It's not about the money (yeah, right)!
Discussion
SAC's (bribes for police waivers): Small sums to Gov't big to the parasites that run this scam. Some folk get rich we get ..... more speed cameras with zero data to justify the whole thing. ZERO!
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/10/20/police-...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/10/20/police-...
When I was in the job the SAC wasn't an option.
IIRC wasn't introduced until 2002.
Fixed penalty tickets were introduced during my service, I can't recall the year, but prior to that it was report for summons & a date with the magistrates although depending on how much you had got on your licence & the level of speed you could plead guilty by post.
I believe the Prosecutions Dept had the option to mark NFA and advise the offender for lower speeds, but I never bothered reporting - or later ticketing - for less than 10mph over the posted limit in a 30 & 15mph in a 40. Stopping & a few 'words of advice' to the driver were my preferred option for lower speeds.
I was trained in vascar, muniquip and pro-laser plus those we caught by following with a vehicle with calibrated speedometer.
ETA In my driving teens - early 1970s - I did get caught once for speeding & that was an endorsement & IIRC £25 fine (which for me was a week's take home pay). In those days it was 3 endorsements = a ban.
IIRC wasn't introduced until 2002.
Fixed penalty tickets were introduced during my service, I can't recall the year, but prior to that it was report for summons & a date with the magistrates although depending on how much you had got on your licence & the level of speed you could plead guilty by post.
I believe the Prosecutions Dept had the option to mark NFA and advise the offender for lower speeds, but I never bothered reporting - or later ticketing - for less than 10mph over the posted limit in a 30 & 15mph in a 40. Stopping & a few 'words of advice' to the driver were my preferred option for lower speeds.
I was trained in vascar, muniquip and pro-laser plus those we caught by following with a vehicle with calibrated speedometer.
ETA In my driving teens - early 1970s - I did get caught once for speeding & that was an endorsement & IIRC £25 fine (which for me was a week's take home pay). In those days it was 3 endorsements = a ban.
Edited by paintman on Sunday 22 October 13:04
paintman said:
Perhaps you would prefer to go back to the old way.
Points and a fine every time you get caught.
You don't have to accept an SAC, you can always opt to take the points & fine.
The implication is that, were it not for the incentive of revenue from SACs, police forces wouldn't spend so much time monitoring the roads for speeding motorists. Points and a fine every time you get caught.
You don't have to accept an SAC, you can always opt to take the points & fine.
Edited by anonymous-user on Sunday 22 October 12:03
That could well be beneficial for those who occasionally break limits safely and also free up resources for more important work.
REALIST123 said:
The implication is that, were it not for the incentive of revenue from SACs, police forces wouldn't spend so much time monitoring the roads for speeding motorists.
That could well be beneficial for those who occasionally break limits safely and also free up resources for more important work.
Most police forces do not operate the best course themselves though, do they?That could well be beneficial for those who occasionally break limits safely and also free up resources for more important work.
Bearing in mind this was before the existence of the camera vans the majority of time we spent on speed detection was a direct result of complaints from residents & local councillors.
Not unusual to be approached by residents with 'About time you did something about the speeding here'.
Sometimes you'd catch lots & sometimes nothing. I do recall one site only resulted in one capture - which turned out to be the main complainant. He was rather philosophical about it
A common misconception on roads that saw a lot of HGVs was their believed speed - possibly due to the noise - & on occasion we would invite the complainant to be with us so they could see the actual speed of the HGV against what they estimated it to be.
Not unusual to be approached by residents with 'About time you did something about the speeding here'.
Sometimes you'd catch lots & sometimes nothing. I do recall one site only resulted in one capture - which turned out to be the main complainant. He was rather philosophical about it
A common misconception on roads that saw a lot of HGVs was their believed speed - possibly due to the noise - & on occasion we would invite the complainant to be with us so they could see the actual speed of the HGV against what they estimated it to be.
paintman said:
When I was in the job the SAC wasn't an option.
IIRC wasn't introduced until 2002.
Fixed penalty tickets were introduced during my service, I can't recall the year, but prior to that it was report for summons & a date with the magistrates although depending on how much you had got on your licence & the level of speed you could plead guilty by post.
I believe the Prosecutions Dept had the option to mark NFA and advise the offender for lower speeds, but I never bothered reporting - or later ticketing - for less than 10mph over the posted limit in a 30 & 15mph in a 40. Stopping & a few 'words of advice' to the driver were my preferred option for lower speeds.
I was trained in vascar, muniquip and pro-laser plus those we caught by following with a vehicle with calibrated speedometer.
ETA In my driving teens - early 1970s - I did get caught once for speeding & that was an endorsement & IIRC £25 fine (which for me was a week's take home pay). In those days it was 3 endorsements = a ban.
That's more akin to the 'old way' I remember, not vonhosen's version.IIRC wasn't introduced until 2002.
Fixed penalty tickets were introduced during my service, I can't recall the year, but prior to that it was report for summons & a date with the magistrates although depending on how much you had got on your licence & the level of speed you could plead guilty by post.
I believe the Prosecutions Dept had the option to mark NFA and advise the offender for lower speeds, but I never bothered reporting - or later ticketing - for less than 10mph over the posted limit in a 30 & 15mph in a 40. Stopping & a few 'words of advice' to the driver were my preferred option for lower speeds.
I was trained in vascar, muniquip and pro-laser plus those we caught by following with a vehicle with calibrated speedometer.
ETA In my driving teens - early 1970s - I did get caught once for speeding & that was an endorsement & IIRC £25 fine (which for me was a week's take home pay). In those days it was 3 endorsements = a ban.
Edited by paintman on Sunday 22 October 13:04
paintman said:
I can't find any vonhosen posts on this thread?
There aren't any.His line is basically that all the automated non-discretionary enforcement now merely frees up the Police to do other things, but he dished out tickets in a similar way back in the day as they are now (and the 'under 85 on a Motorway and we'll turn a blind eye generally' is made-up and never happened).
Davidonly said:
SAC's (bribes for police waivers): Small sums to Gov't big to the parasites that run this scam.
The one I did had 2 guys for 4 hours, plus hire of the hotel facilities where they held it. Plus admin in sending out notices, organising the course etc. 15 people paying £100 so £1500 to cover it. Obviously they make a profit, and as it's a private firm running it who shouldn't they, but I'm not convinced it's the get rich quick scheme you describe.paintman said:
Perhaps you would prefer to go back to the old way.
Points and a fine every time you get caught.
You don't have to accept an SAC, you can always opt to take the points & fine.
Given that one must declare a SAC in lieu of points to an insurer, do premiums get loaded the same way anyway?Points and a fine every time you get caught.
You don't have to accept an SAC, you can always opt to take the points & fine.
If so, I'd rather not bother with the SAC and just take the points rather than having to sit in faux contrition and repeat the 'speed kills' mantra to be allowed to leave...
paintman said:
When I was in the job the SAC wasn't an option.
IIRC wasn't introduced until 2002.
Fixed penalty tickets were introduced during my service, I can't recall the year, but prior to that it was report for summons & a date with the magistrates although depending on how much you had got on your licence & the level of speed you could plead guilty by post.
I believe the Prosecutions Dept had the option to mark NFA and advise the offender for lower speeds, but I never bothered reporting - or later ticketing - for less than 10mph over the posted limit in a 30 & 15mph in a 40. Stopping & a few 'words of advice' to the driver were my preferred option for lower speeds.
I was trained in vascar, muniquip and pro-laser plus those we caught by following with a vehicle with calibrated speedometer.
ETA In my driving teens - early 1970s - I did get caught once for speeding & that was an endorsement & IIRC £25 fine (which for me was a week's take home pay). In those days it was 3 endorsements = a ban.
Likewise - never punished a speeder less than 10mph over - we had speed offence cards or the good old process book. I do remember when the tickets came in - made life a bit easier
IIRC wasn't introduced until 2002.
Fixed penalty tickets were introduced during my service, I can't recall the year, but prior to that it was report for summons & a date with the magistrates although depending on how much you had got on your licence & the level of speed you could plead guilty by post.
I believe the Prosecutions Dept had the option to mark NFA and advise the offender for lower speeds, but I never bothered reporting - or later ticketing - for less than 10mph over the posted limit in a 30 & 15mph in a 40. Stopping & a few 'words of advice' to the driver were my preferred option for lower speeds.
I was trained in vascar, muniquip and pro-laser plus those we caught by following with a vehicle with calibrated speedometer.
ETA In my driving teens - early 1970s - I did get caught once for speeding & that was an endorsement & IIRC £25 fine (which for me was a week's take home pay). In those days it was 3 endorsements = a ban.
Likewise - never punished a speeder less than 10mph over - we had speed offence cards or the good old process book. I do remember when the tickets came in - made life a bit easier
Edited by paintman on Sunday 22 October 13:04
Funk said:
Given that one must declare a SAC in lieu of points to an insurer, do premiums get loaded the same way anyway?
If so, I'd rather not bother with the SAC and just take the points rather than having to sit in faux contrition and repeat the 'speed kills' mantra to be allowed to leave...
Why do you need to declare attendance at a SAC?If so, I'd rather not bother with the SAC and just take the points rather than having to sit in faux contrition and repeat the 'speed kills' mantra to be allowed to leave...
Some debate about that.
TwigtheWonderkid said:
Davidonly said:
SAC's (bribes for police waivers): Small sums to Gov't big to the parasites that run this scam.
The one I did had 2 guys for 4 hours, plus hire of the hotel facilities where they held it. Plus admin in sending out notices, organising the course etc. 15 people paying £100 so £1500 to cover it. Obviously they make a profit, and as it's a private firm running it who shouldn't they, but I'm not convinced it's the get rich quick scheme you describe.Gassing Station | Speed, Plod & the Law | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff