Caught Speeding by Bike Cop

[Rahul uk]

Stopped by a policeman on motorbike today for speeding. Was doing 75mph he said in a 40mph zone. I know I was speeding but was not sure I was going the fast. He asked to see my license which I did not have, so gave him my debit card as proof of name. He then called in my license plate over the radio and a minute later said he was charging me and I "might get something in the post" in 14 days - NIP I presume. He put his small note pad back in his carry box, didn't issue me any paperwork and also didn't mention any specifics of the offence to the person on the radio.

Car is insured, no points on my license. Not sure if I have been let off or this is the usual process?

[Rahul uk]

Guess will have to wait and see what comes of it. Was stupid to be speeding in the first place. Not much I can do about it now I guess. Was just a bit surprised at the lack of paperwork and recording of details.

[Rahul uk]

Thanks for checking.

[Rahul uk]

From all the internet research it seems this would be a court appearance. What is strange is that I specifically asked what would happen next and he said you might get something in the post in the next 14 days and get between 3-5 points.

[Rahul uk]

fatboy b said:

75 recorded in a 40. So that would be an indicated 80-ish?

Isn't that a bit knobby??

Not my finest moment. But it was 75 and not 80 in a 40...otherwise I would have stated 80 in a 40. That is what the policeman said but to be honest I don't think I was going that fast, was not shown any evidence of the speed so he must have come to the conclusion looking at his own speedo?? Who knows.

[Rahul uk]

Just to clarify

- I did not sign anything
- He did not fill anything out on the side of the road
- He cautioned me "you have the right to remain silent....."
- He also stated he would be reporting me for careless driving and it was up to someone else if they want to prosecute.
- I asked what happens next. Was told that I might get something in the post in the next 14 days and likely 3-5 points.
- I drive an M3 and that picks up speed pretty damn quickly. I would have been in the 40-75mph ish zone for not more than 150 metres before braking for a roundabout. For those short seconds I was at that speed I did not look at the speedo but more on the road ahead which for the record had no cars in front of me.

Edited by Rahul uk on Monday 18th August 19:57

[Rahul uk]

Not saying that driving an M3 is an excuse. But it explains why I managed to get to a speed and brake from the speed in such as short distance without much drama. If I was driving a Prius I would have been a lot more aware of getting past the 40mph mark.

[Rahul uk]

Not planning to suggest that driving the M3 makes it safer in any way to accelerate or brake in court. The comment was aimed for others on this post who cannot understand why I didn't know my exact speed.

[Rahul uk]

What I will say is that the whole experience has made me extremely aware of what my speedo is telling me now.

[Rahul uk]

youngsyr said:

Rahul uk said:

Not planning to suggest that driving the M3 makes it safer in any way to accelerate or brake in court. The comment was aimed for others on this post who cannot understand why I didn't know my exact speed.

Question is: how did the police officer know your exact speed?

If you were accelerating quickly and only very briefly before braking, the only way the officer can know your exact speed is if he is on the side of the road with a hand held speed monitoring device or he happens to be driving at the same speed as you in reasonably close proximity for more than a couple of seconds.

Defo not on the side of the road, pulled out onto the road I was on and must have been behind me (playing catch up to the metallic rasp from the M3 exhaust) for a very short period at which point I was already braking. Could be he was doing 75mph to get to me?? When pulled over though the last thing on my mind was wanting to argue with a policeman.