Right, so i'll cut a long story short.

Was driving a friend home this afternoon, going along a fairly quiet road in which the speed limit was 30mph. I know this road very well and is quite plainly, straight, with set back house one side and open fields the other.

So i was doing around 40mph along this road, when from behind a silver astra pops out PC Plod with his radar/laser gun pointing at my car. By the time i had realised he was taking my speed, i had passed thus not being able to slow down in time.

Now my question is, can i be prosecuted? The thing is other cars coming the opposite way (the side of the copper) seemed to be getting waved to pull over if speeding, where as PC Plod just pointed the radar gun at me and gave me a wierd looks as i 'sped' by.

Now, i'm not saying i'm in the right and that he wasn't just doing his job, but can a i be prosicuted even though i wasn't pulled over... seeing as there was no camera to capture a picture of my car/registration (therefore, no evidence)?

Thanks.

Mate, you can get prosecuted if some cop's mate told him he saw you doing 37mph the other day ... but all jokes aside, I have no idea

As a former cop uncle of mine said to me over Christmas break, by the time you see the cop, it is to late anyway.

If a cop has a laser, he will only go after people he finds speeding way over the limit, if it is a camera, it will send you mail because it gets your license plate, the cop with a radar gun just takes speeds.

Unless you got pulled over, no you won't get any ticket. Atleast in the US you wouldn't, but chances are it's the same in the UK.

Quote from XCNuse :

As a former cop uncle of mine said to me over Christmas break, by the time you see the cop, it is to late anyway.

If a cop has a laser, he will only go after people he finds speeding way over the limit, if it is a camera, it will send you mail because it gets your license plate, the cop with a radar gun just takes speeds.

Unless you got pulled over, no you won't get any ticket. Atleast in the US you wouldn't, but chances are it's the same in the UK.

Thanks for that XCNuse, exactly what i was thinking. There were no cameras or anything, just his radar gun.

I got lasered once and they pulled me out about 100 meters after the measurement. Since a laser doesn't take pictures this is the only way to get a ticket.

BTW, are you saying that he was measuring your speed with a laser while following you with his car? I think you can only use the laser when you're stationary.

id say you got away with it

lucky b*stard

Quote from J.B. :

BTW, are you saying that he was measuring your speed with a laser while following you with his car? I think you can only use the laser when you're stationary.

Probably depends on the age and type of unit the old ones were like that but for a long time now 10-15 years they have had car mounted lasers here in Oz, I've been picked up for speeding from several kilometers away on a country road with such a device

I wouldn't count on not getting a ticket.

A month ago I was caught with 70 kph in a 50 kph zone (which was quite curiously placed at an autobahn intersection, with no oncoming traffic or any form of joining lanes, but hey, who cares).

The policeman only used a laser and I wasn't pulled over, but still, i got the love letter in the mail.

Quote from J.B. :

I got lasered once and they pulled me out about 100 meters after the measurement. Since a laser doesn't take pictures this is the only way to get a ticket.

BTW, are you saying that he was measuring your speed with a laser while following you with his car? I think you can only use the laser when you're stationary.

No, he was just stood at the side of the road with his hand-held gun.

I think i would have been stopped if was on the same side of the road as him, but was on the opposite side.

Quote from XCNuse :

If a cop has a laser, he will only go after people he finds speeding way over the limit,

Not true over here where speed enforcement is a money making exercise rather than anything to do with safety (I know someone who got a ticket for 31 in a 30)

Quote from ajp71 :

Not true over here where speed enforcement is a money making exercise rather than anything to do with safety (I know someone who got a ticket for 31 in a 30)

How? isnt there a 10% margin of error? for as long as ive known i thought you could get caught at 33 and not get a ticket, because of the camera's margin of error.

Not really sure, but he could easily have had ANPR gear in his car which could tie in with the hairdryer results.

Quote from DeKo :

How? isnt there a 10% margin of error? for as long as ive known i thought you could get caught at 33 and not get a ticket, because of the camera's margin of error.

That's a voluntary thing that most of the time is enforced but if they want to get really anal theirs legally nothing to stop them fining you for doing 30.1 mph in a 30

Couple of points....

If he didn't stop you, chances are you are in the clear, it could have been ANPR looking for no insurance, no tax, no mot, and as you were ok, then you didn't get stopped.

As for the "margins", many places in the UK are now operating on a zero tolerance system, where there is no margin.

Quote from danowat :

As for the "margins", many places in the UK are now operating on a zero tolerance system, where there is no margin.

That's rediculous, everyone will need to keep their eyes glued to the speedo instead of outside.

I thought they allowed 10%+2; so 70mph limit = 79mph, 30mph limit = 35mph
I expect it's down to the area.

I don't push it in town, maybe a bit out of town

Yup, it depends on the area.

When I did my Police bikesafe course, the officers said to us that they HATE fixed speed camera's and the "safety" partnership camera's because they generally have no leeway, where as proper police tend to give a bit of leeway.

My philosophy is, if it's got a "red circle" round it, it means do that speed, so 30 in a 30, 40 in a 40 etc, etc, outside of that, IMO, it's game on

Cheers for the replies guys, looks like i'll just have to wait and see.

It really is quite wierd though, as two years the same road was a national speed limit road, then made to a 30mph... and now they are doing speed checks at 30mph.

Yup, it's the current state of our English roads, give it a few years and we'll have no national speed limit roads....

Quote from ajp71 :

Not true over here where speed enforcement is a money making exercise rather than anything to do with safety (I know someone who got a ticket for 31 in a 30)

The little money they do make on speeding fines is spent in the costs in looking for people speeding. There is no real profit from it, it is just to try and bully people out of speeding.

A radar detector like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZI3YB2ZLV-o

Police are better than cameras. My mate got pulled over for doing 40 in a 30 limit, only he was sure it was a 40 limit. So sure in fact, he convinced the officer too, who apologised and let him on his way. It was only after he pulled away again he saw a 30 sign just up the road. Considered himself quite lucky.

I think my avatar says it all really!

I have been done twice for speeding, and both times got away with it completely...1st time I proved that the camera van was illegally parked, and therefore anything obtained from it was inadmissible as evidence, and the second time I used the ' If you want me to give evidence that may or may not incriminate me, then I DEMAND that you send a plod around to my place to read me the official caution' ( As _WAS_ covered by the human rights charter....) When plod came round and read me my rights, which included THE RIGHT TO REMAIN SILENT.....I did exactly that ...I had complied with the law, and they STILL didnt have any evidence

Quote from P5YcHoM4N :

The little money they do make on speeding fines is spent in the costs in looking for people speeding. There is no real profit from it, it is just to try and bully people out of speeding.

There is a huge profit to be made, they made £500000 in a week after installing the first four Gatsos in 30 limits in Worcester (all on dual carriage ways or down hills where I don't remember there ever having been an accident on).

Quote from P5YcHoM4N :

The little money they do make on speeding fines is spent in the costs in looking for people speeding. There is no real profit from it, it is just to try and bully people out of speeding.

Wake up and smell the Nescafe P5YcHoM4N...they make a bloody FORTUNE out of it...
Speed cameras for safetys sake?? My A**E!!! They stick cameras on stretches of road that are nice and straight and relatively safe, knowing damn well that people will be more likely to give it some welly there, than near a school...result, they aren't interested in safety, just money!

There is one thing you can do when you get pulled over by a radar gun: ask to see your speed on the gun, because if the cop can't get your speed, then he can't give you a ticket because there is no proof, I know a few friends of mine have lucked themselves out of tickets by asking to see their speed.

@ajp, That is hard to believe someone got pulled going 1mph over, 1mph isn't even gaugable on a speedo. Limit here (unless you aren't lucky) is within 5 mph of the speed, even though most people still go around 15mph + over the limit.

Problem with the cameras though is that they are always right lol, they have a picture of proof and there is no way of fighting your way out of paying the price. Nothing like good hard evidence.