Speedy Plod

[PGC]

Waiting to turn left on to A52 out in the wilds of Lincolnshire, I wait for a group of three cars doing 60mph, the middle one of which is a police car. I then tuck in behind them.

 

A few minutes later, a to$$er in a Jaguar overtakes all of us in one go at about 90mph and sails off down the road. Shortly afterwards followed by said police car. I laughed......

 

On the Bank Holiday Monday just gone, I was driving through Oxfordshire on minor A roads. I was following, at 30mph or thereabouts in a 40mph limit, a grey 5 series BMW that was following a Renault Megane MPV. The BMW was leaving plenty of space between him and the Renault so I overtook when it was safe to do so. When it was again safe to do so I tried to overtake the Renault but the driver was obviously not going to let me pass, he actually pulled on to the wrong side of the road to stop me passing.

 

Next thing I knew, BMW put on it's blue lights and you can imagine the thoughts going through my mind. I pull over, BMW passes me, keeps his blue lights on and pulls the Renault. I stop behind BMW, policeman comes up to me and tells I don't need to worry, I was driving safely and can go on my way, but I may like to know he's doing the Renault driver for dangerous driving and anything else he can.

 

For once I thanked a policeman and believed there is a God!!!!

 

Phil

[Kickstart]

Which is exactly why I wasn't too happy to get a ticket on a speed camera for 35.1 MPH in a 30 limit. 30+3+2 = 35 add the 0.1 for good measure and do the maniac, eh????? I know I am ex old bill but I really cant see a real police officer giving me a ticket in those circumstances.

 

A former colleague got ticketed by a police officer at a speed trap for 32 in a 30 limit .

 

All the best

 

Keith

[Baby Deltic]

A former colleague got ticketed by a police officer at a speed trap for 32 in a 30 limit .

 

All the best

 

Keith

The trouble is, if you are doing 32mph actual speed, the speedometer would probably be showing 35mph. The Police know this and probably nicked him because he was driving the car knowing he was probably speeding by 10%+2 on his speedometer.

[Baby Deltic]

The best thing for 30 limits is third gear and cruise control. To hell with the impatient to$$ers tailgating, let them overtake if they're in such a rush.

[TheQ]

Some years ago I was going on a dead straight road near Ancaster,   somewhat more than 60, and a car I didn't see coming, overtook me so fast that the car shook. The car was fully loaded with Men and in the back window a sign, Poilce driver  instruction! no lights blues or anything.

Also around that time I followed a huge jam down the M6 just south of Mancester Ship canal bridge, when I got to the head of the queue, there was a police dog van doing 60, and many were refusing to overtake. I did and on passing saw that the driver was not wearing a police uniform but labeled garage mecanics overalls!!

 

The Q

[Baby Deltic]

Some years ago I was going on a dead straight road near Ancaster, ....

 

The Q

Not the B6403 was it? Straight but bumpy, plenty of hidden dips. I go that way from the A1 to avoid the A52 through Grantham when I'm heading for Anwick.

[bodmin16]

I once made the mistake, when in a hurry, of driving on the M25 in a white vehicle, whilst wearing a yellow hi-viz jacket (this is before everyone and their brother wore them); as I came up behind vehicles, the drivers would simply clock the combination, and slow down to the legal maximum...

I was out with BTP a this week at a couple of locations and it was amazing how many people drew attention to themselves by putting their seatbelt on or throwing mobile phone across the car as they approached us, was slightly amused by people's actions but very scary when you consider how many drivers were putting themselves and others at risk just by these actions. I wonder how many other drivers were compromising their driving or how many cars had dangerous faults?

[Baby Deltic]

 

Signed: Disgruntled while waiting for (hopefully!) a speed awareness course for doing 83mph on a motorway to get out of the way of a police car with blues going wild.

The trouble is, blue lights are a 'request' to give way, not an order. You should move out of the way in a lawful (and safe) manner. I think its a bit harsh take nicking you given the circumstances when your intentions were good and you weren't doing over 90. I think most motorway speed cameras are set to go off at 84mph.

[bodmin16]

The trouble is, if you are doing 32mph actual speed, the speedometer would probably be showing 35mph. The Police know this and probably nicked him because he was driving the car knowing he was probably speeding by 10%+2 on his speedometer.

I've always been under the impression that car speedos are calibrated at 30mph even if they are not calibrated at other speeds. Obviously this would then be subject tyre sizes etc.

[Kickstart]

The trouble is, if you are doing 32mph actual speed, the speedometer would probably be showing 35mph. The Police know this and probably nicked him because he was driving the car knowing he was probably speeding by 10%+2 on his speedometer.

 

Possibly but the post I quoted was from someone done for 35.1mph and not expecting a live copper for doing someone in that situation when my former colleague (female by the way) was done at a speed far closer to the limit.

 

And a major presumption to assume someone knows they are speeding for believing a speedo which could be a long way out. Speedo might easily show 35mph when the car is doing under 30mph

 

All the best

 

Keith

[Baby Deltic]

I've always been under the impression that car speedos are calibrated at 30mph even if they are not calibrated at other speeds. Obviously this would then be subject tyre sizes etc.

To be honest, my car's speedo is pretty close  too. When the needle is on 30/31 those speed display thing-a-me-jigs show 28/29mph. The trouble is, who's going to argue the case in court and risk incurring even more points and costs. The the table is tilted and game is rigged.

[skipepsi]

You don't have to meekly accept a ticket you can go to the magistrates court and plead mitigating circumstances or anything Mr Loophole suggests. In times gone by you could write to the traffic superintendent and they could dicontinue the action. I was once ticketed for driving at 36 in a 40 limit because the officer thought I was in a 30 zone and with his trainees looking on he couldn't backdown.

[Kickstart]

I've always been under the impression that car speedos are calibrated at 30mph even if they are not calibrated at other speeds. Obviously this would then be subject tyre sizes etc.

 

I have a performance GPS unit (designed for performance testing). On one car we had the speedo would normally show 35mph at a true 30mph, while 86mph at a true 80mph. Far less accurate at 30mph.

 

Strangely, very occasionally at the end of a long journey on a hot day the speedo would decide to read accuratly.

 

All the best

 

Keith

[Baby Deltic]

Possibly but the post I quoted was from someone done for 35.1mph and not expecting a live copper for doing someone in that situation when my former colleague (female by the way) was done at a speed far closer to the limit.

 

And a major presumption to assume someone knows they are speeding for believing a speedo which could be a long way out. Speedo might easily show 35mph when the car is doing under 30mph

 

All the best

 

Keith

The court would argue that they shouldn't have been driving with an indicated speed of 35mph, regardless of the actual speed though, surely? Interesting......

[Baby Deltic]

Luckily, and touch wood, I haven't been nicked for speeding yet, and I do a lot of miles. I'm always extremely wary of red and white speed limit signs, because thats where the blighters will be waiting in ambush, and rightly so if its a 30. One of the favourites is a stretch of dual carriageway on the A140 heading up from the A14. Its posted as a 50mph up a hill, and there's often a speed trap parked out of sight at the top round a blind bend. I always use cruise control on that stretch, and often a white van has come right into my boot as I edge past other cars at 50 dead. They've then shot past straight into the jaws of the speed trap.

[PhilJ W]

With modern electronics a speedometer should be 100% accurate. Mine certainly is on a car that is 5 years old. You may not be aware that those same electronics can be used to confirm a speeding offence.

[Baby Deltic]

With modern electronics a speedometer should be 100% accurate. Mine certainly is on a car that is 5 years old. You may not be aware that those same electronics can be used to confirm a speeding offence.

Indeed. My car records journey data, but my speedo is a needle, and it does read over compared to a Tom Tom.

[Kickstart]

With modern electronics a speedometer should be 100% accurate. Mine certainly is on a car that is 5 years old. You may not be aware that those same electronics can be used to confirm a speeding offence.

 

They work off how quickly the wheels are rotating, but the relationship of that to speed is going to vary with tyre wear as well as the exact size of the actual tyre (ie, it will vary a bit between tyre makes), along with how much the tyre compresses with weight on it (which will vary with tyre pressure and also on models of tyres).

 

All the best

 

Keith

[skipepsi]

With modern electronics a speedometer should be 100% accurate. Mine certainly is on a car that is 5 years old. You may not be aware that those same electronics can be used to confirm a speeding offence.

 

It could be but extracting data from your black box is unlikely to happen very often in the near future for speeding offences.

[stewartingram]

The satnav is a good indicator of true speed. On my VW Passat, 74 mph on the clock is 69/70mph on the satnav.

 

And illegal to use as a speedo. Don't forget - though as you say a good indication (only) - the satnav only gives reading every few seconds, it is not a live indication like a proper speedo.

 

Stewart

[Baby Deltic]

And illegal to use as a speedo. Don't forget - though as you say a good indication (only) - the satnav only gives reading every few seconds, it is not a live indication like a proper speedo.

 

Stewart

That's ok, because I only look at the speedo every few seconds.

[bodmin16]

It could be but extracting data from your black box is unlikely to happen very often in the near future for speeding offences.

My son has a box fitted to his car for insurance purposes, it basically analyses his driving including braking and acceleration rates, cornering and of course speed. He then has access to a website that shows how he is doing with his driving, he's had a few occasions where his speed has been noted.

[Baby Deltic]

My son has a box fitted to his car for insurance purposes, it basically analyses his driving including braking and acceleration rates, cornering and of course speed. He then has access to a website that shows how he is doing with his driving, he's had a few occasions where his speed has been noted.

I think there would be a couple of bare wires hanging where the box was fitted if it were my car. Big brother on steriods. As if being on CCTV all day wasn't enough.

[Kickstart]

And illegal to use as a speedo. Don't forget - though as you say a good indication (only) - the satnav only gives reading every few seconds, it is not a live indication like a proper speedo.

 

Stewart

 

Depends on the unit. Some GPS units update 10 times a second (although likely not used on consumer sat nav units), and for silly money there are faster units. As I understand it they work not on taking the position from the GPS but on the doplar effect on the GPS signals.

 

All the best

 

Keith

[skipepsi]

I think there would be a couple of bare wires hanging where the box was fitted if it were my car. Big brother on steriods. As if being on CCTV all day wasn't enough.

 

There is another box connected into your engine/car management system which works like an aircraft black box it records what you were doing with the car. Supposedly fitment started in the US as a way of defending against legal claims for defective engines etc which I think PhilJ W, was referring to. They allow companies to defend claims because most claimants won't allow the company to down load the cars history.