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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Been caught speeding

315 replies

speedy49 · 31/01/2023 01:00

Help sorry I know this isn't AIBU but traffic

Tonight literally 15 mins ago so 00:40 ish I was driving home about a 10 minute journey on a road with a 60mph limit.
I was doing about 80. Yes I know I was in the wrong please dont bash me.
Then I got to my turning, turned in, and realise there was a police car behind me pretty much the whole time.
Now I'm freaking out because I know I was speeding and I know they were behind me. But they could have pulled me over and didn't, didn't even flash me?
I don't have any points, never paid any fine, never taken a speed awareness course.
Has anyone ever had a similar experience, if so did it end in a ticket or not?
Very worried, please be kind I know I was in the wrong

OP posts:
chupachump · 31/01/2023 11:23

3kidswouldfinishanyoneoff · 31/01/2023 08:27

@chupachump you're post was deleted because you suggested the op was driving like a c@#t. Unnecessary.

They were.
I don't think it's unnecessary at all.

This place is honestly batshit. People lose their minds over the most minor stuff but apparently doing excessive speed on a dark road isn't that bad.

fairysimples · 31/01/2023 11:19

I have a cheap high viz vest in my boot. I think it was a fiver?

I don't speed - there's a speed limited button on my steering wheel and I use it.

I hope you get done - that's 20mph over the speed limit.

SilentNightDancer · 31/01/2023 11:19

It's interesting that some posters have brought up broken down cars, fallen trees and wild animals as potential hazards, while the posters defending speeding are going on about pedestrians wearing dark clothing.

BellatrixLestrangesHeatedCurlers · 31/01/2023 11:08

The rules apply to you too.

I hope you get fined, it might teach you a lesson.

Frabbits · 31/01/2023 11:07

A police car clocking you speeding does not necessarily have to pull you over to issue you with a ticket.

All you can do is wait 2 weeks and see if you get one, and maybe slow down a bit, eh?

Squamata · 31/01/2023 11:06

Icedlatteplease · 31/01/2023 08:41

I'm sorry for what you have been through. But I have to take issue with something you said.

I had a car accident with personal injury and car write offs. My car insurance was minimally affected because it wasn't my fault....

It's the proximate cause of the accident that determines whose at fault. I don't know a single accident where speed itself was the actual cause.

The usual cause is that I'm human and made a mistake.

Show quote history

@Icedlatteplease I've never been in a major car accident but I used to work processing accident claims. I followed lots of accidents through the whole process and it was grim. Eg you'd see the photos and reports of the accident, then get medical and psych follow up reports at regular intervals and see how long it takes to recover anything like normality.

Car insurance premiums shoot through the roof if you have a conviction for a motor offence, obviously as your accident was not your fault it didn't impact your premiums.

Speed can be the cause of an accident, it reduces the amount of time you have to respond to a hazard like a dog running into the road, a car approaching etc. It also goes hand in hand with other reckless behaviours so people who speed might also use their phone behind the wheel, drink drive, not get their car serviced and MOT'd and insured etc. Exceeding the speed limit can be a criminal offence in itself or I think it can be an aggravating factor in something like careless driving (so you'd get a tougher sentence).

whataboutsecondbreakfast · 31/01/2023 11:01

There's an argument there for the French system which requires you to keep high vis jackets and a warning triangle in your car

Yep - I think it's an excellent idea personally.

Icedlatteplease · 31/01/2023 10:58

whataboutsecondbreakfast · 31/01/2023 10:53

I don't carry a hi vis in my bag. However I do chose to live somewhere with pavements.

Good for you?

Do you also never drive anywhere without pavements and phone signal in case you have an accident and need to walk and get help?

Any of us could get caught out and end up needing to walk on a poorly lit road to get help. I had to do it when my wheel was destroyed by a pot hole and I had no signal to ring my breakdown company. Luckily it was daylight!

There's an argument there for the French system which requires you to keep high vis jackets and a warning triangle in your car

whataboutsecondbreakfast · 31/01/2023 10:58

Still not necessarily dangerous driving unless they were driving dangerously in the first place. It is possible spin and crash into another car and the accident not even be your fault...

I'm pretty sure anyone driving at 80 in a 60 would be deemed at fault if they skidded and smashed into another car!

Icedlatteplease · 31/01/2023 10:55

whataboutsecondbreakfast · 31/01/2023 10:46

You dont get done for dangerous driving based on the damage, its based on the driving

Well, yes - when I say damage I mean things like spinning and smashing into another car etc.

Still not necessarily dangerous driving unless they were driving dangerously in the first place. It is possible spin and crash into another car and the accident not even be your fault...

whataboutsecondbreakfast · 31/01/2023 10:53

I don't carry a hi vis in my bag. However I do chose to live somewhere with pavements.

Good for you?

Do you also never drive anywhere without pavements and phone signal in case you have an accident and need to walk and get help?

Any of us could get caught out and end up needing to walk on a poorly lit road to get help. I had to do it when my wheel was destroyed by a pot hole and I had no signal to ring my breakdown company. Luckily it was daylight!

whataboutsecondbreakfast · 31/01/2023 10:46

You dont get done for dangerous driving based on the damage, its based on the driving

Well, yes - when I say damage I mean things like spinning and smashing into another car etc.

MeMyCatsAndMyBooks · 31/01/2023 10:45

You won't get a ticket theyd of flashed you with a speed camera or pulled you over.

That said let this fear be a lesson, speed limits are there for a reason.
You're more likely to kill someone going 20 mph above the limit, and if you can't live with that fact or live without fear of a speeding ticket DONT SPEED. Speeding kills.

Icedlatteplease · 31/01/2023 10:40

legendyna · 31/01/2023 10:35

Yeah exactly, sometimes you actually have no choice and let's not pretend like any of us carry a high vis best in our handbag, alright.

Driver should be driving in the road, not skimming hedgerows

Show quote history

I don't carry a hi vis in my bag. However I do chose to live somewhere with pavements..

Icedlatteplease · 31/01/2023 10:37

whataboutsecondbreakfast · 31/01/2023 10:32

You don’t get arrested for dangerous driving for hitting a deer FFS.

Well, it depends what other damage you do in the process of smashing your car into one 🤷🏻‍♀️

You dont get done for dangerous driving based on the damage, its based on the driving

legendyna · 31/01/2023 10:35

whataboutsecondbreakfast · 31/01/2023 10:31

But if you do wander out on a fast road late at night wearing all black and walking on the actual road, what do you expect? You’re an idiot and it is your fault if you get hit

I would expect to be able to walk safely on the verge without a driver smashing into me 🤷🏻‍♀️ I really don't think that's too much to ask for 🤣

Yeah exactly, sometimes you actually have no choice and let's not pretend like any of us carry a high vis best in our handbag, alright.

Driver should be driving in the road, not skimming hedgerows

ReneBumsWombats · 31/01/2023 10:34

TheObstinateHeadstrongGirl · 31/01/2023 10:22

Yea, they are an idiot and it’s their fault if they get hit.

I’m talking about someone who thought it was fine for pedestrians to walk on the carriageway late at night if there’s no pavement.

Show quote history

I doubt that happens as often as bad drivers go at 20+ miles over the limit.

whataboutsecondbreakfast · 31/01/2023 10:32

You don’t get arrested for dangerous driving for hitting a deer FFS.

Well, it depends what other damage you do in the process of smashing your car into one 🤷🏻‍♀️

whataboutsecondbreakfast · 31/01/2023 10:31

But if you do wander out on a fast road late at night wearing all black and walking on the actual road, what do you expect? You’re an idiot and it is your fault if you get hit

I would expect to be able to walk safely on the verge without a driver smashing into me 🤷🏻‍♀️ I really don't think that's too much to ask for 🤣

Tessisme · 31/01/2023 10:28

JaceLancs · 31/01/2023 09:28

Speeding threads always bring out the worst on here
I received a speeding fine recently in the post after driving somewhere (not local) completely unfamiliar to me
I had been dropping DP off to collect a vehicle for his new job and he had driven there and I drove back
This meant I wasn’t sure who was driving at the time of the offence so checked the pictures they give you a link to online
unfortunately it was me - they also give you a film clip which I watched out of curiosity - wish I hadn’t
The film showed me driving carefully and within the speed limit - apart from for under one second when I must have taken my eye off the speedo probably because I was looking for directions
I certainly didn’t see a camera or speed van as if I had I would’ve been pretty stupid to speed up briefly for the single second it captured the image

I am finding it hard to understand how anyone can drive over the speed limit for under a second and no more. Is that even possible? I'm not being funny, it's just I would have thought that reaching the speed and then decelerating from it would take longer than a split second.

TheObstinateHeadstrongGirl · 31/01/2023 10:22

Which is why I said ‘walking on the actual road’

Icedlatteplease · 31/01/2023 10:22

GoodChat · 31/01/2023 10:14

Thanks for the info @Icedlatteplease - I'll mention it Smile

Please do. It should be a slam dunk case. Anyone handling it should be looking at any equipment necessary going forward, any lose of earnings, private physio and or osteopathy, transport to and from anywhere or hire car until well enough/ new car obtained, adapt. Expect whoever handles the claim to recommend obtaining private medical reports. Your sister's insurance company would normally handle it. Sometimes in cases like your sisters they might send it to a no win no fee firm they have a relationship with.

TheObstinateHeadstrongGirl · 31/01/2023 10:22

legendyna · 31/01/2023 10:17

But if you do wander out on a fast road late at night wearing all black and walking on the actual road, what do you expect? You’re an idiot and it is your fault if you get hit

You just said it's not always the drivers fault and common sense bla bla - now you say it's the pedestrian's fault? And they're an idiot?

You can reasonably expect as a pedestrian that a driver isn't skidding up the verge of the road. If you are, then you are 100% at fault for hitting a pedestrian even if they're in all black.

Yea, they are an idiot and it’s their fault if they get hit.

I’m talking about someone who thought it was fine for pedestrians to walk on the carriageway late at night if there’s no pavement.

legendyna · 31/01/2023 10:18

As a driver mowing down a pedestrian with your poor driving, you're an idiot and what do you expect when you're in court, more like.

legendyna · 31/01/2023 10:17

But if you do wander out on a fast road late at night wearing all black and walking on the actual road, what do you expect? You’re an idiot and it is your fault if you get hit

You just said it's not always the drivers fault and common sense bla bla - now you say it's the pedestrian's fault? And they're an idiot?

You can reasonably expect as a pedestrian that a driver isn't skidding up the verge of the road. If you are, then you are 100% at fault for hitting a pedestrian even if they're in all black.