Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
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:
TheObstinateHeadstrongGirl · 31/01/2023 08:15

8? That should read ‘I’

NearlyMidnight · 31/01/2023 08:15

school mistress nonsense is really misogynistic. Usually something men throw at women to put them down and belittle when they are saying something the man doesn't like.

I knew an abusive prick who regularly used this when asked or told to do anything perfectly reasonable by a woman.

OP was speeding. Not doing 24 in a 20mph but 80 in a 60 - in the dark. God help anyone who got in her way - they wouldn't have had a chance.

Shade17 · 31/01/2023 08:16

As others have said they need specific equipment to issue a speeding ticket.

They don’t. The opinion of two police officers that you were speeding is sufficient apart from motorways when only the opinion of a single officer is required.

CrazyCorgi · 31/01/2023 08:17

DH got a speeding ticket recently and I must admit I was furious with him. I was in the car with him at the time and repeatedly old him he was speeding as he was doing 29 in a 20
zone but he insisted it was a 30. I don’t even drive but I knew it was a 20.

Thats by the by. Anyway, within a week, the ticket showed up and he chose to take the speed awareness course plus pay £100 to avoid the points. This is what will probably happen to you.

Why on Earth did you think the Police would pull you over. It’s your responsibility to drive safely. Not 20MPH over the speed limit. They play videos where a car drives into boxes at various different speeds and I think you’ll be extremely shocked at the difference it makes even going one mile over the speed limit. DH said that the smash of the boxes was massive at 30mph compared to 20mph and that could be a child. The stopping distance is also longer. Think about that 🤷‍♀️

BankOfDave · 31/01/2023 08:18

OP - I have been caught speeding twice in the last 25 years. Both times on camera. Once I was doing 37 in a 30 as didn’t slow fast enough from a 40 zone and another time doing nearly 70 on a 60 dual carriageway.

I got points once and did a speed awareness course once. The speed awareness course was very good. I’ve been driving a long time and wouldn’t consider myself a ‘speeder’ but it went though what makes people speed, how to avoid it and more importantly the hidden dangers in all mph zones and why that road will have been a 60 and not 70 zone.

What might concern me is you didn’t realise a police car was following you as well as the speeding, therefore your ability to assess other dangers wasn’t what it should be - all covered on speed awareness training.

plumduck · 31/01/2023 08:19

How did you manage to do 80 in a 60 zone? Didn't you realise? I don't think you should be driving in all honesty. And you seem more worried about the fine than the fact you were going way too fast. The speed limit is there for a reason, the road isn't safe enough to go 20mph over! You should have your license taken away for that, no second chances. Too soft a law.

plumduck · 31/01/2023 08:20

Maybe you should ask to go on the speed awareness course anyway seeing as you seem so unaware.

Icedlatteplease · 31/01/2023 08:22

chupachump · 31/01/2023 07:54

My post last night was deleted, I assume because I used a naughty word. There's so much nastiness on these boards but tell someone not to drive like a .... and it gets deleted.

Priorities huh.

You can use naughty words. Personal attacks are against the rules. A bit like knowing when something is likely to be actively hurtful opposed to generally mildly offensive.

Priorities huh

3kidswouldfinishanyoneoff · 31/01/2023 08:23

@GoodChat I wasn't suggesting the police were tailgating.

Orchidflower1 · 31/01/2023 08:23

speedy49 · 31/01/2023 01:50

With respect, this thread isn't about how bad of a crime (legally or morally) speeding is. It was about whether others have had a similar experience and what the outcome was.

Thanks to those who have actually replied with something helpful 🙏🏼

With respect - don’t drive like a w@nker then!!!!!

I hope you get points and fined- maybe you’ll learn before you hurt someone.

Squamata · 31/01/2023 08:23

I've gone maybe 65 in a 60, not 80! That's not error, that's deliberate.

I think you need to sit and think about what impact it would have had on your life to hit someone at that speed.

Waiting by the side of the road calling nmbulance for someone who may or may not be dying, who's groaning and covered in blood. Being in the papers. A year or two waiting for trial. Flashbacks and PTSD. Time off work. Being sacked. Stress. Relationships under strain or breaking up. A driving ban, fine or community service or even prison. Being scared to drive again. Not being able to get car insurance unless you pay £££. Everyone you know treating you differently, even people in shops, neighbours etc.

Your post is asking 'will I get away with it' and the answer is: you already have, really. You didn't have an accident despite doing something very unsafe. Maybe you'll get a fine and points, I hope you do.

AFS1 · 31/01/2023 08:25

Never admit to speeding on mumsnet.

I suspect you’ve got away with it this time, OP, but do watch out. I’ve noticed a huge increase in speed cameras over the last few years. I got done for going 79 on the motorway recently. If you do break the speed limit regularly, you will get caught.

I do actually recommend the speed awareness course. You can now do it online and I actually found it quite interesting.

BankOfDave · 31/01/2023 08:25

A shocking thing they went though on the speed awareness course is a driver driving within the speed limit was still prosecuted for manslaughter/wreckless driving after ploughing into the back of another car over the brow of a hill doing 50 I think. It was considered driving without due care and attention because of the particular conditions of the road and failure to take precautionary steps.

PattyBladell · 31/01/2023 08:25

As someone who has experienced being hit by a speeding driver, it always makes me despair when I see threads where people try to justify it. I was on a clear road at 10pm at night, with good visibility and my lights on. I was doing about 55 in a 60 and was hit by a car doing 80, so the same speed over the limit as op. I was hit with such force that my car smashed into a lamp post, over a ditch and landed upside down in a field. My car landed about 50 feet away from where the impact happened. I was trapped inside the car for 3 hours and had to be cut out and taken to hospital. My life will never be the same again, I have permanent injuries and I am terrified of being in a car. I will always remember the feeling of sheer terror when I couldn't get out of the car, and DH is scarred by receiving a phone call not knowing whether I was dead or not

If he had been doing the speed limit like he should have been, we wouldn't have crossed paths at all and it wouldn't have happened. 'Only' 20mph over the limit can make a big difference

TheObstinateHeadstrongGirl · 31/01/2023 08:26

plumduck · 31/01/2023 08:20

Maybe you should ask to go on the speed awareness course anyway seeing as you seem so unaware.

Lol

3kidswouldfinishanyoneoff · 31/01/2023 08:27

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

lieselotte · 31/01/2023 08:27

How can you even do 80 in a 60? That is crazy. It's not an accident. 65 might be. Was it a dual carriageway, I could accept that a little more, although the signs are usually blindingly obvious as the usual limit is 70. But on a single carriageway road, - bonkers and dangerous. I do get judgey about that.

Anyway maybe you were lucky and the police car wasn't paying attention. And even luckier that you didn't have an accident.

Driving slowly does not necessarily make you a better or safer driver I agree, but driving within the speed limits gives you more chance to react to situations, and keep control of your car. As long as you don't watch the speedometer rather than the road.

gogohmm · 31/01/2023 08:30

Look worst case scenario you will get a ticket through the post. Depending on actual measured speed you may get offered a course. The police behind you may not have been in the mood for paperwork though, all depends. If you had been driving erratically or dangerously for conditions they would have pulled you over, a much more serious offence.

The speed awareness course is actually quite useful, I think everyone should have to take it to renew your licence. Friendly bunch of people and lovely instructors

Icedlatteplease · 31/01/2023 08:30

NearlyMidnight · 31/01/2023 08:15

school mistress nonsense is really misogynistic. Usually something men throw at women to put them down and belittle when they are saying something the man doesn't like.

I knew an abusive prick who regularly used this when asked or told to do anything perfectly reasonable by a woman.

OP was speeding. Not doing 24 in a 20mph but 80 in a 60 - in the dark. God help anyone who got in her way - they wouldn't have had a chance.

24 in a 20 is likely to make more difference to the pedestrian than 80 in a 60. As a pedestrian You have little chance at either 80 or 60. Those 4 mph at 20 are likely to make way more difference

3kidswouldfinishanyoneoff · 31/01/2023 08:31

@PattyBladell you cannot say that if the other car had been doing the same speed as you that you wouldn't have been hit unless you know their exact starting point and the distance travelled surely.

Also, how do you know the exact speed they were driving at the time, was this clocked?

lieselotte · 31/01/2023 08:31

Vaselining · 31/01/2023 07:51

The speed limit is far too low in this country.

No it isn't. I don't agree with 20 limits in urban areas though, because it causes more pollution than doing 30.

In fact I would say that we need the limit to be 60 on motorways and dual carriageways when it's very wet or foggy. Some people are sensible and drive to the conditions, but many are not. I'd quite like average speed cameras on all motorways.

Kanaloa · 31/01/2023 08:31

GooseberryCinnamonYogurt · 31/01/2023 07:01

How sanctimonious you are.

Show quote history

😂

It isn’t sanctimonious not to offer sympathy when someone driving dangerously and illegally is worried they might face consequences for their dangerous and illegal behaviour.

closingscore · 31/01/2023 08:34

FanGurrl · 31/01/2023 02:01

I'm sorry but I truly can't believe all the holier than thou attitudes on here. The majority of drivers don't stick to the speed limit all the time. You only have to travel on any motorway to see that. Driving slowly does not necessarily make you a better or safer driver!
OP I hope you don't get a fine this time. This experience has probably made you more vigilant of your speed anyway!

There's a big difference between your speed creeping up and correcting yourself, and knowingly driving at 20mph over the speed limit then bleating about getting a fine.

Kanaloa · 31/01/2023 08:35

Icedlatteplease · 31/01/2023 07:43

Statistically it's not overly likely you will mow someone down at that time of night whether you were driving at 40 or 80 unless there were standing in the middle of the road

Show quote history

Ah that’s alright then, isn’t it? Maybe op can just stop worrying about being caught - ‘it’s late, nobody is around’ is the perfect defense to driving as fast as you want anytime you like.

PattyBladell · 31/01/2023 08:35

@3kidswouldfinishanyoneoff of course he wouldn't have hit me because he wouldn't have been going through the junction at the same time as me, he would have been a few seconds later meaning I would have made it through safely. And yes, He had a dashcam which showed his speed. Anything else you would like to pick apart?