3 hours ago, kevberlin said:

I understand your view. I used to seek to drive to speed limits and was always looking for signage and so forth.

The course simply gave me the added incentive, you might say, to follow speed limits and ignore the perceived attempts of other drivers to make me go faster than the specific limit. It also allowed me to understand why we have so many 30mph limits and the significant difference for victims of being hit by a vehicle at 30 rather than 40mph.

The fact is that all drivers are potential killers and so many do get caught

Courses may not change the behaviour of all drivers but it will change some.

 

.

 

 

Yes and I do think the course will bring further improvements to my driving, like not getting distracted from my mission to adhere to limits, by hassle drivers. 

 

I fully intend to get as much from this course as possible

 

 

 

 

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Edited 17 July, 20187 yr by mrgf

Satnavs don't always have speed limit markings. I guess that this is because they could then be held responsible for anyone who gets caught if they were wrong.

 

My BMW doesn't have any speed option on the sat nav at all not even an indicated speed. In fairness a mate and me tested how well calibrated the BMW speedo was. At 70 it was pretty much spot on, no over read at all.

 

I don't agree with speeding in built  up areas at all but elsewhere tbh I think often the limit in place make no sense other than to drive up income from fines.

Edited 17 July, 20187 yr by Aspman

17 hours ago, davembk said:

Thanks camelspyder,

 

If it gives me that crucial extra 200 yards to just let the car coast down to the limit instead of having to brake in time, on spotting the sign then that's good. 

 

Just imagine a 50 down to 30 in heavy rain. 

 

You're doing a modest 40 in the 50, driving responsibly to the conditions. 

 

Then you see the 30 sign say, because of the rain, only 75 yards ahead. That doesn't mean visibility is only 75 yards otherwise you shouldn't be doing 40. However the task of driving involves more important actions than looking out for speed signs and hence 75 yards is a very likely distance. 

 

In order to slow to 30 in that 75 yards you need to brake quite hard. In rain, that's not a good thing, skid risk etc, but to be legal that's what you have to do. In reality you'll just touch brakes and probably still be doing 35 on passing the 30 sign and hence be breaking the law. In driving safely, what other option is there? 

 

Had there been countdown signs then it would have been a much safer not to say more intelligent way to alert drivers to speed limits

 

If satnavs had countdown warnings that would help too

 

It would help responsible drivers be even safer. 

CamerAlert has adjustable earning distances so you can set it up to personal preference.

I just noticed today that at the entrance off a roundabout onto a dual carriageway 2 x 40 mph signs have been erected and 200 yds or less further on the dual carriageway 2 x more clearway signs but what makes it even more annoying is that only one clearway sign can be seen because the other one is covered by overgrown shrubs/trees so nobody can see it anyway and I wonder how much that cost the (weve no money to repair the roads highway dept)...……….you cant make it up.

Fines are only based on income if you go fast enough to end up in court, fixed penalty notices are still just that, fixed (£100)

 

I can honestly say in all the years and miles of driving I haven't been in a position where speed limit signs have been placed in a way where they have taken me by surprise, certainly never to the point where I've had to do a emergency stop. Anyone got any street view links to an example? 

*The road layout is correct on Google Maps, but not Street View. 

 

One of the main roads leading into my town is a 60.  You come around a high banked bend, so that you cannot see all the way around it, straight into a 30 zone. No advance warning. 

 

Just to make it even more interesting, approximately 50m after the start of the 30 zone, you're straight into a four way roundabout into a new build of approximately 1800 houses. Again, no advance warning of this either. 

 

Both my Tomtom and Sygic satnavs still state the 30mph zone does not begin for another 300 metres further up, which is the original boundary of the town, rather than the beginning of the new builds. 

 

My LA is not the smartest of cookies when it comes to putting up appropriate road signage. A few years ago, at the insistence of the mother of a young girl killed in a single vehicle RTC, they reduced the speed limit on one road from 50mph to 40mph - people weren't sticking to the 50 limit, why they thought they'd stick to a lower limit is anyone's guess. I sent off an online form stating it may be advisable to put up signs informing of the reduced limit, only to be informed there was no need as drivers just need to read the new signs. 

 

Less than a week later there were signs up warning of the new reduced limit. 

 

As an aside, on the anniversary of the young girls death this year, another vehicle left the road at the same spot she did, embedded itself in the same tree, narrowly avoiding landing on the main railway line. Again, no other vehicle involved. Local paper reported PS were taking no action against the driver. 

 

That may explain why I've seen the electronic speed warning machine at the entrance to my town indicate a high of 55mph for a car, 65 for a bike, and just the other day, 39 for a police vehicle, even though the limit where it is located is 30!

 

 

 

 

Edited 18 July, 20187 yr by Guest
Further info added

The problem you may face with a speeding conviction or attending a speed awareness course is the cost of insurance for the next 6 years. You also need to declare the course to your insurance, whatever anyone including the police may say, not declaring could find you with insurance invalidated in case of a high or serious claim.

 

My son got done for doing 56 in a 50 limit and over the next 6 years I calculated it cost him around £2000 extra in insurance.

If your insurer doesn't ask the question, I don't believe you are required to volunteer the info about speed awareness attendance. They don't all ask.

11 minutes ago, Wino said:

If your insurer doesn't ask the question, I don't believe you are required to volunteer the info about speed awareness attendance. They don't all ask.

That is exactly the advice of the Financial Ombudsman.

The question is about 'Convictions' as far as i see and accepting a Speed Awareness Course is not having been 'Convicted'.

So it will very much be a matter of the questions asked.

 

As to people local to an area, familiar with an area, aware of changed speed limits etc. it is amazing when they try to make out they were caught this time but that this is a one off and every other time they drive / ride that route they never ever exceed the posted speed limit.

On 16/07/2018 at 19:46, SWBoy said:

Unless you go fast enough to fall into 6 points territory when taking the "naughty boys" Speed Awareness course still gets you 3 points - as I found out in 2003.

6 pointers deserve what they get IMHO

My motivation to not break the speed limit is a genuine desire to be a safe driver as opposed to a desire to avoid speed cameras. I have no interest in only driving to the limit when padding a speed camera. I want to be doing  30 through the zone. But as said sometimes it's not easy to reduce speed in s timely manner once having seen the sign. 

Would be great to know the limit was starting say 1/2 a mile ahead         so that you could just gently coast down from say 45 to 30 instead of having to actively brake. 

 

https://www.pocketgpsworld.com/

 

Database + Apps here.

 

Free download of both. Paid subscription for updates if required. 

 

App fully configurable  - choice of camera types, warnings, ranges to warn etc etc.

 

 

 

Edited 18 July, 20187 yr by camelspyyder

davembk,

As they tell you the clue is in the fact you are entering a obvious location where the NSL does not apply, so there will be posted speed restriction,

like a residential area, village, town, city etc.  Street Light at the side of road, habitation, maybe both sides of the road, or in Scotland maybe one side of the road, only street lights at one side or none, maybe no pavements.

@Offski - "No generalisation is true, not even this one".

Obviously.  But is there not a 'Clue' that you need to think on, think ahead, feet for throttle or brake, head for thinking.

 

The generalisation was that which 'Speed Awareness people' doing courses in England / Wales were giving out about street lights and speed limits.

The point is that they changed that because it was wrong not only in England / Wales but likely in Scotland & Northern Ireland.

Edited 18 July, 20187 yr by Offski

On 17/07/2018 at 07:00, Sad555 said:

Also noticed that somebody involved in robberies and driving away at 160 MPH received a 9 year prison sentence and a 4yr driving ban which will obviously end a year before their release,so no fine or speed awareness course.

Not so, the driving ban will come into effect after he is released from prison, they can't carry out a ban on driving when a person is in prison, it must run after release.

Chris Grayling MP announced in 2014 that the farce of prisoners serving driving bans when in jail would end.

In 2015 it was still happening.

Was the law /legislation changed since?

Now he is Transport Minister and still talks sharn.

Killer Drivers To Be Kept Off The Road After Prison.mhtml

New Laws On Driving Bans To Arrive Before Easter _ Nick Freeman Solicitors _ Expert Road Traffic Solicitors _ The Home Of Mr Loophole.mhtml

 

4 year driving ban, 5 year prison sentence, off the road for 9 years it says.

Who serves 5 years of a 5 year prison sentence in the UK?

Actually many never serve 4 years or a 4 year driving ban.

Edited 18 July, 20187 yr by Offski

A well know Motor Cycle Racer & Car Dealer / Motor Cycle Dealer in Scotland.

3 Fatal Road Accidents and get his driving licence back 3 years early from having a 10 year driving ban....

 

Those and such as those.    Charity work, affect on employees, da de da.

Anger as motorist banned for 10 years after three fatal crashes gets licence back three years early - Daily Record.mhtml

Edited 18 July, 20187 yr by Offski

ThankS for that info ,perhaps there is justice in this world after all, probably end in effecting somebody’s HUMAN RIGHTS!

Even though yes I'm on the Awareness course tomorrow, I simply LOATHE people who speed. The ones who think They alone are the ones who are capable of judging how fast they can drive. 

 

I can honestly say that even if there was not one single speed camera in the land nor one police car anywhere, I'd still be doing all I could to avoid speeding, because everyone has a right to go on living when out on the roads and no one's got a right to be a threat to that. 

 

I'm looking forward to learning more tomorrow because no one knows it all 

Edited 18 July, 20187 yr by davembk

There could be blood running from your mouth after biting your tongue for 6 hours!

Oh it could be more entertaining than that

 

SWMBO said some old duffer speeder arrived at her course with his wife in tow, and she wouldn't shut up all day about the injustice of her hubby getting a speeding ticket, and outed him as part blind, half deaf and suffering from alzheimers - I'm surprised they let him drive home.

 

Anyway, everyone had a common enemy after the first 10 minutes, Mrs Gob-on-Legs, and the time passed fairly quickly.

 

 

 

Edited 18 July, 20187 yr by camelspyyder

Well there's bound to be at least one arrogant thick sh%#fsce there I'm sure.