5 notices of impending prosecution in the post

[MikeHorton]

11 minutes ago, Trooper74 said:

Hang on a minute ... 48mph in a 30mph area and we're all patting him on the back and being supportive ...

If he'd hit a child at 48 in a 30 they would be dead .....

And he knows that ... he's a health professional ....

" No critical comments" ... B*ll*ocks .... get banned ! 

Not patting anyone on the back. Its just important to have a right to a fair trial, fundentals of British law. I'm sure James has punished himself and he's not been doing this for years sounds like a bad week. And from one who has a mental health complaint which rears its head every now and again we all have the odd wobble. I have a speed awareness course about 5 years ago and it sunk in for me and I think made me aore thoughtful driver. Doesn't work for everyone not everyone is wired up the same and some have no morals others do learn and don't make the same mistakes again

[MikeHorton]

7 minutes ago, James in Brum said:

I would entirely agree except for the fact that the bit I was doing 48 in is a bit of the a38 on the way in towards Brum which is a dual carriageway and nowhere near any accommodation type areas or schools or any such. I thought it was a forty. 
I’m the annoying prick that does twenty in a twenty which no one does. This was not an urban area which children might have been near.

With all the new bus lanes coming in on the a38 I don't think 40 will be possible now. I work in bournville and the 40 bit there is now a 30.

[Tiggie]

10 minutes ago, James in Brum said:

I would entirely agree

I cant agree at all, he called you a Health Professional  

[Slowlycatchymonkey]

Difficult to comment without knowing the stretch of road isn’t it. A few years ago I would have thought 48 in a 30 WTF!

But around here they seem to have gone speed limit crazy. I don’t mean the sensible stuff in built up areas but the multiple speed limits on the same type of road. We have one dual carriageway with 4 different speeds limits on it in pretty quick succession for no apparent reason that are not obviously marked with no junctions, bends or narrowing. The sharp braking and acceleration vehicles do on that stretch is the roads main risk. 
 

[Tiggie]

@Slowlycatchymonkey Same here, the dual carriageway going through the town I live in has national, 50, 40, and 30 sections running throughout it 

[Slowlycatchymonkey]

We even have a straight wide open piece of road with no housing or junctions off it with speed humps and a 10mph speed limit for no fathomable reason. I avoid it because if you do 10mph on that road you’ll likely incite road rage or get rear ended. The very last time I rode on it I had a police car driving about 1cm off my mudguard. In the end I pulled over.  

[Guest Richzx6r]

1 hour ago, Trooper74 said:

Hang on a minute ... 48mph in a 30mph area and we're all patting him on the back and being supportive ...

If he'd hit a child at 48 in a 30 they would be dead .....

And he knows that ... he's a health professional ....

" No critical comments" ... B*ll*ocks .... get banned ! 

Are you saying you have never sped whilst driving if so I'm going to call you out on that and say you're a bullshitter and a hypocrite as everyone who drives at some point drives above the stated speed limit, yes 48 in a 30 is wrong and he has admitted that but as he says it wasnt in a residential area or anywhere that pedestrians would frequent and which in all honesty should probably be at least a 40 limit, hes going through enough shit to be dealing with you giving him the 3rd degree!!

[Guest Swagman]

23 minutes ago, Richzx6r said:

Are you saying you have never sped whilst driving if so I'm going to call you out on that and say you're a bullshitter and a hypocrite as everyone who drives at some point drives above the stated speed limit, yes 48 in a 30 is wrong and he has admitted that but as he says it wasnt in a residential area or anywhere that pedestrians would frequent and which in all honesty should probably be at least a 40 limit, hes going through enough shit to be dealing with you giving him the 3rd degree!!

Couldn’t agree more Rich.

[S-Westerly]

Speeding is a no-no but we all do it sometimes, occasionally deliberately and at others unwittingly especially in these days with apparent random speed limits imposed for reasons unknown to mortal minds. No dual carriageway should be 30 but some are. However during lockdown when the roads were virtually empty it was all too easy to go faster than realised as there was no other traffic to judge against. When my wife was hospitalised for the entire month of April I found myself going faster than I intended loads of times but fortunately never got pulled for it.

[Trooper74]

It's a 30 mph area for a reason .... not a giggle ..... and i've had my fair share of points over the years ... paid the fines, did the speed and phone awareness courses ..... but took responsibility for it, learned and moved on .... slower and without the phone in my hand .... I didn't bleat about it ... 

Edited December 14, 2020 by Trooper74

[Six30]

47 minutes ago, Trooper74 said:

It's a 30 mph area for a reason .... not a giggle ..... and i've had my fair share of points over the years ... paid the fines, did the speed and phone awareness courses ..... but took responsibility for it, learned and moved on .... slower and without the phone in my hand .... I didn't bleat about it ...  because im a Simian.

Edited December 14, 2020 by Six30

[Mississippi Bullfrog]

The way I've read this is that James IB has always put his hand up and accepted responsibility.

Some roads are deceptive. We often have a speed van up the lane from us because it's a 30 zone but it's a hill and people often go faster as the get to the top and the road levels out. The thing is that there are no street lights in that area so people assume it's NSL. Which is why the speed van is there most weeks.

My argument to the council is that if they know people often speed there why not put up some 30 repeater signs? But they choose not to, preferring to levy fines rather than fix the problem.

[TimR]

14 minutes ago, Mississippi Bullfrog said:

The way I've read this is that James IB has always put his hand up and accepted responsibility.

Some roads are deceptive. We often have a speed van up the lane from us because it's a 30 zone but it's a hill and people often go faster as the get to the top and the road levels out. The thing is that there are no street lights in that area so people assume it's NSL. Which is why the speed van is there most weeks.

My argument to the council is that if they know people often speed there why not put up some 30 repeater signs? But they choose not to, preferring to levy fines rather than fix the problem.

If no street lights over a set distance then there legally should be repeater signs to enforce the 30mph otherwise you have the ability to query the tickets ...

 

You cannot legally have 30mph repeaters if there is correctly spaced street lighting 

[James in Brum]

Hi, I messed up. I am taking responsibility for it. When I wrote the original post I was worried that I would lose my job and my family’s only income as a consequence of possibly losing my license. 
mid someone told me about doing 48 in a thirty I would think about the roads I walk my kids to school on and think they were a twat. This was not like that but still I broke the law and I will accept my fate.

I do think there is a difference between someone who wilfully drives like a tit all the time and my experience. I appreciate the kindnesses and Trooper’s observations are reasonable, I shall not cry over criticisms that are in part valid. 
I was updating because Slowly was curious. It’s a shit situation to be in regardless of how deserving I am or not. 

[Mississippi Bullfrog]

1 hour ago, TimR said:

If no street lights over a set distance then there legally should be repeater signs to enforce the 30mph otherwise you have the ability to query the tickets ...

 

You cannot legally have 30mph repeaters if there is correctly spaced street lighting 

That is why I keep questioning the council. There is a 30 sign at the top of the hill and another the other side of the village. So the whole route through the village is 30. There are two repeater signs hidden in hedges just after the main 30 signs. After that there are none. About a quarter of the road on the actual hill has street lamps. The rest of the road has no street lights at all. Hence people believe it is a NSL zone and get caught doing over 30. 

We live on a blind bend at the bottom of the hill so really struggle to pull out of the drive when traffic is coming down the hill at high speed. So I'm all in favour of marking the speed limit better. But my point is that I do understand why people are going faster than they should because it is totally confusing. Yet strangely the council prefer to promote road safety by fines after the event rather than prevent it happening in the first place.

I am not condoning speeding, just saying that sometimes the authorities seem to prefer to collect fines rather than make speed limits clearer. The frequency with which the van is on the road suggests it is a favoured spot for them to catch people.

[TimR]

27 minutes ago, Mississippi Bullfrog said:

That is why I keep questioning the council. There is a 30 sign at the top of the hill and another the other side of the village. So the whole route through the village is 30. There are two repeater signs hidden in hedges just after the main 30 signs. After that there are none. About a quarter of the road on the actual hill has street lamps. The rest of the road has no street lights at all. Hence people believe it is a NSL zone and get caught doing over 30. 

We live on a blind bend at the bottom of the hill so really struggle to pull out of the drive when traffic is coming down the hill at high speed. So I'm all in favour of marking the speed limit better. But my point is that I do understand why people are going faster than they should because it is totally confusing. Yet strangely the council prefer to promote road safety by fines after the event rather than prevent it happening in the first place.

I am not condoning speeding, just saying that sometimes the authorities seem to prefer to collect fines rather than make speed limits clearer. The frequency with which the van is on the road suggests it is a favoured spot for them to catch people.

Thing is we both know that even if there was  signs or lights people will still ignore and claim it's someone else fault and not accept their actions caused the outcome  ( no not having a dig at JiB ...as even though don't agree with the reason for his dilemma he has immediately gone ...yep i fooked up and accept it , has tried to damage limitation as much as he can but is not attempting to pervert the outcome ) 

 

[TimR]

38 minutes ago, Mississippi Bullfrog said:

That is why I keep questioning the council. There is a 30 sign at the top of the hill and another the other side of the village. So the whole route through the village is 30. There are two repeater signs hidden in hedges just after the main 30 signs. After that there are none. About a quarter of the road on the actual hill has street lamps. The rest of the road has no street lights at all. Hence people believe it is a NSL zone and get caught doing over 30. 

We live on a blind bend at the bottom of the hill so really struggle to pull out of the drive when traffic is coming down the hill at high speed. So I'm all in favour of marking the speed limit better. But my point is that I do understand why people are going faster than they should because it is totally confusing. Yet strangely the council prefer to promote road safety by fines after the event rather than prevent it happening in the first place.

I am not condoning speeding, just saying that sometimes the authorities seem to prefer to collect fines rather than make speed limits clearer. The frequency with which the van is on the road suggests it is a favoured spot for them to catch people.

If you getreally bored ...

Page 74( physical pagenumber)

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/782724/traffic-signs-manual-chapter-03.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwiTlsaJns3tAhVSTsAKHf0pAX4QFjAAegQIAxAC&usg=AOvVaw2dIcNuKE3Cegv39z-XhuMU 

Of that document Section8.3 gives all the legal placings etc 

( Used to set road works etc etc is my reason for geekiness)

 

 

 

[Mississippi Bullfrog]

14 minutes ago, TimR said:

If you getreally bored ...

Page 74( physical pagenumber)

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/782724/traffic-signs-manual-chapter-03.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwiTlsaJns3tAhVSTsAKHf0pAX4QFjAAegQIAxAC&usg=AOvVaw2dIcNuKE3Cegv39z-XhuMU 

Of that document Section8.3 gives all the legal placings etc 

( Used to set road works etc etc is my reason for geekiness)

 

 

 

Thanks - that is really useful. It suggests that the unlit section of the road should have repeater signs along it which is what I have been asking for. I know it's not mandatory but it is recommended.

[bonio]

It also says

"Whilst there is no specific requirement to provide repeater signs, it is for the traffic authority to determine how many are required and where they are placed."

In other words, repeater signs are now more or less optional. The default position is that they're not mandated, but the "traffic authority" can overrule this. But if the "traffic authority" in your village is the local council, they're unlikely to want to incur the additional cost.

[Mississippi Bullfrog]

3 minutes ago, bonio said:

It also says

"Whilst there is no specific requirement to provide repeater signs, it is for the traffic authority to determine how many are required and where they are placed."

In other words, repeater signs are now more or less optional. The default position is that they're not mandated, but the "traffic authority" can overrule this. But if the "traffic authority" in your village is the local council, they're unlikely to want to incur the additional cost.

Agreed - but the fact that the camera van is there every week suggests they know there is an issue with speed. And there is a school at the bottom of the hill. So it makes a case for asking them to do something about it. I find councillors tend to respond when you point out that there is a safety issue they are aware of and have done nothing about. Doesn't look good if the worst thing happens on their watch when they've been warned.

[dynax]

1 minute ago, Mississippi Bullfrog said:

Agreed - but the fact that the camera van is there every week suggests they know there is an issue with speed. And there is a school at the bottom of the hill. So it makes a case for asking them to do something about it. I find councillors tend to respond when you point out that there is a safety issue they are aware of and have done nothing about. Doesn't look good if the worst thing happens on their watch when they've been warned.

A good way to get thing's moving is the local newspaper, council's don't like negative publicity

[MarkW]

2 hours ago, Mississippi Bullfrog said:

My argument to the council is that if they know people often speed there why not put up some 30 repeater signs? But they choose not to, preferring to levy fines rather than fix the problem.

Speed cameras have nothing whatsoever to do with road safety - the police lifted the lid on that one themselves when they threatened to fine motorists for flashing their headlights to warn each other of the presence of camera vans. They defended themselves by pointing to Section 89 of the 1996 Police Act:

"Any person who resists or willfully obstructs a constable in the execution of his duty, or a person assisting a constable in the execution of his duty, shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one month or to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale, or to both.”

If the purpose of the camera van is to improve road safety in high-risk areas by getting people to slow down as they always claim, then warning other motorists of its presence can hardly be said to constitute 'willful obstruction'. But if the purpose is to catch as many people as they can and collect the fines...

[TimR]

11 minutes ago, MarkW said:

Speed cameras have nothing whatsoever to do with road safety - the police lifted the lid on that one themselves when they threatened to fine motorists for flashing their headlights to warn each other of the presence of camera vans. They defended themselves by pointing to Section 89 of the 1996 Police Act:

"Any person who resists or willfully obstructs a constable in the execution of his duty, or a person assisting a constable in the execution of his duty, shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one month or to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale, or to both.”

If the purpose of the camera van is to improve road safety in high-risk areas by getting people to slow down as they always claim, then warning other motorists of its presence can hardly be said to constitute 'willful obstruction'. But if the purpose is to catch as many people as they can and collect the fines...

The AA started off as a speed warning system but then got in trouble for actively warning ( ie stopping motorists or waving flags )hence where the salute came in . If patrol failed to salute you were requested by the AA to stop and enquire why no salute and if there were any traffic issues ahead.   If they saluted the road ahead was clear. 

[Trooper74]

3 hours ago, Six30 said:

So you can modify text that I post ... is that MOD privileges ....? Or just cut and paste ?

Edited December 14, 2020 by Trooper74

[TimR]

34 minutes ago, Mississippi Bullfrog said:

Thanks - that is really useful. It suggests that the unlit section of the road should have repeater signs along it which is what I have been asking for. I know it's not mandatory but it is recommended.

Check the distance from signs to lights  etc as they may be within allowed distances