are we hard done by speeding in wiltshire

out in the van the other day we got caught in a speed trap. ok , our own fault but I asked a question which gave me a answer I didn't expect.
2managers I work with got caught in road works near Gloucester and in Bristol, our old landlord got caught with 2 others in Ottery St Mary. All of these got the opportunity of going on a speed awareness course. no points, no fine, no need to inform insurance.
we got caught in Wiltshire, 3 points and £100 fine, now have to inform insurance companies.

I don't agree with speeding or am trying to get out of it, BUT why , if I speed in another county would I come off better off?
the answer I got from the officer was that as Wiltshire had done away with fixed speed cameras so this is the reason for speed awareness courses , why a course for doing 60 on a motorway in roadworks when all travelling in one direction yet 40 coming out of a 40 into a 30 with no one about , whats the difference??

rant over, have to wait 3 years of insurance declarations now!! just a postcode lottery again I suppose

I was flashed in Bristol a few years ago 38 in a 30 zone. The area wasn't residential,it appeared to be a double carriageway but there were sreetlamps and pavements,cinema and retail park.I got the opportunity of a speed awareness course and £60 fine and took it,but about a month ago my brother got a ticket near Cheddar somewhere also Avon and Somerset but he didn't get the choice,it was £100 and 3 points :(

It's because we live in a low crime area. Statistics rule. If people aren't committing crime this isn't see as a victory for society it's seen as the police not hitting their arrest targets.

qui custodiet ipsos custodes ?

I've been done 3 times and never had the chance to do a speed awareness course, each time £60 and 3 points. Have I learned my lesson........no I'm just a lot more careful where and when I let rip, and bearing in mind all 3 times where like 37 in a 30 hardly flipping ghost rider hey. But I suppose if your willing to do more than what the sign says you know the consequence........ But next time I'd like to have the choice, but glad there are no speed cameras in Swindon.

I prefer Wiltshire with the lack of fixed Cameras but no awareness course to places with crazy amounts of Cameras.

I was riding around Cardiff at Christmas and the sCameras everywhere made it hell, constant stop start in traffic as people braked for the things (even when not speeding) and out of traffic constantly scanning for the dam things while checking the speedo (removing attention from the road). That was just unpleasant and unenjoyable riding,if the price of not having that stress here in Wiltshire is not being offered a course then I'm happy with that.

But I know people who have been offered the course, that's my point.... I don't know why one would be offered and not another ???? Just seems strange, but your right about it being a hazard and a distraction

Strangely, I was talking about tthis with my other half this morning when going through the 50s on the m5 in Glos.
She got stung in Cardiff for 34 in a 30. She was told on the course that they were more likely to offer a course to non-locals as they aim for people to be able to judge the limit based on road furniture, not just signs. 10 minutes later she predicted a 30 on an unknown road near stroud. As we rounded the corner, there were the signs. Fair play, maybe it works.
So I guess logically if you're local you are more likely to know the roads so speeding is less likely to be a mistake and more a conscious decision.

Crap this speeding tosh...gives some patronising plods and lifes moaners chance to bleat on and make themselves appear important.

You only have to go a short distance to see the complete lunacy of all these stupid speed signs that have no bearing whatsoever to the road...none whatsoever...it is all a cost to the taxpayer and basically a waste. In reality you can only go as slow, or as fast, as the prevailing traffic and weather conditions.

Wow a hanging offence to hit 40 in a uninhabited 30 area...pathetic nonsense. Motorways down to 40 in the middle of the night !!!! wtf is that all about ???

As WR6133 rightly states that cameras , and I would add those stupid flashing speed signs, are a bloody distraction more likely to cause accidents.

All the paint on the roads..'SLOW!!!' and big signs 'BEND' must cost us a fortune.....use the cash to fill the bloody potholes.

Another hazard are those speed bumps and humps ... in the night and you get dazzled by some twat and their led car lights then hit one it could be 'goodnight vienna'

Speed faff is a self serving money spinner for the state and employ egotistical patronising twats to preach their blinkered tosh.

Have a nice day ;)

My friend, who is ex traffic, said that it's too expensive to educate people so why not make money off of them instead.
Although fines aren't the cash cow people think they are.
The money is used by the various contractors and quangos to invent more ways to enforce the laws to get more money.
The last thing they actually want is road safety because then they'd all be out of a job.

On my last insurance renewal I was asked about points, points pending or courses which avoided points and they all were taken into account!

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Originally Posted by Davezthomas

On my last insurance renewal I was asked about points, points pending or courses which avoided points and they all were taken into account!

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I stand to be corrected but those speed awareness courses are not centrally registered so they can ask but if you don't tell they can't find out.

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Originally Posted by Col

Crap this speeding tosh...gives some patronising plods and lifes moaners chance to bleat on and make themselves appear important.

You only have to go a short distance to see the complete lunacy of all these stupid speed signs that have no bearing whatsoever to the road...none whatsoever...it is all a cost to the taxpayer and basically a waste. In reality you can only go as slow, or as fast, as the prevailing traffic and weather conditions.

Wow a hanging offence to hit 40 in a uninhabited 30 area...pathetic nonsense. Motorways down to 40 in the middle of the night !!!! wtf is that all about ???

As WR6133 rightly states that cameras , and I would add those stupid flashing speed signs, are a bloody distraction more likely to cause accidents.

All the paint on the roads..'SLOW!!!' and big signs 'BEND' must cost us a fortune.....use the cash to fill the bloody potholes.

Another hazard are those speed bumps and humps ... in the night and you get dazzled by some twat and their led car lights then hit one it could be 'goodnight vienna'

Speed faff is a self serving money spinner for the state and employ egotistical patronising twats to preach their blinkered tosh.

Have a nice day ;)

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Stupid signs........... Best one I think I've seen is the big ones on the motorways that say " sign not in use" REALLY !!!!! I mean WTF !!!!

If you think your hard done by in Wiltshire then try getting caught in Reading, I don't know anyone that's ever been offered a speed awareness course....

Cameras everywhere, unmarked cars, lots of panda cars about, its like a second level of paranoia!

Think the answer to this is simple - funding was withdrawn in this area for the speed awareness courses, pretty certain I heard that somewhere

I know you have to inform your insurers, but don't they still generally disregard the first 3 points you have?

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so they can ask but if you don't tell they can't find out.

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I don't know whether you can be found out or not, but I think it's generally unwise not to tell insurers the truth.

I have either had to provide a copy of my license for my insurance company to keep on file or when I have made a claim they have called the DVLA with me on a call to confirm my license and point history before accepting and paying the claim.

Probably best to tell them if you have points, speed awareness courses etc, its all on file somewhere.....

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Originally Posted by Ducatista

I don't know whether you can be found out or not, but I think it's generally unwise not to tell insurers the truth.

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Tell them the truth they can confirm or check and nothing more. My last insurer phoned after I paid for their policy and asked me to declare any spent or unspent criminal convictions. I know they can't find out the spent ones and I'm not obligated to declare them so they were just trying to get me to shoot myself in the foot and have a hiked premium, illegally infact as the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act states clearly spent don't have to be declared and can not be asked about except under certain conditions of which none apply to insurers.

Now a speed awareness course is not even a conviction (a fixed penalty is). So if insurers ask for driving convictions if you did a speed course then you have no convictions. If they ask specifically about you having done a course then you should answer honestly but if a central database on these things lacks then it's down to you if you declare it or not, I wouldn't.

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but if a central database on these things lacks then it's down to you if you declare it or not, I wouldn't.

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I agree that it's not a conviction but sometimes they do specifically ask about the course.
Are you 100% sure that they don't currently record this anywhere and insurers can definitely not find about it?
Suppose someone follows your advice or they decide to start recording this and you turn out to be wrong? If people lie then they can have claims refused and in some cases be pursued personally for 5 and 6 figure sums.

I would tell the truth with the exception of any questions I knew to be illegal (I agree with you that companies are not always right).

I accept you right to hold a different opinion but I think it's worth discussing the issue so at least people might think about the consequences.

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Originally Posted by Ducatista

Are you 100% sure that they don't currently record this anywhere and insurers can definitely not find about it?

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As I said when I first mentioned this I stand to be corrected.

As far as I can tell there is no straightforward answer it depends on where the course was done and who provided it. It seems some local forces run their own courses (or outsource) so data here is only held locally. Some forces it would seem contract the course out to a company that provides nationally so that would be edging toward a database though one held by a private company, not sure how the law would work here if an insurance company wanted to access it. I assume it's accessible by the Police so they don't offer you 2 courses in a row but I think to know if an insurer can access it legally would require comment from somebody in the legal side of that industry. If you do one that's "locally" done I'm fairly sure it cannot be found out as there are cases online of people doing one in one area then one in another despite being within the time window where you are not meant to be offered another.

I've scraped pepipoo, various police force websites and a couple of legal forums to conclude the above. So I could be way off the mark as none are definitive or totally reliable sources. Personally though I wouldn't declare a course but I've got a fairly don't give a stuff attitude to the law and establishment in general so taking my advice should come with a large warning.

As I've already said you should answer honestly just I wouldn't.

I did a speed awareness course about 5 years ago and didn't declare it and had no comeback. Let the insurance company ask the questions and answer them truthfully. A speed awareness course isn't a conviction and IS NOT seen as such by insurance co's.

Times might have changed but I my experience 3 points for speeding doesn't make any difference to your premium, after all everybody speeds but sometimes you get caught. It's not really a crime unless you're doing it in the wrong place at the wrong time.
What's wrong with 60mph on a straight deserted road past a school in a small village at 3.30am in the morning ??

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4M7gD9UuzeA

mmmmmmmmm bit old but evidence lol!!!

Totally agree with that video :cool:
What's mean to be is mean to be

Two of us were riding back from West Wales on the M4, it was a sunny Monday afternoon and we'd been to visit a friend in hospital.

As it was a nice day and the road wasn't busy we were clipping on at 108mph when we say the blue light, I thought all I'd be doing for the next 6 months would be polishing my bike but the cop told us to keep it under 90 and he could see we weren't riding dangerously or being stupid so he wasn't going to book us.

We were both wearing our patches and he commented by saying "you lot are supposed to hate us, and many of us hate you, which I think is stupid because we've never met before. You 2 seem like tidy guys and I'm not a wanker so stay safe. If you were in south Wales area you'd both be banned by now just as I would be if I was speeding, those guys are wankers. You've been warned."

I bought a lottery ticket that week.