I was coming home from working in scarborough the other day, sat doing 40 mph behind a car transporter (the limit was 60)

after about 5 miles I thought it was safe to overtake, so I put my foot down, got in front of the truck and slowed back down to 60mph (the limit) to carry on my way home

after a minute or so I saw a police car flashing his lights ,dodgeing in & out of traffic behind me . When he eventually got behind me he turned his lights and siren of and just sat there for about a mile before putting on his siren & pulling me over.

after the usual crap that you get, he said I was going over 90mph as I passed the truck, to which I replied "when I'm on the opposite side of the road, overtaking on a fast road the last thing I look at is my speedo, I'm looking to make sure nothing is heading in my direction. He eventually agreed with me and also said that the road conditions were ok for that speed but the law says different, but then got out his little book and wrote me a ticket saying I would have to go to court !!

sorry for the long winded approach, but the questionsis, should I wait for the post to arrive and go to court to contest his judgement and ask for calibration tickets on his gun thingy or if I get the option to pay by post do I do that ???

also , what am I looking at in terms of fine, points etc

the copper told me it'd probably be 3 points & £60 fine, but others have told me I'll be looking at a ban

up until this happened I've always had a clean license

any advice or opinions welcome

 

madgip,
Did he sit you in the car and show you the speed you were doing or video playback I was always under the opinion that they had to follow you for at least a measured 1/4 mile to get a reading I might be wrong but if they haven't shown you any evidence I would fight it.

 

I think a visit to http://www.pepipoo.com/ is in order Contesting their equipment may be a no-go as I believe dedicated traffic cars check their equipment at the start of every shift. I think if it's 3pts and 60 quid then it may be prudent to take it on the chin, but if it must go to court, try every trick in the book. I think you displayed reasonable care and obeyance of the law, a fact confirmed by the officers comments. It is perfectly reasonable to expect any sensible motorist to exceed the speed limit whilst making a potentially dangerous overtaking manoevre as safely as possible. The fact that you then returned to the posted limit clearly indicates that you weren't driving in a dangerous or deliberately illegal manner. Any magistrate worthy of the position would take these facts into consideration and let you off, but then again, it will be a court of law, not a court of justice !

Gussy, IIRC they only have to follow for 1/8 mile.

Good luck Phil. Wouldn't have happened in the Scooby

 

how exactly did he "measure" your speed?? and how far back was he??
at the risk of getting arrested, would of told him where to get off - should of stuck to the "i was doing 60mph, officer"...............sounds like he talked you around to practically admitting you were speeding.....................

 

he showed me the last recorded speed in his laser gun type thing

thats the only thing he could show me as any kind of proof

 

Phil. No expert, but as mentioned above, pepipoo is a good place to start.

(PM Box now empty, BTW )

 

What speed did it say on his laser gun?

This is what the court will go off, they wont need to see any video etc etc.

 

91 mph is what the reading was, nothing to say wether it was me or not though, just his word

looks like I'm in for a big fine ,samll ban & massive insurance increase

phil

 

Madgrip..

I really feel for you in this situation.....I can't offer much advice apart from my support.

I travel the A69 between carlisle and Newcastle and also the roads between Carlisle and the towns to the West of Cumbria. V dangerous roads with multiple fatalities on a weekly basis. Loads of lorries, farm vehicles etc travelling slowly and many "head on" collisions due to overtaking vehicles

For a year I drove a 1987 MR2, great car but not good at overtaking. I like my bugeye WRX as I can safely overtake (at whatever sped) and get back in the nearside lane.

I just wait for the day the NIP arrives in the post but at least I am in one piece..

I hope it all works out

Midlife.....

 

IIRC 30 mph or over and your banned, get yourself a solicitor if you want to save yourself a ban.

 

40mph to 90mph seems a trifle excessive for a bloomin' overtake? Was it a risky one?

I don't know what your performance is, but it probably wouldn't take 7 or 8 seconds to pass in a nissan Micra, let alone a scoob!

 

Phil mate - it might be worthwhile popping a post on www.5ive-0.com to see what the (motoring enthusiast) lads in blue suggest.....

My thought is, wait until the summons arrives, then contest the hell out of it. Ask for calibration certs, print outs, the whole lot.

Even if you plead guilty by post, they won't ban you without a court appearance. But, because of the 'alleged' speed that you were doing, you 'might' be looking at a ban.

I know it's pointless (no pun intended!) saying, but this is exactly one of those circumstances where the 'prudent' officer could easily have exercised his discretion. Either ignoring your manouevre or giving you a quick ticking off would have been sufficient.

Out of interest, where did he take the speed reading? Was it before/after/as you passed the truck? If so, was it an instant laser reading (as he suggested) or a Vascar time/distance device?

Just seems slightly dodgy that he stalked you for a while before pouncing. Suppose he could have been checking your plate/ownership....

To be honest, I'm a bit dubious that the reading was actually from your car, but there's precious little that we can do to prove or disprove this.....

 

the last 3 points i got it was nothing like 1/4 of a mile
i think the vascar system is open to abuse anyway, if they want you they will have you imo

 

Midlife……: All I can say is bad luck M8

We all do it and that’s it, life is full of risks.

When you overtake it’s a risk

The assessment is made as follows:

How fast is the car going in front, is it safe to overtake given the road conditions.

Once this judgment is made, you make your decision based on the car you drive and the lightly hood of getting caught breaking the law, either by a speed camera or copper etc.

You got caught breaking the law, failed on one count, but on the other hand at least you are alive to pay the find, by correctly assessing the first point, was it safe to overtake.

Just look at it this way, It’s a game, you lost this time, but at least you lived to play again.


Hope it makes you feel better, I know it would **** me right off to should I make a wrong assessment.

Ah that other factor Luck, best of luck with the fine etc, keep us posted.


Ajax, Paul

 

Similar thing happened to one of my mates in a 205 GTi - he overtook a few cars on an A road - apparently he wasnt really going for it - doing around 70, but there was a Police car in a layby he didnt see, and this caught him up and pulled him.

It went to caught and the Policeman came up with some serious bollocks in caught saying in was some of the most dangerous driving he'd seen, and he had to do well over 100 to catch him, and the guy got a 2 year ban!!!

As has been suggested for you, go to pepipoo.

Also as it happens I was reading (on the briskoda forum) about a guy who was followed by an umarked car in his Octavia vRS and was clocked at 95 in a 30, got told he would go to court when he was stopped, but heard nothing of it (apparently u have to hear within 6months).

 

Ajax

I have a clean licence......... It's Madgrip with the difficulties

I was just saying that here in Cumbria it pays to spend as little time on the opposite side of the road.

Midlife.....

 

eh madgrip by brother lives in brid if you need a lift

 

I cant dispute the fact I was going over the speed limit , but how many of you look at the speedo when overtaking.?? I bet non

The copper must have been in a layby as I was passing the truck, is pisses me off as I was keeping to the limit all the way home apart from the overtake.. I think he must have been bored and wanted someone to talk to

its a modified Evo 7 btw, not that it should matter, but the guy talked more about my car than the alledged offence

thx for the replies

Phil

 

Hang on 'till you get something through the post Phil....

 

cheers Chris, will do.. just winding myself up really

time I got my *** to bed

Phil

edited to add, he wasnt checking my details while folowing as he told me that their computers were down, I think he was waiting until we got to the next parking place/ lay by.he showed me the speed on something that looked like a laser gun, it said 91.1 mph, 15 something ?

 

Yeah - try not to worry too much unless/until you receive some correspondence Phil.

Chat at the next WYIOC one, or PM me before.

 

Anything other than the standard £60 + 3 Points requires going to court.

The Courts are pretty oversubscribed, so they generally like to deal with speeding by the fixed penalty procedure wherever possible.

www.pepipoo.com
is a great resource for anyone that wants to know about how the police and courts deal with speeding.

 

If it was as you describe then, this is very concerning.

What you have got to think about is......1) where were you Zapped. It may not have been when you did the overtake. You may have thought it was then, but could have been before. What was your driving like prior to the overtake?

If you had of been doing 90 mph.....crumbs that is fast. How long would it take a police car from a standing start, including time to get his equipment stowed and get sat in his car and off...to catch you. (I bet he was not driving a scooby)

I would check very carefully all the evidence that has been compiled.

speak to a brief and prepair a good defence for court.

If everything was as you say it looks a bit dodgy to me.

Pound to a penny..the calibration will be ok.
Did the officer do his before and after checks of the laser gun....did he make a writen record of these checks.

From what you have said it looks to me as if you would stand a good chance if you faught your case in court. But remember..if you plea NOT GUILTY the fine if found guilty could be greater than you expect.

Its not the amount of MPH you exceeded that limit that matters first, but if you did actually exceed it by any amount.

Good solicitor is the advice from me and examin the evidence that will be put before the court.

Good luck
WAZZA

 

THX for the replies guys.

I've just got home from Edinburgh and the summons has arrived

any more advice ??

I think I'll speak to a brief this week

Phil

 

BTTT all info appreciated

 

You were speeding so if you get 3 points and £60 accept it.

Colleague was done recently for 88 in a 60, and police mand said he accelerated to p6 for an overtake (on a dual carriageway). Court gave him 3 points and £100 fine.

So probabably not the end of the world, if court prepare for a condencending talk from the Magistrate about the danger of speeding!

 

Phil,

I can't see you getting a ban as you had a clean license previously.

Just tell the judge you will overtake at the national speed limit and expose yourself to danger and others for much longer in future!


Damian.

 

What speed measuring device is named on the NIP ?

 

The trouble is, the Law says you may not exceed the posted speed limit, even to overtake another vehicle. If you exceed the speed limit when overtaking, you can say what you like about paying attention to the road and the situation while you are doing it, all of which is perfectly valid, but they are still entitled to book you if they feel like it.

It sounds hard but its a fact and you have to remember that while overtaking.

Les