Safe Speed Forums

Hello everyone, first post! I need some advice, or atleast some information on whats going to happen to me next!

Ive been flashed doing approx 47 mph on a single carriageway on a 60 mph road. As I was driving an HGV, I know I should have only been doing 40 but it was 2.30AM and its a good open clear road (A50 STOKE/CHESHIRE) and my speed had crept up a little. I saw the camera site but didnt slow down as being a 60mph road I thought I would be ok and that cameras cant tell the difference between a lorry and a car, WRONG!

I havent got a NIP though yet, but what kind of treatment can I expect? The truck was hired, so any NIP would go to the truck hire company, then they would have to forward it to our companies head office, who woud then forward it to my boss, who would then give it to me. It could take weeks and weeks before I finally get it, by which time the they police gatso people could be getting very agitated.

I already have 6 points on my licence and they are due to come off in a few months. I was looking forward to a nice clean licence so im really gutted I could have another 3 points to come. 9 points may even mean I lose my job as a HGV driver. Ive just bought a house and im getting married later this year. Only myself to blame of course, but im still gutted!

Gatsos can tell the difference between PLGs and HGVs based on the amount of radar signal returned (it’s not a perfect science, regardless - you’ve been framed).


£60 and 3 points, so long as you accept the conditional offer.

It could even take a several months before you get the letter (though that’s unlikely). The Gatstapo people won’t get agitated because it’s normal procedure.


In terms of obeying the law – yes; however, the applied policy could be needlessly unfair.


You might get lucky, the camera could well have been out of film, time will tell!

It would be great for the camera to be out of film, its a fast road so theres a good chance they catch alot of people there. I thought though that gatsos now used digital technology and didnt use any film?

Ive also been told that if you get "flashed" theres only a 1 in 4 chance of actually recieving a NIP due to no film or sheer weight of NIPs to be processed at the time. How true is this?

IIRC, there could be an issue with the camera being used in a discriminating mode (i.e. set to trigger at different speeds for different classes of vehicle). A couple of years ago, I saw a claim that no automatic speed enforcement device was approved for use in a discriminating mode. If this is the case, any evidence from the camera should be inadmissible (including zaps of cars) and the pratnership should have no case. Also, at the least I suspect that it should be calibrated for all the speed limits it is to enforce (so, 40 50 and 60 in this case)

However, I'm working on flaky memory and assumptions here. Does anyone have the gen on this?

In the meantime, I'd suggest you get over to www.pepipoo.com and ask the legal experts there.

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Will

If the camera looks like this:

Then it's the bog standard film camera.


The figure is probably correct, the reason is more likely due to the camera running out of (or not having any) film

If the chain is as long as you claim i.e hire co then employer, then you I would suggets that you have a reasonable chance of a time out if you keep your wits about you.

and the hired truck might even be owned by a lease company...

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Speed limit sign radio interview. TV Snap Unhappy
“It has never been the rule in this country – I hope it never will be - that suspected criminal offences must automatically be the subject of prosecution” He added that there should be a prosecution: “wherever it appears that the offence or the circumstances of its commission is or are of such a character that a prosecution in respect thereof is required in the public interest”
This approach has been endorsed by Attorney General ever since 1951. CPS Code

Thats the little blighter bless it. I went past it a couple of times today. I had fantasies of reversing over it and destroying it, but I guess its there to serve a purpose and road safety is very important.

Maybe I should get a job driving a lorry with a mecanical grab on the back. No problems with being flashed and scrap metal is at £60 a ton!

I had a word with my boss about it today (well yesterday now) and he laughed and said thed only ever had about 4 tickets come though as with the lease and hire trucks the NIP just gets lost in the system.

With a bit of luck nothing will come of it, although I do have a bad feeling about this particular "flashing". This is an excellent forum though. Im really glad I found it! Lots of people in the same boat as me!

As a word of warning , to HGV peeps - Warks also indukge in this bit of nastyness - witness the camera at the REDGATE (A5/A444)getting hot and bothered twice in the past two years.

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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

As a word of warning , to HGV peeps - Warks also indukge in this bit of nastyness - witness the camera at the REDGATE (A5/A444)getting hot and bothered twice in the past two years.

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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

My understanding is that there are metal plates in the road which test the weight.

However I could be wrong.

The NIP has arrived at my employers today and has been sent off naming me as the driver.

Im a bit worried. I have 6 points on my licence that are due to come off in about 5 months time, 9 points on an HGV licence could mean a ban.

aarrrgh!

Bummer

I think your preferred option is to plead not guilty and accept to go to court, then perhaps you could employ delaying tactics thereby hopefully putting back the date of your eventual conviction by just enough for your other points to clear. If not then you could beg the mags for leniency (loss of HGV job - if true)

You really need to take advice from the guys at PePiPoo

Damn, they had a month to return that, do they pay their bills as fast?

When you get yours use all the time they give you.

I know, I told the boss he had 28 days to return the NIP and it would help me as I could work out a course of action. "not our policy im afraid" was the answer.

Next time he asks me to do some extra work, or do something as a favour to him ill tell him "its not my policy".

Have recieved the NIP in my name, its taken about a month to get to me so I guess thats bought me a little time. Ive been to Pepipoo and it seems the best course of action seems to be a PACE letter although my thread seems to have gone dead in the last week or so. I notice that many PACErs are being summonsed for speeding AND S172 failure to furnish driver details and are being convicted! Scary stuff, seems they are bending the rules a little.

hi luckytim
i was pinged in jan..wont say where i went the pepipoo route with pace ..got the conditional offer etc, in feb. sent back etc and up till now have heard nothing what so ever ......
i was and am prepared to go to court to defend this... but as i said i took the advice of my peers on the site .....

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Audere Est Facere.....To Dare Is To Do

Ok boys and girls,

Thanks for the advice and support. I have snet back the NIP with a PACE letter with 3 days to spare which they have now recieved. A day before the 28 days ran out I recieved a reminder giving me another 7 days to repond. Thats 7 days I could have used to bring me closer to a time out but nevermind!

Anyway, ill post more info when I recieve a reply from the lovely scamera people. Any more news on PACE????? I dont seem to beable to find out much "new" info on pepipoo.

Not really, No. The offence of failing to provide information is complete at the end of 28days from the original notification.

If you give them a hard time with the PACE witness statement or any other tactical reply, they could switch tactics and enforce the letter of S172.

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Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

I have receievd a COFP dated 4/12/06, I have 28 days to reply. It looks like a standard letter they send out and they make no mention at all of the PACE letter I sent them. What should I do? Ignore it? What will be the result if I go to court and they use the PACE letter as evidence?