Too late for Wally I know, but Jan 94 I was caught doing 95 on the M5 in a 1600cc Fiat Regata SHOC (Yes really!) and was duly pulled over.
Beckined into the back and the conversation went something like this.
PC - Good afternoon sir
me - Good afternoon officer
PC - Any idea whilst we may have asked you to stop today?
Me - Well officer, on reflection I may have been exeeding the speed limit, although, my car having just been serviced is running a lot quieter these days (this was true I had just had it completely serviced and retuned).
PC - Yes indeed your speed over half a mile was avereging 95mph. At times you were exceeding 100mph.
PC - (5 minute talk about road safety etc)
PC - (in another county you would be looking at a court appearence, however today is your lucky day sir because you will only receive a fixed penalty notice £40 and 3 points. How do you feel about that.
Me - I would ask you to consider a caution on this occasion officer.
PC - What problems would a FPN give you then sir?
Me - Well obviously the financial aspect and secondly the hassle. Furthermore, you have achieved my raised awareness for the future without having to take the trouble to issue the FPN.
(the slowest 30 seconds of my life passes)
PC (sucks teeth) OK you've convinced me. But if I catch you again you will definitely get a FPN. (More talk on road safety).
Me - Thank you for your time and consideration officers.
Get back in own car, few seconds of disbelief and filter into LH lane, knowing I was being watched!
69mph all the way home (well rest of motorway anyway).
- So it pays to use all your diplomatic skills you can muster at the time, Less work later (we hope).
H
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And I had the opposite to Hugo on the M4. Overtook a polcie car at considerable speed, same conversation but given a choice of FPN or going to court. I was very polite and apologetic and the conversation seemed to be going my way, but when offered that choice I had to take the FPN. Only difference being they hadn't actually recorded a speed, there were two officers who jointly estimated my speed, which is enough apparently.
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there were two officers who jointly estimated my speed, which is enough apparently.>>
I can vouch from personal experience of a colleague that even one off-duty officer's word is enough - even for the more serious charge of dangerous driving.
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I think i\'ve got an even better get-off story than that, i\'m afraid (and really quite embarassed) to say.
I\'ve only been driving 3 years, but right at the start of this i thought i was richard burns/michael schumacher/yvan muller all rolled into one.
I was coming home from a night out in town with some mates in the back, about 3am (no alcohol consumed i assure you), and had just come back from uni, where i didnt have the usage of my mum\'s car, a 1.1 fiesta. Anyway, i was enjoying driving so much i failed to notice the police car behind me til the lights flashed, and he pulled me over for 65mph in a 30 (albeit nice straight wide non-residential road).
As you might expect, big fines, points and removal of license very quickly dawned on me, as i\'d been driving less than the 2 years required to allow 12 points before disqualification.
However, after a very sobering chat with the officers, during which they established i was negative for any alcohol, driving my mums car, and actually heeding all other road laws except speeding, such as holding my side of the road and indicating properly etc, they sent me on my way with a \'producer\', ie take your documents to the station to prove your driving legally and get off with no record.
Needless to say i no longer go anywhere near those speeds, and also have a lot more respect for the police, as presumably they saw i was generally a good driver who got a bit carried away, and who saw little point in punishing me with disqualification.
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About 6 years ago I was stopped after doing 105 on a dual carriage stretch of the A34 in Newcastle, Staffs. It was a dark December night, it was raining heavily, and I undertook a car. I hadn't spotted the marked police car which had apparantly been following me for 1 mile.
It was only when I came upon a roundabout that I spotted him in my mirror. To my horror he followed me onto the petrol station forecourt and beckoned me over.
As I sat in the back of the car I was petrified. For one I hadn't a clue how fast I had been going. When they told me that they could report me for exceeding the posted limit, driving without due care, dangerous driving etc I was ready to break down into tears. They were right when they said that I mustn't have used my mirrors else I would have seen them (it was a marked car) and not done what I did. They explained that I could go to court, and because of the seriousness of what I had done, I could end up with a jail sentence.
I could offer no reason for doing what I did and was convinced that I had just ruined my life.
Then, without any warning, they let me go. No breath test, no PNC check, no HORT, they didn't even ask my name. They told me that I was lucky, that Staffs police were taking a different approach over the festive period, and had chosen to educate rather than penalise errant drivers.
I would love to say that it taught me a lesson and has prevented me from speeding ever since, but it hasn't. 2 years ago I was stopped on the M56 doing 95.6 mph. In my defence I had just received a call from hospital to say that they were operating on my mum within the hour, and that as there was only a 50% chance of survival, could I be there. Those were my mitigating circumstances, but the only thing that got me 3 points and £60 was the fact that they lost the video!
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I think fines are still means tested, you should get a form where you have to declare income and outgoings.
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You need to have swallowed and regurgitated the blarney stone a hundred times, repented all your sins, begged, pleaded, cried, and given an oscar winning performance to talk your way out of 100mph+ and even then I dont think you will get away it.
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Goodness me.
The poor bloke.
I bet we've made him feel 10 times worse.
Please let us know how you get on with this. Judging by the comments, we've all done it, some of us have got away with it and some not.
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Being contrary again, sorry, and likely to get shouted down for it.
And, not saying this at all from a 'holier-than-thou' attitude because I guess we've all been there from time to time. Even little old me.
The few of you here that know me know my views on speeding, particularly in certain places at certain times. And I know that most of you are talking about 'uncivilised' times, roads empty, etc etc etc.
*But*, I really didn't realise that the bans for speeding that much were as low as perhaps 2-6 weeks. I had imagined a timescale of a year or two - shows how little I know.
Those few weeks seem to me hardly much of a deterrent. I know you have the fine and the points to take into consideration too, but if the fine is means-tested then surely Mr or Mrs Breadline would get away with £1 a week or something like that? and Mr and Mrs Non-Breadline wouldn't have too much to worry about in that respect, would they?
So the only real problem is the points. Which means we can all excessively overspeed and get caught at least 2 or 3 times before we need to worry about anything.
That, in itself, if I was feeling a little bit unsensible when driving, would not be any kind of deterrent at all.
Old Trout.
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2 weeks without a car is significant in itself, but when many people need the car for work (not just commuting) and run the risk of maybe losing their job if without it, that in itself should be a deterrent.
IMHO motorway speeding in the right conditions doesn't justify more - so long as it's done "properly" - low risk etc - after all, the limit is only an arbitrary figure someone has dreamt up.
I was fortunate enough to not get points when banned, not sure if that's usual.
One thing I DON'T remember happening was my insurance going up as a result.
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>>whenmany people need the car for work (not just commuting) and run the risk of maybe losing their job if without it, that in itself should be a deterrent.
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Fair point, there are those whose job actually involves driving rather than commuting, and obviously a ban would not be good for them. So yes, it should be a deterrent, but the number of people confessing on here seems to prove that it isn't.
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