Caught doing 87 on an A road - stupid - what will happen?

[Speeding87stupid]

We were on holiday, road was empty and we were rushing to get to a check in.

Just got home and received a scary letter in the post from the police.

I know it was monumentally stupid. Will write back immediately saying yes it was me.

I’ve never had a speeding fine - can’t believe I was so stupid, I never usually speed.

What will they do - will I lose my licence?

OP - I got caught speeding driving back from Gatwick Airport to the South West - 61 on a 50mph - motorway with roadworks! 3 points on licence and a £100 fine. It was 1.30am in the morning and tbh I didn’t pay too much attention to signage.

I had done a speed awareness course in 2023 so have to take the points now! You may be able to do speed awareness though?

I believe 86mph is the limit for a speed awareness course. As you’re being summoned to court, you can expect 6 points and a Band B fine (75% - 125% of your net weekly income).

If you have a clean licence, you wont get a ban. Although doing almost 90 on an A road is unbelievably dangerous.

Your NIP ' notice of intended protection' has to be within 14days of the offence.

Is it?

I’ve been in a similar situation, I did and do feel enormous sadness and sorrow for the family. It utterly was horrendous and nobody… NOBODY is trying to suggest otherwise. Thanks though.

Respectfully though, that’s not what this thread is about and it’s taken a bit of an alarming tangent and it’s become a pile on for the OP who asked a factual question which the judgy and in some cases quite nasty responses aren’t answering 🤷🏻‍♀️

Three people I know were killed in a car crash at 85mph when it hit a tree. One went through the windscreen, thrown out of the car when the seatbelt snapped and it severed their lower legs. The fourth person im the car lost a limb and spend weeks in hospital, the fifth person was paralysed from the waste down and died by suicide because he couldn’t take the trauma and his future. Five families lives shattered. The driver was a lovely man, clean driving licence, never usually sped. Until he did.

A local man died in a 70mph crash when he hit a pothole.

Whatever your reasons for speeding, momentary lapse of attention to the speed limit, speed kills. Please don’t let it kill you, your loved ones or other people. Arrive alive.

@Speeding87stupid
The RAC website gives a run down of fines and points etc for speeding

90mph seems to be the first cut off point in a70 mph area
see attached
looks like 3 points and 25/75% of your weekly income as a fine. The % range varies depending on prior driving offences I’m guessing and of course depend on where you are within the 70-90 speed range.
( tap the image to see the full chart)

The limit's 70 if it's a dual carriageway.

To be technical some A roads are 20mph (in Wales) and can be 30 / 40 etc

I was doing 86

Not the point of the thread though is it ? OP asked what the likely consequences would be. She didn’t ask for sanctimonious judgement. We’ve all gone above the speed limit at some point - anyone who says they haven’t is telling porkies.

Feel better now ?

I've always suspected that, but didn't know for sure.

There's a bit of 30 mph road near me that had a speed camera that would give you a fine at 32 mph. My mate's dad, who'd been driving for 50+ years without ever getting so much as a parking ticket, was horrified when he got a NIP in the post. Locals reckoned it must have been the most lucrative speed camera in the country. I think they must have changed it now, as I haven't heard of anyone getting caught by it for ages.

By contrast, there's a C road I drive regularly that has a 50 limit, has two lots of speed cameras and I've never heard of anyone getting a ticket, despite people frequently going well over. It used to be 60, but there were frequent crashes at a couple of bends, so they reduced it along the whole length, rather than just on the windy bits.

It doesn't...

What ? Go and have a cup of tea and a lie down before you burst a blood vessel !!

Hello @Speeding87stupid
Does the letter say "Notice of Intended Prosecution"?

Return it with the information required within 28 days. At the speed you were going, assuming it's a first offence, you'll be offered a fixed penalty - points and a fine.

Fixed Penalty Notice Guidelines

It doesn't look like you were going fast enough to be prosecuted if you accept the notice scroll down to second table

But it does look like you were going to faze for a speed awareness course speed awareness course guidelines]]

I drive on the A64 between the A1 and York often. It's notorious for speed cameras (was it a mobile camera on the road bridge at Tadcaster?). It's definitely 70 mph dual carriageway here. It goes down to 2 lanes and slows down further east.

It sounds like this has been a proper wake up call for you. As my DBro said to me when I was caught "if you don't see the person in high vis pointing a camera at you, how are you going to see my child?".

Accept the notice. Pay the fine. Take the points - tell your insurance company. Have a word with yourself. Reflect on this to make yourself a more aware, better driver.

Last week I got one of these letters for 38 in a 30 zone (unfamiliar road, new area but my bad). Either 3 points and 100 pound fine OR pay 98 pound to do the driving course. I think it's stiffer for higher speeds sorry.

That's a lot over the limit. They might throw the book at you.

It can be easy to forget to watch the speedometer. I have my sat nav on even when I don't need it for navigation as it tells me the speed I'm supposed to me and goes red if I go over it. May be worth considering for future OP

This thread is absolutely fucking batshit

Child endangerment? Social services? Seriously, get a fucking grip. When kids are left living in hovels with drug addict parents in what world are social services going to take any interest in this.

The OP knows she’s done wrong but ffs get a bit of perspective

Completely agree - it'll be a few points (3-6) and a £200 fine ish - simples. AND NOTHING ELSE!

Her speed vs 70mph increases the braking distance (on a dry road) from 315 feet to 480 feet. That’s a pretty huge difference if something was to happen to cause her to need to brake. The road being empty to her awareness in front of her doesn’t account for someone overtaking her then slowing down if they see a speed camera, for example, or an animal running out, or debris being in the road. So the difference in braking difference is crucial.

I can guarantee that the OP’s driving at almost 90 mph on an A road wasn’t ‘momentary’. She would have been over the speed limit for a good length of time, and she made a conscious decision to drive at such a dangerous speed. It was reckless. Being in charge of a vehicle in such a manner is a recipe for disaster, which is why speeding is a punishable offence.

I was caught doing 88 in a 70 (motorway variable speed limit section) it was over the threshold for the drivers awareness course so I ended up with 3 points and a fine. It should have a chart on your letter which will indicate the threshold for each penalty.

Oh well, let’s just throw away the laws on speeding should we, seeing as a group of women on Mumsnet are being ‘hysterical’.
Why the fuck do you think we have speed limits? Driving a car at that speed is such a dangerous thing to do that it should be punished strongly. Calling people who think so ‘hysterical’ is mysoginistic to say the least. There’s nothing hysterical about not wanting a reckless driver loose on the roads.

So you think it’s OK to put children in such danger then do you?