Safe Speed Forums

I use the M40 frequently between Junc 9 and Junc 10. Currently there are Roadworks on this section which must be no more than 5 miles in distance, yet on the Northbound side there are no fewer than 3 Gatso's !

There is a 50mph speed limit as you would expect, but this must be overkill - I've never seen anything like it - Thames Valley must be under budget dishing out the fines

Hypothetical question - if you already had 3 points on your licence, and you inadvertantly cruised through this section at 60 mph, you can lose your licence for 6 months in 5 minutes or 5 miles !

Obsurd ??

I've used the M40 every week recently, and every time I've been through this stretch I've found that if you "cruised through at 60" you would be a mangled heap in the back of an HGV or other vehicle!

Although that's been daytime, late nights I guess there would be 1)no-one working and 2) much less traffic ... variable limits anyone?

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COAST Not just somewhere to keep a beach.

A young loner on a crusade to champion the cause of the innocent, the helpless, the powerless, in a world of criminals who operate above the law.

The offence comitted is Speeding on a Motorway, not Setting off a camera on a Motorway.

If you went through the automated fixed penalty system that would be 9 points and £180. The correct option would be to wait for all 3 NIPs then right back giving the reference numbers of them and requesting a court hearing. The SCP should be smart enough to issue one summons for 3 "alleged offences", so then you just go to court and point out that it was a single instance of speeding so therefore they must consider all 3 as just one offence.

Of course being a magistrates court, they can fine you up to 6 points and £1000, so you're not that much better off, however if you point out that you would have been perfectly happy to pay the fixed penalty and not waste the court's time, only you recieved three tickets so were unable to process it through normal channels, they may be more amenable to giving you £60/3 points/no costs.

It's also possible that the SCP may chose to NFA 2 of the alleged offences and just do you for one of them, but somehow I doubt it.

It is also possible that these Gatso cameras are the same as the M4 ones and being run from generators. This takes them out of their type approval - which requires mains power - and therefore leaves them open to challenge

the cameras in question are the ones that was on the A34 roadworks between J9 and Oxford for the last year.
They earnt so much money , the natural thing to do was use them somewhere else locally . Its alledged that the works on the M40 are for installing overhead info signs, but have you seen any of the new signs yet ?
Funny how everywhere else in the country manage to install a complete sign with the concrete foundation in a matter of 2 weeks .

there has been a few fatal accidents between J9 and J10 in the last 4/5 years that i know of, so the there justified in saying there is so many cmaeras due to it being an accident blackspot.

the silly part is, these cameras are still earning a fortune

It depends upon the timing. If it was 'proved' to be at a constant(ish) speed, then it becomes one 'continuing' offence.

This is one of the sections that I have referred to before where, with HGV's having two yearly tacho calibration checks, setting the cruise control exactly on the speed limit, ends up with all the 'heavies' in lane 2 and the cars, cautious of any inaccuracies, in Lane 1. Come the end. ALL change.

These particular roadworks are indeed a frightening stretch of road to have to contend with . I drive HGVs thru this section twice a day, and my personal opinion is that the lanes are too narrow. Now before anyone rants about HGV's , see it from our prospective.
Although it is a 50mph limit stretch ,Invariably you get both cars and HGV's in lane 1 doing between 30-45mph . No one wants to do 40-45 when the law says you can do 50 , so for this reason you get a heavier volume of HGV's in lane 2. lane 1 is in fact only just wider than the width of a normal HGV.
Lane 2 itself is physically 6 inches wider than the width of my truck , so if I'm in lane 2 , i have to spend most of my time in that section of roadworks looking from nearside mirror to offside mirror to make sure I'm well within Lane 2.
Lane 3 is only just wide enough for a car (its either a width limit or a weight limit due to this) , and i often see cars trying to overtake me , this is because they cant wait . I'm on cruise control , doing 50 with digital tachograph. As they cant wait, they manage to get up to 60-70 just to pass me , as they are frightened of being at such close quarters at the side of me for a long period.
The irony is, the minute there past me, they hit the brakes thru fear of triggering the next gatso. Problem is, they are now bunched behind other traffic in lane 3 doing 48 mph , and within seconds i have caught them back up. now, what do i do ??, should i drop to 48mph and hold back , OR do i carry on at 50 , as my lane is still clear bearing in mind that my journey isn't being hindered.
If i have the misfortune of catching a slower moving HGV up in lane 1 , I have to keep to the right hand side on my lane ( lane 2) , this then makes cars in lane 3 feel frightened or intimidated ( don't forget , I'm doing nothing wrong as I'm allowed to use lane 2) . I have had slow HGV's ( typically 35mph)in lane 1 riding on the white line between lanes 1 and 2 , which means i then have to breach the lines between lane 2 and 3 to pass safely. why oh why do i get a clown who trys to pass me at this point !!!
if they wait 2 or 3 seconds they ill be able to pass me in good space , and again just after they have flown past and hit the brakes , lane 3 slows down to 40-45mph .
summary , i think the gatsos are there deliberately as the people who planned the works and the lane restrictions KNEW what was going to happen with the ultra narrow lanes
just my 2 bobs worth .

oh, and for the record , i know the car drivers in lane 3 are scared when they race to overtake, as i can see the whites of there eyes when there less than a foot away from my truck LOL

It's even more irritating than that, especially in the SPECS laden ones.

Edit: This reply does not relate to the above post, but the one above that.

As a GPS user and pedantic bastard, I slow to the limit right at the start of the restricted section incase of unseen SPECS cameras. Of course I have to move to L1 if I'm not already there, since I'm travelling slower than everything else on the road.

As the HGVs and cars gradually cotton on to the cameras and reduced limit, L1 and L2 slow down to slower than the speed I wish to travel (this is particularly bad when people over-compensate for SPECS to get their average back down to 50), and I have to make my way to L3 whilst in the middle of the roadworks, which is generally something people advise against.

Come the end of the roadworks, there is generally someone right up my arse who wants to speed up even though we're not past the NSL sign or final camera yet, and I can't move over because the other 2 lanes are full. Usually they barge in front of someone in L2 and start to undertake me by the time the NSL sign is reached. At this point it's very satisfying to floor it back up to 70 and leave the arsehole behind for dust, or at least for the time it takes them to reach 80 and overtake me again.