Englands fastest speeders

[viv1969]

Well, in 12 years as a traffic cop, no one who moved out of my way through a red light has ever been prosecuted! I always make the effort to wave a "thank you" at them as well.

Anyway you've agreed with me, any offences detected under these circumstances (via camera presumably) are overturned. Thus not prosecuted.

Again, not true.
Plenty are prosecuted, but overturned on appeal

 

[Steve Smith]

Plenty are prosecuted, but overturned on appeal

I wouldn't want to take it to appeal. I would want it dismissed on initial judgement.


Steve.

 

[odd jim]

Again, not true.
Plenty are prosecuted, but overturned on appeal

In that case, surely most would get binned even before an initial hearing? Otherwise why waste all that court time and money?

Also, I can't imagine a magistrate in the land convicting them on hearing the facts, thus making an appeal unlikely as there would be no conviction.

Anyway, its easy to point out to the CTO Clarke as the image of their car will proceed the image of the police (or ambo / fire) vehicle. I can't imagine anyone, on receipt of the NIP not putting their case forward at that point via correspondence and thus avoiding a summons from the start?

 

[Jelster]

You learn to read all sorts of vehicle body language on a motorbike. I was taught many years ago to assume everyone else on the road is an idiot and ride accordingly.

I have to admit that riding a bike again really got my senses in order. My observation and awareness went through the roof, but I think it was something to do with the will to live

That's what pushed down the IAM route, and a couple of courses with the Met's motorcyclists. That 6th sense starts to bed in and I find it useful even when driving the car.

 

[Byker28i]

Jelster - do they do a bikesafe course in your area?
http://www.bikesafe.co.uk/

Worth doing, even if you are an experienced rider. Amazing how many bad habits you can get into. Also funny to watch people on sports bike struggling to keep up with a copper on fully loaded Pan European just because of the lines they were taking. General format is half a day of chat, half a day of riding and assessment.

 

[Jelster]

Yep I've done Bikesafe, twice, and loved it. Those bike riding cops get a lot of kudos from me, they are always so relaxed, and how do they go round corners so quickly without leaning over ?

Unfortunately, I don't have a bike at the moment, I sold the Firblade when I sprained my medial ligament as I couldn't bend my knee for too long. I put the money into a Mini JCW which made me grin from ear to ear, but it was pants in traffic

 

[Yves Geza]

You do know police drivers don't have to use blue lights to exceed the speed limit? Just saying. The exemption is in law not the switch that turns them on.

Also, I've not said anything until now, but I'm interested in why you seem to hate the thin blue line so much? No one ever said even the best police drivers aren't flawless, just as no one is, including yourself. The way you bleat on, you'd think you've never, ever made a mistake behind the wheel.

OK. I said this thread was speeding up. Let's see if it can go round corners too.

My own opinion of my abilities behind the wheel? I described them earlier. Mistakes? Many. I've always been hypercritical of my own driving. Doubtless lots of other mistakes as well I didn't notice. But I've also been lucky enough to be able to compare my own driving with others who were really good at it and marvel at what is possible. That's the only difference I'd claim between me and other people here. As for 'bleating on' [I bet that's not a phrase you've ever written in your notebook!], was that meant to be the same sort of litotes I used when I watched a video of a driver who apparently didn't have to abort any manoeuvre he'd begun as opposed to another driver who did? I didn't comment on either speed or blue lights.

But you've made me think why I seem to hate the thin blue line? I'm a middle aged, middle class, parent to three grown up kids, a homeowner, a business proprietor, never even been threatened with arrest for anything, victim over the years of burglary, theft and a staff member being racially assaulted. If policing is by consent I'm the sort of person who should consent and you lost mine years ago!

FWIW, I have absolutely no beef with traffic police. I've chatted with a few over my 40 years of driving enthusiastically and in that time I've collected one 3-point speeding ticket which was given and received with knowing smiles that we both knew what we were dealing with.

But my dealings with the police as a victim reporting a crime or a witness have always been deeply unsatisfactory, marked by incompitence, beaureaucratic failure, laziness and outright cowardice ["Was the alarm all right, sir? We were waiting across the road if you got into any trouble!]. The best I've ever experienced was when I had to make my own citizen's arrest of a thief who returned to the scene of the crime, that a DS wandered over from the station to take the thief into custody.

So the continuous disasterous PR and press reports of the polices' behaviour towards others sadden but never surprise me. I suspect I've grown older and wiser and better informed rather than the police behaving worse but I'm definitely one of those millions of middle class non-revolutionaries who think that if a society gets the police we deserve, we're screwed!

It's not very original to state that the police have long been the nasty public face of the state's disconnect from its citizens but I wonder if Blairite double speak is at play too - I mean both Eric and Tony; 1984 vs 1997. When Police organisations were Police Forces, they seemed to offer a degree of public service. These days they've been redesignated as Police Services and lots of us nowadays only ever see force!

 

[Byker28i]

I think you can blame the last Govt for that (and possibly successive gvt's) as they meddle as policing, NHS and education are the big 3.
Blair's govt brought in so many targets, and cuts, that many police forces now have a 1/3 of staff as civilian back room staff, plus the watering down of front line staff to community officers etc and you end up with a response team. Generally these deal with the dregs of society everyday that I've found the majority of the police I've met over the last few years have instantly made the assumption of guilt and or aggressively pressed it. I've found myself talking calmly and reasonably to the officer in a strange role reversal from years ago. Throw in the Windsor report and recommendations, and other changes to their employment and you've also got upset coppers. The trouble is now, the money just isn't available and all public services have had to take cuts.

Since this thread is about speeding, that was an interesting decision to take, to attempt to make speeding as socially unacceptable as drink driving. Quite a clever move at the time, as technology could be used to detect crime with minimal costs and the payback was exponential, as seen by the rapid growth of Scamerships (until the money was taken into central funding). Some forces even initially included the figures in their crime reports, to bolster their poor figures in other areas.

The trouble is, it instantly criminalised a significant number of the driving public, especially with some of the 'underhand' techniques being used by officers hiding behind objects. Add this to the lack of resources available to deal with minor issues and you end up with the situation of a large number of the public indifferent, whereas before they would traditionally have support the police.

I'm sure the majority of officers still try to do a good job, perhaps the workload is too much and too few officers. We get what we pay for.

 

[Wookee]

Again, not true.
Plenty are prosecuted, but overturned on appeal

As far as I understand it, cameras on red traffic lights do not activate at speeds under 6mph, and I've never been made aware of anyone getting a ticket for moving out of the way for me.

 

[odd jim]

@Byker28i - I agree with a lot of your last post - but speeding offences have never been reported back to the Home office under crime statistics as it's not a crime. In actual fact, the government aren't interested in 99% of traffic stats. Even drink drive and dangerous driving, both which are crimes, are classed under government figures as "non crime incidents", which is ludicrous!

 

[Cobra]

As far as I understand it, cameras on red traffic lights do not activate at speeds under 6mph, .

Thanks for the heads up

but speeding offences have never been reported back to the Home office under crime statistics as it's not a crime.

Reading this thread you would think that it was akin to murder, by some people

 

[LASTOLITE]

I cant comprehend that anyone could have anything positive to say about reckless driving and especially debating the video I posted, regardless of the year in which it was shot. I posted it as an extreme example of the abject stupidity that does go on. Have a drive around the EVO triangle or take a run up to Devils Bridge or the Lady Bower Dam on a sunny Sunday and depending upon which camp you are in, You can admire or throw scorn upon the reckless driving habits of many who frequent the routes.

I would like to add in my experience I witness more reckless behavior displayed by motorbike riders than any other, seemingly willing to risk it all on a whim at speed approaching an estimated double the posted NSL in some places.

I think though we have all been there and if you have any experience of the red mist then you know how easy it is to go along on the crest of the adrenalin wave that is riding or driving fast and within a hairs width between life and death.

My advise to Bike riders who need this buzz is to enter the TT as a privateer and be prepared to be humbled or get on a bike specific track day. Likewise car drivers... get on track and let loose! its cheaper and your license is safer

 

[Byker28i]

I've driven the tt, in place at over 150 mph (there's no speed limit on the mountain stage) and I've no idea how they do it so fast on bikes.

 

[SFTPhotography]

@Byker28i - I agree with a lot of your last post - but speeding offences have never been reported back to the Home office under crime statistics as it's not a crime. In actual fact, the government aren't interested in 99% of traffic stats. Even drink drive and dangerous driving, both which are crimes, are classed under government figures as "non crime incidents", which is ludicrous!

Technically if you are convicted of "dangerous driving" it's a criminal record and one you need to declare to a potential employer. However, I doubt it makes a difference unless the job requires driving or operation of machinery.
I see my "criminal record" like having chlamydia, something you get if you've been a bad boy and ultimately something you'd rather not have but it's not the end of your day to day life as you know it if you do have it.

 

[odd jim]

Technically if you are convicted of "dangerous driving" it's a criminal record and one you need to declare to a potential employer. However, I doubt it makes a difference unless the job requires driving or operation of machinery.
I see my "criminal record" like having chlamydia, something you get if you've been a bad boy and ultimately something you'd rather not have but it's not the end of your day to day life as you know it if you do have it.

Yes, but I'm talking about crime statistics as recorded under government crime reporting rules. Dangerous driving is a criminal offence, but under the Home Office crime reporting rules, the incident is classed as a non crime incident for statistical purposes. As a result, they don't figure in crime stats.

My point was to Byker who claimed speeders counted as detected crimes under the figures, which they don't.

 

[SFTPhotography]

I should reply, most employers and people who matter will treat DD as a non crime....