According to a report seen by a mainstream Sunday newspaper, the National Police Chiefs’ Council have started an official review, with a view to fining motorists for doing just 1mph over the speed limit.
This idea has been discussed in the press before, but now seems like a distinct possibility of becoming a reality in the UK.
The Councils ‘Lead on national roads policing’ Andy Bangham is strongly in favour of the proposal, according to the report.
I wonder if he realises just how much concentration it takes to stick exactly to the speed limit unless you have — and are comfortable using — cruise control, which of course far from everyone does/is!
I tried it myself on a new average speed camera section of the M20 just last weekend.
The cruise on my car wasn’t working (it works when it feels like it apparently!) and I was trying hard to make sure that I didn’t average more than exactly 50mph on the 3 lane motorway by manually moderating my speed.
It occurred to me just how taxing and downright dangerous it is to be constantly looking back and forth at my TALEX to make sure I wasn’t going too fast!
I would say at least 50% of my attention was taken up by what speed I was doing, and trying to mentally calculate (guess) how much I needed to slow down to make sure the average was no more than 50mph.
In my opinion this process of constantly looking at and minutely adjusting your speed is about as dangerous as texting while driving (which I seriously don’t recommend!) and significantly less dangerous than talking in to your phone while driving, which are of course both illegal.
It would surely be even worse to be constantly looking up and down at your speedo — as opposed to a TALEX or other dash mounted GPS device — which is usually not in the line of sight of the road ahead and – incidentally – isn’t usually very accurate either…
I would imagine Andy Bangham’s answer to this would be that the speed limit is the maximum speed, not the average speed you should be doing.
What I would say to that is that, in general, the speed limits on “smart motorways” are WAY TOO LOW for anyone other than the most incompetent driver!
So to expect Motorists to give themselves an arbitrarily self imposed lower imaginary speed limit, so as to be sure not to stray slightly over the actual legal speed limit is unlikely to happen.
Put another way, drivers are always going to be pushing the maximum speed limit because it’s perceived to be – I think rightly — too low in most cases.
What I think is going to happen if the proposal is approved is that the number of speeding fines will rocket…
There were 2.1 Million speeding tickets (excluding court summons, so read “minor offences”) in England and Wales in 2016.
Just imagine how many drivers would be fined if this proposal gets approved.
And just imagine how many avoidable accidents would be caused by drivers being distracted by monitoring their speed to the nearest 1mph and braking — with those behind them also distracted for the same reason! — because they are worrying about getting a ticket due to a minor error.
Do you agree or disagree?
BTST Member Poll:
What’s your opinion on the “fined for going 1mph over the limit” proposal?
This madness it will cause more accidents
All this blog tells us is that you don’t concentrate while driving. If you are incapable of keeping to a speed limit, you shouldn’t be driving. I happen to agree that speed limits on motorways are too low, but that is a different issue entirely. You seem to be against speed limits completely, which is rather naïve. In towns I would absolutely support fines for the thousands of drivers that are incapable of monitoring their speed; the issue isn’t actually the fines, though, it is the lack of enforcement. Anyone that gets caught speeding in the current climate of almost no road police deserves what they get.
Wrong, it tells us the precise opposite, that he does concentrate whilst driving, if he did not concentrate none of this would be on his mind! He has made no suggestion to be against speed limits, he has made suggestion to how many more accidents might occur should motorists receive fines for one or two mile an hour breaches.
Downright dangerous to be paying more attention to the speedo than the road ahead, pedestrians and other road users!
Ridiculous, just money making need to give some leeway. Or fit cruise control to all vehicles.
1 MPH is absolutely ridiculous. How many vehicles speedo is showing the exact MPH of their vehicle. I see a difference when I have cruise control set at say 70mph with it showing +/- 68 mph on the speedo of my car. Mine seems to be set low but which is correct? The Cruise or the speedo? Absolute nonsense and another easy money maker for the councils of U.K.
That’s 2.1 million paid a fine of roughly £100 (some will have paid a lot more. And others a bit less) in 2016. If they can squeeze that upto or above 3 million . Which will be what they’re hoping for despite telling us how it’s all so wrong to speed. They’ll only be thinking of all the extra revenue collected. Not to mention the increases that the insurance companies charge if you get points. Which the powers that be then charge an extra 20% on for vat
…ridiculous !
This would promote complete anarchy to speeding and motoring offences and the Police could never actually enforce it because of the lack of manpower.
Cameras would just be destroyed if that was the case…
what a load off rubbish, are we really expected to believe that ALL police methods of speed checking are accurate to that degree let alone calibrated on a regular basis. Doesnt the police make enough out of the cash cow driverd in the UK
It’s stupid how do we know our cars are calibrated exactly the same as the police
machine. It’s just another way of fleecing the motorists, as usual.
What a stupid idea I see loads of drivers especially the younger ones driving there on a grand prix track they never get caught and they probably get a couple of hundred pound fine them target them and stop harassing law abiding citizens bloody bunch of muppets. Gary
The idea is so manifestly stupid it shouldn’t even need to be discussed. Perhaps it simply reflects the mentality of the present CCs.
It will not work as it is nigh impossible to not drift 1 mph over no matter how hard you try. Once again another ploy to make money out of the motorists, we need to make a stand against these ridiculous proposals.
Utter garbage. Cars are not calibrated even when it goes in for a three year mot. Drivers attention will be on dashboard more than on the road. I’ll just set my cruise control to 25mph and create congestion. Which is also less fuel efficient.
What about older cars where the speedo isn’t as accurate as it perhaps should be?
Wasn’t the 10% rule brought in with this in mind?
Seems like another money making idea to me.Even if a car is on cruise control it will gain a few M.p.h. if going down hill.In my opinion it would cause more accidents and we would end up with a “Bangham” culture.
Drivers should be keeping their eyes on the road, not on the speedo! This will happen I have tried it.
I think this is ridiculous for the reasons stated above. I agree that some limits are already too low – motorways with normal traffic for a start. It will make people concentrate more on their speed than their driving in areas where the opposite is really required. It seems to be another example of “we can do anything sitting at a desk” out in the real world it is a bit different.
Just another easy way to raise revenue. Motorist easy target. I think it will be more dangerous than going 2/3 mph over, as your concentration level move across to your Speedo and not whats around you. This will cause more rear end collisions, and of course will cause more tail backs, due to the wave affect. We are easy targets and yet again the government don’t care how they get the extra revenue. They reduced the policing on the streets. To protect us all. But increased speed cams and congestion charges. This country has gone to the dogs….
Pathetic way of trying to raise money for the government. Cost new speedometers will be next.
Well if your speedometer was calibrated, no problem however particularly non digital ones how do you know if you are over the limit even if the counter is just on or under 30 ?
So practical is this new proposal apart from the obvious £ benefit ?
Speedo’s are only supposed to be accurate at 30mph and can be up to 10% out at other speeds so you could be on cruise at the indicated limit but actual speed could be over or under depending on the speedo error. 1mph over is unenforceable and would be defended successfully by even the most incompetent lawyer!
Cretinous decision! Speeding fines are issued by a faceless computer that no-one can talk to. Plod should take more time to deal with dangerous driving and jumping traffic lights by busses.
I believe it is ludicrous to start fining drivers for being only 1mph over the speed limit.
I think all drivers should collectively get together on certain days and at certain times and drive on all main roads at 30mph, as a form of demonstration.
I remember some years ago that trucks did it in Europe due to fuel prices which was quite affective.
If the speedomemters are accurate only accurate to 10% then the fines should apply at 110% and over. so, 33 mph for 30 mph and so on. Anything else risks unsound prosecution and justified legal challenge. Let’s not waste government money on needless cases the police will lose, as the costs are all coming out of public taxation.
Speedos by law must not under indicate speed. Talex or GPS should be accurate but do they indicate to within .49999 mph either side of true speed ?
Not everyone wishes to drive exactly on the limit for many varied reasons.
There is false but widely held belief that driving faster gets you there quicker, it seldom does and when it does the saving is so marginal and usually wasted anyway
This is ridiculous. The speed indicated in the average car is not the actual speed. The speedoes
could be up to 5/8 MPH different than the actual.
Plus Kph would need to be fixed also for EU vehicles.
This is not a system for added safety more a cash cow!
Speedometer is not that accurate as tyres wear so does the accuracy. Previous comments are right you cannot keep looking at the dial.not every car has a head up display
Absolutely idiotic. How can we trust a speedo to be that accurate. Is it just another money maker. Also if you concentrate on the speedo you are not concentrating on the road as much.Pathetic!
attack the motorist This IS not ok .Greedy govening bodies , just want to take more money for free 1
A 40mph limit does not mean that it is unsafe to drive at 41mph. It actually means that it is unsafe to drive at 50mph, the next available speed limit. The safe speed might be anything between 40 and 49mph.
The police have lost public respect and confidence as they do this sort of thing and fail to even both about many things, such as catching burglars
The idiots involved with this dream have one thing in mind, clobber the average motorist. Step outside my house and watch the idiots in their Porcshe type cars and the drivers on the main A26 in Crowborough, then there is the motor cyclist plus those who like travelling on one wheel at perhaps 80 mph + or -. Where are the highway police to catch these ones. Now doubt they will buy equipment to catch the ordinary person who is say 1 mph over the limit. One is authority going to get out of their chairs and live in the real world?
Driving 1 mph over the limit is virtually impossible for a Speed Camera to detect, the same as it isn’t possible for the car’s Speedometer to be that accurate.
The Police really don’t endear themselves to the public when they talk about these sort of tactics, which clearly are there to make money and have nothing to do with safety.
I think the Police should concentrate on improving their poor crime solving figures than harassing the poor motorist.
This is down right ridiculous in my opinion. Just how accurate is the average speedometer in cars today? Not as accurate as the average police traffic car I would guess. I could be diligently sticking to 30mph in my Honda but the the Police car behind me could be registering 31/32mph for example. Are all 3 million plus cars on the road today equipped with totally accurate speedometers, I think not. So will all motorists be obliged to have their speedometers tested/calibrated for accuracy? I foresee the courts being clogged up with court cases debating this one.
Same old politically correct rubbish from our boys in blue. All over motorists, easy pickings. Or if someone says the ‘wrong’ thing – if you ever need them tho’, theft, car vandalism even burglary they’re bloody useless. Most chief Constable’s are more interested in policing ‘equality and pc’ transgressions alongside motoring. They’d do well to remember that they only police by consent and most tax paying motorists are fed up with being prosecuted for doing 34 in a 30mph limit, usually caught in the least dangerous place – or in my case, not pulling back into the inside lane quickly enough when I found an unmarked car on my tail light flashing me. Probably late for his tea!! They lost my respect a long time ago
Agree 100% that more focus would be on not speeding and in maintaining the speed limit than concentrating on driving. This presumes that car speedo’s are 100% accurate, which is impossible. So unless cars always drive with cruise control on then we will be self imposing a speed restriction in order to have a safe margin of error. All for what end ? Are we to believe that everyone that is not overtaking on the motorway will be travelling at a lower speed ?
Looks like we have well and and truly been stuffed this time.The only way is to fight back is to snow your mp with letters of protest about this attack on the motorist. Long live freedom, fu## big brother.
Thought the government had previously suggested it may be ok to slightly exceed the speed limits, as long as the motorist was not driving dangerously, probably on the basis that the higher the speed the more fuel is consumed and therefore the “take” to the Treasury would be higher!
About time a motorists appeal was launched to review speed limits, and not just those on motorways / dual carriageways, but all roads bar those in built up areas
Stupid idea. Speedo error is less prevalent than it used to be, but a speedo can still read a couple of miles out. We don’t all have digital displays either!
Ridiculous until car manufacturers can guarantee that the speedo is exactly accurate which in 95% of cases is a total impossibility.
More time should be devoted to real crime .
This ‘fine them for going 1 m over tge spped limit is nothing to do with safety, everything to do with raising revenue.
Fight this proposal in every way possible.
Councils should improve road surfaces and visability. Rural roads are a disgrace, pot holes, lumps and bumps, overgrown hedgerows
Its a crazy proposition, how on earth will one keep to 30mph,especially where calibration varies. The courts will be full of Not Guilty motorists, and as you state it will cause grid-lock on the roads.
Well i think its utter stupidity BUT i think we all know thr reasoning behind it. Yes exactly MORE CASH in the pot I think it’s high time the British motorist stood up and said “enough is enough “. This as usual has nothing to do with road safety at all.Also proved the slower vehicles travel and caught up in gridlock produce way more pollution.
Any electronic measuring device has limit of 5 to 10% allowance for mistakes. 1mile above the speed limit is always less then indicated limit. Every driver is sentenced to be guilty in most cases.
Another attack on the motorist. Drivers will be tempted to watch their speedometer more than the road ahead. In a pedestrian area (20/30 limits) expect more accidents.
Yet another revenue idea, cause more accidents and eventually stop people driving via points and increased insurance.
Ludicrous!!!
The police should start wearing burkas because they will soon be terrorising motorists, and robbing banks of motorists.
I’m with Borris Johnstone on that one.
If they want more money then start fining people that spit, swear, are anti social, that threaten violence, and drop litter.
That would help make the world a better place to live in and might even help motoring be less horrible than it already is.
It’s all about money making and not about safety.
This is totally crazy, I’m sure that Germany and France they would laugh at this, who thinks these crazy ideas up?? Actually I’m getting quite sick of these people making up these rules . I would love to look into there private lives, I wonder ??? Most normal drivers would not be able to keep this concentration on speed up, this makes driving a nightmare, no pleasure in this at all and very dangerous in practise
I totally disagree with proposed plan, for the same reasons others have voiced. How can we be watching road ahead when we are looking constantly at speedometer.
Make that Ars****e himself drive in his own car at exactly the speed limit for a hundred miles, with the press in the car too and Gopro cameras filming everything. And post the movie on facebook.
This is possibly the most stupid idea I have ever heard, driving would be an absolute nightmare and so dangerous….
This has nothing to do with safety and everything to do with revenue
Far far more dangerous than concentrating on driving with as much space as possible around the vehicle, front, back (you have some control over that) and sides. I always feel keeping to an unnecessarily low motorway speed limit is zombie driving.
How to alienate our police service , and cause chaos on the roads . They must be desperate for money. Must be a pay rise on the way for the establishment.
I have just had a 1 mph over the speed limit notice, in a 40 limit.. Its already hear in Newcastle. Not sure yet if its going to be a fine or an awherness course
James
Do I agree with this the answer is no.
Just another form of tax to raise money.
OUTRAGEOUS
there are serious problems in the world – over speeding by 1mph is not one of them, it seems they don’t have enough to do or is this just another tactic against the motorist.
Not only that,what about some hills which would cause Drivers to CONSTANTLY having to correct their speed with the brakes.
B.RIDICULOUS.
This is clearly nothing to do with road safety, but just a way of raising revenue! You are absolutely correct that paying too much attention to staying on the speed limit mark would take attention away from concentrating on the road. Stupidity at the highest level.
Please just leave things as they are; If it’s not broken, Don’t fix it!
Too much emphasis is placed on speed. One can drive dangerously and still be below the speed limit.
This proposal is ridiculous. Too much time would be spent concentrating on the speedometer and not enough on what else is going on around you.
Average speed cameras are just as bad. When everyone is doing the same speed, there are fewer gaps in the traffic if one needs to change lanes.
I agree that to keep checking ones speed, is highly dangerous to other traffic and pedestrians.
I accept that a maximum is a maximum but until we have 100% accuracy in speed measurement in cars and 100% conformity of use on the roads, ie all of us in automatic computer controlled vehicles it is ridiculous to apply such a limit. Unless the motive is to generate income!
My GPS, speedo and warning signals all say different speeds when I approach 30mph limit. Who do I believe
Already happened to my mate,got a speeding course for 31mph.A22 near Caterham outside the Shell garage.
Safe driving should be the issue, which involves many factors.
There are many blatant failures and practices of drivers that are not safe…inattention, lack of thought, following too close, lane discipline or lack of and many more… all these should be addressed. Speed is only relevant within the context of all other circumstances and is in fact a safety measure not a danger and it only becomes a danger when out of context with all other circumstances.
Excess concentration on speed simply shows a failure of understanding and an inability to drive properly, as well as being a distraction from all other circumstances.
Until all the other glaring deficiencies in general driving are addressed the excessive concentration upon speed simply reveals gross incompetence, and bad motive and an unfitness for their positions.
Why do we tolerate corruption and incompetence in our public officials?
I know someone who was fined for 53 mph on the A12 in a 50 mph zone to protect workers, guess what, No workers !!! These 50 mph signs are everywhere without any works going on. They will earn so much for just 1 mph with these signs. It’s a FIDDLE.
In theory it’s a great idea…. I sit in average speed limit sections and cars go past me.
HOWEVER – as with 99.9% of things in life, theory and practice rarely align. I live by Gatwick and tried without Cruise Control to stick to 50mph on my speedometer. Even with a digital readout, it’s impossible.
Let’s lend these police chiefs and councillors a car (to ensure its not rigged) and put cameras in the car and see them demonstrate it. Let’s have an analysis of how often they are not looking at the road and how dangerous it is….
They will fail.
I pride myself on my driving skills (I’m not perfect, but try hard to be)
This is unworkable, dangerous and a complete waste of time and effort.
Let’s put speed cameras in places that they’ll save lives…..
Or was that not why they were invented???? ! ;-)
I have a Tom Tom and a Talex in the car, both of which show speed limit by using satellites. Whilst the two systems are compatible in the spped they show they are 2 to 3 miles difference (less) to that on the speedometer of the car which I assume works on the principle of how many times the wheel turns in a given time. So which is accurate. Speed traps work on a different principal (I think) so how accurate are they and how can we be sure that if they are accurate how compatible are they with that showing in the car.
Rediculous. My analogue speedo is just not accurate enough so I would constantly be checking it.As bad as using a mobile @ the wheel.leave as it is&let’s have the police concentrating on more serious crimes.
I feel it is a money making scheme . 1 mph over the limit is really unworkable with car Speedos not always 100% accurate .
I totally agree
More revenue for the government.
Highly dangerous. It is extremely difficult with modern cars to keep to a 30mph speed limit, especially in our area, High Wycombe, with all the hills and slopes even with my Talex mounted above the dashboard at eye level.
Utterly nonsense! Like many other cars, my VW speedometer is 3-4 mph out at certain speeds against telex or other navigating devices. You have to allow 10% tolerance or most of us will be spending more time in courtrooms then on roads. This is just another scam to go for your pockets.
I would query whether a new speedometer is accurate to 1mph let alone one that’s done 50,000 miles. The police have there’s calibrated, so I understand. The 30 mph speed limit was set when the brakes worked with cables. If speed limits were appropriate this wouldn’t be an issue.
What ever we think won’t make a difference. It’s just another easy way to punish and raise revenue! And if anyone tried to do anything about it, the great British public wouldn’t back them up!
Absolutely disgusting
All us motorists are is cash cows!
I totally agree with every word and in addition do they remember the reason for the 10% in the first place. This is to cover the difference between digital speed checkers and analogue Speedo’s
Occasionally it’s good to be old
Paul
Absolutely disgusting
All we are , are cash cows
I disagree to the 1mph.
It is already in operation zero tolerance they are calling it.
This is a terrible idea! All van drivers myself included might as well quit are jobs now as we will be unable to drive anywhere if this goes ahead.
Absolutely crazy. Speed limits are already to low on motorways. Just another revenue generator. Got nothing to do with safety. 2.2 million fines at £60 each a great easy and cheap tax collection system. I thought the police were there to protect and serve not to be an integral collector for HMRC
I strongly disagree with this proposed speed introduction – Speedos are well know to be far from accurate !
Even without this ridiculous 1mph issue it is dangerous to be continuously looking down at the speedo even if 10% allowed. It only takes a very short time moment to momentarily drift to say 35 in a 30 zone for example (areas where concentration on the road is particularly important)so to avoid falling foul of instantaneous(especially mobile) speed traps requires far too much time taking attention from the road.
There needs to be abit of leeway as you can drift slightly either side of the limit while watching what’s actually going on outside of your own car.
I agree with you on all points. On the M60 round Manchester the signs have ridiculously low speed limits with a new camera on many gantry legs or supports.
It’s a cash cow, an easy way to generate revenue. I agree with cameras outside schools, hospitals and ln housing estates. Most motorists are good enough to know what is s safe speed and what is not safe.
My comment would be too rude !!
just another piece of evidence.
The government/police hate the motorist.
They also want to rob us.
They want our money and will use the courts to enforce payment.
It is insane. Just another try to screw the motorist.
If they genuinely want to reduce ‘accidents’, then the government should attempt to improve the abysmal general standard of driving. The vast majority of ‘accidents’ are caused by human error, not speed.
Lunacy: a. for the reasons you have stated and b. the courts couldn’t cope
c. it does nothing for road safety.
Hi Adam
This is absolutely ridiculous, however nothing put forward by these people would surprise me.
How accurate are the measuring devices?
How accurate are speedometers in most cars?
I believe the reasons why the speed “limit” does have a slight agreed variance is due to the above facts.
Not to mention the totally correct observations by yourself in relation to trying to stay at the relevant limit.
Keep up the good work.
I agree with you if you have to be looking at the speedo all the time to make sure you are not going over the limit by 1 mph you are more likely to be niot concentrating on the most important part of driving is what is going on on the road
The man is clearly an idiot. Has he never drifted 1 mph over thye limit? Of course he has. This would be completely unenforceable, not least because neither speedos nor police cameras are accurate to that extent. Imagine how many Magistrates Courts they would have to reopen, if we all refused to pay their FPT’s and challenged them in court!
The original idea of the+10% _2mph was to allow for inaccuracies in the speed cameras. They may have improved now but I doubt that they could prove a speed to 1mph accuracy!
Very bad decision no one can possibly drive under those limits
When the police can reinstate motorway patrols so as to catch dangerous drivers, rather than just looking for revenue; prosecute shoplifters and attend burglaries, they could then consider this. In the meantime, get on with catching criminals.
So, will UK / EU type approval require all speedometers fitted to UK vehicles operate at 100% accuracy? If not, how can a motorist tell whether their vehicle is travelling within the permitted speed limit?
strongly disagree.
my thoughts if this go’s through then i expect more cameras at bottom of steep hills
Don’t be so daft
The Police Chiefs need to think that when I am doing 50mph in an average speed camera zone and a “Noddy” police car overtakes me doing at least 60mph, I will use my dashcam footage to prosecute the police driver! Speed alone is not the cause of crashes. Tailgating, use of in car devices (now a part of the driving test) smoking at the wheel are all causes of collisions.
Let you know how my speed awareness course goes next week! That is if I can restraint myself!
What if your Speedo is slightly out or the gun or laser. On busy motor ways it will grind them to a halt being able to speed up to mid 70s helps to avoid convoys.motor ways at certain times should be 80.
Ridicules proposal drivers should be concentrating on road situations NOT looking at their speedo as you cannot look at two things without taking your eyes on the road as well as other things around you whilst driving.
I would ask the government why they allow cars to be capable of doing speeds greater than the maximum speed limit. I.e. why would a car need to go over 70MPH up to speeds nearing 200MPH?
Preposterous and mockery of New Modern Cars & rigorous driving tests. In addition challenging the fines will result in occupying Courts & police resources, which could be utilized for other pressing Criminal Issue.
It will be a non starter, can you imagine the number of ‘Not Guilt’ and appeal cases there would be in the courts. How can you possibly keep exactly at the speed limit when even a slight movement of your right foot or a down-hill slope, will increase your speed by 2 or 3 mph. My cruise control also does not compensate for down-hill slopes and the speed increases. It is complete madness and will make the Police even more unpopular.
How you think it’s dangerous is beyond me. I’m a professional HGV driver and sticking to speed limits either in my truck or car is dead easy.
Those who find it dangerous to keep to the limit should stop driving immediately.
However the speed limits are out dated and not suitable for today’s traffic. Getting fined forgoing 1 mph over the speed limit is effing ludicrous, immoral and down right stupid.
It’s just another cash cow against the motorist.
If you want that
You should build the cars to go to the according speed limits aromaticaly
This is all about money again
The way it’s done now should be looked at first
Points and fines
Should be one or the other
As insurance companies continue to charge for sp30
Also each case os speeding should be looked at individually
Absolutely agree that this idea is dangerous nonsense
How can the authorities justify a no speed tolerance? Whatever happened to the speedo error margin? The indicated speed can surely vary between a new set of tyres and a worn set!
It is ridiculous and a money making scam!
This is an absolute nonesense. It’s worse than the 1984 novel world. There’s no justification for this. Let us see any figures at all to show how this is in any way aiding roas safety. By the way, many cars don’t even have cruise control.
ridiculous proposal
Their is normally a desrepancy over the accuracy of speedometer readings. The police would need to check the accuracy of the alleged spoeding vehicle. Also MOT stations would also need to check the accuracy of the speedometer during the MOT test to give assurance that the cars speedometer is 100% accurate. Lots of work needed by the police to assure a decent prosecution rate
I believe if this becomes law it is not for safety reasons but to increase income for the relevant police forces to make up for the cutbacks they have had to make. Driving is becoming less enjoyable as you are constantly worried about committing a crime rather than concentrating on the road ahead.
Dis agree. Will manufactures be accountable for incorrect speed readings on their cars. Will tyre companies also be as tyre diameters can be 1cm different between brands. Some times we have to speed momentellory to avoid accidents near slip roads etc.
How would they take into account tyre ware from new 8/ 9 mm doent to 1.5 mm some people would be going slower still
I most. certainly do agree. The article was in the Mail on Sunday and I wrote a very similar post to yours on Social Media.
Just another way of getting money of motorists easy catch.
I agree with the above statement that to watch the clock instead of road is downright dangerous Who has an accurate instrument for such a tight tolerance of 1 mph?
They have been trying to do this since the 80s but never came about because speedometors all factor differently thats why it was allowed 10% above if you are caught speeding in yorkshire you have hold tour hands up as they hold the title for being most lenient police force when it comes to driving. Its a fact all speedometors register diffrent and i proved that a couple of weeks ago he drives a volvo and i drive a peugeot we drove side by side he was doing 30 but my satnav said 34 and my speedo was saying 32 so back home he now drives just under to make sure and i always drive with my satnav on just as a precaution as you can see digitally your speed.
Another revenue earner and nothing to do with road safety, good job that policeman has not got any serious police work to do!!
it would be impossilbe to keep a hgv within 1MPH tollerance,
even if you set cruise lower, the weight can push you, even through the set braking retarder that most HGVS are fitted with
drivr focus should be on road saftey
not panicky speedo watching
In a word – Ridiculous.It would only be possible by travelling at 5mph below the speed limit, and then not guaranteed. I never use my cruise control in traffic or I end up playing with the up/down buttons all the time.
Average speed limits are taken over distances. Very difficult to calculate average unless driver knows distance and time.
As for 1 mph over limit that’s rediculous because vehicles go faster downhill. Ideal place for speed traps.
Number of convictions will definitely go up.
Totally Agree’.Unfortunately speed camaras are mostly just “cash Cows”
Need to be challenged strongly
Another money making scam!!!
IMHO. IT WILL NOT FLY SIMPLY BECAUSE OF INVOKING CHALLENGES IN THE COURTS
More accidents will occur due to drivers constantly checking their speed and taking their eyes off the road. However, the main objective of raking in more fines will be met for the government to waste on causes the majority of British taxpayers object to
What a load of old crap! Cars speedo’s generally under-read by a couple
of miles an hour – this is just a further cash cow to aid lazy and wholly ineffective policing, not to mention downright dangerous. Mr Bangham (there’s an oxymoron if ever there was) would do well to retire as he is unfit for public service by suggesting such utter stupidity!
I totally agree that this would be a dangerous concept.
Do we have any knowledge of how many accidents have been caused by ‘smart motorways’ speed change and motorist braking hard to avoid being flashed as there is no lag time for a safe reduction in speed.
Fine, increase all speed limits by +20mph (+10mph for in town) first though!
Speed limits are way too low for modern cars. They were imposed in the 1950s when cars were very slow and very unsafe, before safety belts, ABS, ESP, etc, etc.
I think this is stupid because not only a fine but taking eyes off the road to check speedo you have an accident by taking your eyes off the road you could be done under section 3 driving without due care and attention they then get you both ways, stupid idea I think
I disagree
My pedometer is approx. 10% out when compared to my satnav. To reach 50mph on the speedometer I have to be doing 55mph on the satnav.
One comment on Adams blog. The law says its a 30mph maximum limit not the speed to should try to achieve.
I am fed up with driving along the A40 around the Greenford area. 30mph on a 3 lane highway leads to boredom. And likewise 20mph limits in town are crazy. Quite often there is nobody about and no cars on the road. If you want to kill London please carry on.
Typical of the beat the motorist again! Why no ban cars altogether and then who’s tax will pay for these
think tank bureaucrats? Time would be better spent catching criminals!
Totally agree. Most speed limits outside BUA’s are way too low and are often kept low for the sole purpose (it would seem) of collecting yet more tax from the generally law abiding motorist. Criminals in stolen cars will take no notice of course, and they are mainly the ones who need to be caught, but cameras can’t do that, only a police presence will work. It’s amazing that when the police don’t have the resources to deal with commonplace burglaries that they consider =exceeding an arbitrary speed limit by a mere 1 MPH to be a so much more important crime. It’s obvious why they are held in such low esteem by the public in general.
These people are insane. That will mean I will need to replace a driver every 6-12 months as they lose their licenses, due to doing 40K miles per year, all over the country. The accident rate will go up as a result, so will pollution due to additional braking…I could go on but talking to zealots like these people are is like talking to someone who is religious about why religion is nothing more than a man-made meme, pointless.
Hi Adam,
I don’t suppose anyone in government has thought about how drivers measure their road speed compared to how the police or other enforcement personnel record a motorists speed.
Most vehicle manufacturers speedometers are inaccurate to actual road speed your average navigation device is far more accurate.
The police and or other enforcement bodies are supposedly using calibrated speed measuring devices.
So until every vehicle on UK roads new and old has a calibrated device giving actual road speed with the exact same degree of error there will always be disagreement over the actual speed.
The 10% + 1 mile per hour over the speed limit has worked up to now.
If it ant broke don’t fix it springs to mind
Government have more important things to consider, brexit deal, deaths from occupational health to mention two.
Who ever takes this on in government is asking to get voted out of office.
Not very impresseded with this startegy, its all about milking the motorist and using us as a cash cow, the fines will no doubt be used to top up the civil servant pension funds and provide new plush offices and very little spent on bobbys on the beat to stop REAL crime
It’s probably not an issue for a member of the National Police Chief’s Council, given he’s likely to be chauffeured everywhere in an upmarket Beemer!
absoulute rubbish and very dangerous. They just want us to fill the black hole in the econemy
Totally agree. Most speed limits outside of BUA’s are way too low, and are often reduced with the sole purpose(so it would seem) of extracting yet more tax from the generally law abiding motorist. The criminals in stolen cars care nothing about speed limits and cameras will never catch them. Only a police presence will do that. Constantly looking at the speedo or Talex is very dangerous and must contribute to lots of accidents. Isn’t it amazing that when the police don’t have the resources to even visit the scene of a burglary, they can find the resources to check for motorists exceeding the limit by just 1 mph. Of course those FPN’s bring in a huge amount of revenue, catching burglars doesn’t. Obvious really how their priorities are arranged! Utterly shameful.
The police concentrate too much on speed, and less on the style on way in which a vehicle is being driven.
An erratic driver is a greater hazard than a speeding driver, because he has even less idea of what his/her intentions are than the drivers around them, and he/her has little regard for anyone else on the road.
Whilst I am in favour of appropriate speed due to prevailing road conditions, the main reasons that the Police are in favour of tighter speed limits are because they are good revenue earners for the various authorities, and require the MINIMAL amount of effort to enforce.
Whereas, patrolling and policing the roads properly, takes more effort, and cash. Imposing speed restrictions is easier, enhances their feeling of POWER over the public, and looks good on their performance figures; road safety does not come into it.
I agree with the fact that if a driver is constantly monitoring the speedometer, he/she cannot be giving the road ahead the correct attention, which in my opinion makes them a bigger hazzard than a good driver who is driving at a steady speed, but may just stray over the prevailing speed limit by a small margin for a short distance.
what is the _+ factor speed of speed measuring equipment. and I do not believe it 0. And how many more Court cases will be heard Motor manufacturers will have to increase accuracy of Speedos, but how. Tyre diameter varies with wear! do the math its more than 1MPH. Then there will have to be allowances for vehicles before inception of more accurate
Speedos. the Lawers are going to get even richer. What a MESS!
They just want us to be cash cows it is nothing todo with safty
I think they need to stick to the original law of 10%plus 2 , fining people doing 1 mph over the speed limit is crazy all speedometers are going to be slightly different I have a plug in speedometer in the car and it is different to the one that is I. The car so how they know your exact speed there needs to be a little leway
Just proves again that common sense no longer exists with the transport authorities. Their main interest is revenue generation and not road safety!
Radars are not accurate to absolute limits, speedos are often set to be +10% in the factory to minimise overspeeds.
Indeed I know that my car speedo is more than +10%, so I use my sat navs speed indication to minimise my travel time. This is supposed to be +/- 3%.
With all these inaccuracies, who knows whether, or not, it is 1 mph?
If Andy Bangham wants this to be the amended law, then I would like him to state categorically, that he accepts total responsibility for any increase in accidents due to this change. We’ll see!
The One mile above limit is uutterly wrong and will cause more accidents and is dangerous as using a mobile phone or texting while driving because you have to be constantly looking at the speedo to monitor your speed
How can they, there is a margin for error built in to the present law to accommodate for any discrepancies with the speedometer on vehicles, my car may be doing 50 miles per hour, the car at the side of me, his speedometer may be reading 47mph, errrr, come on, just another money making racket.
Are the Police cars guided by the same rules. They will need to have their blues and twos on all of the time. They spend their time looking out for driver making mistakes so they cant watch their speed that much.
Ridiculous idea. General speed limits are too low and rarely take account of an upper, above 70, when circumstances permit as they generally do on a quiet Saturday or Sunday, going North on the M74 in Scotland, for example.
With the Lti 20.20 accuracy of plus or minus 1mph how can they enforce the 1mph over the limit
Completely ridiculous
Another money making scheme
There would be a lot more accidents.
I think holding it to 1 mph is OTT. I also think it could be challenged in court as speedometers even digital ones are not 100% accurate and there has to be an allowance for a margin of error and uncertainty of measurement. Do we go to the extent that all speedometers carry a valid calibration certificate?
I agree about trying to monitor an exact speed limit, as I’ve had to reduce the number of times I drive along the M6 to visit sick relatives because it’s just too tiring, plus there’s delays caused by accidents virtually every day.
The M6 roadworks are a very long section of 50mph average speed limit that’s been in place for nearly 3 years, with possibly another year to go.
This surely just another ‘milk the motorist’ exercise. So much easier easier to prosecute/persecute legal drivers than chasing villains. Also an easy way to massage the ‘crime’ reduction figures. How about dealing with the outbreak of cash machine ram-raids, knifings and street crime instead? Too risky I suppose.
Completely Ridiculous, until the speed limit is projected onto the windscreen glass as a standard, so you don’t have to take your eyes off the road, this is not safe, maybe just allowing a 10 per cent rule of error, through out every police force may help.
Eg 33mph in a 30, 44ph in a 40, 55mph in a 50 and 66mph in a 60 and 77 mph in a 70mph.
Have every force inforcing it, instead of 10 per cent plus 2 in one region and 10 per cent pkus 4 in another, then 10 per cent only in another, the police should be united in all the country, also with trucks increasing the limit to 50 on a roads, small van should have there speed limit raise to 60 on a roads, 70 on dual carriageways and 70 on Motorways, brakes and suspension have evolved, so should these old laws.
absolutely ridiculous. how can it be controlled? no speedometer is 100% aurate particularly as tyres and other components wear. not all brands of tyres have exactly the same diameter nor rolling radius therefore even a tyredesign or make change can make ones speedometer inacurate either way by more than 1mph, particularly at the higher speed limits. eg 70mph.
Just another way of getting people to hand over money for our poor money strapped government to pay bribes to people like the Irish to keep themselves in power. Admit it – this country is getting more like the old East Berlin and Russia used to be until they grew up. This country is going backwards and hates the less well off.
I guess that the revenue from these devices is falling, so desperate measures are being taken to try to boost takings.
And does these measures take into account at all inaccuracies and tolerances of the devices used? Thought not!
It is a bad idea but easy for the government etc to tick a box and say they have taken steps to make our roads safer, whilst also netting more money for them in the process!!!
The speed detectors are not calibrated to 1 MPH. Challenges will include was the target on the car vibrating? what effect does atmospheric pressure, humidity have? If the camera was tripod mounted on a bridge, was it vibrating? Water spray, other vehicles nearby can all affect. Doppler radar detects speed at a rate of 3Hz per MPH. very difficult to determine that in variable temperatures.
Greedy C@NTS!
M60 closed j6-12 for a week. No body on that stretch apart from sleeping workmen in their idling vehicles.
WTF is going on,
Easy money, and they don’t have to fight Terrorism to get it.
I don’t see how the police can fine you for being over 1 mph over the limit as car speedometers are not calibrated that accurately. The initial reason for the 10% leeway on the speed limit was for that reason.
How can they when car manufacturers cannot set the speedometer to the Exact MPH!
Then add the difference between the same car on 16”,17”,18” or 19” wheels that has to have an impact on the speed, I know it does on MPG
Is it Apri the First ?
The Police are stretched as it is this can Only ADD to the pressure for them and Yes there WILL. BE. MORE ACCIDENTS, of that you can be sure.
Not to mention the folk who would. End. Up being taken to Courts for Non Payments. Ect:-
Ridiculous! Can you imagine this happening in, say, Italy?!!
A thinly-disguised ploy to get mor and more revenue from fines!
I can’t see how they can enforce it as no car on the road has a Speedo accurate to within 1 mph. I thought that the leeway currently built in to convictions was to allow for Speedo inaccuracies and they haven’t miraculously got 100% accurate overnight.
It is a stupid idea, you would have to spend virtually all your time looking at the speedo rather than looking at the road ahead and behind for potential accidents.
Unbelievable!
Could it be considered as an illegal practice as I believe ( please correct me if I am wrong ) that most speedos are only accurate to +or – 10%
Ridiculous! You need some leeway due to road surface change and gradient change. We all know speed traps will be set on the downslope of a over the crest of a hill.
Will be really dangerous just think if a hgv driver has to keep on looking at his speedometer and remember he has 40 ton behind him,
Ridiculous. Detecting equipment surely isn’t that accurate and neither are speedos. Just another method of extracting cash from the cow.
Absolute police stupidity thank god they are not ruling the country.
Gerrard
Hi Adam
Once again they are using the motorists as a cash cow how the hell do these people end up in these jobs when they don’t even live in the real world the result will be as you rightly pointed out a massive increase in accidents and then they will blame the speed limits and try to make them even lower the jobsworths make my blood boil
The Proposal assumes that all speedometers are accurate to a fraction of a mph! Oh don’t know what the level of acceptable manufacturing error is but, in theory, I could be doing exactly 50mph by my dial and be prosecuted for doing 52.
Big brother mentality utterly out of control, nothing further would be required to completely alienate the average motorist from the police. Mr Plod would find they would be in the position of lest trusted and lowest regarded civil servant employed in the U.K. The fall out from this would be catastrophic for both police and politicians.
Just goes to show, its all about the money, 1 mph is going to have no impact on safety
Gov’t wastes so much money by their mismanagement. They have to recoup it by all means possible.Hence they defraud the inocent motorists & always put their greed for cash before any safety issues!
Speedometers are not calibrated so can vary by + or – 5 KMs per Hr.
31MPH in a 30 zone does not cause accidents!
The line on the speedometer is at least 2mph thick so how can they expect people to do this. It’s time we were allowed to drive as the road allows, within a band of speed. Nobody can drive properly and watch the road at the same time whilst reading the speedometer every few seconds it will only put accidents up in numbers. While they’re watching the motorist people are being mugged, stabbed and murdered on the pavements so why aren’t they doing something about that
I feel that it’s just another ‘don’t to extract more money from the sitting duck motorist, who thro existing exorbitant taxes is subsidising other nefarious govt. expenditure.
The police, I’m sure realise they are being used & any such scheme would be totally unworkable and unenforcable.
Only another revenue gathering exercise on a captive motoring public. How are they proposing to gather fines from EU drivers post Brexit. I hope that if the proposal becomes reality millions of motorists elect to go to court and fight on the premise that speedometer calibration is not an exact science and may vary from vehicle to vehicle. Mind you members of DriveProtect may never need to go to court……
Just another way to extract yet more money from the motorist nothing whatsoever to do with road safety no matter what excuse they can come up with!
You are so right, except you haven’t mentioned the white van drivers, lorries and coaches who think their speedomoters are more accurate than all cars and the numerous bumper huggers driven by those people who are determined to get wherever before anybody else! This proposed law will probably make them even less inclined to drive at a sensible distance from the vehicle in front.
If we’re not allowed to use our mobile phones because of the distraction whilst driving! Why are the government going to allow us to be constantly distracted by having to look at our speedometers?
This is nothing In my opinion,other than a money making idea dreamed up by cash strapped councils.
I was stuck behind someone doing 20mph in a 30mph road yesterday and I thought if you’re going to drive that slowly why don’t you walk? This will be the norm people will be scared of getting a speeding fine and for some drivers it could be a ban.
How are they going to prove that your speedo is exactly the same as theirs,also it’s so dangerous to keep looking down .we all know this isn’t anything about safety it’s a money making scheme.They make me sick and why are we like sheep just letting it happen?
Just a revenue ploy I imagine speeding fines are going down as we get smarter or simply slow down. Therefore revenu is needed and motorists are the target. Imagine a UK that targets real criminals the way it does motorists we would be the safest country on the planet
Government & police want put everyone in the sweet jail for money really sad & shame in future more Accidents for sure because what police & government doing not really Acceptable
I believe the current 10%+2 is used to compensate for inaccuracies in the speedo’s fitted to vehicles, so as police measuring equipment is accurately calibrated as a legal requirement motorists are once again used as cash cows.
Rubbish! Hope he exceeds the limit and gets fined
Tyre tread depth can alter speedo readings by more than 1mph The proposal is retarded nonsense.
could do with my car being fitted with a 30mph button that might save me a few quid
Totally poorly thought out! Or is it, This is just another money making scheme. If the vehicle speedometer was genuinely accurate then there might not be a problem, However under the vehicle construction and use act a speedometer has to be within +/- 10% accurate. .So are “they” going to repeal this act first!!!
DISAGREE I WONDER HOW THE FINES WILL BE PASSED OUT NOT TO UPGRADE THE HIGHWAYS THATS FOR SURE.
Just another nail in the coffin for the poor old motorist and more custom for the already over worked NHS service. More revenue for the armchair police as it’s cameras and monitors they will be watching.
All well and good but this will call into deep investigation the absolute accuracy of the equipment used. If vehicle speedometers are ” unreliable” or are ( as used to be the case) built to well within 10% of the posted limit, As we know the faster you go the greater the inaccuracy. eqiupment used must have the same “flex”. Zero tolerance is ok when EVERY item is similarly calibrated., but down to 1 mph ?? Most dial displays will not show the difference; and just how accurate are digital displays?? A moot point i suspect.
Having been involved with HGVs and PSVs vehicles since leaving school 56 years ago and used to look forward to going to work. Having driven all over Europe with HGVs AND PSVs all I can say is thank god I do not do it for a living anymore. As it has turned into a rat race and drivers being treated as big cash cows for councils and government. What happened the the 10% rule OK it was unwritten but most police adhered to it and it worked as you were not always looking at your speedos. We have went from 1 motorway with no speed limit to having them all over the country getting slower by the day. Soon have them back with the red flag in front.
I was fined for 32 in a 30 but welsh police only have speeding as a crime
The current limits are not sufficiently controlled. I am often passed by vehicles travelling at grossly excessive speeds, and there are not enough police on the roads to stop these and thus there is no deterrent. A stricter speed limit is surely just another form of taxation and targets the generally honest driver and is no deterrent to the morons on the roads now
Ridiculous and greedy.
Again, lt’s all about money and filling the coffers.
2.1million tickets = £210 million pounds.
If they make the limit plus 0mph it will probably treble. The UK motorist will pay off the national debt!!!
who said that the speedo is spot on, H G V can be up to 6k out depending on the tread depth
Another cynical attempt to levy money from an easy target! My speedo varies by about 3mph compared to talex/sat nav which is correct?Yet another reason for the average person NOT to cooperate with the police
great idea. it is the law. we know the law we need law it must be followed all the time.
if we dont then people will do first 1 then 1+1 then 1 +2…..
I know police forces across the country need more funding but I think it is really, really, really wrong to make competent drivers the only ones to pay for this shortfall and certainly not by such cheeky means as is proposed.
I also agree that this new proposal would cause a great number more accidents. They should instead be thinking about a way to make drivers concentrate more on the road !
And I don’t mean by stupid slogans like : ‘Read the road, see the hazards’ …etc.
Absolutely ridiculous. No car speedometer is accurate to such a degree and even a short downhill section of road can ruin ones speed control efforts.
Definitely a stupid idea except as you say it will lead to more lucrative stealth taxation on ALL drivers.
This is absolutely stupid, unfair, unethical , dangerous and as I see it can only be another example of making money from the motorist.
Even if speedometers were that accurate it is the thickness of the needle.Therefore people would not knowingly be breaking any speed limit but actually could be fined. Disgusting.
Speed limit should’be increased by 10 miles an hour in national speed limits and drivers allowed 10 percent above before fines are imposed.
constantly monitoring your speedometer, looking in your mirrors every 10sec and concentrating on keep the car in a straight line, keeping your distance, looking for and at road signs, traffic lights etc. etc. takes up an awful lot of your concentration and time when driving. As it says in the article 50% of your time would be taken up with all these things. I think it’s more like 75% but what could happen when you do all these things leaves a driver vulnerable to far more accidents. it’s a stupid idea. All speedometers are about 3-4mph faster than you’re actually doing so anyone reading 50mph give or take 3mph is not speeding. At 50 you’re doing 47 so you’re well inside the limit. So those drivers that know this will do 53 on their clocks and will be doing 50mph and someone who doesn’t know it will be doing 47. That is a recipe for an accident. There should be a petition against this stupid measure.
I dont see how a standard vehicle speedo could comply, manufacuring tolerance alone,new to old tyre diameter etc. But speed is being used as single factor excuse for collisions rather than the fact that driving standards are apallingly bad and getting worse especially with the techno fad of letting the vehicle itself, park, put the lights on and now even do the braking because the driver is too stupid to be behind the wheel. ACPO should be seeking to raise driving standards not lowering speed limits to the lowest common denominator, something they would see if they got their useless backsides out of their leather deskchair into an unmarked Police car seat for a few months but that doesnt put fine money in their back pocket.
This idea is so far fetched it doesn’t even deserve to be discussed.
We are paying an absolute fortune in Road fund licence and are being asked to reck our vehicles by driving on some of the worst maintained roads going.
Why is the motorist persecuted so much considering how much we contribute to the exchequer.
This is absolutely ridiculous. I suspect a cash cow mentality is involved. The French need to be emulated by the DoT. 70mph on motorways in wet, foggy and frosty weather with 80 mph in fine weather
How can any car speed instrument be that accurate. Ridiculous idea.
Just how hard up is Mr Bangham’s force? (I checked ; that really is his name) The answer to his insane suggestion is for every motorist so entrapped to have his or her day in court. In doing so to require the prosecuting authority – the police – to produce evidence as to the date of calibration of the equipment used and evidence from the manufacturer of the equipment’s tolerances. Nothing made by man is perfect : every device is inaccurate by even a small percentage. I suspect 1 mph is well within the tolerances of almost every Gatso and handheld or vehicle mounted radar gun. If that is demonstrated in court, eg 1% inaccuracy could mean the defendant was travelling BELOW the speed limit, the prosecution must fail. If nothing else the vast amount of paperwork and incalculable cost in time would overwhelm the dwindling police resources. The lunatic idea would soon be struck down. We, the driving public, would Banghim.
A policeman is no different to you or are, they are not above the law. If this was brought in, all police response vehicles have to have specially calibrated speedometer and recording equipment. If they are not on a shout, they too should be governed and adhere to the same road speeds.
Id like to see just how long such a law would stay on the books, as each and every police driver gets fined a good two or three times daily!!
WHEN ALL car speedometers are uniformly accurate & match the technology the police use, it MIGHT be reasonable to expect motorists to keep to the speed limit but the problem with many motorists is they do 10mph less than the speed limit so slowing up those of us on timed deliveries. This is all right if they stay in the nearside lane but they want to be in the middle or outside lane causing havoc for everybody else on the road. There seems to be no give or take on this idea & that is what life is all about. Compromise gives everybody something so 1mph over the speed limit is absolutely ridiculous.
The one thing I would ask – are the people bringing this legislation in absolutely perfect? NO. So why expect everybody else to be perfect.
Stay under the speed limit and you don’t have to constantly calculate the average speed. Really, it’s not rocket science
Already distracted looking for pot holes, don’t need any further ridiculous distractions.
Totally disagree with this proposal.
My speedometer over reads at 5mph at 70mph according to my Talex and has done since the car was new. When I complained I was told that nothing could be dine about it as all speedometer were only accurate to +0r- 5% across the range. So how many more of us are going to be cash cows with this ridiculous suggestion???
sick of comments re:watching your speedo this is already part of your driving ability surely. more of a concern is the accuracy of speedo’s in the first place, especially older/classic vehicles as the speedo is never needed to be checked ie. mot time etc. i feel this is totally un-enforceable.This was the reason a 10% leeway was put in place the last time this happened and nothing has changed since
Until Manufacturers can give us accurate to 0 mph then it is TOTALLY unfair!!!!.
My BMW (2015 model) reads 2 mph high which is ok but if any read low by just the 1MPH the occupant could be fined?? Ridiculous.
Keep up the good work Adam Colin
Pffftt! This is just another attack on the motorist! Why? Other than it’s easy revenue, but – – also, because it’s been suggested by an offshoot of the Police (Recently, there was a scandal about speeding fines creamed off & not going where they should?) but I digress, Speeding is the easiest way to validate the rise in solved crimes! Speeding is a classed (wrongly, I think) as a crime, as is rape murder, robbery etc, what I’m getting at, is if you have say – 30 cases in a week, 20 speeding cases Vs 10 assault/robbery cases, the speeding cases are near on guaranteed solved crimes, with no/hardly any work done by the Police. All the better for the “crimes solved” stat’s given to Gov’t & Public! Much like Unemployment is down! NOT if you’re on ZERO HOUR contract.
What next??? I ask myself.
Is their going to be a ban on listening to the radio, or music?
Is it likely that there will be a ban on talking whilst driving?
Are our vehicles going to be fitted with microphones !!!!!!!!!!!!
There is so much wrong with that blog post it’s almost laughable … but pitiable is more the word.
All this whingeing “war on the motorist” crap really is too stupid for words. What part of “stick to the rules, don’t get fined” are these people struggling with? The reason we have to have any laws is that there are idiots out there who think the rules don’t apply to them.
Some people need to grow up.
…here we go I suppose, bring on the trolls…
This is madness and very dangerous its again smacks of the ueseless liberal elite trying to bleed the motorist dry that pays millions in motor taxes to keep them employed it is the police elite who have lost control they need to reconsider this action as their previous decisions have cost money and lives
When speedos on cars are 100% accurate it may work.my car shows a differencd of4mph between speedo and gps.
Such restrictions should lessen the danger of pot hole impact. It is considered that driving too slowly is as dangerous as driving too fast. Why are there no under speed (Safety ?) cameras yet to demand even more money
I found this which makes the whole idea ridiculous…
How a car speedometer works
The Car Expert explains why your car speedometer may not be accurateSpeed is the measurement of distance over time. But a car speedometer doesn’t actually measure how fast you travel from Point A to Point B. Car speedos usually work by measuring rotation of the car’s driveshaft, axle or wheel. They then use some basic maths to extrapolate that rotation and determine how fast you are travelling. It’s a very similar concept to a bicycle speedometer.
However, if the diameter of the wheel/tyre alters, the extrapolation calculation will be incorrect. For example, the diameter will increase if you put new tyres on the car (more tread, which wears down over thousands of miles) or increase the tyre pressure. This means that, for each revolution of the wheel, the car is travelling further, meaning your speed is greater.
If the diameter decreases (eg – worn tyres, less air in the tyres, a different brand of tyre with slightly different dimensions, more load in the car weighing it down and compressing the tyres), then the car will be travelling a shorter distance for each revolution of the wheel, therefore you will be going slower.
Margin of error in a car speedometer
The differences in wheel diameter resulting from the above circumstances could be tiny (maybe a few millimetres), but at 30mph your car wheels are rotating 6-7 times every second, so it can quickly make a difference of a few miles per hour. This margin for error is taken into account in how the law is applied, and how manufacturers calibrate their car speedos.
What, if any, is the evidence that shows/suggests that enforcing the speed limits to within 1 mph of the displayed speed will improve road safety and/or traffic flows. in my opinion these two issues can be the only justification for such a harsh interpritation of the speed limit.
If on the other hand, this is simply a money making opportunity, then the penalty system for minor motoring offences should be overhauled at the same time. At present, not only is the penalty a fine but also points on your driving licence. whne you reach the magic number of points you then face a driving ban. That is entirely justifiable for major driving infringements but simply for driving at 1mph above the speed limit on four occasions is not justice in any way shape or form.
If they try to enforce this, the courts will be inundated with appeals due to the accuracy of speedometers not being 100%, also if this happened to me, I would want to know the last time the camera was calibrated and would like to see the official results of this and previous calibrations to see if any adjustments may have had to been made in the past (just to check reliability). I am all for safe driving and keeping to realistic speed limits, however I am sure that all speed limits are realistic.
@ David Barrett. You are a very silly person
I thought that the police’s job as to enforce/maintain laws passed by parliament not to make the laws, So if the law needs changing it is the Government’s job to do this not unelected public employees
What a load of crap. So I presume they will be doing away with the “speeding courses” which were designed for low limit breakers ie up to 5 mph over the limit. Save money on one thing by vastly increasing revenues with another. Anyway, it’s just not policeable off the main roads. Another stupid idea not thought through properly. Typical UK.
Relax guys! This has been tried many times before and will soon be quietly dropped, just like all the previous impractical and unenforceable “letter of the law” campaigns.
Ridiculous idea would cause more problems and confusion
My thinking is most speeding fines are taken by third partys private firms who will be profiting through this change its greed that is generating this change.
Downright hazardous. The proposal is irresponsible on the part of those considering this misguided proposal.
Some years ago my son and I were following a Panda car and his driving was appalling in addition to driving at between 35-40 mph in a 30 mph zone. So we emailed the Traffic Office in Poole about this.
The reply was that the speedo in a car is NOT a scientific instrument, so it cannot be trusted!
I rest my case!
My personal opinion is that it is dangerous propaganda to say that you are dangerous if you are breaking the speed limit and therefore safe if you are not. Conditions need to be taken into account, for instance, 29 mph in thick freezing fog in rush hour is not safe, even though the speed limit is not being broken and to say that driving along a clear dry empty road is dangerous if one is driving at 1 mph above the speed limit, is absolute rubbish.
Think of this mad proposal from the police perspective. The police know they are useless at solving real crimes, they know they are useless with preventing warfare on the streets, they know they are useless with keeping average law abiding citizens safe. So wacking motorists is a nice, cushy, don’t get your hands dirty way of justifying their existence.
Get the rest right first! Educate drivers to use the motorway properly the way it was designed. Follow the German approach if your in the the middle or offside lane and have no real reason to be there… on the spot fine! If we get drivers trained to use the motorways properly and correctly things would be a lot calmer, controlled and predictable. If so, like zgermany we could afford to raise the speed limit, there would be no need to widen roads get rid of refuge lanes and no need for bloody smart motorways! because we’d be releasing two thirds of the motorway network. Who’s with me.
Another cash cow to fill city hall’s coffers from us the easy targets the motorist
Easier money would be to target red light runners and those who do not use their blinkers
Just another cash cow to fill city hall’s coffers from us the motorist it stinks
1 MPH IS MORE THAT THE THICKNESS OF MY SPEEDO NEEDLE WHAT TOTAL AND UTTER RUBBISH.
I cant believe our most senior Police Officers are so utterly brainless as to believe +2 mph on any given speed limit is the cause of all incidents. If this is about safety surely they shold be pushing for vastly improving the Driving Test to remedy the appalling standard of driving ability these days. Or why dont they just show a modicum of honesty and admit its ALL about raising easy money for themselves and Insurance Companies who punish 2 years longer than the Endorsement period??
This prick was probably fast tracked (pun intended) to where he is now due to diversity and equality requirements. Does he drive? It is likely he is chauffeured every where so he hasn’t the real experience of the roads.
I have 48 years driving experience in cars and mostly motorcycles, 13 years of those as a motorcycle courier in London and I know that most problems and accidents are not due to speed but incompetent drivers who drive dangerously and without due care.
Dangerous/excessive speed is unacceptable and I see this all the time but what this idiot is calling for will cause riots and the destruction of speed cameras.
We do not need all these cameras, we need more policemen/women on the streets and in marked cars which would be a big deterent to all offenders.
A few mph over the limit is not a problem. Keep pedestrians where they belong….on the pavement ts and bring back the Green Cross Code.
Roads are for motor vehicles.
I agree with the majority of comments. Not all speedos are calibrated the same due to tolerances. I raised this at a garage regarding my speedo & was told the best way to see if it was accurate was to get a friend to drive on a fuel carriageway at the same speed to see if I lost to gained distance on them. That’s scientific for you.
Where I live I see a vast majority of red light jumpers. The number of bear missed I’ve seen when lights on green for my lane of traffic & cars are still coming through the junction. That’s more dangers than 1mph over the speed limit!
I drive an electric car that has an excellent cruise control and uses regenerative braking to keep to the speed set on downhill areas. Even with this brilliant piece of technology there has to be a designed in tolerance as the vehicle will change speed according to whether the road is climbing or descending from the flat. This means that it needs to register a change, usually of 1 or 2 mph, to then compensate by adding or reducing power. A driver not using such cruise control will have to monitor the speed and apply power of even braking if a steep enough descent is on the route. Both methods make it physically and electrically impossible to keep within 1 mph of a set speed limit. The only alternative is to drive / set the cruise control at a speed a few mph lower than the speed limit, which will cause chaos for following vehicles. All this of course depends on how the speed is measured in the vehicle compared to reality and how the speed cameras are set and to what standard? The idea is so full of issues it needs to be stopped at birth!
There must be something wrong with the system when the Police can find the manpower to administer this when we have had three robberies and they could not even find someone to visit us. Clearly the approach is skewed when it seems to be considered a worse crime to exceed the speed limit by 1 mph than it is to steal thousands of pounds worth of someone else’s property!
Didn’t everyone realise while we suffer the introduction of smart motorways that some***** would find a way to get the money back.
Invariably the speed limit on the 30 mph red/green warning lights on the side of the road do not correlate with my dashboard ! 1-3 mls discrepancy ! I would be well snookered if this came to pass ! Not knowing who or what to follow! 50 mph in 4th gear because in 5th the car coughs ! Disaster !! And I’ve only got a 1.4 ! Poor big cars!!
Reading your blog I would assume this applies to the “variable speed limits” that are applied, usually unnecessarily and purely for monetary gain, to motorways but I guess it would become acceptable for all roads.
It is very unfortunate that the companies who produce the so accurate detectors gladly supply the “enforcement agencies” with these despicable things and I suggest they and their employees (yes) should be completely ostracised by us “humans”. Accurate detection has now become so easy (due to the biased way the apparently limitless
police budgets are used – for financial gain) but accurate display in millions of vehicles is not. Just because you can doesn’t mean you have to.
As you say, the limit is the maximum and is not a compulsory figure so what I suggest (as it already seems to be in force) is for all of us to demonstrate, via our civil liberty (Ha, Ha, Haa), just how sick we feel about this harassment by driving (say) 20mph below limits (as they did in France – as mentioned once earlier) and perhaps making less effort to make way for cop cars on their “jollies”. Refer to the many TV programmes glorifying them whilst detection and conviction rates plummet.
I was on the M27 today and the vast majority of drivers stayed around 70 but there were quite a few who were at least 15 to 20 mph over the limit and these are the ones who should be caught. What use are all the gantry cameras if they cannot enforce the law ?
Having lived through WW2 the only thing missing is the zig zag symbol to apparently complete the perfect description that fits these top cops and all who follow this doctrine, which is “GESTAPO”.
speeding cameras are ultimatly going to cause more accidents I have been driving since 77 and never crashed killed maimed, but since I got a 47 mph in a 40 in the country I have had several near misses due to spending most of my time looking at my speedo and for speed signs and cameras its absolutly farcical. hell my father who is 78 and the origonal captain slow has just got his first speeding fine again the country which suddenly around a bend dropped from 60 down to 30 , he was leading a train of cars at 37 mph holding every one up. the irony is incredilbe as he told me plainly when I got my fine if you don`t speed you won`t get a ticket. Its undoubtably about raising money and no one will convince me other wise.
I’m horrified to hear it is already in use in Newcastle. ( Comment above). Your article makes very good points as to why this is dangerous and impractical.( At the top of comments I note David B. refutes your arguments completely without suggesting how we get round the valid points you’ve raised).
I think the Police are lost at the moment. Just today there is a claim that they are on the verge of crisis. Yet they still love to play this old tired game of focusing on speeding. Its just a pity they couldn’t focus more on the ridiculously bad driving we see. But that’s not easy to capture on a remote camera,is it. Bring back real policing. Saying that everybody who exceeds a speed limit every time they do it is committing the same crime is an absolute arbitrary nonsense.