Driving, fixed penalty - pay or not?

[Tom]

Just for the record, before I read this entire thread through, the road in question is one of those big wide things that looks like a 40. In fact I think it is 40 along a lot of it but I didn't see where it changed, not living there myself. It's called Hills Road in Cambridge by the way, if anyone knows it - leads out of town to the motorway, south east?

YOu can see it on the map, leading off the main ring road bottom right:

http://www.plantsci.cam.ac.uk/Haseloff/SITEGRAPHICS/Maps/CambridgeMapCol.jpg

There are several ways you can determine the speed limit for a road, if there are no signs making it obvious.

If its a 40mph zone or above, it will have repeater signs placed at 'regular intervals'. A regular interval might be 1000 yards, but without those repeaters, the limit is unenforceable.

If there are no signs whatsoever, then provided that there are lamp-posts spaced at intervals of 200 yards of less, the road is by default a 30mph limit.

If there are no signs whatsoever, and no lamp-posts spaced at 200 yards or less, the road is by default a NSL zone (60mph on a single carriageway).

If the road is a NSL zone, but with 2 lanes in either direction, but no central reservation, the NSL is 60mph. If there is a barrier between the opposing lanes of traffic, such as an armco, then the NSL is 70mph.

Also, if you entered the 30mph zone from a zone with a different speed limit via a junction, and there was no signage on the junction, the limit becomes unenforceable.


It sounds to me that the road on which you're accused of speeding is a nice big fat wide road that has an artificially low 30mph limit imposed. I say 'sounds like' because without actually seeing the road in question, its impossible to say otherwise (take note all you eejiots who berated me for doing 100mph in a 40mph zone).

Go to www.pepipoo.com, join the forums, and pose your question there. With the right knowledge, you can learn exactly how to defend yourself against this charge legally, and also perhaps learn a thing or two about quangos that exist only to make money for their own ends (ie keeping twats in jobs and voting Labour).

 

[old.user4556]

Is that true?

 

[Tom]

The SPECS thing?

http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?t=317343&f=10&h=0
http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2002410000-2006480146,00.html
http://www.engadget.com/2006/10/16/uk-drivers-change-lanes-to-outsmart-specs-speeding-cameras/
http://www.pocket-lint.co.uk/news/news.phtml/5161/6185/specs-speed-camera-driver-lanes.phtml

 

[Scouse]

Exit the SPECS area in a different lane to that which you entered, and any action against you is inadmissable in court.

Cool. You got any proof of that Tom??


Gah. That'll teach me to read ahead a bit...


...ah. No it won't

 

[old.user4556]

The SPECS thing?

http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?t=317343&f=10&h=0
http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2002410000-2006480146,00.html
http://www.engadget.com/2006/10/16/uk-drivers-change-lanes-to-outsmart-specs-speeding-cameras/
http://www.pocket-lint.co.uk/news/news.phtml/5161/6185/specs-speed-camera-driver-lanes.phtml

yeah, and ta

 

[anattic]

The SPECS thing?

It's amazing these people actually managed to organize a war...

 

[Scouse]

It's amazing these people actually managed to organize a war...

You think it's organised??!

 

[tris-]

There are several ways [...]

isnt all that just common sense? i wonder how someone could pass their test without knowing what youve just stated there.

 

[Tom]

The lamp post thing and the repeater thing are pretty much unknown to most people. Which isn't a bad thing really, as we should be teaching people to drive at a speed suitable for the conditions, and not to automatically look for a number on a stick to tell them what to do.

 

[tris-]

shouldnt we be teaching people to abide by the law or face the consequences, instead of crying about it?

 

[Tom]

We should be teaching people to question authority, and to be continuously vigilant.

 

[tris-]

We should be teaching people to question authority, and to be continuously vigilant.

questioning is a different ball park to breaking it knowingly and then saying you dont accept what will happen.

 

[Tom]

I haven't said I don't accept what will happen. Merely that I recommend using the full extent of the law to defend yourself against a flawed policy.

 

[Calaen]

So by all accounts Mal, while speeding didnt notice if there was any signs on a stick or not, niether was he aware of the lamp posts 200 yards apart. So By Toms standards he must be a poo driver :-( The lampost thing is in the highway code which I assume any driver of a decent level has read and understood.

 

[Calaen]

ofc Tom is versed in all things good and proper in the world

 

[Tom]

 

[Calaen]

So predictable Tom :-( You need to get yourself a woman.

 

[MYstIC G]

Still no answer.....

 

[Calaen]

He need not give one, Mal has pretty much said he wasn't really paying attention while speeding. Which is surely worse than paying attention and speeding.

He deserves to get off with the points and the fine, atleast that way he learns absolutely nothing and with go about driving in his usual manner.

 

[Trem]

Still no answer.....

FFS!!!

Ok then heres your answer -

Yes red suits you better than blue and yes the flared dress you had on on Saturday night was lovely, it made you seem slimmer somehow. Yes I like your cooking and yes you are very good in bed and yes you are better than Stephen. I don't know if marriage is for me at the moment but if it was then I would marry you and no one else. Yes I love you.

Happy?

 

[ECA]

The lamp post thing and the repeater thing are pretty much unknown to most people. Which isn't a bad thing really, as we should be teaching people to drive at a speed suitable for the conditions, and not to automatically look for a number on a stick to tell them what to do.

shouldnt we be teaching people to abide by the law or face the consequences, instead of crying about it?

Um so when its a torrential downpour and visibility is low, people should stick to 70 on a motorway? Sounds crazy but people do it.

It would be far better for road safety is people were taught to drive at appropriate speeds rather than be treated like sheep.

 

[tris-]

Um so when its a torrential downpour and visibility is low, people should stick to 70 on a motorway? Sounds crazy but people do it.

It would be far better for road safety is people were taught to drive at appropriate speeds rather than be treated like sheep.

what youve said there, to me, sounds like a different thing than what tom was saying.

 

[Calaen]

Um so when its a torrential downpour and visibility is low, people should stick to 70 on a motorway? Sounds crazy but people do it.

It would be far better for road safety is people were taught to drive at appropriate speeds rather than be treated like sheep.

Well common sense would tell you not to drive that speed during Torrential rain, however going off Toms way of thinking, some drivers may feel they can more than handle 70mph in the pissing rain and therefore drive as they want = bad

 

[Tom]

I was talking about normal conditions, but ECA is absolutely correct in what he says. Many people seem to think that their ABS will save them in the wet, when in reality ABS increases braking distances in all weathers.

 

[Trem]

Tom does know his stuff about the law on speeding, he is only trying to help, his 100mph in a 40mph zone is what has rubbed people up the wrong way. In all fairness I was chuffed with the help Tom gave me on my own speeding thread (107mph on a motorway).

Cal also has good points and if anyone were to speak to him rather than through a forum he would convince many of you of his way of thinking, he calls me a cock all the time on voice comms and it doesn't come across like it does on here....

Tom is a mate.

Cal is a mate.

tris smells of cheese.

Life goes on.

 

[tris-]

damn it, i thought id got a friend there

what am i doing wrong

 

[Trem]

damn it, i thought id got a friend there

what am i doing wrong

Well if you had wore the dress like Meg did...............

 

[Calaen]

Cal also has good points and if anyone were to speak to him rather than through a forum he would convince many of you of his way of thinking, he calls me a cock all the time on voice comms and it doesn't come across like it does on here....

Tom is a mate.

Cal is a mate.

tris smells of cheese.

Life goes on.

I will admit I am some what lacking in the getting my point across on a forum :-(

I wub Tris

Trem is my Lover

Tom is a grumpy old ***** j/k Tom

 

[Trem]

Trem is my Lover

FFS Stephen, Meg looks on here, what if he sees that?

 

[Calaen]

who the hell is Meg?