Police Scotland to issue formal warnings to speeders
Discussion
mybrainhurts said:
Police Scotland must have a lot of time on their hands.
So much time that they can sleep in their patrol cars when on dutyhttp://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/police-office...
mybrainhurts said:
Police Scotland must have a lot of time on their hands.
Generally quite a lot of time is freed up when you stop bothering to turn up to crashed cars, house break ins or violent crimes.Although most of the free time is taken up with covering up for their friends that like to f
k little boys. It's tiring work that.mybrainhurts said:
DottyMR2 said:
Generally quite a lot of time is freed up when you stop bothering to turn up to crashed cars
Police Scotland spokesman's excuse is that humans make mistakes.This apparently doesn't extend to minuscule speed violations....
t happens. Have you never made a mistake. Don't know what else people expect the police to say really.
Vipers said:
mybrainhurts said:
DottyMR2 said:
Generally quite a lot of time is freed up when you stop bothering to turn up to crashed cars
Police Scotland spokesman's excuse is that humans make mistakes.This apparently doesn't extend to minuscule speed violations....
t happens. Have you never made a mistake. Don't know what else people expect the police to say really.Edited by DottyMR2 on Tuesday 14th July 10:47
paulqv said:
The continued condemnation of drivers who speed as a measure of "road Safety' is as misguided as it always has been. This smacks of an attempt to bring marginal speeders into the prosecution level to increase fines and conviction rates. So next year, we will have 33mph as the de facto prosecution limit.in 30 and 75 on motorways.
This all smacks of lazy policing and getting numbers up the easy way, whilst chanting the mantra of speed is bad!
The law is there. Speed limits are unarguable in the face of legislative change. If we want these changed we should lobby our MP's etc. They won't as it is a vote looser to the sanctimonious incompetents who believe the only measure of safe driving is how slow they drive.
If the police want to maintain credibility then they must deal as severely with bad driving; e.g.; middle lane hoggers; bad parking; lack of consideration etc. Soft easy targets such as someone driving at 33mph in a 30 is great for their superiors. Any easy policing makes those who are here to protect us lazy and avoid doing what the public should expect, namely proper active policing to entice safety.
That, simply does not happen just now.
If we continue to 'dumb down' to the level of the sanctimonious incompetents then all we will do is have morons on the road and we may as well have dodgems for cars.
excellent article in the local paper Paul - surprised they printed the whole lot!This all smacks of lazy policing and getting numbers up the easy way, whilst chanting the mantra of speed is bad!
The law is there. Speed limits are unarguable in the face of legislative change. If we want these changed we should lobby our MP's etc. They won't as it is a vote looser to the sanctimonious incompetents who believe the only measure of safe driving is how slow they drive.
If the police want to maintain credibility then they must deal as severely with bad driving; e.g.; middle lane hoggers; bad parking; lack of consideration etc. Soft easy targets such as someone driving at 33mph in a 30 is great for their superiors. Any easy policing makes those who are here to protect us lazy and avoid doing what the public should expect, namely proper active policing to entice safety.
That, simply does not happen just now.
If we continue to 'dumb down' to the level of the sanctimonious incompetents then all we will do is have morons on the road and we may as well have dodgems for cars.
MOTORISTS caught driving at just over the speed limit are to be targeted in a new police crackdown.
Police Scotland has secured legal powers to issue formal warnings to drivers who are clocked at just a few mph over the limit.
You will get a warning that you are committing an offence. If you then go away and do it again, I don’t think many people would have sympathy if you got a fine.”
Chief Superintendent Iain Murray
Traditionally, those drivers would not face any action because police only ticket speeders who are 10 per cent plus 2mph above the formal speed limit.
The police warnings are part of a drive by Chief Constable Steven House to make road deaths a top three priority for the force along with violence and anti-social behaviour.
Traffic officers will start to issue the warnings - which will not result in a conviction, fine or penalty points - later this year under a six-month pilot scheme with a clear focus on accident blackspots.
Senior officers believe early use of formal warnings for drivers who are just over the legal limit could be more effective than existing informal warnings.
Although traffic officers will still have discretion to adopt the disposal they see as most fitting, a driver who already has a formal warning on his record would be more likely to be fined than one who did not.
Chief Superintendent Iain Murray, head of road policing at Police Scotland, said: “We have an agreement to run a pilot of adult formal warnings, which starts in the autumn.You will get a warning that you are committing an offence.
“If you then go away and do it again, I don’t think many people would have sympathy if you got a fine.
“We are talking about people who might be law-abiding in every other aspect but fail to realise the risk they pose by driving on auto-pilot or failing to pay enough attention to what is going on around them.
“We are seeing changes and independent studies show people are taking fewer risks on the road, but research shows that nearly half of us are still engaging in illegal risk-taking on the road each year.
“The use of formal warning will enable us to challenge this behaviour, provide real-time education and monitor how behaviour changes by looking at re-offending rates.
“If a warning is appropriate, officers will be empowered to issue one, if the risk-taking is more serious, the more traditional enforcement approach will still apply.”
The pilot scheme may result in an official rise in the number of speeding offences recorded in Scotland.
That is because a formal warning would require an offence to be added to statistics, but an informal one would not.
Figures for road traffic offending dropped by more than a third last year despite what is thought to be a huge rise in the number of times motorists are stopped by the police
The new national force had come under fire in its first year for the sheer scale of tickets issued for seatbelt and mobile phone offences and speeding.
A spokesman for the Crown Office said: “The Lord Advocate has agreed to Police Scotland using formal adult warnings, as a part of a six-month pilot, for speeding offences in certain circumstances where the case would not ordinarily be reported for consideration of prosecution.”
by TaboolaPromoted Links
Police Scotland has secured legal powers to issue formal warnings to drivers who are clocked at just a few mph over the limit.
You will get a warning that you are committing an offence. If you then go away and do it again, I don’t think many people would have sympathy if you got a fine.”
Chief Superintendent Iain Murray
Traditionally, those drivers would not face any action because police only ticket speeders who are 10 per cent plus 2mph above the formal speed limit.
The police warnings are part of a drive by Chief Constable Steven House to make road deaths a top three priority for the force along with violence and anti-social behaviour.
Traffic officers will start to issue the warnings - which will not result in a conviction, fine or penalty points - later this year under a six-month pilot scheme with a clear focus on accident blackspots.
Senior officers believe early use of formal warnings for drivers who are just over the legal limit could be more effective than existing informal warnings.
Although traffic officers will still have discretion to adopt the disposal they see as most fitting, a driver who already has a formal warning on his record would be more likely to be fined than one who did not.
Chief Superintendent Iain Murray, head of road policing at Police Scotland, said: “We have an agreement to run a pilot of adult formal warnings, which starts in the autumn.You will get a warning that you are committing an offence.
“If you then go away and do it again, I don’t think many people would have sympathy if you got a fine.
“We are talking about people who might be law-abiding in every other aspect but fail to realise the risk they pose by driving on auto-pilot or failing to pay enough attention to what is going on around them.
“We are seeing changes and independent studies show people are taking fewer risks on the road, but research shows that nearly half of us are still engaging in illegal risk-taking on the road each year.
“The use of formal warning will enable us to challenge this behaviour, provide real-time education and monitor how behaviour changes by looking at re-offending rates.
“If a warning is appropriate, officers will be empowered to issue one, if the risk-taking is more serious, the more traditional enforcement approach will still apply.”
The pilot scheme may result in an official rise in the number of speeding offences recorded in Scotland.
That is because a formal warning would require an offence to be added to statistics, but an informal one would not.
Figures for road traffic offending dropped by more than a third last year despite what is thought to be a huge rise in the number of times motorists are stopped by the police
The new national force had come under fire in its first year for the sheer scale of tickets issued for seatbelt and mobile phone offences and speeding.
A spokesman for the Crown Office said: “The Lord Advocate has agreed to Police Scotland using formal adult warnings, as a part of a six-month pilot, for speeding offences in certain circumstances where the case would not ordinarily be reported for consideration of prosecution.”
by TaboolaPromoted Links
[quote=
Traffic officers will start to issue the warnings - which will not result in a conviction, fine or penalty points - later this year under a six-month pilot scheme with a clear focus on accident blackspots.
by TaboolaPromoted Links
[/quote]
That's the bit I'm interested in, will they actually be focussing on accident blackspots or hiding behind a bush on a nice straight bit of road because they know they'll catch people there.
Traffic officers will start to issue the warnings - which will not result in a conviction, fine or penalty points - later this year under a six-month pilot scheme with a clear focus on accident blackspots.
by TaboolaPromoted Links
[/quote]
That's the bit I'm interested in, will they actually be focussing on accident blackspots or hiding behind a bush on a nice straight bit of road because they know they'll catch people there.
Dinoboy said:
That's the bit I'm interested in, will they actually be focussing on accident blackspots or hiding behind a bush on a nice straight bit of road because they know they'll catch people there.
Let me think, what will look/sound better in end of year stats ?I bet there are not many breaking speed limit at black spot
But on a nice quiet safe open road......
Edited by S2red on Sunday 19th July 12:39
I remember years ago there was a fixed speed camera on the Bellshill bypass just at the Matt Busby Sports Centre. reason given was that it was an accident blackspot.
Someone did some investigating and discovered that there had been 4 accidents on that stretch and 2 of these had involved police cars!!
Someone did some investigating and discovered that there had been 4 accidents on that stretch and 2 of these had involved police cars!!
Strange isn't it, they are targeting drivers who manage to stray just over the limits, then you read the papers of Joe Bloggs caught doing 110, already has points but if he looses his licence because he won't be able visit his mother in hospital (or as one claimed it would cause him to close his small business down with job losses), and therefore doesn't get banned, just a piddling fine, and those drivers still on our roads with God knows how many points.
Just doesn't add up really.
Just doesn't add up really.
corvettedave said:
shouldnt voted for SNP!
The SNP did NOT bring in the following:- Fixed speed cameras
Mobile camera vans manned by civilians with utterly no advanced driving knowledge practising entrapment on a daily basis consistently on the safest roads they can find
The power of local authorities to reduce speed limits to ridiculously, totally inappropriate levels
Insanely dangerous traffic calming schemes creating congestion and raising pollution.
The appalling logistical mess that is our capital city
2 lane motorways when they should clearly be at least 3
The insane 50 MPH speed limit on the M80 and M74 where there are 5 lanes at some point!
De-criminalisation of parking
Local Authorities such as Glasgow and Edinburgh having the power to charge 80 pence for 15 minutes parking not in a proper car park, but just at the side of the road when you have already paid road tax for the right to use the roads
This is just a start; the list of gross incompetence and the fleecing of the motorist in this country is virtually endless and deeply historical. It has happened because, for some inexplicable reason, we tolerate this kind of crap from those who are supposed to represent and protect us.
The SNP have sadly jumped on the bandwagon. Check your mailbox in the next week or so Nicola: there is a suitably aggressive letter coming your way.
J
What many people don't appreciate is that there is legislation already passed which enables variable points to be issued for variable speeds. It simply has not been used but I believe could easily be brought into use.
Hence as in Holland 1mph ( or KM) over the speed limit means x fine etc.
What is worrying is that I believe that this is the agenda. An easy 'We are helping improve road safety' As all accidents involve speed. I haven't heard of two stationary cars colliding with each other.AS this is a 'safety issue' then people can go on about it and no one can criticise as it is seen as promoting danger.
AS i said in my earlier post and letter to my MSP, what we will get is easy policing. Conviction rates escalating and the public being alienated to appease some ill though out campaign.
Why does Lanarkshire and Paisley have the highest number of drivers with penalty points in the UK? Targets, simple as that.
Hence as in Holland 1mph ( or KM) over the speed limit means x fine etc.
What is worrying is that I believe that this is the agenda. An easy 'We are helping improve road safety' As all accidents involve speed. I haven't heard of two stationary cars colliding with each other.AS this is a 'safety issue' then people can go on about it and no one can criticise as it is seen as promoting danger.
AS i said in my earlier post and letter to my MSP, what we will get is easy policing. Conviction rates escalating and the public being alienated to appease some ill though out campaign.
Why does Lanarkshire and Paisley have the highest number of drivers with penalty points in the UK? Targets, simple as that.
What happens if I am stopped for allegedly travelling at, say, 43mph in a 40 limit and then offered one of these warnings and I politely refuse to accept?
Will proceedings be issued?
Will the historic allowance of 10% deviation to account for the potential inaccuracy of the vehicle's speedometer count for nought? - was that just a courtesy that we have become so accustomed to that we view it as some sort of right?
Will proceedings be issued?
Will the historic allowance of 10% deviation to account for the potential inaccuracy of the vehicle's speedometer count for nought? - was that just a courtesy that we have become so accustomed to that we view it as some sort of right?
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