Ticketed at what speed?

Fey!

Just out of curiosity, has anyone been ticketed below 60 in a 50, below 90 in an 80, below 110 in a 100, or below 130 in a 120? If so, what speed were you at, and what were the circumstances (ie, outside a school, middle of town, etc)?

The reason for this is that a few people have stated in their posts that they've been done at 51 in a 50, or 81 in an 80, even though any Garda I know states that they would give some leeway, generally around 10%.

Trying to see which group is telling porkies

nialler

from what I've heard there's a 10% either way on yer speedo, could be wrong but all the merc forums are telling me this.

Spitfire666

people that say they got done for being 1 unit over the speedlimit are talking rubbish. i just doesn't happen. you cant read a speedo to within that acurate a reading so you would not be expected to know if you were a few over the limit.

Wishbone Ash

Spitfire666 wrote:

people that say they got done for being 1 unit over the speedlimit are talking rubbish. i just doesn't happen. you cant read a speedo to within that acurate a reading so you would not be expected to know if you were a few over the limit.

Agree Spitfire666 - New tyres and tyres at the legal limit could affect the speed by those small margins.

BrianD3

Trying to see which group is telling porkies

To be honest there's an awful lot of bullsh1t spouted on the internet and in real life about speeding. People lie, exaggerate, talk crap, are mistaken, repeat third hand information and hearsay etc.

If several Gardai have stated to you personally that people don't get tickets for being 1 km/h over the speed limit then I would be inclined to believe them.

Just on the speedometers in cars, I believe that most over state by a few km/h and that they are intentionally set this way by the manufacturers. Better to have them over state your speed than under state it. Years ago as part of road tests Auto Express used to test the accuracy of car speedometers using some sort of calibrated device. At a true 70 mph the speedos always seemed to over state by about 3-8mph. This was with new cars on new tyres. Once tyres wear down a bit, the speedo will probably over state the speed by a slightly bigger margin

Therefore if someone is pulled for a true speed of 10 km/h over the speed limit it is likely that their speedo was showing them as 20 km/h over the limit so excuses like "I only drifted over the limit" or "I didn't realise that I was going fast" don't really wash.

Our man in Havana

I agree totally with that post.

Rovi

nialler wrote:

from what I've heard there's a 10% either way on yer speedo, could be wrong but all the merc forums are telling me this.

I'm 99.9% certain that the vast majority of factory spec (ie- non fecked about with) speedos read anything between 5 and 15% fast. This is not to protect the unsuspecting motorist, but to protect the manufacturers from a tsunami of litigation from disgruntled new cyclists/pedestrians claiming that they lost their driving licences because the speedo misled them into breaking the speed limits.
As BrianD3 says, given the approx. 10% leeway built into the average speedo, plus the bit of leeway over the 'real' speed given by the Gardai/Gatsos (also there to prevent litigation, in my opinion), you'd need to be doing an indicated 15-20% over the posted limit before you start getting into the 'danger' area as regards getting stopped/photographed. Goofy driving and other muppetry excepted, of course.

Small GPS units are cheap enough now that anyone interested really has no excuse for not knowing the error built into their speedo.
For example, I know that my speedo reads a little over 130kph when my actual road speed is 120kph. Add a bit for leeway in speed detection machinery, and I'm happy enough to bowl along the motorway up to an indicated 140kph, content in the knowledge that unless I draw attention on myself by doing crazy lane changes or something else stupid, I won't incur the wrath of the authorities.

cormie

Sure how can you get caught speeding if that's the case:D

Anan1

Out of interest, about 6 months ago I went through a speed trap on the N11 in a UK registered Beetle doing an indicated 120mph and rising. Not a dickey-boo. Was it the plates? Did they not see me? Could they not catch me? I honestly don't know.

Seth Brundle

UK plates are not traceable unless you have notified the VRO about your stay.

zod

I got done for doing 75(47mph) in a 60 on the N7 dual/triple carraigeway

I think just after the redcow (it says N7 D22 ) at 9:30 on a Sat morning.

Like shooting fish in a barrel there IMO

Fey!

I'm aware of the margin on the speedo, but the ticket would indicate the speed being done.

This thread is here to prove/disprove some peoples theories - maybe I should have made that clearer in the OP.

Zod et al - this isn't a "fish-in-a -barrel" "aren't the Gardai b@stards" thread, it's an info thread. Also, it would be 70 in a 60 I'm asking about. 75 is 25% over the limit, so I'm not going to feel sorry for you. Chances are your speedo was reading 83, or 51mph.

kdevitt

52 in a 50 - saw the ticket too. A friend driving out near the Naas road.

Fey!

kdevitt - was he up to anything else at the time? Circumstances, please, as asked for in the OP.

smash

I know someone who got 43 in a 40 when it was miles.... cop must have been in a bad mood, I thought it was crazy!

overdriver

4 points for speeding.
1st one at 4 am coming home from a gig in Wexford. 84 in a 60.
2nd one going through a little place before Castleblayney, came around a bend and the limit changed from 60 to 40, just around the corner.The van was just inside the 40 mph zone - that's a bit cynical. I'd just overtaken someone before the bend. Result, a 54 in a 40.

Lesson learnt, grudgingly.

Anan1

kbannon wrote:

UK plates are not traceable unless you have notified the VRO about your stay.

This was a manned speed trap, so all they would have had to do was wave me down.

zod

Fey! wrote:

Zod et al - this isn't a "fish-in-a -barrel" "aren't the Gardai b@stards" thread, it's an info thread. Also, it would be 70 in a 60 I'm asking about. 75 is 25% over the limit, so I'm not going to feel sorry for you. Chances are your speedo was reading 83, or 51mph.

1. I didn't ask you to feel sorry for me, I was giving info as requested

2. The saying "fish in a barrell" is not the remotely similar to ""aren't the Gardai b@stards"

I likened "fish is a barell" to the situation because at 9:30 am on a Saturday morning on a 3 lane dual carraigeway it's ridiculously easy to catch people doing 50+ mph. Thats just a fact.


I agree with speed cameras etc .. I just wish they could do it at times and where theres a statistically higher chance that people might be hurt. I hate this your either with us or against us attitude. I see no conflict with grumbling ( which I wasn't BTW ) at a badly placed speed camera and being horrified at the current road carnage.

Fey!

Zod - I agree that camera positioning and location of the checkpoints leaves a lot to be desired; there should be more on bad 80kmph roads IMO in order to slow people down on our more dangerous roads. IIRC, someone in the know stated here recently that the reason they weren't on 80kmph roads was because they need certain lengths of straight roads for the guns to work, and these roads don't have that. Personally, that sounds like bull.

My response to your other post comes from this being an info thread only; I didn't mean it as an insult to you.

And now I'm going OT myself.....

Marcus.Aurelius

Its pretty obvious though that those private companies won't give you any leeway, at least the guards are someway straight in that regard

stovelid

Do you mean 120kph?

Anan1 wrote:

Out of interest, about 6 months ago I went through a speed trap on the N11 in a UK registered Beetle doing an indicated 120mph and rising. Not a dickey-boo. Was it the plates? Did they not see me? Could they not catch me? I honestly don't know.

Eoin

Rovi wrote:

Small GPS units are cheap enough now that anyone interested really has no excuse for not knowing the error built into their speedo.
For example, I know that my speedo reads a little over 130kph when my actual road speed is 120kph. Add a bit for leeway in speed detection machinery, and I'm happy enough to bowl along the motorway up to an indicated 140kph, content in the knowledge that unless I draw attention on myself by doing crazy lane changes or something else stupid, I won't incur the wrath of the authorities.

I was quite surprised to find that the speedo in my car and the GPS are always within 1km/h of each other at any speed, even after putting bigger wheels on the car.

Rovi

eoin_s wrote:

I was quite surprised to find that the speedo in my car and the GPS are always within 1km/h of each other at any speed, even after putting bigger wheels on the car.

Hmmmm...
Interesting.

I wonder if these is any tricky technology at work there?
Or did you also fit lower profile tyres at the same time, thus staying at or close to the original rolling radius?

Ground reading radar has been available on agricultural machinery for years; it 'looks' at the ground passing under the vehicle and gives a true and accurate ground speed, regardless of wheel spin/slip, wheel size, etc.
Anyone have any idea why such technology doesn't appear to have made its way into road going vehicles (that I know of, anyway)?

Eoin

Rovi wrote:

Hmmmm...
Interesting.

I wonder if these is any tricky technology at work there?
Or did you also fit lower profile tyres at the same time, thus staying at or close to the original rolling radius?

Actually, just looked up my old wheel size - you're right, the new profiles meant a less than a 1% difference according to this site. Still impressed that the speedo is still so accurate though. Also tallied perfectly with one of those signs that shows your speed.

How do you mean tricky technology?

testicle

Anan1 wrote:

Out of interest, about 6 months ago I went through a speed trap on the N11 in a UK registered Beetle doing an indicated 120mph and rising. Not a dickey-boo. Was it the plates? Did they not see me? Could they not catch me? I honestly don't know.

Seen the Kit Kat ad?

Rovi

eoin_s wrote:

How do you mean tricky technology?

I was just speculating that there might be some electrickery that ignored stuff like bigger/smaller/new tyres and actually indicated a true ground speed, something like the ground radar I mentioned.

Eoin

Rovi wrote:

I was just speculating that there might be some electrickery that ignored stuff like bigger/smaller/new tyres and actually indicated a true ground speed, something like the ground radar I mentioned.

Ah right. Think you may be giving the car too much credit - I just happened to get the same radius again!

Is there a chance that most the people who claim to get ticketed for being a fraction over the limit have been caught by a GATSO, which may not be as forgiving (although it obviously does have to its threshhold set by someone in the first place)?

I.S.T.

overdriver wrote:

4 points for speeding.
1st one at 4 am coming home from a gig in Wexford. 84 in a 60. .

Was this a fixed or mobile unit? I've never heard of a mobile speed check operating at 4am before!!

overdriver

It was a pair of cops in a car at the side of the road. They laser-ed me , and took off up the road after me, sirens and lights blazing.

milltown

Rovi wrote:

I'm 99.9% certain that the vast majority of factory spec (ie- non fecked about with) speedos read anything between 5 and 15% fast. This is not to protect the unsuspecting motorist, but to protect the manufacturers from a tsunami of litigation from disgruntled new cyclists/pedestrians claiming that they lost their driving licences because the speedo misled them into breaking the speed limits.
As BrianD3 says, given the approx. 10% leeway built into the average speedo, plus the bit of leeway over the 'real' speed given by the Gardai/Gatsos (also there to prevent litigation, in my opinion), you'd need to be doing an indicated 15-20% over the posted limit before you start getting into the 'danger' area as regards getting stopped/photographed.

A bit silly to simply add the assumed tolerances of two completely different pieces of equipment IMO. The tolerance on the speedo and the tolerance of the detector are both taken to be from the recorded speed. The speed camera can't see your speedo.

20% over in a 120Kmh zone could have you doing 145Kmh, or 90Mph in old money. Dunno about now, but not too long ago if you got the wrong judge, that was a fine, a ban and a risk of a stretch.

Rovi

milltown wrote:

20% over in a 120Kmh zone could have you doing 145Kmh, or 90Mph in old money. Dunno about now, but not too long ago if you got the wrong judge, that was a fine, a ban and a risk of a stretch.

I said an indicated 15-20% over the posted limit, which in my car with a 10% error at that speed would be a true 125-130Km/h (77-80mph).
Given suitable traffic conditions, I'd be perfectly happy to drive on any motorway in the country at these speeds, confident that I wouldn't get pulled over for the speed element alone.
Drawing attention to myself with stupid lane changes, tailgating, or general acting the bollix will of course throw all this out the window, and I'd fully expect the 5-10Km/h over the limit to be added to the list of other charges.
I make strenuous and determined efforts to avoid attracting such attention.

Seth Brundle

The 10% you refer is not a guarranteed figure and for all you know your car is showing an accurate figure.
Therefore, by driving 15-20% over the posted limit you are doing between 138 and 144km/h.

Rovi

I've checked it with several GPS devices, including some very expensive aviation/surveying ones, and a hand held radar gun, and they all agree: true 120Km/h = indicated 132Km/h.

Seth Brundle

Rovi wrote:

I've checked it with several GPS devices, including some very expensive aviation/surveying ones, and a hand held radar gun, and they all agree: true 120Km/h = indicated 132Km/h.

Thats fair enough but if you look further up the page you will see...

eoin_s wrote:

I was quite surprised to find that the speedo in my car and the GPS are always within 1km/h of each other at any speed, even after putting bigger wheels on the car.

You cannot assume your speedo is incorrect without having it tested against something else.

layke

Hypothetically speaking if I was pulled for foing 41 in a 40k zone, handed a ticket and given a court date I wouldn't be sweating buckets because I know i'd get off scot free. With a speed gun there is a certain margin for error because they accurate within a certain %. For that speed all I would have to do is insist I was doing 39K and it would be very very hard to prove me wrong.

Uncertainty is the key, where there is doubt there can be no conviction in these cirumstances. Also I can't imagine a judge being too amused at the guard who brings you before the court over a 1kmh speed breach. I know if I was a judge i'd roast a guard for wasting the tax payers money and the courts time.

Seth Brundle

According to Irish legislation the speed detection equipment is assumed to be calibrated correctly so that would not work as an excuse.
I dug it out before, I can't be bothered doing it again.

Eoin

kbannon wrote:

You cannot assume your speedo is incorrect without having it tested against something else.

I meant I was surprised that it was pretty much dead on the money. I didn't assume it was 10% out.

Mitch Connor

eoin_s wrote:

I meant I was surprised that it was pretty much dead on the money. I didn't assume it was 10% out.

i think he was highlighting your post, as opposed to questioning it.