What speed were you doing?

[miniandy]

I was wondering - if you get pulled over and asked this, what's the appropriate response? "Oh about 86 sir" or ""my cruise was set at 83" or the old "i have no idea"?!

any benefits to admitting what speed you were doing?

ta!

[Mikey G]

"I dont know officer, i was too busy looking for speed cameras to look at the speedo!"

I think its best to admit guilt but never admit your actual speed e.g. your in a 40 zone, get pulled @ 60, you say 50

[turbobloke]

Short answer - I'd avoid a number. Long answer - not wanting to be too awkward with either this post or a fictitious BiB questioner, I'd want to know 'when exactly?'. Maybe it's me but I don't cruise, well hardly anywhere, speed is changing constantly as the road conditions change (if it was a totally deserted motorway with good visibility for miles I'd remember the soldierly advice about not standing with a neat profile of your good self against the horizon and realise I was a sitting duck, so keep to within a few mph of the limit). Guess I'd also say something about maintaining observation of the road ahread, checking speedo occasionally, so I'd need and want to ask 'did you measure and record my speed at any time?' since there's no point in confessing if they failed to get missile lock. After that, depends on what comes back, but I'd try to keep it amicable, mutually respectful, and drop strong hints that I'm aware of 'Roadcraft - The Movie' and can be very receptive to driving advice from our marvellous BiB...

[splodge s4]

'I was doing 50 miles per hour officer? but i havnt been out an hour....'

[MilnerR]

No explanations, no excuses, no regrets.

[IOLAIRE]

miniandy said:

I was wondering - if you get pulled over and asked this, what's the appropriate response? "Oh about 86 sir" or ""my cruise was set at 83" or the old "i have no idea"?! any benefits to admitting what speed you were doing? ta!

Any benefits??
Andy, just what is it you hope to gain from actually admitting to a police officer that you were speeding?
Despite what I read from some of the Trafpol on this site, every single case I have been involved in over the past few years demonstrated a total lack of discretion on the part of the police.
It might be that it's different in England but up here, when you're stopped, you're nicked, end of story.
If you then go on and admit this, bearing in mind in Scotland there are always two officers, you have well and truly shot yourself in the foot.
NEVER admit anything at the roadside; never even try and explain yourself, you can say something incriminating without realising it.
NEVER accept an FP; tell them that if they consider you were doing something illegal they can report you to the Fiscal or the DPP and let them decide.
This then gives you a lot more time to consider any defence, brings another office into play that might just consider that pursuing you isn't worth the hastle, and if you do go to court you can testify that you were so outraged at being stopped that you intended defending the case right from the start and accordingly refused the FP.
I've found that can carry quite a bit of weight in court.
If we all did this simple act the system wouldn't last two weeks, and I quite literally mean that.

[turbobloke]

IOLAIRE said:

If you then go on and admit this, bearing in mind in Scotland there are always two officers, you have well and truly shot yourself in the foot...NEVER admit anything at the roadside; never even try and explain yourself, you can say something incriminating without realising it. NEVER accept an FP; tell them that if they consider you were doing something illegal they can report you to the Fiscal or the DPP and let them decide. If we all did this simple act the system wouldn't last two weeks, and I quite literally mean that.

You are quite literally quite correct. That's why they introduced the fixed penalty option in the first place. If HMG/HMC want to raise indirect taxation by harvesting speed tax, they must keep the Courts clear as well...so far they have...

[m-five]

"I cannot say officer, as I don't have a calibrated speedometer! However, as you pulled me over I would estimate that I was exceeding the posted limit by some margin!"

[ben_london]

Faster than you slow coach.

[rob_f]

I just say the speed limit, simple.

Cheers,
Rob.

[ben_london]

I'm not sure officer, I shut my eyes at 110

[hedders]

"sorry officer I am a bit pissed, what was that?"

[john_p]

"However fast it was, you must have been going faster"

[silverback mike]

ben_london said:

Faster than you slow coach.

Like that one.

Iolaire.
Well, depending on manner of driving I doubt if I would issue a ticket for anything under 85. (Obviously in a 70 limit )

I never ask the question anyway, it's a bit daft as no-one in their right mind will own up, I wouldn't have.

[bluepolarbear]

miniandy said:

I was wondering - if you get pulled over and asked this, what's the appropriate response? "Oh about 86 sir" or ""my cruise was set at 83" or the old "i have no idea"?! any benefits to admitting what speed you were doing? ta!

I safe speed taking into account the all the conditions

[james_j]

Assuming the Bib car caught you up, it may be worth saying (you though, not me!), "...to help you decide what speed I was doing, it was less than you given that you caught me up..."

[Dibble]

IOLAIRE said:

If we all did this simple act the system wouldn't last two weeks, and I quite literally mean that.

I've long thought that if everyone stuck rigidly to at or below the posted speed limit for a couple of months, and anyone that did get caught opted for Court rather than accepting FP, the whole system would grind to a halt pretty quickly.

Unfortunately, if I got done for speeding, I think I'd rather take the £60 fine and 3 points. I'm sure a lot of other people wouldn't bother trying to fight it for the usual selfish/lazy reasons (I'm including myself here).

[miniandy]

Apologies for lack of response I've been away this weekend but thanks for all the replies, the serious and the quirkies! Maybe it was a daft question to ask but over the past few months since i've been a member of this forum i have read so much information it is hard to digest it all, and as a young driver i feel i need to be armed with the info that the more experienced members have, hence the questions!

Anyway cheers, and here's to more of the same!

[charltm]

Would it go down well to say:
"I was driving at a speed that I judged to be very safe on this road, in these conditions, in this car and with this little traffic. That ought to mean it was below the posted speed limit but I guess, from the fact that you have pulled me over, that it wasn't. If that was the case, then I apologise."

Good answer?

Or (perceived) smart-alec answer?

Does how good an answer it was depend on whether the speed was 85mph or 99mph (on the motorway)?

[Fat Audi 80]

IOLAIRE said:

miniandy said: I was wondering - if you get pulled over and asked this, what's the appropriate response? "Oh about 86 sir" or ""my cruise was set at 83" or the old "i have no idea"?! any benefits to admitting what speed you were doing? ta! Any benefits?? Andy, just what is it you hope to gain from actually admitting to a police officer that you were speeding? Despite what I read from some of the Trafpol on this site, every single case I have been involved in over the past few years demonstrated a total lack of discretion on the part of the police. It might be that it's different in England but up here, when you're stopped, you're nicked, end of story. If you then go on and admit this, bearing in mind in Scotland there are always two officers, you have well and truly shot yourself in the foot. NEVER admit anything at the roadside; never even try and explain yourself, you can say something incriminating without realising it. NEVER accept an FP; tell them that if they consider you were doing something illegal they can report you to the Fiscal or the DPP and let them decide. This then gives you a lot more time to consider any defence, brings another office into play that might just consider that pursuing you isn't worth the hastle, and if you do go to court you can testify that you were so outraged at being stopped that you intended defending the case right from the start and accordingly refused the FP. I've found that can carry quite a bit of weight in court. If we all did this simple act the system wouldn't last two weeks, and I quite literally mean that.

I suspect this approach MAY get you more trouble than you expect. Personally I think it is always best to tell the truth. If you admit to speeding but can justify your speed on the grounds that the traffic was light and conditions good and your driving was not dangerous, generally you would get a decent fair hearing from the BIB. You may get off with a warning (unless you are doing silly speeds). Blatently saying that you were not speeding and not admitting to anything will see you with FPN's or your day in court.

Just my 2p's worth.

Cheers,

Steve.