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?

You won’t qualify for a speed awareness course as you’re too far over the speed limit - it’ll be points and a fine!

I made the error once of driving late at night in the slow lane of the motorway, it was totally empty so I crawled along at 65mph but the gantry changed the speed limit to 50mph and I was on autopilot and didn’t notice until too late. No option of speed awareness due to how far over the speed limit I was. I’ve never made such a silly mistake again - it could have been much worse than points if I had caused an accident.

@BadgersSuitcaseI've been over the limit for speed awareness twice and never been to court. So not always the case.

Thanks for clarifying.

I’ve had my licence 25 years and never had points before.

Obviously I’ll plead guilty. Will I need to attend the court?

Yes, it's way over to get a speed awareness course. You were doing nearly 90 ffs.

Well to be fair losing your licence is clearly the only thing you give a fuck about.

When people only care about themselves others often hope they get their comeuppance

You can rest assured you won't lose your licence for 87 in a 70 but it may be past the threshold of speed awareness course. Probably 3 points £100 but the fine may be increased

highly doubt you will be given a speed awareness course as that’s normally only it you are only a couple of miles over the limit. you likely will get a fine and points on your licence.

Doing what speed though? As I said it's based on the % over the speed limit you were travelling

The A55 is 70

Only if you want plead not guilty.

Yes. People die and are left with life changing injuries on roads everyday in accidents caused by speeding drivers who think the rules don’t apply to them. I’ve been overtaken dangerously on that road (and others) while driving at the limit with my daughter in the car. On single lane A roads I have had to slow significantly to prevent collisions because of drivers overtaking dangerously in the opposite direction. They probably think they are great drivers.

@Speeding87stupid you made a mistake and you’ve owned it and it certainly sounds like you’ve learned from it. I think the biggest mistake you’ve made in this situation is posting about it on MN - you clearly forgot everyone on here is perfect and has never made any mistakes or errors of judgement in their lives so sadly they can’t relate in this situation and can only cast judgement from their pedestals of righteousness.

Thankfully, nothing bad happened and I’m sure you’ll be a lot more careful in future. Fingers crossed it’s just a fine and some points and we can all move on x

Dual carriageways are 70 mph.

I recently got caught doing 88 on a 70mph dual carriageway. 3 points and £100 fine.

Be grateful you never hit anyone or crashed

You will be aware that it will most likely not be a court appearance if that's the case. She is nowhere near the % above the speed limit that leads to a court appearance.

@Speeding87stupidprobably not. I mean, you were quite bit over (and tolerance is built in!) but you are not in the realms of immediate bans or anything like that.

it is force dependant though so I couldn’t say for sure. But what I can say for sure is that you won’t lose your license for 87 in a 70

This. Most likely 3 points and £100 fine. They may take you to court and the fine could be a proportion of your salary but if you admit it and pay up and send all the paperwork back it isn’t very likely. You were 17 mph over the limit which is quite a lot. I once had similar where I thought I was on a 40 mph road but it was a 30. I was going at 41. I got 3 points and paid the £100. I got a letter saying that mentioned prosecution. I sent all paperwork back and paid the fine and nothing more came of it. I think when you’re over the amount where a speed awareness course can be offered it’s the automatic letter they send out.

This poster is incorrect and I am unsure why they are implying you need to go to court.

@SeaShellsSanctuary1 oh come on - of course she cares about losing her licence. Most people would! What a ridiculous comment. It doesn’t mean she doesn’t feel bad, or hasn’t learned a lesson nor acknowledged she shouldn’t have been speeding, but it’s perfectly reasonable to care or worry about it whether or not she may lose her licence.

That's a very useful table.

I note it mentions

Factors reducing seriousness or reflecting personal mitigation

• No previous convictions or no relevant/recent convictions
• Positive character and/or exemplary conduct (regardless of previous convictions)
• Genuine emergency established

So is it worth dropping them a line, and while acknowledging guilt, admitting the seriousness of the situation and assuring that you would take great pains not to repeat this, pointing out any potential mitigating factors.

For example, does it count that you needed to check in for a flight?

And would it count more if this flight were, say, to see a family member seriously taken ill?

I'm not at all suggesting anyone should write anything other than the strict truth, I just wonder if anyone here knows how this mitigation business works, as it is interesting.

@SpirallingdownwardsI know. Hence why I’ve posted saying ‘probably not’ and advised on force dependence

I’m not here to discuss ins and outs with randoms on the thread. The title caught my eye, it’s my job, I’ve posted to assist the OP.

probably won’t have to attend court
won’t be banned
probably will receive points and a fine

Hope you’re slightly more reassured now OP

@SpirallingdownwardsI AM NOT! MY opening line (to the op, not you!) says ‘probably not.’

Are you particularly hard of reading or comprehension?

This 100%

You sound lovely OP, ignore the nasty comments.

We all make errors of judgement, don’t worry. You’re facing up to what’s happened and taking full responsibility for it.

Hope all goes well for you.

Nope, some are 70. Not saying OP wasn’t in the wrong but 17mph over the limit is different from 27mph.

You post actually says "it'll be court ..."

I’m the roads policing manager for a police force.
it’ll be court as it’s over the threshold for speed awareness courses etc but it won’t be a ban.
It is dependant on the actual force what they do but you can generally expect 6 points and a fine through the court

so my comprehension is fine. No opening "probably not"