Penalty points and a fine rather than opt for a "boring" course

A driver caught using his mobile phone asked for penalty points and a fine rather than opt for a "boring" course, police have said.

The unnamed motorist stated on a caution form he had completed a driver improvement course the day before.

He wrote: "Just give me the points and fine - I did the mobile phone course yesterday. It was as boring as hell."

Those who commit motoring offences are sometimes offered courses as an alternative to penalties. No details about where the man was stopped have been released.
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The force's road policing team shared a photo of the form on Twitter with the comment: "Some will never learn".

15 year old speeding at 96mph on M2

The teenager was recorded on the 13th of this month by the PSNI’s Road Policing Unit who later tweeted an image of the speed gun reading, adding: “This speed was recorded on the M2 today by road policing officers. Driver was just 15 years of age.”

This speed was recorded on the M2 today by Road Policing officers. Driver was just 15 yrs of age.#KeepingPeopleSafe pic.twitter.com/jT6mX00NmK

— PSNI Road Policing (@PSNITraffic) May 13, 2015

MLA Trevor Clarke, whose constituency takes in a large part of the M2, said: “There are very serious questions to be asked about how someone of this age came into possession of a car.”

 "A car is as deadly as a loaded gun, especially at 96 miles per hour. I want to commend the PSNI for stopping this young man before he injured himself or anyone else."

"Doing that kind of speed on a motorway is an accident waiting to happen. The last thing any of us want to see is another fatality."

It is illegal for a 15-year-old to drive, even as a learner. Normally, the earliest date a provisional licence can become valid is when the holder turns 17. But learner drivers are not permitted on motorways.

Driver speeding in the UK ordered to pay £11,000

David Pickup was caught speeding and has to pay £11,000 for challenging his ticket after a prosecution expert hired an airfield and a sports car to prove him wrong.

David Pickup, 45, was clocked doing 101mph in his Audi R8 on the A55 at Lloc in Flintshire in April 2014.


Flintshire Magistrates' Court heard a police speed camera caught him and he asked officers: "Can we call it 98?".


Mr Pickup who is from Wilmslow in Cheshire, who has a holiday home in Abersoch, Gwynedd, was convicted of speeding.


He denied breaking the 70mph speed limit and said that a number of people from Cheshire had second homes in Abersoch, which he called a millionaire's paradise.


The defence questioned the accuracy of the in-car police speed camera so the prosecution hired an expert who rented an airfield and an Audi R8 to carry out tests, the results of which were presented to the court.


Pickup was fined £675, given six points on his licence and ordered to pay the full prosecution costs - which included the testing - of £10,384.

Gadget that police want banned because it would allow people to speed

A gadget that alerts speeding drivers when emergency vehicles has faced calls by police and motoring organisations to be banned.

The £799.99 Target Blu Eye is a dashboard-mounted device which, astonishingly, is perfectly legal, according to its makers.

It can detect when police cars – even unmarked vehicles – are more than half a mile away by picking up encoded radio signals, and then sends a warning to the motorist.

When a 999 vehicle is within 1,200 yards, it sets off a green light on the display. As it gets nearer, the lights go to amber and finally they go red when it is just yards away. The device can even detect the radio signals from police officers on the beat and force helicopters.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk

5 British sports caught speeding by French helicopter

off-duty officer who was overtaken by 5 sports cars racing down autoroute phoned on-duty officers and the Gendarmes swooped.

French gendarmes sent a helicopter chasing after five British-registered sports cars - including a Lamborghini and two Porsches - after an-off duty officer in a private car spotted them speeding down the A63 motorway near Biarritz in the southwest 

The British vehicles overtook him at speeds far above the French maximum limit of 130 kph (80 mph). The Britons were traveling on Friday afternoon in the direction of Hendaye, on the border with Spain. The convoy slowed to permitted speeds once the drivers spotted the chopper following them. 

The cars were tracked down to a toll booth where several police cars hauled them over and imposed fines for speeding. Police said they did not know exactly how fast they were going because the helicopter that had followed them was not equipped with speed radar.

Lib Dem caught by speed camera that he secured funding for

A Lib Dem parliamentary candidate was caught speeding by a camera he admits he "secured the funding for".

Stephen Gilbert's solicitor pleaded guilty on his behalf to speeding in his Kia car at 40mph in a 30mph zone on the A390 at St Blazey, last August.

Mr Gilbert, 38, of Beach Road, Newquay, was fined £430, ordered to pay costs of £85 and given three penalty points.

A charge of failing to give information relating to the driver's identity was withdrawn at Bodmin Magistrates' Court.

Mr Gilbert is defending the St Austell and Newquay seat in Cornwall.
The politician tweeted that the speeding conviction was "ironic" as he had "secured the funding for the camera 15 years ago".

.@tamsinmelville ... and isn't it ironic since I secured the funding for the camera 15 years ago! @BBCCornwall
— Stephen Gilbert (@stephen_gilbert) April 22, 2015

Wales worst speeder caught doing 136mph

Four people were caught driving at speeds of over 120mph on roads in Wales last year - with one topping 136mph, the Institute of Advanced Motorists has revealed.

Three of the worst speeders were caught on the A5 in north Wales, while the other was on the M4 in south Wales.

It said the 136mph driver broke the 60mph limit in Conwy by 76mph and was one of the worst cases in Britain.

The figures for 2014 were released following a freedom of information request from IAM to the welsh forces. The figures showed Wales' worst speeder was recorded by North Wales Police at 136mph on the A5 Ty Nant to Dinmael road in Conwy.

 The A5 also saw two further instances of over 120mph speeding recorded; 122mph on the Ty Nant-Cerrigydrudion stretch in Conwy; and 121mph at Halton, Wrexham. The final case of 120mph being exceeded was captured by South Wales Police: 125mph on the M4 between Junction 35 Pencoed and Junction 34 Miskin, where a 70mph limit is in force.

The charity is campaigning for an increase in visible policing to deter excessive speeders.

Police HADEC 'stealth' cameras increase number of drivers caught speeding by 25%

25 percent more drivers have been fined on motorways in the last 12 months through the use of unmarked ‘stealth cameras’.
 

New figures reveal that the number of drivers caught out by the ‘grey cameras’ (Hadecs) have soared, with 112,000 divers given penalty notices or sent to court for offences on the motorway in the last year alone.
 

The increased use of these ‘smart motorways’ that have variable speed limits, open the hard-shoulder to ease congestion and employ digital speed cameras are considered to be the driving force behind the rise, the Times reported.

Often drivers were caught out for breaking variable limits well below 70mph. Stretches of the M1, M25, M4 and M5 have become the most notorious for catching speeders.

As the use of smart motorways is extended from current levels of around 200 miles to 800 miles over the next ten years, the number of fines is set to rise even more.
 

Critics have lashed out at the system over the use of the less noticeable cameras in the place of more visible yellow cameras. Highways England, which manages highways and A roads, is reviewing grey cameras and may decide to paint them yellow, the Conservatives have said.

Information obtained by the Times in a recent Freedom of Information request showed that last year, in 24 out of 45 police forces 112,654 motorists were given speeding penalties with a minimum fine of £100 and three points on their licence.

In 2013 88,857 were handed the same penalty, compared with 71,922 in 2012, 78,696 in 2011 and 54,720 in 2010.

Highways England has said automated, smart motorways smooth traffic flow and speed up journeys. It added that the majority of drivers stick to speed limits and all cameras are sign posted.

Police forces themselves have the power to decide if they will use the cameras to enforce penalties.

Police in Somerset caught 23,086 motorists speeding in 2014 – a dramatic increase on the 756 that were caught one year earlier.

The rise was attributed to tougher measures taken on one portion of a smart motorway

Images: dailymail.co.uk

Banned for doing 148mph on M11

A motorcyclist filmed speeding along the M11 at 148mph (238km/h) has been banned from driving for 15 months.

Police dashboard cameras caught Paul Roberts, 43, weaving in and out of traffic on his Kawasaki ZZR 1400 while carrying a pillion passenger last September.

Roberts, from Malkin Driver Lane, Harlow, was banned at Chelmsford Crown Court.

Coventry roadworks cameras on A45 catch out nearly 3,500 drivers last year!

Tollbar Island with the junction of London Road Image: coventrytelegraph.net

Tollbar island is best known for long delays - despite these delays average speed cameras positioned in roadworks caught out nearly 3,500 drivers last year.
 

The cameras operate on a 40mph stretch of A45 between Tollbar and the Festival Island and are designed to protect contractors working on the £106million project.  

The Highways Agency say work on the new underpass takes place around the clock. The roadworks have been described as the worst in the country, with motorists experiencing long delays during the typical working week.  

At the time a Highways Agency spokesman said: “We are committed to making sure disruption for the drivers who use the junction every day is kept to an absolute minimum and we plan roadworks very carefully.

 “Wherever possible lanes are closed at quieter times and we do our best to keep lanes open while we work, avoiding the need to divert traffic.” The minimum penalty for speeding is a £100 fine and three penalty points.  

The figures come as fixed speed cameras in the region look set to make a comeback after 304 were controversially switched off a year ago. Some motorists have posted on internet forums suggesting that the fixed speed camera on the Ryton side of the A45, close to Tollbar, is working again though.

 

200 Year old law to be used to avoid speeding fine in court

A top Queensland barrister will use case law dating back 200 years to try to avoid a $146 speeding fine.

Tony Morris QC is mounting a landmark legal challenge against Queensland's speed-camera laws, The Courier-Mail reports.

Mr Morris says he wasn't driving when his Volvo was photographed doing 57km/h in a 50km/h zone last year.

But he won't say who was behind the wheel.

He has invoked a spousal privilege case from 1817, arguing it's unconstitutional for a Queensland court to fine him when there's evidence he was not the driver.

He says he was in a meeting with top judges when the Volvo was snapped, and they are willing to testify that he was with them.

He argues the spousal privilege principle, established in England 200 years ago, means a husband can't be compelled to provide information that incriminates his wife

 "I decline to identify the person who was in charge of the vehicle at the relevant time," Mr Morris reportedly wrote in a letter to the Department of Transport

 

Earlier this year, Mr Morris wrote to federal, state and territory attorneys-general saying he planned to challenge parts of Queensland's speed-camera laws.

Under the laws, the registered owner of a car has two options: name the driver or say they don't know who was driving. Car owners can't, under the law, say they know who the driver was but refuse to give a name.

Mr Morris has told The Courier-Mail he can't see why he should dob someone in for driving the car when the legislation is invalid.

He said the Volvo caught by the speed camera was not his usual car, but would not tell the paper who usually drove it.

The case will go to the Court of Appeal within weeks.

Image: Today / Nine News

Taxi driver narrowly avoids jail after speeding lie

62-year-old Mohammed Malik claimed a mechanic was driving his Toyota Avensis when it was clocked traveling at 37mph in a 30 zone in Washwood Heath Road, Birmingham, in April last year.

Officers then wrote to the mechanic, only to have the letter returned saying he no longer lived at the address given. They also visited the address and found it was a residential property that had never been a garage.

This aroused more suspicion, so police then spoke to the cabbie's firm to get a print out of his journeys on the day in question - they clearly showed Malik had actually picked up a fare at the time, with the person clearly visible on speeding camera footage sitting in the back seat. Still, Malik insisted it was his mechanic at the wheel.

With the evidence stacking against him, Malik finally admitted the speeding offence and was subsequently charged with perverting the course of justice for lying about who was behind the wheel.
The driver, of Coleshill Road, Ward End, pleaded guilty to the charge and on 31 March he was handed a four month prison sentence - suspended for 18 months - plus 80 hours unpaid work and costs of £400. He was also banned from driving for six months.

PC Steve Jevons said "Malik may have avoided jail but the suspended sentence is hanging over him for the next year-and-a-half and it’s likely he will now be stripped of his taxi licence. With no livelihood, clearly this will have a huge impact on his life and he will have to ask himself if all his lies were worth the risk. We hope this case serves as a warning to others that lying to the police and the authorities is a serious offence and can ultimately land you behind bars."

Will new 20mph limits on London red routes leave people looking at the speedo instead of the road?

Motorists face £100 fines as 20mph limits are imposed on some of Britain’s busiest roads.

Until now, the lower 20mph speed limit has been restricted to smaller roads in residential areas or near schools. However this is about to change with 20mph limits to be introduced on major arterial roads (policed by the latest digital speed cameras).

London Mayor Boris Johnson has revealed that eight pilot schemes will be run on ‘Red Routes’ – the main arterial roads that carry a third of the capital’s traffic. 

Other towns and cities including Bristol, Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh say they also intend to introduce the new limits.

The minimum fine fore motorists caught breaking the 20mph limit will be £100 fine and three points on their driving licence.

The AA says the new limits are being driven more by ‘dogma’ than road safety. A spokesman said: ‘These 20mph zones are popping up like spring daffodils.

‘There is a lot of fear among drivers that, with 20mph being a relatively unfamiliar speed, widespread speed camera use will make them look more at their speedometers than at what is happening on populated streets in front of them.’

If the trials in London ( due to last 18-months)  are judged a success, the 20mph limits will be made permanent and imposed on 30 miles of key ‘Red Routes’ considered by transport bosses to be ‘more local road than motorway’. Some 175 miles of residential streets.

Under the new London scheme, the first road to convert to 20mph next month will be Commercial Street in Shoreditch, linking into plans for Tower Hamlets and Hackney to become 20mph boroughs.

Rod King, founder of the ‘20’s Plenty for Us’ campaign group, said: ‘The current 30mph national limit is being rejected as “unfit for purpose” for communities so we’re setting out a series of government actions required for a planned transition to a UK default urban limit of 20mph by 2020.’

A Department for Transport spokesman said: ‘Research shows 20mph zones can save lives and this government has made it easier for councils to introduce them.

‘It is for local authorities to set speed limits and for the police to decide how best to enforce them.’

The spokesman added: ‘We are undertaking a three-year research project to better understand the effect of 20mph zones and their impact on local communities.’

Beep Beep! campaign urges drivers to slow down to save little lives

Road safety charity Brake (the road safety charity) and Churchill Insurance are urging drivers to ‘go 20’ and take more care in communities, as their latest survey puts the spotlight on irresponsible driving around schools and nurseries.

Three in five parents (59%) reported witnessing speeding outside their child’s school or nursery in the past year, with the same number (60%) also reporting drivers pulling out or turning without looking properly.

The findings come as up to 26,000 tots across the UK take part in the first national Beep Beep! Day of 2015, a road safety project for nurseries and infant schools run by Brake and Churchill and aimed at helping keep young children safe on the roads.

To read more about Beep Beep Day click here 

Ferrari Driver Arrested In UK For Speeding on M25

A 25 year old driver was arrested by Surrey Police for driving his Ferrari California doing 150 along the M25 between junction 8 and 10. The driver was arrested and his car seized by police.

 A brand new California will set you back a massive £150,000. It has a top speed of 193 mph a figure the driver was doubt testing when he was caught by police.

The rumor mill suggests that the police caught up to the driver in two BMW 530s, which, according to BMW have a top speed of 155 mph.

Pictures from Surrey Police.

Police out on Kent's roads to educate motorists about the dangers of speeding

Kent Police has taken to the roads of Ashford to educate motorists on the dangers of speeding.

Local PCSOs carried out the speed awareness event at six locations in the area along roads highlighted by residents as being potential speeding ‘hot-spots’.

A total of 575 vehicles were checked during the two-day exercise on Tuesday 10 March and Saturday 14 March.

Of those, 22 drivers were found to be exceeding the speed limit and were spoken to about the dangers of speeding.

Roads checked on 10 March were:

• Faversham Road, Kennington: 125 vehicles checked, nine exceeded the speed limit
• Canterbury Road, Kennington: 111 vehicles checked, seven exceeded the speed limit
• Charing Hill: 80 vehicles checked, one exceeded the speed limit
• Smarden: 25 vehicles checked, none exceeded the limit
• Appledore: 60 vehicles checked, none exceeded the limit

Roads checked on 14 March were:

• Canterbury Road, Kennington: 130 vehicles checked, three exceeded the limit
• Top of Charing Hill: 44 vehicles checked, two exceeded the limit

"The speed checks were carried out along roads which residents have highlighted as having issues with speeding drivers.

It is reassuring that such a low number of drivers had to be spoken to but we will continue to monitor any areas of concern.

Educating drivers continues to be fundamental in our efforts to reduce the number of deaths and serious injuries on Kent’s roads.

Appropriate advice has been given to those drivers and although the purpose of these patrols was to educate drivers, next time people could face penalties.

Speeding can put pedestrians, cyclists and other motorists in danger so we are asking all road users to play their part in helping keeping our roads safe."

– Inspector Andrew Judd of the Ashford Community Safety Unit

 

Man jailed for changing number plates after speeding ticket landed on doorstep

Kyle Nixon who changed the appearance of his number plates after he was caught speeding on the A1 has been jailed for three months

Mr Nixon was clocked by a static speed camera doing 87mph in a 70 mph limit on the A1 at Great Ponton, near Grantham, on October 2.

Lincoln Crown Court heard Nixon, from Kent, was sent a notice of intended prosecution by Lincolnshire Police as he was the registered keeper of the vehicle caught speeding, a Vauxhall Zafira.

After receiving the speeding notice Nixon telephoned the ticket office and claimed he could not be the driver as he had not been in Lincolnshire for two weeks and asked if there was any pictures of the vehicle and was told to email the ticket office images of his own car.

Mr Bishop said when the ticket office received three images of Nixon's car on October 29 it was clear the appearance of the number plates had changed but not the registration.

Nixon sent the ticket office further close up images of his number plates on November 11 but finally admitted he was the driver three days later.

Siward James-Moore, mitigating, told the court Nixon initially did not realise that his journey had taken him through Lincolnshire.

Mr James-Moore said when Nixon finally realised he was the driver he tried to "wriggle off the hook." Mr James-Moore added: "He was in a hole and kept on digging when he should have put his hands up."

Nixon pleaded guilty to a charge of perverting the course of justice between October 9 and November 14 last year and speeding on October 2.

He was jailed for three months and also received three penalty points on his driving licence.

Passing sentence Recorder Ciaran Rankin told Nixon his actions struck at the heart of the criminal justice system.

Recorder Rankin told him: "Having been caught, what followed was a series of acts of the upmost stupidity."

Cyclist riding at 41mph - is speeding fine lawful?

A cyclist in London’s Richmond Park has been fined for riding his bike at more than twice the speed limit – just four months after a Royal Parks spokesman said that speed limits in the places it manages don't apply to cyclists.
 
Rory Palmer pleaded guilty to breaking the park’s speed limit of 20mph on Sawyers Hill on 2 January this year, reports This Is Local London.

Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court was told that police officers spotted the cyclist overtaking cars as he headed towards them from the direction of Richmond Gate. The officers were conducting an anti-speeding operation close to Barn Wood, said to be busy with vehicles at the time in question.

The rider, admitted when stopped that he had been traveling too fast, telling officers, "I know, I'm sorry."

Mutahir Ahmed, speaking in mitigation, said: "Cycling is his hobby and he understands how dangerous it was. It was a windy day and he was coming down the hill.

“He did realise at the time he was going above 20mph but did not have a speedometer."
Magistrates fined him £65 plus a £20 surcharge and he was also ordered to pay prosecution costs of £65.

BBC broadcaster Jeremy Vine was stopped for 'speeding' in Hyde Park in November of last year. A Royal Parks spokesman subsequently told him that there was no speed limit for cyclists in Hyde Park - and, by extension, any of the other 10 parks or open spaces it manages in London. So was Rory Priors fine lawful?

What do you think? should speeding limits apply to vehicles such as bicycles that don't have numberplates or speedometers?

Surely if you don't admit fault under these circumstances something to do with "not knowingly breaking the speed limit" would come in to play

Maybe cyclists should start investing in camera detectors as well as car drivers, then at least you would get alerts and it would tell you your speed!

One camera rakes in £160k in one morning on the M6 this week!

1,600 people will be getting Fines in the post for being caught speeding through M6 roadworks on the the morning of Tuesday 10th March.  The fines will generate upwards of £160k for the government.

The camera in question is located  on the M6 at junction 17, the speed limit has been lowered to 50mph on that stretch while roadworks are carried out.

NW Motorway Police tweeted: “The speed cameras on the M6 J17 in the road works are working, the limit is 50mph. In one morning 1600 offences have been recorded. #noticket”

Mayor who headed 20mph scheme caught doing 35mph in a 30 limit

George Ferguson, the mayor of Bristol who spearheaded a £2.3m project to implement 20mph zones across his city has been caught speeding doing 35mph in a 30mph zone

Ferguson, who usually drives an electric-powered car or rides a bicycle, was behind the wheel of a Bristol city council fleet car at the time. He was clocked speeding on the A4 Portway road by Avon and Somerset police.

In a statement issued through the council, Ferguson described the offence as an inexcusable mistake and said he would be paying the £100 penalty charge.

“I am shocked to have just discovered I exceeded the speed limit on the Portway last month ... on one of the rare occasions when I have had to use a council fleet car.

“It serves as a sharp warning to me and goes to show that I am no exception to the rule. I am only too aware of the dangers of exceeding speed limits and commend the Avon and Somerset police for their vigilance.

“I have blemished an otherwise clean licence and shall be paying the penalty charge willingly from my own pocket.”

Ferguson became Bristol’s first directly elected major in 2012 and is an advocate of a 20mph pilot scheme run by the council.

The council voted in July 2012 to bring in the 20mph speed limit throughout Bristol in a six-phase scheme costing £2.3m. All roads except dual carriageways, 40mph and 50mph roads are considered for the 20mph speed limit, which applies to all motorised vehicles on the road.

Speaking at the time of the rollout, Ferguson said: “The new speed limit is part of a number of measures that we are introducing that will help to promote road safety, improve traffic flow, support sustainable transport and active travel and help to make Bristol a more positive place to live and work.

“We realise that the change in speed limit will take a little getting used to but I know from my own experience how little impact the reduction in speed will have on journey times.”