To worry DD25 could get a driving ban?

[showslope]

DD26 has been driving for five years. She's usually a great driver & a sensible person all round.

On her way to work nights a couple of weeks ago, she went through a red light at speed. She knows how dangerous this was & was beating herself up about it. She couldn't slow down in time to stop safely (I know this is a speed issue).

She was rushing to get to work as she was going to be late & there were hardly any cars & no people around. However, she did think it was a 40 zone as the signage wasn't great, the other side of the road was a 40 limit, and the area used to be a 40 when she was last there many years ago.

Last week, she got the letter through asking for her to confirm she was driving when this happened. The letter mentions the speed but there's no clear mention of her going through the red light (though it was a speed and red light camera that caught her).

She hasn't had any previous driving offences. She isn't eligible for a speed awareness course as the speed is too high for that.

Understandably, she's now terrified she's going to get a driving ban (needs the car for work). Of course she knows it'd be her own fault, but she's sick with worry and has to wait for the next letter to find out what will happen.

Anyone know what the most likely answer is?

@Hibiscrubbed not a serial offender or not been caught before?

The next time she decides to hit the gas at 24mph above the speed limit, the outcome may be very different. Needing her car for work doesn't justify her actions!

This.

I hope she does get banned. We have a road near us which is not busy with cars, but because of this cars speed at well over the speed limit. It makes crossing with my young DC very scary. The drivers are speeding because there are not many cars around, but forget to think about the possibility of pedestrians.

The threshold is 51mph for points and a fine, over this is ban territory. I got caught doing 52 in a 30 around 6 years ago (note it was just after the change of speed limit signs and a van was parked around 50m past the change in zonal speed).

I got banned for 7 days and fined 150% of a week's wages which at the time was around £900.

Such a good saying- I’ll remember that!

So not only was she paying so little attention she didn't see the signs with the correct speed, she was going way over the speed she THOUGHT she could do?

Irrespective of how good the signage was, I'm guessing that a 30zone indicates a built up area or one with hazards? Ie traffic lights that might change?

It's a driver's responsibility to THINK about where they are and drive at a suitable speed, even if they don't know the actual limit. If she has done this, she would have been driving at a speed to allow her to stop safely - both problems solved.

Not really, and she was still going too fast to respond to the road conditions.

We've all made mistakes though, so hopefully she learns from this and is able to keep her job too.

Hard if you missed the sign. A 40 or 50 zone used to have repeat signs, which is really useful.

As for your dd, this was really silly. Did she speed up at the lights to get through the green? I hope she gets something substantial rather than an outright ban to learn her lesson.

I'm glad she got caught speeding, OP, and isn't facing court because she crashed into another vehicle or a pedestrian, killing or maiming an innocent bystander.

Would she like to live the rest of her life knowing she'd killed someone else, or ruined their life forever?

It's not about her. It's about protecting other people FROM her now.

I used to work nights - very dangerous to speed at night around residential areas - there will be people around and what used to catch me out was cyclists who would wear dark clothing and no lights/reflecters. Easier to spot and slow down if you're at 30 though. Lots of young drivers seem to not have a clue about driving to the conditions of the road and anticipating hazards - it's not just about obeying a number on a sign. And the person saying perfect drivers - I don't see many people driving at nearly 60 in a 30, not least because there's enough mobile speed units as well as fixed cameras around even at night so you'd be daft really.

Couldn't stop because it wasn't safe? So there was a line of cars behind her going through red lights at the same speed? Somebody is trying to downplay the situation but I'm sure that the court will take it into consideration that it wasn't safe to stop.

We got hit from behind at a red light last year - the guy was very apologetic but said himself he couldn't slow down in time - my kids were terrified having never been in an accident before. Just shows total lack of awareness and attention if you can't stop for a red light (which in our case already had a queue of cars stopped at it).

So he was speeding then?

Hopefully she will get banned. She is not a safe sensible driver, she is an idiot that shouldn't be on the road.

If this were one of my DC, I would be furious with them for having done something so a) stupid; and b) dangerous, and I would want them to be banned.

She should be banned doing that speed in a 30. Rightfully it should teach her a lesson

Tbh if she was doing 54 in a 30 she needs to be grateful no one was killed or injured. That’s crazy driving.

Sorry this is dangerous.

Speeding IMO in built up areas is much worse than on motorways (54mph in a 30 mph zone is equivalent to 126 mph in a 70 mph zone / ratio of 1.8), because the random things that can happen (people pulling out of side streets, pedestrians crossing etc) are far greater and the risk to life much higher. The visibility is also likely to be restricted and the probability of death if someone is hit is far higher (maybe almost a certainty at that speed). Also stopping at pelican crossings and lights travelling at that sort of speed is really difficult. If someone does't know that the speed limit has changed, it probably shows they don't know the road well enough in terms of other things, like new street furniture/speed humps/crossings etc that may have been added recently that add to the potential hazard.

It's also true to say that a speedo normally reads over the speed rather than under (so if looked at it, which is unlikely as that could in itself present significant danger while driving at high speed through a built up area) then it could read a couple of mph even greater.

I think someone travelling at these speeds will probably get significant penalties.

It may not just end at the fines/bans, there could also be significant consequences in terms of insurance penalties that may impact over several years.

Lets face it @showslope, if your daughter was hit by someone going at those speeds, you would want them in prison, never mind banned.

Speeding fines are based on a scale up until a certain speed. I think it's something like (20mph + 10%) over. Up to this speed you can be issued with a PCN. Once your beyond this speed the fine is very much dependent on earnings and you have to fill a form out for the magistrate stating your earnings and income. In these circumstances of her also going through a red light the 'crimes' may be dealt with by "single justice procedure" where both are dealt with together, but without needing to go to court in person.

I’d be less worried about a potential short driving ban and more grateful your daughter A) didn’t kill anyone with her driving and B) Didn’t hurt herself with her driving.

She should expect a fine and some points, probably not a ban if it’s her first time caught out.

Hopefully this experience will change her for the better.

If my child would drive at such a speed, I would question their ability to drive safely instead of hoping they get away with a ban. She clearly is not fit to drive. Getting to work on time is really a shitty excuse. I guess you do not have close family members or friends who suffered because of reckless drivers like DD???

🎻

Needs the car for work

Does she have a disability or legitimate mobility reasons?
Is she a community nurse or carer or other essential service?
Does she live in the middle of nowhere and there's no public transport?

Sorry, but she broke the law, and she deserves a ban. Very few people need a car - it's desirable and makes life easier, but it's not a need for most people - and, in any case, if it was so essential to her job, she should have been more careful.

The guidelines for court are exactly that- for court if you contest or for any other reason you might end up in court such as ignoring the letter of fine.
The usual if you aren’t summoned to court ie you admit you’re the driver is 3 points and £100
Its very likely this will be the case for dd

So it's speeding in a 30mph area plus driving through a red light , that's classed as dangerous driving isn't it .