I got a letter today. A nice polite letter from Suffolk Constabulary, telling me I had been zapped by the Community Speedwatch team in Stanton and was doing 38mph. Well I’ve been hit for speeding twice before and just tend to hold my hands up. However I remember exactly when and where this happened as me and my son were both laughing at the old git with the camera who was flitting from car to car like he was trying to wipe us out on ‘Call of duty’!
We were watching him as we came down the road waving the speed gun from one car to another like a demented orchestra conductor. Having seen him that far in advance I know I was on or very, very near the limit and not at 38mph.
Now I know that this letter means nothing and I should not really care but it annoys me that some old git with nothing better to do, spends his day using a speed gun badly and accusing drivers of things they have not done. I’m not anti speed watch as catching idiots is a good idea in 30 or 40mph limits, the limits are usually there for a reason, but if it’s going to be done, then do it properly.
One day they’ll zap the wrong bod and get lumped for their trouble. Though possibly tempting I feel this should best be avoided.
Does anyone know the legal position of these people as accusing you falsely is probaly an offence somewhere, isnt it?
I’ve used speed guns, they are (or were in 2006) tricky things to use properly. But you’d need evidence that they were wrong to get anywhere.
The purpose of the scheme was to make people thnk about their speed on that patch of road, and however unfair or rediculous their antics have been it’s very likely you’ll be super careful going down that same stretch of road again.
Next time you see someone doing that. Stop, get out of your car, grab thier speed gun and insert so they can see how fast thier colon is going
Incidently, when i lived in Bucks a few years back i owed an S14 in red with a stainless exhaust fitted. Every morning on the way to work - despite me driving in a line of traffic and at a sensible speed - some daft old bat walking her dog would make a point of glaring at me. The evolved into her shaking her head and pointing at me each time i passed as i “was going to fast”. Laughable really. It didnt matter if someone else was hurtling past in a ‘sensible’ new car. I was satan as i had a red car with a nice exhaust note. In the end i used to smile and wave which seemed to upset her even more.
We had a similar problem down here with “locals” complaining about speeding on a particular road. The cops spent an hour with a hand held and found two people speeding at 35mph (published results in local rag). It seems the complainers had no idea what 30mph actually looks like from a pedestrians view point.
One thing that really winds me up is seeing really bad driving on the Speed Camera Cops type programs (through multiple red lights, 60pmh in 30mph zones, bumping other cars out of the way etc. etc) only for them to get a slap on the wrist. What’s all that about??
Slightly off I know but why is it all other drivers think your going fast just cos you have a little sports car. Recently I was driving to Kenninghall along a really dodgy road. I came to a blind bend slowed down to about 25 / 30mph, hugged the kerb and as I went round a car came the other way. I slowed to a near stop but the other driver was going ballistic at ME to slow down. No wonder there is road rage about!
Only even been sort of zapped by a hand once and received a letter from the old bill, it was in the focus so I accused my wife of going to fast and she said it wasn’t her, turned out the car was in at the local ford dealership at the time, they wouldn’t give me the name and address of the driver so sent a letter off to the old bill telling the car was in the hands of a ford dealer and got a nice thank you letter back,
Static camera - when they used to hide them, driving along enjoying myself, seen a flash out of the corner of my eye in the mirror, looked back second flash, foot off the loud pedal looked down at the speedo which was just coming down to the 100mph mark, sh*t myself for the next 2 months waiting for the letter to land but none did, camera must have only had a flash into or it had already caught too many people and had run out of film. Had the same effect as if I had been caught as now I obey all the limits where the cameras are (and everywhere else )
If you’re evr caught by a hand-held speed camera and receive an NIP (Notice of Intended Prosecution) as a result, advice is to write back asking when the device was last calibrated so that the prosecution can provide the documentary evidence in court. Stops the prosecution stone dead I’m told.
That’s an old wives tale I’m afraid. I often sit on cases where defendant’s try-on this and similar clever defences. I’ve never seen this one work - though I believe it has occasionally been successful in the hands of Mr Loophole! I’ve sat on appeals in the Crown Court (where the Police always turn up). They always have the documentation confirming caliberation, Home Office Type Approva, Records of Training for theOperators etc with them and when they produce that, you’re sunk. Inaddition to the fine and Points - you get HUGE costs awarded against you too - we are talking many hundreds of £££. If you get zapped by a handheld or fixed device you might as well put your hands-up unless you’re REALLY SURE you have a defence - and you should see a Brief to get it checked. I’ve been a Magistrate (in Suffolk, BTW) for more than 20 years and I can count on the fingers of a Churchillian Salute the number of times one of these clever technical defences have worked. Sorry!
My understanding is that it’s done as a PR stunt; Police too busy to be sat each morning in all the sleepy hollows that have become rat-runs in the ever-increasing traffic so they give out speed guns to local jobs-worths to make them feel better. To my knowledge the letters are sent out by the Police on the advice of the said jobsworths but have no legal standing. They’re more of a shot across the bow but, as is proven above, clearly make you think twice about exceeding the speed limit in a particular area in the future…
That said, when you drive through some of our countries beautiful little hamlets and villages and see the volume of traffic on roads originally built for carts, you can appreciate why the locals want to make a stand…When we lived in Suffolk we used to cycle through a lovely little village just outside of Sudbury - Newton IIRC - a little golf course running alongside the road and thatched cottages etc, really pretty; a 30-zone, but people used to fire through there like it was a motorway
They may not have any legal standing but the police capture a number and send it out to all patrols as ‘one to watch’. This means you are more liable to be pulled over for next to nothing, have your car checked for nothing and have your time wasted just because some old fa$t wants to play Dirty Harry!
The police claim these people are trained, but, you can show a monkey a book but it dont mean it can read.
I am not a driving angel but I make all possible efforts to stay within the speed limits in towns, villages etc as I understand there are people who take no notice what is going on like many kids, the old etc and it can be a dangerous environment. But if someone misses a 30mph sign as it is obscured by uncut hedges and gets zapped at 36 / 38 mph as he slows down when he see’s the next sign. Is that fair? No. Is it fair that cost cutting bueraucrats cut the police back so far they cant enforce traffic laws? No. Is it fair that if your from the EU you just go home and dont pay your fines? No. Is it fair I pay a fortune in road and fuel tax and have to drive along roads like cheese graters? No.
I see absolute MORONS on the road daily and there is no chance they will ever get caught as there are hardly any police out to catch them. All they do is give cameras to do-gooders who pass the numbers of anyone remotely over 30mph to police so they can ‘watch’ them.
Trust me mate, when you get tugged as much as I do, you get used to coppers just doing their job!
I regularly get pulled over, generally the fist thing plod says is “you’re not what I was expecting to get out of that car”! I assume this is meant as a compliment?!
I really do appreciate what you’re saying - particularly with reference to our rediculous laws and ‘non-UK citizens’ flouting them - but, you live in East Harling which, IIRC is a nice little sleepy village? Just imagine Joe Bloggs comes steaming through the village at 38mph, little Jonny runs out from behind the ice cream van and now Jonny lies dead on the road. Driver says he didn’t see the 30 sign because it was obscured by a hedge. I’m only playing Devil’s advocate but your arguement suddenly seems a tad flawed…
I too am no angel, but I always maintain the 40, 30 and 20 zones because they’re there for a reason.
The older cameras are often out of film. In Surrey they admit that only 23% of the cameras are actually operational. Sometimes they position a mobile van just behind the camera anyway.
Slowing down for the 30mph zones is good for keeping surface rust off your brake discs, then afterwards when looking at your car you can see the nice shinney disc behind it, everybodies happy
Totally agree with all you say but who is at fault when a sign is obscured. I’ve worked in grounds maintenance for 30 years now and when I started all the safety stuff on rural roads, signs, sightlines etc., were cut 4 to 6 times a year. Now your lucky if a farmer does them once as a favour. I can think of three villages within a ten mile radius of me where you go around a bend on a 60 limit and suddenly there is a 30 sign. Great if you know the area but not for others. What office goon thinks these things up.
Also the other thing that riles me is the tone of the letter you get. Treating you as a tried, guilty and convicted criminal. telling me I have no regard for peoples safety. By all means investigate things that are reported but why is it Peter Pensioners word is better than mine. Why send me a letter telling me I’m being watched and not ‘ask’ if I am aware of what I am being accused of instead.
As you can see still Livid
As for sleepy village. it must of been at some time until one of these buereaucrat goons named it a ‘designated lorry route’ between the A11 and A143. Now we get all sorts of HGV1’s trying to get round a 90 degree bend in the middle of a village with minimal clearance. The bollards on the corner are always trashed. More idiots. And we wonder why this country is going down the drain.
What you need is a bally-good track day to clear the mind…Blyton’s coming up soon…
Sorry to hear about the village, I had friends in the village once upon a time and think I’ll remember it the way it was. Lorry route? Now I’m livid too
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