First time caught speeding... I think!

atpbx · 5 Oct 2012 at 14:41

I thought I had finally been caught last saturday, we were flying up to lincoln and a whole line of us doing about 85 came up to a parked up Police estate car with one of the Rozzers leaning on the roof with what looked like an old fashioned film camera held to his face.

If it was a radar gun I'm sure we would have been flagged down further up, it wasnt a camera Van, so I'm assuming it was connected to the car doing number plate checks instead.

Muffin` · 5 Oct 2012 at 15:15

Morba said:
Talking of speeding, there was a news article about cars speeding through the M5/M4 roadworks last night.
Apparently speed kills...... The top 5 speeds recorded by the average cameras was over 125mph. None of these cars crashed.
However, it mentioned that there have been lots of accidents since the roadworks started, of which the majority are at rush hour where the speed is within the speed limit!

Speed kills.....

Indeed, no mention on the times of those speeds or the nationality of the plate. Or even if the car was nicked, selective figure quoting lobby strikes again

shauncr91 · 5 Oct 2012 at 15:18

mrk said:
I got hit by a Gatso, it said 35 in the 30 section of that 40 road. Again like the op I rolled down from the hill but moment of concentration lapse resulted in not slowing down enough for that few hundred feet of 30mph...

Driver Awareness course was chosen, date to be confirmed

Technically my license is still clean!

Don't you still have to disclose a driving prosecution to the insurance even if you get offered the course though? So still likely to see a small insurance hike if so...

justalex81 · 5 Oct 2012 at 15:20

no if you get offered the course you do not have to declare it to your insurance

Muffin` · 5 Oct 2012 at 15:25

justalex81 said:
no if you get offered the course you do not have to declare it to your insurance

Depends if they ask if you were convicted or if you have endorsements

mrk · 5 Oct 2012 at 15:29

The letter states that no information regarding the course of anything else leaves the AA network (who host the course) and is only shared with the police for record purposes so the insurers would not even see it nor do they need to.

It states the course is an option as an alternative to a fine and endorsements. The letter also states that Hampshire Constabulary would rather educate than prosecute hence the offer for the course.

Steve2000 · 5 Oct 2012 at 15:36

You do not have to declare anything to your insurance if you're offered the course. This was writted expressly on the letter I got.

They can only ask if you have any driving convictions or endorsements, of which you will have none if you complete the speed course.

Cosimo · 5 Oct 2012 at 15:43

Vonhelmet said:
Back in the day, my friend's dad was driving some fancy new Merc when he saw a policeman up ahead with a speed gun. He hit the brakes and managed to trigger the emergency brake assist. The car rolled up to a stop right next to the copper, who looked rather puzzled to say the least.

I’d love to have seen the coppers face.

Muffin` · 5 Oct 2012 at 15:57

Steve2000 said:
You do not have to declare anything to your insurance if you're offered the course.

If they ask 'Have you been on a speed awareness course' you cannot lie, they can also change the policy quote based on the answer.

Jono8 · 5 Oct 2012 at 16:03

You never know with those vans. The policeman might have been sitting in it having a cup of tea at the time you passed by it!

Steve2000 · 5 Oct 2012 at 16:16

Muffin` said:
If they ask 'Have you been on a speed awareness course' you cannot lie, they can also change the policy quote based on the answer.

If they did inflate the price by a ridiculous amount over this then I'd probably be looking for another insurer. One of the main points of the course is to keep your insurance down.

The letter I got from the police said I don't have to declare anything to the insurance. Good enough for me!

Undeterred · 5 Oct 2012 at 16:26

If you receive a notice of intended prosecution please ensure that you check that you received it within 14 days:

Section 1(1) Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/53/section/1

Phil W · 5 Oct 2012 at 16:37

Ill have to wait and see.

Checked the Nav speed at 60 on the way home, car said 60, nav said 57.

Jono8 · 5 Oct 2012 at 17:15

Phil W said:
Ill have to wait and see.

Checked the Nav speed at 60 on the way home, car said 60, nav said 57.

Enjoy your 2 weeks of squeeky bum time!

mrk · 5 Oct 2012 at 17:21

The only downside is it's 3.5 hours of "course" and obviously a day off work.

Wait, is that a downside?

Phil W · 5 Oct 2012 at 17:25

Jono8 said:
Enjoy your 2 weeks of squeeky bum time!

Its happened now, not going to get too worked up over it. As i say, hopefully if i *did* get caught, i'll be offered a speed awareness course... hopefully.

Red circle is where the van was sat, white arrow is where i was-ish...

Phemo · 5 Oct 2012 at 18:08

I think you'll be alright at that speed but I guess you'll just have to wait and see. I was on the A34 in an NSL zone doing an indicated 80mph when I saw a camera van - there was quite a bit of other traffic around and nobody else bothered to slow down at any point earlier. That was 2 weeks ago today and I've not had anything yet.

My car's speedo is definitely 5mph out though so I would've only been doing 75mph ish and I can't imagine that being that much of a problem. You may just be ok but only time will tell

These things happen. If you do get anything through it's highly likely you'll be offered the course - a friend of mine was caught doing 49 in a 40 and he got offered it.

Phil W · 19 Oct 2012 at 16:06

Well, it's day 14 today and nothing received through the post. I'm assuming I am in the clear!?

What happens if a NIP comes through say tomorrow or Monday now
/edit

What is the 14 day rule?
The 14 day rule relates only to the period of time in which the Police/Process Unit must serve the original Notice. The Police do not have to prove that the Notice reached its intended recipient within 14 days, merely that in the normal course of events, it should have arrived. In many cases, the registered keeper will be a lease company not the actual driver with the result that even if the driver is unaware of the incident, service of the Notice is good if it was sent to arrive at the registered keeper's last known address within 14 days of the offence.

Steve2000 · 19 Oct 2012 at 16:42

If you don't receive the NIP within 14 days then that is deemed as too much time passed to be able to remember who was driving IIRC.

I'd say that 99% of the time they are pretty hot with the NIPs so if you've not got one by now then I'd not worry about it.

Minxy · 19 Oct 2012 at 16:57

Steve2000 said:
If you don't receive the NIP within 14 days then that is deemed as too much time passed to be able to remember who was driving IIRC.

They only have to issue it within 14 days. You might get nicked just before you go on a fortnights holiday and I'd doubt you would get far arguing that one in court.

I've just opted for an Awareness course having been caught doing 48 in a 40. It's an extra £35 but it keeps my license clean. Plod told me if I had been doing 43-44 then they would have just rapped my knuckles and sent me on my way (got caught a gun) but if I was doing 20mph over the limit then I would be in court whether I liked it or not. They had half of Surrey Constabulary out nicking people on the A25, why they didn't just use a van and a lot less manpower I'm unsure, seems a bit of a waste to me.