Safe Speed Forums

Hi all,

B4 I go and pay this .... just B4 you hit the NEW 7 bridge it slows to a 50mph zone,(apparently)... I noticed the nice man in his nice shiny van a little too late and got the letter today telling me I were doing 72 MPH..

OOOhhh how dangerous of me!

Can I do anything about it?... could I ask for evidence of the state of calibration etc ?? ..ANYTHING?!?!?

Cheers all, Si

What speed where you doing? Can you challenge the accuracy of the equipment?

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www.thatsnews.org.uk / www.thatsnews.blogspot.com / http://thatsmotoring.blogspot.com/

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I'm not sure but I saw him about 200 yards away and slowed to 50 at around 100 yards... so I could have been doing 72MPH but quite a long way away...I just hoped I could challenge the 'has the equipment used been calibrated' thang or some thing else...

Si

You missed:-
The "50 in x number of yards" signs,
The dirty great 50 signs on the run up to the toll booth (it's the only place with a 50 limit),
The 50 repeaters,
The scamera van parked over the top of the motorway (which is clearly visible as there's nowhere they can hide it)


Observation skills?

_________________
Smokebelching,CO2 making,child murdering planet raping,granny mugging,politically incorrect globally warming (or is it climate changing now it's getting colder?)thug.
That's what the government want you to believe of me. If they get back in I'm emigrating.

you sound like a real FUN guy.

cheers for the intelligent / helpful post.

Si 07980 262934

you asked if you could do anything about it....

...apparently improving your observation would be a start.

[/quote]

you asked if you could do anything about it....

...apparently improving your observation would be a start.[/quote]



GEEZ! ... I thought this was a helpful forum! ....not a playground....here's davepoth's reply on the pepipoo forum:


There's dangerous and then there's dangerous. While I agree that it is important to slow down for toll booths, the 50mph zone there starts 3/4 mile from the toll booths, and the scammers hide behind a hoarding on a bridge to pick off hapless motorists at extreme range (I was pinged at around 700m). I would like to see the vehicle that needs 3/4 of a mile to slow down from 70mph, and then the roadworthiness certificate for it.

It's worth pointing out that no similar restriction is in place on the old bridge, despite there being a motorway junction close to the tolls, making for an even greater variety of speed.

"Rogiet Tolls Plaza" is a nasty, cynical camera spot, and the accident figures don't stack up to needing enforcement.


...I posted the same question and received some intelligent and helpful replies. I thought that's what forums were for?....here's the (mixed/open minded) replies:

http://forums.pepipoo.com/index.php?showtopic=26890

Cheers, Si

sorry i thought you were probably being done for speeding... not dangerous driving.
careful not to confuse your defences.

pepipoo is a legal focussed forum, this is primarily a road safety forum.

whether they're sensible or not it seems you made a concious decision not to follow the marked limit.

if you didnt make a concious descision to ignore the limit then you ought to question why you missed it.

it looks like you're going to take a hit for this, unless you can be bothered to argue legal technicalities.
but part of improving road safety is each examinig our own driving and seeing where it is lacking which far too few actually do.

i broadly agree that cameras and this kind of enforcement arent conducive to this kind of dirver improvement & education.. but you got pinged.. question what you could do to avoid it in future.
(assuming your case doesnt end in the repealing of the 50limit and disbanding all camera partnerships)

nos4r2, what a sensible guy you are, I dont think that that was the right answere on here, of course for the minority of sensible drivers, observation skills and keeping to the limit is common sense.

However as pointed out its NO FUN some people think that poor driving and speeding about is what motoring is al about.

I am quite disapointed looking at the site it appears to be a forum for the type of brainless drivers we witness every-day where the SAFETY comes in I am yet to witness.

Thats an accusation we've heard before, mainly from those who have not bothered to explore the site fully and/or lack the intelligence to comprehend the concepts therein.

If you find the site so distainful then you are more than welcome to avoid logging in or posting in future.

I think you need to realise that ANYONE is free to join in the forums and express an opinion.
The message of SAFESPEED is well publicised on the main website, and among SOME of those who post here.

Of course, like many, you are equating speed (or lack of it) with safety - but it's important to realise that the little toddler killed on his own driveway by his father in a 4x4 happened at a very low speed.
Very low speeds can lead to lower levels of concentration, and catastrophic accidents, when vehicles come together with no attempt to avoid the collision due to complete lack of attention.

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Time to take responsibility for our actions.. and don't be afraid of speaking out!

And how's that going to help you?

You've been clocked doing 72 mph in a clearly signed 50 limit.

Other than trying to prove the speed gun was not accurate at the range it was used, or the area was not properly signed there's not much you can do.

As For: -

I would like to see the vehicle that needs 3/4 of a mile to slow down from 70mph, and then the roadworthiness certificate for it.

So with an NSL right up to the toll booths sometimes, an idiot is going to approach too fast and smack right into them, so a lower limit near the tolls will negate this.

Of course, there's normally a queue there (sometimes quite a long one), and traffic slowing for the queue.

With an NSL right up the toll booths (or 500 yards out) and slowing/queueing traffic and no speed control you're going to get the odd nut going down the outside of it all at 80-90mph, way in excess of the traffic speed around them, and sometimes somebody is going to smack into the back of the queue, which may start way outside the slower speed zone.

Your other option is a variable speed limit that "follows" the back of the queue, but how much is this going to cost to install? People are already complaining about the cost of motoring.

And anyway, how much time does going at 50mph over 3/4 of a mile "cost" you compared to going at 70?

Sensible, maybe... BUT you do appear to have the wrong idea about the site.

The kind of brainless drivers who everyone sees every day don't post here because they
A)Think they know it all
B)don't think.

Personally I hate Speed cams and vans-and I don't think that the people who post here are brainless. They actually think about what they are doing. 99% of drivers don't.As said completely off the record by an *** instructor-there's nothing unsafe about exceeding the speed limit as long as you allow PROPERLY (and that counts for hazards,stopping distances etc etc ad nauseam) for the extra speed you're carrying.

However, there really is no excuse for getting caught on the Severn Toll plaza 50 limit. The limit is understandable-at certain times of the day it backs up almost as far as the NSL and on one side it's hard to see that it's backing up due to the layout. In my opinion putting the van there is dangerous though as it's an unwelcome distraction at a time you really should be looking at what's going on rather than the speedo and a camera van.

Besides, you don't get through the toll queues any faster if you nail it up to the back of them. You'll still end up waiting to get through-and in the same place in the queue as if you eased off and took the time to look properly.


By the way Qunvat, improving your observation skills will help immensely. It'll stop it happening again.

_________________
Smokebelching,CO2 making,child murdering planet raping,granny mugging,politically incorrect globally warming (or is it climate changing now it's getting colder?)thug.
That's what the government want you to believe of me. If they get back in I'm emigrating.

Bit more observation ,and perhaps you'd notice that Nos4r2 is a truck driver - which perhaps makes him qualified to point this out .But then these guys only do more miles in a day than most of us do in a week.

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lets bring sanity back to speed limits.
Drivers are like donkeys -they respond best to a carrot, not a stick .Road safety experts are like Asses - best kept covered up ,or sat on