Not speeding anymore

[pogo]

Hello all,

how is it going in UK with the cops?Here in Swizerland it is almost crazy,recently they buy new "laser binoculars"so they can catch you from very far,on front,rear and even side!!! and they stand especially where you dont expect them,middle of nowhere,pass,highway,citys...if you come over here,be werry carefull,it s gonna to be verry expensive,even for a small exess.I usually drive nice and slow,but Iam getting tired to see cops traying to make money whith the bikers,arguing it is for safety!every body can be cought,as we all do mistakes,but here they dont forget you anymore...I heard in France it is pretty similar,what's on your side ?


See you on the road,Pogo

 

[J-P]

About France, that`s bollocks. We`ve been riding through France several times and I found that they are most likely to be lasering just outside villages. I`ve been stopped by a french policeman on bike once after speeding over 60 km/h on a route nationale near Barcelonette. It turned out he was curious how I was able to do that on a PanEuropean in the twisties. I speak french rather well, I think that saved my butt a bit. I wasn`t even fined.

Corsica, a part of France, only has police officers riding around in landrovers and you don`t see them a lot. They`re easily overtaken

 

[birdseye]

Not so bad here in the UK. Ther are a fair number of fixed gatso type radar traps, but all are painted bright yellow, their locations are known, and its your own fault if you get done by one. The mobiles radar / lasers are a bit more difficult but most of these are targetted at cars and take photos from the front where there is no numberplate on a bike. And they only work during the day usually.

I dont stick to the speed limits and have (touch wood) a clean license.

Mind you there are more than a million vehicles on our roads that arent licensed , insured tested etc. Many arent registered to the correct owner so they are immune to speed checks.

So we have a fair number of traps but they are run with the typical efficiency of public bodies here in the UK. Keep your eyes open and you should be OK.

 

[Yorkie]

Watch out Birdseye !

I thought the same as you until last weekend - I thought that to get done meant that you had been unobservant - failed to spot a Gatso or a Subaru acting strangely behing you. But then I got done at 86 in a 60 (actually a three lane road) - the bar-steward was in a parallel road half a mile away with a Laser gun. He kindly exercised his discretion and said he would only issue a fixed penalty rather than make me go to court - the reason for his largesse was that he did recognise that there were no other vehicles on the road !!! I thought that I was driving safely - but I still get a fine and three points.

I used to respect the police up here but I am really pissed off about this.

 

[motozen]

This is more about revenue collection than about "road safety". It's the same situation over here in North America, where people on the motorways pass you on the left and the right, or go too slow, or drive in the passing lane right at the speed limit and block everyone else.. but the cops are only interested in catching speeders, not bad drivers. At least in the US, you are allowed some electronic counter measures. In Canada, they are illegal. I find someone speeding and I follow about 8 seconds behind him. If there's a cop, he gets nailed and I don't. It seems to work pretty well for me.

 

[GSdude]

Watch out for those night time checks as well....here in the flatlands of South Yorkshire we have ourselves 'infra red' capability - which means basically that they plot up behind a hedge (or whatever) and do you in complete darknes a the 'black light' is able to read your plate as clear as day. And one other thing -your number plate does not have to be caught on camera - if the officer clocks you speeding with the machine and fails to record your number on tape, he can always write it on a piece of paper and produce it as documentary evidence (and it WILL be accepted by the maigstrates......) !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[kdude]

You guys too ? The latest game the police are playing in Montreal is using those instant on radar guns ! Each day they stand on different intersections and are picking up both bikes and cars and issuing big tickets with lots of points.... ITS A MONEY GRAB!

 

[BBB61]

Watch out Birdseye !

I thought the same as you until last weekend - I thought that to get done meant that you had been unobservant - failed to spot a Gatso or a Subaru acting strangely behing you. But then I got done at 86 in a 60 (actually a three lane road) - the bar-steward was in a parallel road half a mile away with a Laser gun. He kindly exercised his discretion and said he would only issue a fixed penalty rather than make me go to court - the reason for his largesse was that he did recognise that there were no other vehicles on the road !!! I thought that I was driving safely - but I still get a fine and three points.

I used to respect the police up here but I am really pissed off about this.

So, you got clocked at 86 in a 60, 26 mph over the limit, and now, because you broke the speed limit by almost 50%, you don't respect the police?

Bob

 

[Yorkie]

"So, you got clocked at 86 in a 60, 26 mph over the limit, and now, because you broke the speed limit by almost 50%, you don't respect the police?"

Yes that is right. I would have no argument with being done for going through a Gatso or failing to spot a car behind me. But in this case, there were no other vehicles on a three lane road miles from any habitation. There was no danger in the situation at all - so it is just a technical offence. I would expect a warning as I have previously felt that the police were allowed to take all of the factors into account - but now I feel that this is simply revenue generation. I assume the policeman is working to a target that he has been given for a suitable number of tickets to issue in a day - and I think that is bad for the relationship between the police and the community.