6 ms·
Do you break speed limits a lot then?
by jamespo 11y ago
Do you break speed limits a lot then?
- cdent 11y agoUh... No sir, not me, not these days. When I was younger, and in the US, and frequently traveling between states I did manage to rack up a significant number of speeding tickets. There were all, to use a UK term, a fair cop: I was speeding and I was caught by an officer of the law patrolling the roads who stopped me and gave me a ticket in person. Getting them in the mail several days after the fact, without ever knowing you were speeding in the first place is a) confusing, b) not great for immediate enforcement and safety concerns.
- themartorana 11y agoBut let's be fair, traffic tickets are rarely about safety.
- cdent 11y agoDisagree. The one UK speeding ticket I have was for being over 30mph in a 30 zone. The limit is set to 30 in those zones because of Science™ about braking distance and impact with human bodies that appear suddenly. If I'm being careless and/or distracted in one of those zones, I want to know about it immediately, not up to 14 days later after I've already plowed through a bunch of schoolchildren.
- nitrogen 11y agoSpeeding tickets on freeways are rarely about safety. One should never speed in a school zone or neighborhood street.
- jhallenworld 11y agoI got a ticket for not making a full stop before turning at a red light (this was in Long Island). The mail came with URL to a video of my infraction. It was fun giving to other people to watch.. Well here they all are: http://www.longislandredlightcameras.com/ http://www.longislandredlightcameras.com/
- maccard 11y agoIn my experience driving in the U.K, most of the major roads (motorways/dual carraigeways)have average speed cameras liberally placed on the road. I don't know what the threshold for a ticket is on the road, but I would guess you're more likely to be noticed doing 75MPH over a 5 mile stretch of road than by a cop in a bush with a speed camera.
- tomtoise 11y agoThe threshold is generally accepted as 10% over, so 77mph on a motorway. However, I only know that from hearsay, so take it with a pinch of salt.
- richmarr 11y agoMy understanding was that the 10% margin is to defend a fine or prosecution bearing in mind the error bars of the camera and the vehicle speedometer. Again, no credible source. Dad, if you read this I didn't mean it, you are very credible.
- maccard 11y agoThat's what I'm lead to believe too, although I have no facts to back it up.
- dazc 11y agoI think it's 10% + 2mph? So on a motorway or dual carriageway the limit is really 79. It used to be generally accepted that you were safe doing 80 mph but with the proliferation of average speed cameras people are a bit more conservative. 10 years ago it wasn't unusual to see people doing 90 - 100 on a motorway - now it's rare.
- jon-wood 11y ago> So on a motorway or dual carriageway the limit is really 79. Nope. The limit is really 70, however to take into account possible inaccuracy in your speedometer or the traffic camera, there's some leeway in place. If you start assuming the limit is 79 then if nothing else, you no longer have the benefit of that leeway. How sure are you that both your speedometer and the camera are 100% accurate?