My point about 20% over the speed limit was completely valid. I think you'll find that if VOSA see speeding on a Tacograph, they are obliged to pass the information on to the police. How they might work that out for sub 50(6)mph roads is a different story but that's not really the point is it? Speeding in an HGV, irrelevant of how good a driver you think you are, is nothing but foolish, and others have already given damned good reasons why.
Fundamental misunderstanding of Kinetic Energy detected! KE = 1/2 m * v^2. 50 tons of Wheetabix lorry has the same KE as a 50 ton petrol tanker. The difference is that braking alters the load distribution, and hence the braking distribution, making it more difficult to stop quickly. Rigid loads suffer less of this (although it still happens), but it's down to how a bulk fluid behaves under acceleration. Also worth noting that no safety systems on cars have come from trucks. ABS was for aircraft and ESC was a multi-faceted effort between Mercedes, GM, BMW, Volvo etc etc.
8... More than i thought which makes me feel worse about it I feel like this never again will i not pay attention to my speed... everytime i go past a speed camera in a 30 zone im always on 25 now I thought i would just chuck my license in a envelope and £60 but i have to fill out a form and send it back before they judge if its excessive for a court summons I would be very shocked if it was, I would expect anything below 45 or so in 30 would automatically be sent the request for license and fine not having a long winded process. no course option though which is a shame i would prefer not having the 3 points
It won't go to court if you take the fixed penalty offer. You've got to be doing closer to 48 to get a straight up court summons. They won't suddenly judge it excessive so long as you accept the fixed penalty, if you make no contact with them at all you will then get a summons. Could be worse, you could have a police officer show up at your door with an arrest warrant like I got. Was caught speeding in a hire car and they sent the completely wrong address details to the camera partnership so i didn't get any of the letters or the court summons. Police got me a week or so later as I'm registered for council tax at my flat (obviously as I've lived there 6 years). Still got a night in the cells and put up in font of the magistrates the next morning.
I did'nt expect it to go to court , im not the only one in my family with driving related offences anyway so atleast someone will relate to my mistake. I've heard some weird things go to court before just by pure error. Thanks totally crap thats enough to ruin your evening i would never want to get summoned to court i crack in formal situations
It's so easy to go over the limit in modern cars anyway, they are so quiet and accelerate well that it's easy to do. 'fair cop guv' and all that The magistrates were pretty cool about it actually, once I explained that I'd never lived at that address or supplied it to the hire company. Said I would have taken the fine and points if I'd have received the letter, they were surprised I'd spent the night in a cell! All over and sorted in about 15mins. It's a funny story to tell now if the subject of speeding comes up
heres something for everyone reading. keep your license address up to date. its a criminal offence to have the incorrect address on it. Apologiss to the gn's, im writing this on my phone.
Have been offered the course over 3 points which im taking. Seen mixed reviews on this so im not really sure what to expect, one of the things is they go round the room and ask you why you were speeding.. Feels like an AA meeting "Hi my names DP and im a speeder..." like i somehow can justify my actions, im confident 80% of it will be alright with a 20% chance of uncomfortable silences and embarrasment. I don't expect them to be judgemental from what i read but im not so sure how im supposed to explain why i was speeding.., it was just a lack of judgement and awareness.. i guess is all i can say I guess i should brush up on my highway code its been a long time and i really don't want to be the one giving the stupid answers.
One of my old mates was caught speeding and got offered the course. Obviously he took it, apparently all he did was drink tea and eat biscuits. With a small amount of talking about speed awareness. Yours may differ, but I wouldn't be too worried about it. I imagine they're there to educate you, not lambaste you.
My partner went on one of those speed awareness courses. Problem was, she was caught speeding in Dorset and we live in Wiltshire, so the course was an hour's drive away. Invariably she was a few minutes late, although she broke the ice nicely when she arrived by saying "sorry I'm late, but I didn't want to break the speed limit to get here on time." Definitely worth doing over taking the points though. I used to speed a lot (more through lack of focus than intention), but I think as I've gotten older and seen some of the consequences of speeding first hand I've tended to stick pretty religiously to 20, 30, 40 and 50 limits - unless they're clearly pointless which is pretty rare. As my driving instructor said many moons ago, "at the national speed limit, just use your common sense." A great piece of advice
You can book the course in any county that offers them, I'm just doing the same now. Got caught at 71 in a wide sweepy 60 back when the weather was too nice... Damn mobile vans!
This was a few years back, so she had to make the journey to Dorchester Right at the bottom of the county instead of in the middle. Mind you, the middle of Dorset is just one big field
I had to do the course about 3 years ago (34 in a massively wide unbuilt up 30 at 6am on a Sunday morning in glorious sunshine). In my opinion it's pointless but better than getting points. I had to endure a load of numptys who should not have even been on the road yet alone on a speeding course. One woman couldn't understand why you're supposed to leave a decent gap between cars when travelling at speed but not when stationary. Another guy asked me to write his answers down as he could not write in English. There was a courier bragging about doing 1000's of miles a year but hadn't got a clue about any of the highway code. An old guy kept asking questions about towing his caravan. We were also told we were only allowed one drink and one biscuit during the break due to budget cuts, I'd paid £80 for the course and if I wanted more than one biscuit I'll damn well have more than one. I think the one good thing that came out of it was that it confirmed my suspicion that there are some seriously bad drivers out there.
