A9 @ Ballinluig - anyone know it? *Update*

Witch

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Robyn
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Bit of an odd request but I know we have a fair few Scots on here....

Does anyone know the stretch of A9 between Pitlochry and Perth? Specifically the stretch around the Ballinluig area (Yes, where the speed camera is, you've guessed it!) and would be willing to give me some information regarding the signing of speed limits around there?

Hopeful of Harlow. :)
 
50MPH on the dual cariageway stretch beside the cafe. Easy to miss. :(

Were you going South when you got done?
 
dod said:
50MPH on the dual cariageway stretch beside the cafe. Easy to miss. :(

Were you going South when you got done?
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Cheers Dod. We were indeed. The irritating thing is that we genuinely can't work out who was driving. We stopped for lunch in a layby along that stretch and it could honestly have been either one of us - we're just not sure. I take it that there is no chance of saying that the signs aren't there/visible etc is there?
 
No m8, the signs are there. I drive that road once every few weeks and make sure I use the tomtom to warn me of the cameras because (I think I'm right) the Ballinluig camera is the first one you hit as you head south and it's so easy to forget it's there.
 
Steep said:
No m8, the signs are there. I drive that road once every few weeks and make sure I use the tomtom to warn me of the cameras because (I think I'm right) the Ballinluig camera is the first one you hit as you head south and it's so easy to forget it's there.
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It is, there's a warning sign just before it too. Chances of getting off with it would be slim to none.
 
dod said:
It is, there's a warning sign just before it too. Chances of getting off with it would be slim to none.
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I drive a HGV for a living and see hundreds of speed cameras around but Scotland is positively loaded with them..:(

Steep.

I have a tomtom too and as you know they are worth there weight in gold.

Wouldnt be without one now.:thumbs:
 
Well cheers all. How the heck we work out which of us was driving at the time now goodness knows. We stopped for lunch on that stretch - as soon as I came past Pitlochry I was actively looking for a layby to pull in to. Once we'd lunched Ben took over the driving.....! Oh well, write and ask for the piccy I guess and see what that shows!

Thanks everyone for your help - appreciated even if not the most useful outcome! ;)
 
Witch said:
We stopped for lunch on that stretch - as soon as I came past Pitlochry I was actively looking for a layby to pull in to. Once we'd lunched Ben took over the driving.....! Oh well, write and ask for the piccy I guess and see what that shows!
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With that description you were driving. Ballinluig is before Pitlochry on the way South.
 
depends which sort of camera it is, if it was a front facing one (truvelo) can see from pic who was driving if it was traditional gatso that takes from behind there is no way of telling, one of you may just have to own up and take the points in that case ! :(

TomTom is excellent for that ! :) even though i still have quite a collection of points from Scamera vans !
 
dod said:
With that description you were driving. Ballinluig is before Pitlochry on the way South.
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:thinking: Not on my map it's not. In fact my map actually shows the camera location which is slightly annoying. I had to look it up as I'd never even heard of the place! It's at the A827 junction

We're going to ask for the picture - that will hopefully clear the matter up. Otherwise we explain the circumstances and offer payment for the fine immediately - won't be the first police force not to want the hassle of a long journey south for a court case and thus just accept that and let the point go....they can't insist that one of us takes the rap for the points if we're genuinely not sure and we DO have reasonable grounds not to be sure so..... (Is there a "crosses fingers" smiley somewhere about here?!)
 
Whoops, sorry, you're right, don't know what I was thinking about :thinking:
 
I read somewhere that if they can't prove who was driving they can't prosecute? no idea if that's correct or not.
 
dod said:
Whoops, sorry, you're right, don't know what I was thinking about :thinking:
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ROFL @ Dod! Never you mind mate - I only drive it once a year and I knew where it was! :D

Steep said:
I read somewhere that if they can't prove who was driving they can't prosecute? no idea if that's correct or not.
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Well, kind of. The law demands that you should know who is driving a vehicle registered to you at any given time, however, there is an almighty grey area surrounding a car that is shared by a married couple or a couple living together as though they were married, as in some circumstances (and the other half reckons that this could be one of them) it's unreasonable to expect that it's possible to know precisely. The mitigating circumstances in this case are that it's a road and area we don't know, we were on a long journey sharing the driving, and we can't pinpoint where exactly we stopped to change drivers. My personal gut feeling is that it was actually Ben behind the wheel - I reckon we stopped IN the 50mph limit - when we stopped he was asleep - he woke up as I pulled in, and I reckon he pulled off again not realising it was a 50 limit. :shrug: No way of being certain though so we shall chance our arm.
 
Witch said:
won't be the first police force not to want the hassle of a long journey south for a court case and thus just accept that and let the point go....they can't insist that one of us takes the rap for the points if we're genuinely not sure and we DO have reasonable grounds not to be sure so..... (Is there a "crosses fingers" smiley somewhere about here?!)
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Actually they summons you to a court in the area you were caught !

And if there is any doubt the registered keeper of the car will be given the points and fine !

A lot of these little loopholes are being closed lately, all for a bit of revenue raising ! Good luck with trying it though !
 
62 in a 50 limit. So in other words JUST over for a standard national speed limit but more than enough to trigger the camera in a 50mph limit.
 
Can I just ask something on this topic, without hijacking the thread, Witch? ;)

We recently had a mistaken traffic offence letter for a car which we no longer have.

The point is, the driver was given a warning ...not a fine....and he was doing 42mph in a 30mph limit.

Some few months earlier I was doing 37mph in a 30mph limit and was given 3 points on a clean license and clobbered for £60.

Can anyone explain why he was going faster than me but got no fine?
 
depends on the area Janice, Northamptonshire even do classroom telling offs where you dont earn points at all !

Its possible it wasnt an official speed camera thing, there are a lot of small villages etc where locals get handed a radar/laser speed detection device, so they can police their own areas, but as they are not police officers they cannot actually charge you with anything, but a warning is given. Think its just to try and scare people into driving slower.
 
Would also depend on the location Janice - as we all know cameras are meant to be set up at accident blackspots for safety reasons (*cough cough*) and so if your speeding was considered to be more of a risk to others than his, that might be the reason.

Does seem harsh though doesn't it. I'm now crossing my fingers that they might only decide to warn us.....I guess you never know your luck!
 
On a similar non-hijacking vein...

Glad I saw this thread as I'm off to Thurso in June so will be driving on the A9 (as if there were any other option in Scotland ;) )

Luckily I'm getting cruise control fitted to the car tomorrow :clap:
 
I've been got by speed traps too, did think about trying to argue it and then thought better, didn't want the court appearance and the points dissapear after a few years, I think there are a lot of peeps who have been unlucky at least once. Mine was a mis-understanding too, didn't see the sign.:(

see if you can get a copy of the picture to see if you can see who's driving?
 
Ladybird said:
see if you can get a copy of the picture to see if you can see who's driving?
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Yes, we're hoping that'll clear it up. As there is a major height difference between us it might do. (And I'm crossing my fingers that the short one isn't in the driving seat!) ;)
 
We got the pictures through today. Tayside Police are being excellent - no hard word telling us we "have" to copnfirm whio was driving immediately - they've stressed that if we're still not sure then we should write and tell them so. They have given us background details on the stretch of road - landmarks etc - and basically have done everything right.

It is, however, with a great sense of relief that I can confirm that it was indeed NOT me driving (the 1' height difference has its uses!) and my clean license will remain in its current sparkling state for a while longer! :)

Thanks again to everyone on here for help.
 
IanC_UK said:
well thats great news for one of you, ;) not so great for the other lol ;)
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Yes - true! In all honesty I don't think they'll give him points. Might be proved wrong but......

There is however an interesting discrepancy in the pic - namely a full size 50mph sign (not a little reminder sized one) PAST the camera position. Now, bearing in mind we suspect that Ben started driving IN the 50mph limit, having been asleep when we stopped to change drivers......that's leads to a likely explanation of WHY he was doing 62mph. As he said earlier - if he's thought it was a national speed limit on a dual carriageway, he's have been doing nearer to 70, unless of course he was slowing down for the 50mph sign.....?!
 
Janice said:
Can I just ask something on this topic, without hijacking the thread, Witch? ;)

We recently had a mistaken traffic offence letter for a car which we no longer have.

The point is, the driver was given a warning ...not a fine....and he was doing 42mph in a 30mph limit.

Some few months earlier I was doing 37mph in a 30mph limit and was given 3 points on a clean license and clobbered for £60.

Can anyone explain why he was going faster than me but got no fine?
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Individual officers have so much personal discretion as to whether they prosecute or issue a warning, even within the same force area.

With regard to speeding generally NACPO (National Association Chief Police Officers) meet regularly to attempt to agree common nationwide policies on a number of matters including speeding. They advise that before prosecution is commenced for speeding the prevailing speed limit should be exceeded by 10% plus 2 mph which gives the following tolerance levels:-

30 limit 35mph
40 limit 46mph
50 limit 57mph
60 limit 68mph
70 limit 79mph.

So add 1mph to each of the above examples and that's the speed at which you get done.

You'd think that speed cameras would be set up to observe those tolerance levels and in the main, they probably are, but it's by no means guaranteed - forces aren't bound by them, and neither are individual officers - the suggested tolerance levels are purely advisory.
 
If this was from a NIP (Notice of Intended Prosecution) then there is no doubt he will receive the usual 3 points and 60 quid fine, the scottish police are helpful but notorious for charging offenders, especially on the A9 !
 
Personally Robyn, if you're genuinely not sure who was driving, then I'd return the request for driver details with a covering letter explaining the circumstances. Obviously lots of people try to pull strokes over this, but it's no way within the intention or spirit of the legislation that you should toss up to see who accepts the points in a genuine case. Request the photo which may throw some light on who was driving.

I'd highly recommend posting on 5ive-o where you'll get honest impartial advice from traffic cops and a resident magistrate. ;)

CLICKY
 
Duh... missed a few posts there! :D
 
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