Average Speed Cams - Accelerating for Emergency Vehicle
Discussion
An ambulance came up behind me in a 50 limit with average speed cameras. I couldn't sensibly ease off with the Ambulance right behind me so I accelerated for the nearest gap which was about 5 cars ahead, figuring I could just drop my speed below 50 to get my average down.
Unfortunately I reached the next set of average cameras as soon as I pulled in.
As it happens I'd be surprised if my average was far enough above 50 to generate a ticket, but if it was have I got any hope of avoiding the points?
Unfortunately I reached the next set of average cameras as soon as I pulled in.
As it happens I'd be surprised if my average was far enough above 50 to generate a ticket, but if it was have I got any hope of avoiding the points?
BikeBikeBIke said:
As it happens I'd be surprised if my average was far enough above 50 to generate a ticket, but if it was have I got any hope of avoiding the points?
Unlikely. There's no exemption from action being taken against you because you were trying to help an emergency vehicle.There are countless examples of people ticketed for crossing the line at red lights to make way, or entering a bus lane, etc.
E-bmw said:
Too late now, but you should have just indicated into a non-existent gap, anyone would slow down to let you in under those circumstances.
My left indicator was on throughout the time I was making my decision (which felt like an eternity) and the lorry to my left didn't slow, nor did anyone else.IME lorry drivers are pretty professional with pretty good observation so if he didn't ease off to let me in I don't think 'letting people in' is as universal as you reckon. The traffic was pretty dense. Perhaps he had someone up his chuff, just like me.
Edited by BikeBikeBIke on Wednesday 23 April 08:26
PorkInsider said:
BikeBikeBIke said:
As it happens I'd be surprised if my average was far enough above 50 to generate a ticket, but if it was have I got any hope of avoiding the points?
Unlikely. There's no exemption from action being taken against you because you were trying to help an emergency vehicle.There are countless examples of people ticketed for crossing the line at red lights to make way, or entering a bus lane, etc.
TBH it's fair punishment for me failing to spot him until he was right on top of me. I blame age. Things like this never used to happen when I was 20, I seemed to spot people 300m away, rather then when they were 3 inches off my bumper. Mind you 50 limits with average cameras weren't a thing then so being on cruise control at 50mph with your mind switched off wasn't a thing...
Like with not crossing red lights to allow emergency vehicles to pass, the powers that be have decided how they want to handle this stuff, and as frustrating as it is to feel youre holding one up, it's not an omission or an oversight. It's definitely what is expected of you. They've decided that the risk of it causing an accident of some kind outweighs any benefit.
I had a police car a while back clearly insistent on me going into a bus lane to let them past, which didn't impress me in the slightest. Fortunately no ticket etc came of it, but annoying all the same.
I had a police car a while back clearly insistent on me going into a bus lane to let them past, which didn't impress me in the slightest. Fortunately no ticket etc came of it, but annoying all the same.
P675 said:
We all want to help but there's nothing saying you have to dart out of the way either. Going the speed limit, not holding them up is acceptable, they will find a way through if it's truly urgent.
There was no way through, I was the only vehicle with somewhere to go. The fact they were tailgating me makes me think they wanted me to move, and the pressure to move out of the way with my mirrors full of ambulance was intense. I defy any one not to get out of the way in those circumstances.Mind you, there was no siren, just lights so maybe they did mean "Move when convenient.". In which case they're absolute ***ts. They could have waited 4 car lengths behind me and I'd have got the message.
But yes, I accept I was legally allowed to impede them, and consciously chose to chance a conviction to get out of their way.
InitialDave said:
Like with not crossing red lights to allow emergency vehicles to pass, the powers that be have decided how they want to handle this stuff, and as frustrating as it is to feel youre holding one up, it's not an omission or an oversight. It's definitely what is expected of you. They've decided that the risk of it causing an accident of some kind outweighs any benefit.
Actually that logic will help next time.Too late now but you would probably have been better off just carrying on as you did, not speeding up or slowing down. It's easy to get into a frantic mindset thinking that your singular action is the difference between life and death, but in practical terms unless you actually crash into the ambulance then your influence is minor.
BikeBikeBIke said:
Mind you, there was no siren, just lights so maybe they did mean "Move when convenient.". In which case they're absolute ***ts. They could have waited 4 car lengths behind me and I'd have got the message.
How do you know they hadn’t been waiting further back if you didn’t notice them till they were on your bumper ?BikeBikeBIke said:
An ambulance came up behind me in a 50 limit with average speed cameras. I couldn't sensibly ease off with the Ambulance right behind me so I accelerated for the nearest gap which was about 5 cars ahead, figuring I could just drop my speed below 50 to get my average down.
Unfortunately I reached the next set of average cameras as soon as I pulled in.
As it happens I'd be surprised if my average was far enough above 50 to generate a ticket, but if it was have I got any hope of avoiding the points?
Assuming that you were in a car (and not bike), it sounds like you don't use your OBC to monitor your average speed. Unfortunately I reached the next set of average cameras as soon as I pulled in.
As it happens I'd be surprised if my average was far enough above 50 to generate a ticket, but if it was have I got any hope of avoiding the points?
If you did, you would find that sticking cruise control on at 50mph would give you an average speed of around 47-49mph, depending on the over read accuracy of your car.
Factoring a prosecution threshold of 10%, your average speed would need to be higher that 55mph to risk getting a ticket.
Accelerating for 5 car lengths to find a gap most likely would not have even registered any increase on the average speed readout.
Durzel said:
Too late now but you would probably have been better off just carrying on as you did, not speeding up or slowing down. It's easy to get into a frantic mindset thinking that your singular action is the difference between life and death, but in practical terms unless you actually crash into the ambulance then your influence is minor.
There is this urge to get out of the way as quickly as possible but I've seen really dumb things like people just stopping before a corner where someone is going to come the other way while the emergency vehicle is going around them. Or the time it takes them to move over and stop holds up more than just carrying on until a space comes up.InitialDave said:
Like with not crossing red lights to allow emergency vehicles to pass, the powers that be have decided how they want to handle this stuff, and as frustrating as it is to feel youre holding one up, it's not an omission or an oversight. It's definitely what is expected of you. They've decided that the risk of it causing an accident of some kind outweighs any benefit.
This, 100%. The authorities have made it very clear that no one should be exceeding the speed limits or going across a red light, or doing anything else they shouldn't do, to make way for an emergency vehicle. TwigtheWonderkid said:
InitialDave said:
Like with not crossing red lights to allow emergency vehicles to pass, the powers that be have decided how they want to handle this stuff, and as frustrating as it is to feel youre holding one up, it's not an omission or an oversight. It's definitely what is expected of you. They've decided that the risk of it causing an accident of some kind outweighs any benefit.
This, 100%. The authorities have made it very clear that no one should be exceeding the speed limits or going across a red light, or doing anything else they shouldn't do, to make way for an emergency vehicle. BikeBikeBIke said:
Mind you, there was no siren, just lights so maybe they did mean "Move when convenient.". In which case they're absolute ***ts. They could have waited 4 car lengths behind me and I'd have got the message.
It could be there was a patient on board and using the siren was unsettling to the patient. Or as many emergency driving courses teach when they come across a "problem*" to actually turn off the siren so that drivers don't panic so much.- temporary traffic lights that are on red for the direction of travel for example.
Edited by Drumroll on Wednesday 23 April 10:26
pinchmeimdreamin said:
BikeBikeBIke said:
Mind you, there was no siren, just lights so maybe they did mean "Move when convenient.". In which case they're absolute ***ts. They could have waited 4 car lengths behind me and I'd have got the message.
How do you know they hadn’t been waiting further back if you didn’t notice them till they were on your bumper ?Durzel said:
Too late now but you would probably have been better off just carrying on as you did, not speeding up or slowing down. It's easy to get into a frantic mindset thinking that your singular action is the difference between life and death, but in practical terms unless you actually crash into the ambulance then your influence is minor.
As a result of this thread I think that's true. I should have put left indicator on and just sat there at 50 until someone let me in. If the Ambulance wanted a different action they could indicate it with their siren which might have woken up people around me.Speed Matters | Speed, Plod & the Law | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff