M4 average speed cameras trap 6,500 in south Wales

[TimberWolf]

BBC News - M4 average speed cameras trap 6,500 in south Wales

Of further interest is what happened next:

• 6,547 notices of intended prosecution issued between 1 Sept 2009 and 30 Sept 2010
• 2,321 have paid the £60 fine and received three penalty points on their licence
• 660 have been referred to court, either for driving 26mph or more above the speed limit or failing to nominate the driver
• 1,112 drivers have been offered a speed awareness course, 753 offences were cancelled and 1,701 are ongoing

So, only 1/3 paid up straight away [+ see below] (I would be in that category ) + 1/6 went on a speed awareness course instead of paying a fine
1 in 10 went to go to court, primarily because the offence was more serious rather than a choice on their part by the look of it.
1 in 10 were cancelled
1 in 4 people aren't rolling over without a struggle, or their prosecutions are still in the system/they can't be arsed replying to letters (ongoing)

[MarillionFan]

BBC News - M4 average speed cameras trap 6,500 in south Wales

Of further interest is what happened next:


So, only 1/3 paid up straight away [+ see below] (I would be in that category ) + 1/6 went on a speed awareness course instead of paying a fine
1 in 10 went to go to court, primarily because the offence was more serious rather than a choice on their part by the look of it.
1 in 10 were cancelled
1 in 4 people aren't rolling over without a struggle, or their prosecutions are still in the system/they can't be arsed replying to letters (ongoing)

More fines handed out for driving then knife crime.

Brill.

[craig1]

Regardless of the merits of speeding cameras and fines, surely getting caught speeding in an average speed zone deserves a permanent ban for stupidity? It's not as if there's a lack of signs saying "Average Speed Camera Zone" or similar and the big yellow overhanging cameras aren't exactly hidden behind bushes like the old pre-yellow GATSOs.

I don't mind putting my foot down occasionally and if I get caught then I accept my fate with a sigh and call to the insurance company (9 points over the last 15 years) but to get caught in one of these new average speed zones is surely just daft and throwing money and points away.

[EternalOptimist]

Regardless of the merits of speeding cameras and fines, surely getting caught speeding in an average speed zone deserves a permanent ban for stupidity? It's not as if there's a lack of signs saying "Average Speed Camera Zone" or similar and the big yellow overhanging cameras aren't exactly hidden behind bushes like the old pre-yellow GATSOs.

I don't mind putting my foot down occasionally and if I get caught then I accept my fate with a sigh and call to the insurance company (9 points over the last 15 years) but to get caught in one of these new average speed zones is surely just daft and throwing money and points away.

yeah yeah.
by the time you have worked out what 'canolbris chwyrlïa llcameras chychwyn' means, you have three points and a fine

[darmstadt]

I had never heard nor seen them before until I came to the UK a couple of years ago and I thought the cameras did look pretty average. Took me ages to work out what they meant, a bit like toll roads in France...you drive like hairy and then at 10km/h before exiting so you don't get fined for driving too fast.

[Troll]

Cruise control - set and forget about average speed cameras

HTH

[Alf W]

As long as you've changed lanes each time you go past one you're fine. They can't cope with that. Everyone knows that surely?

[AtW]

Cruise control - set and forget about average speed cameras

And what about variable speed limits?

[DaveB]

As long as you've changed lanes each time you go past one you're fine. They can't cope with that. Everyone knows that surely?

This is an urban myth based on the fact that the first camera's were only given Home Office Type Approval for use on single lanes. All Average Speed Camera's are able to cope quite happily with cars changing lanes.

(courtesy of a mate of my brothers in Traffic Division)

Also, from the manufacturers website

SPECS uses linked video cameras to monitor a length of road. Linked cameras do not have to be adjacent; they may bracket other cameras within the speed control zone. Despite what you may read in the press, SPECS is not lane specific, or limited to vehicles that enter and exit the zone in the same lane.

[EternalOptimist]

And what about variable speed limits?

hmmm, they have average variable speed limits in Russia ? Is it a rolling average, a year to date or is it mean ?