked at the beginning, is the form they use to work out how much free income you have per month. They want to know what your outgoings are (mortgage, utilits bills etc..) if you have kids, and what your salary is etc.. Get this filled in quick so you can get seen first (or asap) i thought it didnt matter and had to wait till last

2500 is the max on a motorway. Thats charming isnt it.

Cheers for the advice mind, it is appreciated.

 

[DM]

Mate of mine recieved at £120 fine + fees and had his license removed completely for doing 112 in a 1.2 Clio. Was told that speed was wry dangerous and his car was at from ideal to be doing those sort of speeds. He was given 28 days to wait before applying for a provisional and had to retake everything including a 2 day course for dangerous drivers.

Caught someone at a bad time it would seem.

Andy

I'd never pass another driving test, that would be me on a bus

 

[DM]

I dont begrudge Mr Lol getting a small fine.

What has ****ed me off for years in this country is the whole "we fine people as a deterrent from a safety perspective" thing, what a load of ****.

The british motorist is a cash cow, end of, it makes me laugh.

 

[DM]

Not really, if you drive a £12,000 Vectra VXR with a 2.8 litre V6 Turbocharged engine then you should not be able to plead hardship when given a speeding fine with perhaps the same level of sympathy as a single mother of two driving a £500 Micra to the only job she could find, which is what I presume the means testing thing was designed to cater for.

After all, loading up your outgoings to that level is personal choice and therefore shouldnt result in a reduced speeding fine!

I believe its worked out on what you have left every week, after all outgoings.

So if Mr Lol had his mortgage etc taken out plus whatever else, maybe they take that into account.

 

[DM]

I can see what Fox is saying, but what's the alternative, give people fines they cant pay?

 

[DM]

I think they should all be wrapped in that Dyno-Rod orange colour.