38mph in a 30mph zone
Seems strict to me. but I'm not British.
She already had nine points on her licence, so she's a repeat offender, hence the book getting thrown at her.
Conversely, this happened in Oxford, which is well known for being strict on drivers. She might have got away with it elsewhere.
How so? Its very clearly over the limit, its not like you can accidentally go around 30% over the limit. Plus don't cars usually over report their speed slightly?
The only surprise is that she was caught, so she probably does this all the time and this was just the time she was finally caught doing it.
it's not like you can accidentally go around 30% over the limit
When that 30% is 8mph, yes you can
Look at a speedometer. You see where 30 is? Now see where 40 is. Do you notice that the line for 40 is past the line for 30? If the needle is past the line for 30 you are diving too fast. There is no way you can do it unless you are not paying attention to your speed.
I was once pulled over for doing 50 in a 30 and I was just coasting down a long hill. I've also been pulled over for doing 35 in a 25mph zone (a classic Texas small town speed trap where the posted speed went from 65 to 55 to 25 in a very short distance with a cop posted at the 25 sign. You had to be on the brakes to make it.) Some cars are quite quick, foot on the gas pedal a moment too long and you've blown through 8mph. Some people spend more time with their eyes outside the car than on the dash. Hell a lot of you drive around with highbeams on and there's an indicator light for that too.
But also, "Watson already had nine points on her licence before the speeding incident occurred, the court heard."
Yes, a lot of people are bad at driving
I was once pulled over for doing 50 in a 30 and I was just coasting down a long hill.
I'm sorry your defence is that the gravity was doing the work not the engine and therefore the speed doesn't count? You realise that's not how it works
Did I say it doesn't count? The cop didn't issue me a ticket so he didn't think so.
I'd be open to this argument for something like 3 mph or 4 mph, maybe even five. But eight? If you're so bad at keeping track of your speed you can't tell the difference between zero and eight something is seriously wrong.
You can go from a 40mph zone to a 30mph on the same stretch of road. But there are signs well in advance to indicate the speed change. It's quite common for the rozzers to be 'sat' waiting in these spots to catch those that don't slow down in time.
It's common to get caught. It's less common to get gmcaight lots of times. Particularly for someone who doesn't drive a lot. Like wealthy people with drivers. She should sloelw down. Matthew Broderick too
There's a road going out of Southampton that's 40, and has a camera about 6m before the point where it becomes 50. The 50 signs seem more prominent than the camera. I've always thought that was a bit cunty.
There's a road near me where because of idiots messing around with the road over the years they've ended up with a situation where the speed limit goes from 30 to 50 and yes they also have a camera just before the 50 sign but in fairness to the council I think it's just a leftover from before the roads got messed around with.
It used to be a 40 to a 50, but then they decided to build some housing on the stretch of road that was 40 and decrease the speed limit to 30.
The amount you are allowed to drive over the speed limit is in fact 0mph (0 km/h for us Europeans).
Tolerance of violations of this is a sign of a deeply broken society
This is different in Germany but we learn about tolerance in driving school. Your speedometer can be wrong by about 10% and speed guns can also have errors. A good system accounts for unintentional speeding.
Speedometers are not allowed to display a lower speed than the vehicle is running at all under EU regulation - see https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX%3A42004X0331%2801%29&qid=1752829119241 § 5.3
Displaying a speed slightly higher than actual speed is common and an acceptable margin of safety, such that if you are driving at the speed that the speedometer shows, you are more or less guaranteed to not exceed the speed limit.
In the UK you're allowed 10% (and I think +2mph) due to car speedo's not being 100% accurate.
It is. A lot of councils set limits arbitrarily low to frustrate drivers. It makes for easy pickings if you set up a speed camera or frequent the area with mobile speed traps.
Normally speed checks take into account that the car's speedometer and the speed camera are off by a bit, always in favour of the driver. So whilst the violation might be 38 in 30, the actual speed was likely a little bit higher (eg 40-45).
61km/h instead of 48km/h. You’re welcome.
38 in a 30.
You're welcome.
There’s a road near my house that has sections at 30mph, 40, and 50. Most folks drive 45 on all three.
Interesting the cultural difference here. People arguing in favor of, or at least the reasonableness of, the law and its application. Americans regularly speed, 20+ mph over the limit is not uncommon. People would lose their shit over a driving ban in the US, and probably keep driving anyway. DUI repeat offenders and suspended license drivers are pretty common.
and probably keep driving anyway
In much of the US, the alternative is lose your job and become homeless, so.
I had my license suspended for 90 days - due to a paperwork error when I was in college. I just had hope I didnt get pulled over at that time because I had no choice but to drive for school and work.
Higher incentive to not speed, then
Passing by a sign that lowers the speed limit without noticing it means you deserve to be homeless?
Repeat offenders and unlicensed drivers happen here as well. But the use of cameras makes it much harder then the past.
But having lived in the US. Most of it has so little public transport not driving is impossible. Here it is doable in all but the most remote areas. Just crap compared to the 80s and before. It is still way better the most cities in the US.
I wish we had better transit here. I hate driving but, as you said, have to because there's no better solutions.
Are pets allowed on public transit in the UK/Europe?
Sure.
That's nice! Here the transit rules say only in a carrier which doesn't work with two 60lb. dogs. Even if the rules changed tomorrow the other riders would be mad if you did.
The US doesn't just have terrible public transit but there's also terrible culture around the public transit we do have.
if u got no responsibilities, just leave for australia or UK, you will adapt super quick and work-life-balance and public transport is so much better there
UK yes. As long as controlled.
"She is in a position to pay the fine."
No shit!
Who cares
minor gossip.
not really interesting, but still content.
Thames valley police hate the car. I’ve been done a couple of times that way. 33 in a 30 for me last time, Really strict.
Millionaire ($85m) problems. Girl can pay for uber
I think the point is that she can but she's still arrogant and entitled enough to speed and get caught... and then speed and get caught again.
And again, and again. 1st time is 3 points or speed awareness course (why would anyone not do it), then assuming she didn't accrue points in a different way (bald tyres etc) it's 3 points for each subsequent speeding offense and you need 12 points for a 6 month ban. That's 5 times caught speeding in 3 years.
So she's been caught speeding and got caught again, and again, and again, and again!
Or caught on the phone while driving (6 points) and then speeding a few times as well. A few combinations but either way you only get banned from driving if you really deserve it.
I always thought she moved things along too fast
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