Is "I was overtaking" a defence for speeding?
Is "I was overtaking" a defence for speeding?
Author
Discussion

Marcellus

Original Poster:

7,210 posts

250 months

Wednesday 1st August 2007
quotequote all
There's a myth that if you are genuinely overtaking then you are permitted to exceed the posted speed limit.

A friend has received a NIP for doing 80 in a 60 whilst overtaking.

He claims that he had only popped round a car doing c50 when the scamera caught him, so is thinking of using the "i was only overtaking defence" is this likely to be any good?

Plotloss

67,280 posts

301 months

Wednesday 1st August 2007
quotequote all
no

shack55

78 posts

252 months

Wednesday 1st August 2007
quotequote all
Plotloss is not entirely correct.

Overtaking is a defence for speeding, of course it is.

It won't work though.

Marcellus

Original Poster:

7,210 posts

250 months

Wednesday 1st August 2007
quotequote all
so an ill advised defence then? :lol:

Jasandjules

72,664 posts

260 months

Wednesday 1st August 2007
quotequote all
Marcellus said:
so an ill advised defence then? :lol:
It MAY be taken in mitigation, but it really will depend on the circumstances, and you are not likely to get away with it.

The CPS would prefer you to crash head on into another vehicle than exceed the speed limit to get past. Wonder which is safer.

SJobson

13,896 posts

295 months

Wednesday 1st August 2007
quotequote all
shack55 said:
Overtaking is a defence for speeding, of course it is.
As is, "I was drunk at the time and didn't notice my speed".

wink

Slippers

114 posts

231 months

Wednesday 1st August 2007
quotequote all
What about not overtaking if it's not safe to do it within the speed limit?

Parrot of Doom

23,075 posts

265 months

Wednesday 1st August 2007
quotequote all
Slippers said:
What about not overtaking if it's not safe to do it within the speed limit?
That might be ok for you but some of us prefer to do constructive things with our time rather than waste it behind people dawdling along the road.

wasted years

4,330 posts

240 months

Wednesday 1st August 2007
quotequote all
Overtaking is not an excuse for speeding. Traffic law is very black and white - you either did it or you didn't. Might explain why so much speed enforcement is done by cameras.


HTH Marcellus.

WildCat

8,369 posts

274 months

Wednesday 1st August 2007
quotequote all
Parrot of Doom said:
Slippers said:
What about not overtaking if it's not safe to do it within the speed limit?
That might be ok for you but some of us prefer to do constructive things with our time rather than waste it behind people dawdling along the road.
I was behind a tractor tonight. One car in front. He would not overtake despite easy peasy safey safey. rolleyes

It got tedious. rolleyes I kept thinking he would overtake. But nonorolleyes

After 7-10 minutes - I let my "toy boy flex his muscle" laugh It was a straight. Nothing in sight. I overtake the two cars. To ensure not on wrong side of road for too long.. I did it quickly - probably just above the 40 mph limit in place there - but almost at the 60 mph lolly anyway laugh Car behind me follow. I note then with some satisfaction that the nervy guy go his nerve back - he also overtake.. which allow more in queue to do so at the lolly wink

I had to creep a bit higher as I was overtaking two vehicles. I wanted to get overtake over .. back to lane.. back to legality asap for sake of safety. No scams here anyway wink Steve only does "lucrative" anyway hehe

Not saying which road either. wink No accident ever occur there anyway to my knowledge of living here since I marry. My eldest son turn 20 in fortnight. I married in white - with clean conscience. wink Mad Doc my only real lover wink

flemke

23,509 posts

268 months

Wednesday 1st August 2007
quotequote all
shack55 said:
Plotloss is not entirely correct.

Overtaking is a defence for speeding, of course it is.

It won't work though.
The difference between a good reason and a defence.

7db

6,060 posts

261 months

Wednesday 1st August 2007
quotequote all
SJobson said:
shack55 said:
Overtaking is a defence for speeding, of course it is.
As is, "I was drunk at the time and didn't notice my speed".

wink
Someone tried something similar with failing to give a sample. They argued that their client was too pissed to understand the caution that not giving a sample was an offence, and so had not been properly warned as is required.

Nice try.

Zod

35,295 posts

289 months

Wednesday 1st August 2007
quotequote all
one of those situations where the law is definitely silly (vh will no doubt disagree wink). I can overtake more safely if I return to my side of the road more quickly. I can go from 50 -100 in just over 5 seconds, so when I overtake I tend to reach high speeds quickly. I rarely use full attack, but by the same token, I don't old back to "normal" acceleration levels. Who (in the ever-diminishing ranks of the overtaker) does?

tigger1

8,478 posts

252 months

Thursday 2nd August 2007
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Zod said:
one of those situations where the law is definitely silly (vh will no doubt disagree wink). I can overtake more safely if I return to my side of the road more quickly. I can go from 50 -100 in just over 5 seconds, so when I overtake I tend to reach high speeds quickly. I rarely use full attack, but by the same token, I don't old back to "normal" acceleration levels. Who (in the ever-diminishing ranks of the overtaker) does?
Hypothetically, if I were over-taking, I would use pretty much full-beans, within the bounds of safety (which is in no way affected by the sign on the stick). As you say, I want to be out and in again ASAFP.

Bing o

15,184 posts

250 months

Thursday 2nd August 2007
quotequote all
I see where you guys are coming from, and I will give it beans when required (ie short straight) but I've tried overtaking at the NSL rather than 10-20 mph above it, and it's strangely relaxing and safe (IMHO), provided the road is well sighted.

The benefit it conveys to me are that my closing speed on traffic is less, thereby giving me more reaction time should anyone pull out in front or alongside of me, and I am often able to still overtake 4-5 cars in a go.

The downside is that I don't feel very comfortable even looking at my speedo for a split second whilst I'm overtaking, which just goes to show how pointless speed limits can be....

LeoSayer

7,844 posts

275 months

Thursday 2nd August 2007
quotequote all
If it was legal to speed when overtaking then lanes 2 and 3 of motorways and dual carriageways could be classed as autobahns.

Zod

35,295 posts

289 months

Thursday 2nd August 2007
quotequote all
LeoSayer said:
If it was legal to speed when overtaking then lanes 2 and 3 of motorways and dual carriageways could be classed as autobahns.
which would be a good thing. (I think you'd have to up speed limits gradually until you finally removed them to cater for the average driver).

SplatSpeed

7,491 posts

282 months

Thursday 2nd August 2007
quotequote all
they only slight mitigation might be if the guy on the inside put his foot down and speeding was the lesser of two evils

but it wont work as far as they are concerned overtaking should be illegal the useless

Slippers

114 posts

231 months

Thursday 2nd August 2007
quotequote all
Parrot of Doom said:
Slippers said:
What about not overtaking if it's not safe to do it within the speed limit?
That might be ok for you but some of us prefer to do constructive things with our time rather than waste it behind people dawdling along the road.
I was kind of joking, but in all seriousness, if you have to break the speed limit that much to overtake someone then maybe they were driving pretty close to the limit already. On the other hand, if you're on an A-road behind someone doing 45mph and maybe touch 70 to overtake them, I doubt very much you would get a speeding ticket as a result, if you go back to 60 after the manoeuvre. The plod would really have to be on their toes to record your speed at the precise moment of overtaking. So it's all a bit academic, really... Has that actually happened to anyone here?

BIG DUNC

1,925 posts

254 months

Thursday 2nd August 2007
quotequote all
Yep. I was over taking a coach.
It was a 30 limit, but good visability, no hazards etc. It was on a piece of road between 2 built up areas, but the limit was still 30.
As I was completing the overtake ( just as I lifted off actualy ) I spotted BiB pointing a hair dryer at me from a layby at the top of the hill ( probably half a mile ahead ).
The coach had been going less than 30, and I was a little late.
Anyway, he jumped on his bike and stopped me further down the road. End result was 62 in a 30, 6 points, and £250 fine. It was a fair cop, so I could not complain.
The BiB had a "good" attitude, i.e. he was not condesending or sarcastic. He did say he got loads of people there, as it was a decent bit of road, and everyone assumed the limit changed. I actualy knew it stayed 30, but did not admit that to him!