RDQ 2/6/22 Speeding tickets.

Only the one about 3 years ago, local dual carriageway, I know there is a mobile camera down there occasionally, I saw it in it's usual layby on the opposite side of the road, I assumed that they didn't cover both sides, I was wrong!!

From memory I was clocked at 60 something in a 50, in a Megane Sports Tourer 1.3T.

3 points and a £100 fine, no option of a course was given, I guess it was out of the parameters,  however given it was my first ever, perhaps an education refresh would have been the better option! 

September 2009 in my 306. A long wide open road thats a 40 limit. I overtook a van, full 3rd gear overtake but there was a scamera van parked and it was too late to do slow to 40. I got caught at 51, but was lucky as I was doing much more than that. 3 points and a £60 fine i think it was. If I was in my current car I would've probably been banned.

Time was I had 9 points, 6 of them for speeding. That was before any speed awareness courses. The other 3 were for riding over a double white centre line. They’ve all long gone and I thank my stars the first ever ticket I received was for riding round a bollard on Victoria Street and got a fine-only ticket otherwise that double white line one would’ve been a ban.

My most recent 3 are for passing a red light in London traffic, that being a second offence TS20. Nearly run their course and are the only UK camera fines. Never been done by a speed camera in the UK.

Overseas I’ve averaged one per two years in the last decade but they’re just fines issued by cameras.

Once, in the last millenium, in the Scenic. Accelerated to join traffic on a roundabout, checked sped as I came off the roundabout and saw I was doing an indicated 40 in a 30 area (to keep up with the traffic) so slowed down. But there was a camera in the middle of the roundabout, alas in the few yards I exceeded the limit I was caught.... this was during the Christmas break (must have been Dec 1998) and when I returned to work in the New Year my colleague said his mate got done by the same camera twice in the same day, once on his motorbike on his way to work and once in his works van returning at the end of the working day.

The timestamp on the notice seemed wrong to me and by checking, I found that I had a till receipt from a shop several miles away at the time of the alleged offence. Apparently even though the speed has to be accurate, the time of when the offence was committed doesn't - so I was advised on the legal hotline my insurers at the time provided. They said best to accept it even though it's wrong rather than face the time and cost of going to court to prove I was right.

Yeah, been done a few times, the last was Jan 2018 on the A1, clocked at 78 mph. Also had a 84 mph in a 60 on the A697 at Greenlaw ( delighted with that as I had been touching 120 mph just prior). Then the usual smattering of 30 mph limit offences.

I’m not sure if the Swiss authorities exchange vehicle details with other countries. My sister-in-law lives in Switzerland and her husband has always said it doesn’t matter if they get flashed in Italy in their Swiss-registered car as the fines don’t arrive. Perhaps different for rental cars but I guess you wait and find out.

I’ve had 3 in total, 2 from a scamera and 1 from a policeman and a gun, which was both lucky and annoying. Lucky because I was only 2mph under going to court and annoying because the car behind me, which made me decide to go faster, didn’t get pulled over. It was quite a big operation, multiple police cars at the ready and space to book 6 cars at a time, but the guy was very friendly and was chatting away as he wrote out the ticket, telling me about the fastest speeds that day and a commentary on what speeds people were getting caught and whether they’d being going to court or not.

Two of them were in 60 zones and the last was a 70.

I’ve been pulled over in France for speeding on the Autoroute, 185kmh apparently.  I had loads of time and was pottering along on the cruise control at 120kmh, they got quite aggressive when I pointed that out.  Wanted cash there and then or it would be a visit to the station.  I asked for and got a receipt, but when I’d calmed down and looked at it properly (after they’d left), it didn’t have any contact details or useful information on it.

None yet although plenty of near misses over the years.

I remember going through a stage in the 90s of being held up by folk on the motorway and then just as I was about to resume an optimistic speed spotting a patrol car under a bridge or on a sliproad.

The most recent was not long after I moved house and getting pulled by a real person for doing 26 in what I thought was a 30 entering the nearby town. Turns out the first few hundred yards are a 20 and plod was responding to residents complaints of people ignoring it. He clearly wasn't enthusiastic about it and we had a laugh.
I was annoyed a few hours later to follow a resident who happily did more than 30 through that bit before pulling off onto their driveway

Mrs Tim got done by a scameravan on the Kingsway in Dundee while following me!

To answer the original question, as of this morning (one never knows), I've received two and they were both on the spot jobs in Europe having gone through a camera trap. Once in France in 1998 and once in Belgium in 2004. Both times for exceeding the motorway speed limit and pulled over by a motorbike cop.

Fortunately of the four times I've been caught, only one was by a camera and by being polite and apologising, combined with officers who were older and more reasonable type, I 'got away' with the three personal stops.

The camera was about 8 or 9 years ago, 88 on a dual carriageway - ironically the only time I sped on the 200 mile journey I'd pretty much completed - traffic had been so heavy and I was relieved to see an opportunity to get going for the last 40 miles home and got caught with a man with a camera just after leaving the crowd behind. I tried asking for all the certificates for the operator and the equipment as a friend 'in the trade' said they don't have the capacity to follow up all such requests, but with mine they did. 3 points, £80 fine and no insurance increase on my own insurance but a massive increase to keep me as a named driver on my daughter's insurance but as I was only really on it from when she was learning, she just removed me.

I should probably tell the story of the two times I got stopped. Not sure if I've spoken of them before here, but they were interesting tales of foolishness in any case.

1) The first time was I think almost ten years ago now. I was driving a Ford Fiesta (not sure if it was the ST) down a narrow country road, about one lane in each direction. It was late at night, around midnight or so. Young and foolish me decided I had no patience for slower traffic, and so I first overtook a silver Mercedes E-Class at I think almost twice the speed limit, who expressed his displeasure by flashing his lights.

I then came up against a dark-coloured car, and I decided that since I was already overtaking the Merc, I might as well overtake this guy too. Big mistake, for it turned out that it was a copper. Pretty much the instant I passed the dark car, I saw flashing lights in the rear view mirror. Oopsie.

I pulled up a short distance ahead and awaited the bollocking I was going to recieve. Said policeman asked me what the hell was I doing. I was honestly at a loss and in a bit of a shock, but I apologised profusely and attempted to explain what I did for a living. Not that it helped.

The copper was seemingly about to let me go, when said previous Merc then pulled up, and the annoyed driver wound down the window and essentially complained to the copper about what I did earlier.

The policeman looked at me sternly and said, "Look what you've done." By this time I was thinking I was probably gonna get sent to be locked up for the night. He then asked me to call my boss for an explanation, but thankfully (I think) for me at that time my boss was abroad and thus uncontactable.

The policeman then said, "I'm gonna let you off with a warning. Get out of here and don't let me see you again." I had never felt so relieved in my life.

2) The second was about five or so years ago I think. I was driving the Mercedes AMG-GT, and as with such cars they can accelerate to law-breaking speeds in an instant. I was on a fast-flowing highway, relatively empty and in the bright daylight when I decided to give it a bit of speed.

Almost immediately I saw the police bike at the side of the road, and I thought "Oh shit, I'm done for". Within seconds the copper rode alongside and beckoned me to pull over.

I was again ready to express remorse, but before I could speak, the policeman showed me the radar gun, and said I was doing 119 in a 70 zone. He asked for my licence, and then said to wait for their letter in the mail, and that was that.

I later discovered that I got away by the skin of my teeth. Because over here, if you're 50 over the limit, that's an automatic court appearance and potentially a driving ban. 119 in a 70 zone meant I escaped a court appearance by 1km/h. My punishment was a $500 fine, 12 points and a speed awareness course.

I realise I was exceedingly lucky both times, but man do I not want to repeat those experiences again.

Interesting point to ponder because I have no knowledge really of what other countries do to manage speed but are we the only ones with a points system that leads to a ban? I know in the states they write a ticket for speeding and all sorts of other infractions but presume they don't have points. Likewise the comments from those on here caught in Europe suggest the same. That then begs the question: is the law too harsh in the UK? Or is it too lenient in Europe where a €25 fine with no points poses little jeopardy to those choosing to drive at dangerous speeds?

Talked to a coworker who said because I’m on an Irish licence in France in a Swiss car, I might get away with it as others have.
Talked with the guy at enterprise and he said it will probably be a fine (€90) and processing fee (25-68 CHF) if they get it.

Should have used my California licence…

But I presume if you get caught they don't put points on your UK license?