To be terrified I'll lose my license

[PepsiMaxx0]

I have a clean driving license. Driving for over 40 years with no incidents. Like many others I sometimes go over the limit on motorways if I consider it safe to do so....
I was travelling back from Manchester airport on the m62 during the early hours of this morning. Almost empty motorway. Doing about 80mph average I would say. Occasionally crept to 85. I noticed a camera flash on the gantry. No limits were lit up. I assumed it was from the other side and carried on. Several miles later it did it again and yes for a 3rd time which is when I thought this is too much of a coincidence it must be me! I've just woken and have that sick feeling. The only defence I can offer is motorway was empty, it was between 4 - 5 am this happened and I do not think I was driving dangerously. I just wanted to get home to bed after a late night flight. What will be the penalty for this?

It's the m62 not the autobahn. It worries me that in over 40 years of driving you do not know the maximum speed limit on uk motorways. Its 70mph BTW. It doesn't increase because the road is quiet, it's still 70mph. If you've been clocked doing 85 I wouldn't think you'd get banned they might just deal with it by fpn but I don't think you will get the option of paying for the course instead of the points. Please stick to the speed limits and remember its a limit not a target

You will more than likely be offered a speed awareness course, this is the best option. You won't receive a fine or points, but if you get caught speeding again you will instantly be given a fine and points. The course is about 2½ - 3 hours long.

At the end of it you were doing 15mph OVER the limit and that's not okay.

As someone who has been smacked into by a speeding driver, no excuse is acceptable

Here is my advice OP:

1. Be more careful in the future. It is what it is, so take the points/fine. It seems unlikely you will lose your licence.
2. If you do anything else in the future that evens hints of a mistake or wrong-doing, DO NOT post it on MN, where a bunch of self-righteous pricks are lying in wait to shoot you down in flames. They have clearly NEVER once broken the speed limit, or made any other thoughtless mistake in their whole lives! They hope you lose your licence; I hope people judge them as harshly as they judge others.

I know exactly what stretch of road you’re talking about, they’re definitely speed cameras. You learn exactly where they are when you live in Manchester because there’s loads in a few mile stretch 😂

Your excuse is poor and is never going to stand up in any legal capacity, your speeding was hardly going to get you home much faster was it. You’re up shit creek without a paddle if you’ve been caught doing 85 in a 50 zone

Suck it up and be grateful you’ve got away with 40 years of speeding thus far 🤷🏼‍♀️

You’ll be fine. It will either be points on your licence, or if it’s your first offence in 2 years, maybe a speed awareness course. As for the poster who said “speed kills”, 85mph doesn’t on an almost empty motorway in the early hours of the morning 🙄

Exactly!
it’s a shame that it’s only a fine and lose their license, should be imprisonment as well
obv didn’t learn from the first camera, instead continued to drive over the speed limit and putting other lives at risk

Sometimes it just takes a picture to show how busy the motorway is. Doesn’t mean it was flashing you because you were going too fast.

There are other traffic cameras to monitor traffic. They don't flash.

You'll hear within 14 days as that is when they must ensure you receive your notice (s) of prosecution, so not long to worry about the consequences

It wasn't a 50mph zone. There were no speed limits set on the overhead gantrys at all. They were all completely blank.
PS yes I know I shouldn't have been doing more than 70.

The number of sanctimonious twats on this thread is staggering. OP I really hope you weren’t caught.

Apologies, some of us find purposefully speeding and putting other road users at risk bothersome. Shall try harder to be a bit more selfish and go full Lewis Hamilton mode next time I’m on the motorway, who cares about those pesky laws or speed cameras.

So many people so angry about the speed and how dangerous it is. You know Germany don’t have speed limits on lots of their motorways and a very similar rate of road deaths. It doesn’t sound like you were driving dangerously to me OP.

im a bit confused by nothhing lit up-why does it need to be lit up? you were doing 85 its over speed limit

OP wasn’t in Germany, she was in the UK so this is irrelevant. The law is the law. UK motorway infrastructure is not built for excessive speed, nor are drivers properly accustomed to it. Leave the 85mph for the autobahn

I don't know if anybody else has already said but this isn't correct.

Three flashes from three different cameras means three offences.

For some seemingly arbitrary reason you can't be got more than once per 24 hours per camera. But different cameras means multiple offences.

You could alternatively try and find a shred of empathy within you for someone who has made a mistake, caused no harm and is now worried. You won’t though. Which brings me back to my original assessment of sanctimonious twat.

I'm just going to wade in with my very apt user-name here ....

I use the M25 a fair bit some stretches are 4 lanes .
The number of wankers in the outer lane with barely a metre between them going 90-100 +

I'm just glad they're well away from me and not up my backside .
And yes I hope they get caught but who knows

I would have sympathy for OP if she had slowed down once she acknowledged her mistake, we all have a lapse in concentration sometimes. What I absolutely cannot defend or find sympathy for is the fact that she knowingly continued to speed once she realised she had a) likely been flashed by a speed camera and b) was going well over the limit. There is 0 excuse for that.

I really don’t think you are understanding the camera system on the motorway network. The smart motorway signs do flash up with different speeds depending on the volume of traffic. If there is no number on the screens that means the speed limit of 70mph applies. The smart signs have cameras on permanently and will flash a vehicle if going over the speed limit. You were going over the speed limit so they flashed. It is as simple as that!

I imagine just about everyone believes it’s safe to do so when they choose to speed, doesn’t make it so. Hopefully whatever the legal consequences this will serve as a wake up call and it won’t be something you choose to do in the future

On an empty motorway?? Who’s she going to kill some flies?!

I saw this post on the Facebook page and thought "oh, another post panicking about speeding" and the responses would either be "speed kills" or "it's 3 points and £100, you'll be fine" which is how they normally go and some people share the calculator for whether it's speed awareness, fine or court.

But fuck me, you drove past three cameras that flashed and didn't think to slow down? You shouldn't be on the road! There is no excuse and you will not be able to defend yourself. Someone driving 40 years should know that many motorways have cameras on now.

One flash is calibration. Two flashes is you getting caught. They'll likely be treated as separate offences so 3 x £100 and 9 points. It'll be a very careful 3 years for you.

@Skyisbluegrassisgreen it's empty until it isn't. Crashes at night happen because something unexpected happens and there is no time to react. OP clearly doesn't have the wherewithal to see past the end of her nose so it's not exactly an argument for being able to drive over the limit.

There was a crash on the m1 years ago where a lorry driver had fallen asleep in lane one. A mini bus didn't see him till the last minute and moved into lane two without checking their blind spot. They ended up squished between the overtaking lorry in lane two and the standstill in lane one. They weren't speeding but it was empty prior to that. The company I worked for had to recover that minibus. It was heartbreaking and people need to be more careful. I now have a different job driving 200 miles a day and the shit I see is scary. People have no idea.