did they catch me speeding

[hufc]

i know i've done wrong i was travelling to the beach on 01/07/06 the motorway was empty due to england game so when i hit the motorway i thought i'd try the speed of my new ford mondeo 1.8 16 valve car. i reached 135mph thought nothing of it slowed back down to speed limit now am crapping my pants cuz i've had my licence for less than 2 years and i've been told i face an instant ban and my licence taken off me and maybe imprisonment please tell me the longest i must wait to see if i face punishment or know weather i got off the hook i deeply regret my actions thanx for any help you may be able to provide

[homer75]

Think it's 14 days for NIP Notice of Intended Prosecution but I doubt if you are in bother as you only took it up to speed and then dropped down again. Some time ago a policeman was clocked at a ridiculous speed 160 + in a high powered Vauhall and told the court that he was 'familiarising himself with the capabilities of the vehicle'. He wasn't prosecuted - you could say the same in the unlikely event of your being logged by camera. You will get the usual bleating about the dangers of speed ( yawn ) and that you should be hung drawn and quartered etc .. etc .. on here but maybe this worry will be a good lesson for you to behave yourself. Get yourself a good GSP camera detector if you intend to make a habit of driving over the prescribed limit.

[Ethel]

You are referring to the case of PC Mark Hilton who is facing a re-trial for that speeding offence. It is unlikely he will be acquitted.

And it certainly would not wash with Joe Public (or hufc) who is neither a highly trained police driver nor required to engage in high speed pursuits of dangerous criminals.

Anyway, hufc, if you do not receive your NIP within 14 days you will have got away with it. If you are summonsed you will almost certainly be banned.

[Grunty]

Ethel is nearly right. The NIP has to be sent within 14 days, but not necessarily received. A glance at the Royal Mail website will show how many millions of letters they lose. You are not really safe until 6 months after the offence.

[Sphinx_Svens]

If you get any of the above penalties then it serves you right ... ******* maniac ... pity you didn't crash and burn before you kill someone

[Sphinx_Svens]

thats f'cki'g maniac

[baileys]

your gonna get a ban .period.start saving for your new insurance premium.as for imprisonment,hardly likely

[baileys]

i think Sphinx-Svens should get the three star rating

[Catso]

On a quiet motorway, what does a brief 'burn' matter?!

This seems like a case of geographical discrimination, and I think (if anything happens, which I doubt) you should take it to the european court.

[JudgeJ]

As Grunty says, you cannot breathe easily until six months have elapsed.

By any standards, even though your estimated speed may be a little over that which you were actually doing (I think the manufacturers claim 127mph for a 1.8 Mondeo) it is still excessive.

For the offence of speeding, in addition to being fined, the magistrates have two options. They can either disqualify you or award penalty points � they cannot do both. If it is shown that you were travelling at anything like the speed you quote (and even if it was 120 instead of 135 this will not make much difference) you will almost certainly be disqualified, probably for around three months. When you receive your licence back from the DVLA it will still be a �full� licence. It will have no penalty points on it but it will show the endorsement and disqualification details.

If the magistrates award points instead, the minimum is three, but you will almost certainly attract more, again because of the excessive speed. If you accumulate six points within two years of passing your test, your driving licence is automatically revoked by the DVLA. This dopes not mean you are disqualified but you will have to apply for a new provisional licence. You will be treated as if you had never held a licence previously and you will need to pass your test again.

You cannot be imprisoned for speeding no matter what the speed or how many times you commit the offence. As for catso�s suggestion that you should take the matter to the European Court, the idea is fatuous to say the least.

[ugly_bob]

I wouldn't worry too much hufc. There's not many cameras on motorways. Depends where you were really. As long as it wasn't through roadworks with those ******* average speed cameras.
If you do, by a stroke of bad luck, get caught, then as JudgeJ says, you're licence is likely to go bye-bye, either for a ban, or having to go through the test all over again. I think that's the case for going 30mph over the limit anywhere.
I do a lot of motorway driving, and have never got caught speeding *touch wood* and I don't often stick to 70 on a clear road.

[Catso]

Not so fatuous.

If he'd done it in Germany, it would have been legal, wouldn't it? (Well on some bits of autobahn, anyway) So he (may) be taken court merely because he committed the offence in the UK. A blatent case of geograpical discrimination, m'lud.

There's stupider things go to the european courts, IMHO.

[ugly_bob]

Casto - certainly stupider things, agree with you're reasoning of geographical discrimination. Although govt could use excuse of different road condition. ie German roads are quite good. Ours are sh*t and unsafe to be doing that speed, hence the speed limit.

[JudgeJ]

You could also argue that it is geographical discrimination to permit driving at 70 mph on the M6, but not to allow driving at the same speed along Tottenham High Road. However, I don�t think I�d care to give it a run and I stand my description of such an argument as fatuous.

[Sphinx_Svens]

DUH.... it's a thing called a SPEED LIMIT ...why do you think they exist?

[ugly_bob]

well, actually, the 70mph limit is a throw back to preserve fuel.

[Catso]

Just because geographical discrimination isn't a trendy thing yet... It might be one day

True, ugly_bob, and even aside from saving fuel, it was set decades ago and cars are now much safer things. Why don't speed limits increase in line with car safety features? (That 'it's 30 for a reason' advert really annoys me because of that.)

JudgeJ, I was comparing like with like: a motorway and an autobahn. Germany does have urban speed limits, I presume. (In fact, as they round in kmph, they're actually a bit lower than ours, aren't they?)

[Impret-Sir]

Without getting into the rights and wrongs of what you did, I just wanted to corect JudgeJ on one point, you certainly can be imprisoned for speeding, I dont have the details any more but I remeber reading not that long ago about a guy who got, (I think) a month inside for doing somthing like 150mph, admittedly on a bike but that shouldnt make any difference, on a UK motorway.

[qapmoc]

ugly-bob, it won't be a throwback for much longer if you check out the situation on ''peak oil'' you might find that you will all be forced to conserve fuel just by the price and availability.

[ugly_bob]

hmm, good point. It's already getting a bit like that

[JudgeJ]

No, Impret-Sir, you CANNOT be jailed for speeding under ANY circumstances. The maximum penalty (in addition to penalty points or a disqualification) is a fine of �1,000 (or �2,500 if on a motorway) or a Community Rehabilitation or Curfew order. This latter option would only be used in very exceptional circumstances. Imprisonment is not an option open to magistrates.

The individual to whom you refer may have been charged with a more serious offence such as Dangerous Driving which is one of the very few motoring offences which can carry a prison sentence. However, it has been ruled that excess speed by itself (however high) cannot support a charge of dangerous driving. Some other elements of danger have also to exist.