Speed camera van motorway

[Karl Woolf]

Okay, having worked a night shift last noght in Gretna on the railway.

Left my hotel after some well earned    

Travelling down the M6 southbound, midday, blue skys, dry road with light traffic.

Come around a bend on the motorway, is that a van on the bridge, get to 300-400yds away its a camera van     .

I would say my initial speed was an indicated 85-90.

I realise if somebody was doing 95 infront of me they would be too busy booking them, but as it was quiet   .

What do you think my chances are    

[alsgsi]

If it was an indicated 85 - 90 mph on the speedo then i`m almost certain that you`ll get of with that.

Al

[SADDLEWORTH]

It may be a tax and insurance checking van  

[whitlock]

Was it near Tebay?

If so, i got done there last october for 80mph. Same conditions and there was nobody on the road with me at the time (got the picture to prove it!) Got the letter about a week later

Good luck though, maybe they missed you

[JonnyBoy]

Yes, you'll get done. Those mobile speed vans are privately owned operations who I believe sell the fine info onto the government. It i stherefore in their interest to sell each and every speeding offence regardless of current conditions to the cops.

I got done in monmouthshire doing '80' by a mobile van, beautiful clear sunday afternoon, empty dual cariageway, no-one else anywhere to be seen - except the speed van in the hard shoulder! and I got busted. Had that been a patrol car.. fat chance of a fine imo.

Worse of all, i wasn't in the westy or the Gti, but mums poxy Rover 200!

[Muttleys V8]

Was it about 6 miles north of the border, if so, yes, have seen the van on a couple of occasions.

My Boss got done 6 months ago doing 85, he claimed his wife was driving but they very kindly wrote back saying would he like to reconsider as the photo showed and man in the driving seat.

Steve

[pistonbroke]

QUOTE

Worse of all, i wasn't in the westy or the Gti, but mums poxy Rover 200!

You shoulda been disqualified for this hyenous offence  

[KenE]

Karl - you're almost certainly up for £60 and three penalty points sorry to say - unless the scumbag civilian operator was having a sandwich break.

They will send a NIP to anybody doing 79mph or greater.

Jonnyboy - it's not privately owned, it's probably operated by West Cumbria "safety" Camera Partnership, a government quango set up by the council, police, courts, NHS in cahoots with others that I can't remember. they issue notices of intended prosecution and administer the fines. The cost of their expensive operation is covered by the fines and any profits are sent direct to the treasury. It's basically a non-accountable empire building exercise in the name of road safety.

Ken

[ljsanders]

You might be lucky if your speedo reads high and you were going lower indicated than you think.

In my Leon, at an indicated 85, I've GPS'd it at 78. At indicated 90, gps speed is 83.  However I've been in a friends Honda Accord and thats only about 2mph out at 90.

[Buzz Billsberry]

Well if you don't get done I will complain as I got nicked on the M18 on a sunday afternoon with only 3 other cars on my carraige way @ 78mph!! £60 & 3 points

Buzz

[zvezdochka]

Mate of mine got caught at 82 by this camera. To add insult to injury the letter included a leaflet explaining how the safety camera partnership works with a map of usual camera locations!

Bad news was he got flashed by a red light camera at the end of the same journey (Aztec west, Bristol) so 6 points in one day and now a very nervous driver

Shap / Tebay is probably one of the safest stretches of motorway in the country.  Only tricky when loaded with caravans or in the middle of winter.  This one is definitely just there to make money.

Another colleague got 3 points for 43mph in the M6 raodworks near Stafford last year.  He reckoned evryone was moving at the same speed so think of the money that's making.

I'm not condoning reckless driving but the current usage of "safety cameras"  has not been shown to increase safety. Best thing to do is get sat nav with the camera locations so at least you have some warning in future.

[pistonbroke2]

Best bet is tell plod it was the Wifey driving

then roll up in court as a Transvestite.

Judge will let you off for sure cause hell be a

Tranny to.

Worst case scenario is

He might send you Down (Gulp)      

Good Luck anyhow Mate.

Peter.

[Karl Woolf]

Thanks for the comments guys, yeah thats the area north cumbria.

Looks like I should expect a letter through the door then.  

I don`t want to open the whole speed cameras can of worms but am a little surprised by some of the votes.

As far as I see it speed is all about conditions, traffic volume, weather, visibility as in appropriate speed.

Taking into consideration these factors when driving today,

I would be hard pushed to see the justification for the location of that speed van.

Next time I`m on the motorway and see cars tailgating in wet weather, as I see all the time,

and doesn`t even get a mention by the safety campaigns.    

I`d like to see the statistics as a contributing factor to vehicle to vehicle RTA`s than the blanket speed kills campaign,

irrelevant of conditions which used to be taken in consideration by the experienced traffic cop when being written a ticket.

Also something else that gets on my goat whilst I`m at it, I`m sure the income accrued by the

government for these offences is minor in comparison to what the insurance companies make.

The way I see it for every 3 point £60 fine you get, your insurance (mine does anyway) adds 10%

So my insurance £500 pa = £50 x 3yrs = £150

(Not even sure if they take it for 5yrs as thats the qu at renewal time)

As I`m a named driver my wifes car ins goes up 10% too

so another £150  

Total £300 (unless its 5 yrs then £500)

Qu how many more people have been prosecuted since the introduction of speed cameras,

who is making real money out there    

Rant over time for a beer    

[highwayman]

Guys, just don't speed!

Its a risk thing

You speed , you take a risk of a fine and points

just accept the penalty or slow down

[stu999]

Boomy to the boardroom please....