A question of speed

[akwaugh]

Have to ask this on behalf of a friend - really!

My friend was caught doing an epic 66.7 mph on the 40 limit roadworks near Castlecary a couple of weeks ago and is concerned at the effect this may have on his (or her) driving licence.
The nice policemen who stopped my friend for a wee chat forgot to offer a fixed penalty.

He (or she) has been sent a lovely letter asking if he (or she) would like to come along to sample the delights of - I think - Airdrie Sheriff Court and thinks it would be handy to know what he (or she) is letting himself (or herself) in for.

Cheers
Andy

 

[kitchens]

Tell the person to pack an overnight bag [][][][] perhaps our own TP will post and give us some info ..my take is they treat this as a more serious offense as the limit enforced is for the safety off the road workers ,not that you see much activity of people working

 

[GreigM]

depends on any "previous" - I imagine 6 points and a fairly heft fine....

and as an addendum, the roadworks there are farking ridiculous to be honest - the limit is down at 40 for miles while the carriageway is still fully 2 lanes on both sides, with no sign of roadworks or men working for the vast majority of it....I can easily understand how people get frustrated and let their speed creep up...I think the powers in charge of these need to keep the restrictions to the narrower sections that are actually being worked on and remove the restrictions at times when no work is taking place and there is no alterations to the lanes.....but we couldn't expect them to do that....that would show consideration for the drivers whose lives they like to make hell. I thought we went through all the pain for years during the auchinkilns roundabout removal on the promise of years of easy-flowing traffic....seems like the roadworks have just finished and they start a new big project which lasts until 2012...incompetence and lack of foresight at its greatest.

 

[dhossack]

Hi,
a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) was not issued as the speed was above the threshold. Police can issue a FPN in a 40mph speed limit up to 59mph (the threshold). Over that speed and the driver is reported to the Procurator Fiscal.
As the driver on this occasion was doing 66mph its straight to court Im afraid. The minimum a court can impose is £60 and 3 points, however it could be considerably more? As we all know a FPN means £60 and 3 points.
I would probably seek advice from a solicitor in the first instance.
Hope this makes sense?
Good luck.

 

[akwaugh]

Many thanks for the quick responses which I will pass on to the criminal concerned!

Andy

 

[chfs911]

Margaret get her high heel jammed on the right hand pedal Andrew?

I got overtaken by an Artic when I had the cruise control set for 45mph up there.

Some folk were doing at least 80.

 

[jenpot]

If I can pimp a friends business here... http://live.theroadtrafficlawyer.com/index.php

Glasgow based, nice guy and lots of experience.

x

 

[akwaugh]

Sorry Charles, not Margaret or I, touch wood! It really is "a friend". I'll tell her you were asking for her though, but you might find one of those high heels embedded in a place it hurts!!
I agree with Greig the limit is daft but there you go.
See you at the golf in August?

Thanks Jen, I'll pass that info on to my buddy.

 

[944s2]

Agree limit is c##p but I think but I may be wrong and there is no longer a central crash barrier which may be part of reason for low limit

Daft/annoying thing is when heading towards kincardine bridge from Bishopbriggs I now head out via Kilsyth and join at Banknock

On Sunday on way back From KH there are two gents in yellow jackets and gun at hotel just before turnoff to M80 catching traffic heading east

its no fair![]

 

[T200]

Andy, It depends on what charge the Fiscal has made in your friends copy complaint. It could be straight speeding charge in which the minimum would be 3 points and a £60 fine if your friend pleads guilty. If the charge is careless driving due to speed then it can be 6 to 10 points and a bigger fine. If you tell me what the charge is on the letter I would be able to give you a better answer on the possible outcome. They will look at things like the time of the offence, traffic conditions and if the road works were in operation at that time.

Chris

 

[944s2]

Had to drive through it today

Covered in 40MPH signs for what 5-6 miles, obvious roadworks though no one working, at least 2 radar signs telling you your speed and that you ARE speeding yet 50% of traffic was blissfull ignoring limit pains me to say it but if you are stupid enough to drive over the limit here you deserve everything you get

 

[Steven944]

Must agree with Dougie here. I'm just back from having the Cockster serviced at the new Porsche Centre Glasgow, and so was through the roadworks there. There is no central reservation, there are speed limit reminder signs AND the flashing 'your speed Xmph' signs and STILL people were utterly howling past me sitting at well under 50mph. There is no excuse in this case.

 

[Mark Elder]

Agree it should be obeyed, but I suspect problem is most folk can't see point of it (so it's a case of apparently draconian speed limits bringing all limits into disrepute).

As stated elsewhere, the central reservation barrier has been removed and so 40mph (on a busy dual carriage way with no barrier) is reasonable - but folk are not noticing the missing barrier. They don't notice the missing barrier because there are a million cones everywhere.

What's the point of all the cones? If you remove all the cones except for a few on the central reservation you would be able to see the danger and accept the speed limit.

What about a few signs "40mph because missing barrier"

 

[AVI_8]

The number of points will bepend on the sherriff on the day, I got nabbed doing 83 in a 50, was expecting lots of points.

Ended up with 3 and £100 fine which I thought was a good result

I read in a newspaper a couple of weeks ago of someone who got a 2 year ban for doing 120 on the A80, meanwhile someone who got caught escaped a ban for doing 112, same road, same spead limit, different sherriff

 

[akwaugh]

THE END GAME

Thanks to all who contributed to this one.

For the avoidance of doubt, (and the avoidance of a divorce) I have been asked to point out that it wasn't Margaret who was my "friend". It really was a friend! Although Margaret is, of course, my friend too, but not in quite the same way. Think I'll stop there.
(Don't quite know how I ended up in such trouble over this but then I am a man and us men do things which appear, to us, quite straightforward. However as we all know this is not necessarily the way things seem to the fairer sex. Is it, ladies?)

The result - and it was such - of my friend's indiscretion (66.7 mph in a 40mph limit) was 4 penalty points and a £160 fine, though this was somehow discounted from £240.
So, many of you both on the forum and in conversation were in the ballpark. My friend saved herself a few sleepless nights worrying about what would befall her thanks to you lot and the responses to my query. She honestly thought she might lose her licence and with that, her job. She passes on her appreciation for your interest in her predicament.


This little episode begs the question, given these roadworks (M80 only here) are an ongoing nightmare, how consistent are these fines and points and how often are the police running about setting speed traps or "safety cameras", which on evidence appear to be simply cash machines rather than aiding traffic safety in a significant way. Let's face it, if the authorities REALLY wanted us to slow down they would have put up SPECS, wouldn't they?

Would there be any percentage in putting a thread on this forum on this specific topic i.e. "M80 Speeding Penalties - discuss"?

Anyone who has had a ticket or been pulled over on this enormous speed limited stretch could post here and we could build a picture of how things are going. Clearly it's in everyones interest to have as much information about police tactics, but it's also important to have consistency in terms of how we are treated if found to be breaking the law. As evidenced by some replies, there may be a wide variation in what is handed down (other than "fixed penalty awards). I think in terms of this particular road the general opinion is that it's actually impossible, most of the time, to travel at anything remotely resembling 40mph given the volume and nature of traffic. Therefore - again hypothetically - if sufficient data exists, a case could be made for challenging a fine or points should it be deemed worthwhile, say, in the case of someone who would exceed their max. points.

Let's face it, without information you're pretty much out there on your own.

Enough said, if there's already something like this going on elsewhere it might be useful to post it so we can check it out.

Andrew

 

[calisa]

Glad that your friend retained her license and job.

Many of us go through these works on a daily / weekly basis and we all make a judgment on the speed/risk of ticket. For me, this section of road is one where you set the cruise control to 45 and let everyone else past. It is so easy for the police to set traps and issue tickets. Added to that, each case will be accompanied with a statement about reckless driving close to a workplace/endangering the lives of those who are working on the road upgrades.......... you've no chance of getting away with it.
At rush hour, go with the flow, when its quiet, throttle back.

Look on the bright side. We have so many great rural roads to drive on here in Scotland unlike congested Englandshire, that doing 40/45 on this section during the construction works is a very small compromise compared to keeping your license and being able to floor it up in the highlands!