I think I'm going to get penalty points and a fine.

  • Thread starter Thread starter Mark T
  • 75 comments
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Pyrelli
:lol:, I've seen some footage of people doing that on the t.v but I guess it could be an effective means of persuading people to keep within the limits.

Out of interest have you/anyone driven past one of the signs that displays your current speed..? In all honesty when I first saw one it simply took my attention away from the road instead of making me slow down.




Good luck with that and hope it all works out 👍

Pyrelli
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Thanks

Keef
Well Mark, I wish you luck. I'm heading off to court now...
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Ta.

Keef
I now have 10 points on my license. Eleven is the limit before you get your license suspended at 12. Hmph.:grumpy:
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Damn your getting close. How long do the points stay on your license for?

SolidSnake15
6 years without getting any points, that's pretty good these days.
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It's not bad at all, that's why I'm pretty pee'd off with this situation. Oh well.
 
Just out of interest, did the guy who was tailgating you also run the light and get snapped, or did he stop?

If he did get photographed, you could try and appeal it, citing him tailgating you as a reason for failing to stop. I'm not sure how successful it would be, but it could be worth a try. :)
 
jammyozzy
Just out of interest, did the guy who was tailgating you also run the light and get snapped, or did he stop?

If he did get photographed, you could try and appeal it, citing him tailgating you as a reason for failing to stop. I'm not sure how successful it would be, but it could be worth a try. :)
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When I recieve the official fine in the post I'm going to request a copy of the photograph to see if there is another car behind me. If there is I will probably appeal.
 
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/TrafficManagement/DG_10025598

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/DriverLicensing/EndorsementsAndDisqualifications/DG_4022550

Others thoughts would be to go to your local police station and ask about the procedure, how it works, etc. Might find it easier talking on a one-to-one basis with someone. People who tailgate are such dangerous drivers, it's so hard to prove though, because it's almost impossible to get photographic evidence or evidence from other drivers, you only get lucky if a policeman sees it. Or someone invents a device on the back of your car which takes a photo if somoene approaches within x distance. Can be intimidating, I cringe when I see lorry drivers doing it on the motorway.

Personally, I think asking the police is what I'd do, or if they give you a contact number on the sheet given to you. Going to court could be difficult though, because if it's just word then you might aswell say you were being chased by aliens.
 
I've been in similar situation on two occasions:

1) I was caught speeding by the camera, but this car was registered in my mom's name, so the letter was mailed to her. It instructed to mail the actual driver's info back to the DMV or Police(I can't remember). I ended up taking care of it, but never heard from them. I think couple of months later, I got my very first official ticket. But once I got to the court, the judge noted that this was my first offense( :sly: ), so he was reducing the ticket to minimum. That tells me that my first actual violation was round filed.

2) Red light camera. They snapped my photo from 3 different angles(if I remember correctly, I still got it somewhere), they even clearly caught my skid mark, along with the "deer in the headlight look" on my face. I ended up mailing my payment in for this one, as I was guilty as hell. It was a result of my minor road raging toward an idiot in a Prius. He actually stopped at the green light, I was running late, long story.

Anyways, our red light camera, it does not take pictures unless you start crossing the intersection on red light, and it will not on amber/yellow. If the British one worked the same way, Mark might've been safe. :D
 
Mark T
Well the car is actually registered to my partner and my company pays the insurance premium. The letter from the Met went to her and said the vehicle had been caught passing a red light. The letter states that she must inform them who was driving if she wasn't. It also mentions photographic evidence.
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Oh, in that case - you're going down!
 
I don't know if its any different in the uk, but here the cameras at a red light don't work when you travel at a speed of 30kph or less :)
(at least, that's what i hear from different people)
 
EDIT: wrong thread, hehe.
 
DustDriver
I don't know if its any different in the uk, but here the cameras at a red light don't work when you travel at a speed of 30kph or less :)
(at least, that's what i hear from different people)
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So it's alright to go over a red light at under 30kph? Chaotic :D
 
Pyrelli
:lol:, I've seen some footage of people doing that on the t.v but I guess it could be an effective means of persuading people to keep within the limits.

Out of interest have you/anyone driven past one of the signs that displays your current speed..? In all honesty when I first saw one it simply took my attention away from the road instead of making me slow down.
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Not in the UK, at least that I've seen. Here, they have signs that flash at you and show you the speed limit if you are exceeding it, but they don't tell you how fast you are going - at least not any of the ones I've seen. There's one particularly annoying one one a dual carriageway local to me which just flashes "SLOW DOWN!" at you if you exceed its trigger speed. The problem is, it's trigger speed is actually lower than the speed limit on that stretch of road! That makes no sense to me. They argue that speed cameras are there to improve safety by making you stick to the limit (and not generate cash). Ergo, the speed limit itself is there to inform you of the highest safe speed to negotiate that road - on a restricted road at least. So, if this road has a speed limit of 40mph, why does this camera flash at me when I do more than 35? If 35 is the maximum safe speed to negotiate this road, why is the speed limit set at 40? And since neither the speed limit nor the flashing sign take any notice of prevailing conditions in the vicinity at the time, how are they qualified to judge the speed at which a driver becomes dangerous? Still, I prefer flashing signs to flashing cameras...

In South Africa there was a flashing sign in my home town that actually told you how fast you were going. I'm not sure what the original intention of this device was, but it led inevitably to a challenge amongst peers to see who could generate the highest reading...
 
Do you remember seeing the car cross the intersection behind you?

And how do cops usually respond if you claim to be a victim of road rage and broke laws only to be safe and/or try to avoid an accident? Do you have to provide some sort of evidence?

a6m5
It was a result of my minor road raging toward an idiot in a Prius. He actually stopped at the green light, I was running late, long story.
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:lol: Only because it's a Prius. How typical.....
 
Don't feel to bad about the fine or the points. They are the lessor of two evils. You could have been rear ended causing untold damage to you and your vehicle.

:)
 
Pako
Don't feel to bad about the fine or the points. They are the lessor of two evils. You could have been rear ended causing untold damage to you and your vehicle.

:)
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Exactly. It's the only reason I carried on going through the amber light. Normally I would have stopped but it just didn't seem worth the risk of getting shunted from behind which could have pushed me into the crossing traffic.
 
Sureshot
So it's alright to go over a red light at under 30kph? Chaotic :D
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No, off course it isn't, the cameras don't see you at that speed, but police do :)
 
Hang on, it wasn't a red MX3 was it?
 
Keef
The thing I hate about all these cameras you guys have is that there's no officer to determine whether your "offense" is ridiculous or not. I've ran a red light by about 5 seconds before, but that was because I was behind a semi truck and couldn't see an thing. An officer would undoubtedly have let me go without a ticket.
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Actually, if I was a cop and had seen that, I'd have written you up for both running the red light and tailgating.
 
I think it could go your way if you appeal and say someone was tailgating you and you didnt feel it was safe to brake suddenly.
Doesn't hurt to try and appeal, go for it....
 
A few things to add.

The "read your speed" signs are all over here, and i live in the UK, they constantly tell you what speed you are doing in an amber display, until you drop under the speed limit, upon which time they state "Thank You", in a much brighter, green display, which is much more distracting/dangerous, so i tend to speed past them, even only one or two miles an hour over the limit, so as to get a friendlier colour, and to check my speedo is accurate.

I would like to ask Mark, how long it took the feds to get in touch with you, cos if it was over 2 weex, then they havent a case.

I would also say that if they managed to get in touch with your partner within the time period, then tell them it was you driving, and do it quick, cos they just recently changed the rules and if the registered keeper doesnt supply them with the info on the driver, then she gets 6 points instantly for being obstructive.

Request a foto.
If not to see what evidence they have, but for comedy value in 6 months when you wont care about it anymore. ( and i can see it at jan's.)
This will also prove 206's can break the law without neons fitted.

As loads of people have said, see if the other car is in the shot, and fight if it is.
Too many people take the fines these days lying down.

They are looking for a car that has all four wheels over the white line, with a fully lit red light in the pic. Check what evidence they have.

Good luck, and keep us posted :cheers:

I would like to state that i have some experience of traffic law, as i average 80,000 miles a year in Britain (its small here you know, i have to turn around a lot) and i am the only one i know that for four years; held a full driving licence complete with 12 points on it, a long time ago.
3 times in 3 weex i got stopped for speeding, and the result was not pleasant at 20 years old, especially when the rozzers were just picking on me on two of the offending occasions... bloody rozzers 👎:grumpy:

Anyway, i'd like to know what happens, so i will watch this thread with interest, and dont worry Mark, we'll break you out in time for the Dutcho if you get locked up.
:irked:👍
 
philly cheese
:lol: Only because it's a Prius. How typical.....
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While the Prius drivers I see are typically (really)slow, this guy actually stopped at the green light like it was red. :irked:
 
VEXD
I would like to ask Mark, how long it took the feds to get in touch with you, cos if it was over 2 weex, then they havent a case.

I would also say that if they managed to get in touch with your partner within the time period, then tell them it was you driving, and do it quick, cos they just recently changed the rules and if the registered keeper doesnt supply them with the info on the driver, then she gets 6 points instantly for being obstructive.

Request a foto.
If not to see what evidence they have, but for comedy value in 6 months when you wont care about it anymore. ( and i can see it at jan's.)
This will also prove 206's can break the law without neons fitted.
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The incident happended on November 4th and I recieved the letter on the 14th so it was on time. It was actually posted to my partner so I have filled the form out and returned it to the FBI. When I recieve the official fine I'm going to request a copy of the photo. Even if the photo doesn't have anything on it to help me I might be able to delay paying the fine until after Christmas.

I'll update as I hear more.
 
We just got a ticket for speeding on a road with no speed limit signs until AFTER the cop's hiding spot.

Ticket Clinic to the rescue, hopefully.
 
Mark T
The incident happended on November 4th and I recieved the letter on the 14th so it was on time. It was actually posted to my partner so I have filled the form out and returned it to the FBI. When I recieve the official fine I'm going to request a copy of the photo. Even if the photo doesn't have anything on it to help me I might be able to delay paying the fine until after Christmas.

I'll update as I hear more.
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FBI?

Wow Dave, and I thought my Dad doing 35k a year was a lot! you must average 200 miles a day? What on earth do you do to do that much driving?
 
VEXD
I would like to ask Mark, how long it took the feds to get in touch with you, cos if it was over 2 weex, then they havent a case.
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I was playing on Vex'd reference to the feds. Now you mention it, 200 miles a day is insane.
 
Mark T
Now you mention it, 200 miles a day is insane.
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I drove 600 miles (965 km) yesterday in 12 hours (3:50 am - 3:48 pm), including a 3 hour doctor visit for my son. Needless to say, I'm a bit sleepy today.

Clipping along at 60mph in a 50mph zone and being passed by police in 8:00 am downtown Minneapolis traffic is fun! :lol:👍
 
Luckily we don't have that penalty points system.

Do you also get penalty points if you parked your car where you shouldn't have?
 
a6m5
While the Prius drivers I see are typically (really)slow, this guy actually stopped at the green light like it was red. :irked:
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Somehow, I'm still not too surprised. Prius drivers should get higher insurance rates because on average their driving is much more dangerous that normal. I wonder if they realize just how much of a problem they are causing. And cars having to slow down ans speed up to get around them probably uses more gas than they save in a hybrid.

And that really sucks about that prius just sitting there.

TB
Clipping along at 60mph in a 50mph zone and being passed by police in 8:00 am downtown Minneapolis traffic is fun! :lol:👍
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Police are the worst drivers in terms of craziness. I see them clipping along at about 90 weaving through traffic or in the carpool lane. It really ticks me off that they can punish drivers for the same kind of driving that the do on a regular basis.
 
TB
I drove 600 miles (965 km) yesterday in 12 hours (3:50 am - 3:48 pm), including a 3 hour doctor visit for my son. Needless to say, I'm a bit sleepy today.

Clipping along at 60mph in a 50mph zone and being passed by police in 8:00 am downtown Minneapolis traffic is fun! :lol:👍
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So you averaged over 66Mph? That's quite impressive.
 
We always get off in Canada. Whoever has to deal with the case knows it's usually BS and petty anyway, so they pass you through to get to the more serious stuff.
 
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