When to tell insurance about points?

stefanovich

I think I got caught by a mobile speed camera on the way to work last week on the dual carriageway from Limerick to Shannon. They had positioned themselves just after a bend in the road. I was keeping with the flow of traffic but I was probably doing about 115 when I saw them and started to slow.

I now fear I might get a letter. If I get 3 points for this am I obliged to inform my insurance? If not how many points do you need before you tell them?

sidcon

stefanovich wrote: »

I think I got caught by a mobile speed camera on the way to work last week on the dual carriageway from Limerick to Shannon. They had positioned themselves just after a bend in the road. I was keeping with the flow of traffic but I was probably doing about 115 when I saw them and started to slow.

I now fear I might get a letter. If I get 3 points for this am I obliged to inform my insurance? If not how many points do you need before you tell them?

When you receive the letter confirming the points on your license

stefanovich

sidcon wrote: »

When you receive the letter confirming the points on your license

I thought that below a certain number of points it won't affect your premium, I suppose being upfront with them if I receive a letter is the best course of action rather than trying to second guess.
Would 3 points badly affect one's premium?

They must have made a fair bit of profit that day, literally no one on that road drives at 100.

Del2005

stefanovich wrote: »

I thought that below a certain number of points it won't affect your premium, I suppose being upfront with them if I receive a letter is the best course of action rather than trying to second guess.
Would 3 points badly affect one's premium?

It doesn't affect the loading but it does affect the policy, you have to inform them of any material changes and getting penalty points applied to your licence is a material change. By not telling them you have PP they could void the policy, which means that only 3rd parties are covered if you claim along with the possibility of them taking you to court to recover the 3rd party payout.

Henry Ford III

stefanovich wrote: »

I thought that below a certain number of points it won't affect your premium, I suppose being upfront with them if I receive a letter is the best course of action rather than trying to second guess.
Would 3 points badly affect one's premium?...

Depends on the insurer.

9935452

stefanovich wrote: »

I think I got caught by a mobile speed camera on the way to work last week on the dual carriageway from Limerick to Shannon. They had positioned themselves just after a bend in the road. I was keeping with the flow of traffic but I was probably doing about 115 when I saw them and started to slow.

I now fear I might get a letter. If I get 3 points for this am I obliged to inform my insurance? If not how many points do you need before you tell them?

There is a good chance you weren't caught. You would be surprised how close you have to be to the van for them to see you.
They might have been setting up.
The camera could have been pointing in the other direction.
You could slowed enough by the time they saw you as we'll.
Don't get too excited til you get a ticket.
If you do get one you should inform the insurance when you get the letter saying you have points.
It will depend on the insurance company to as whether your policy goes up

MiskyBoyy

Not sure how accurate this information is but a friend of a friend operates one of those speedvans and my friend told me and swears on it that it's approximately 46 yards the fully legal detection range supposedly.

9935452

MiskyBoyy wrote: »

Not sure how accurate this information is but a friend of a friend operates one of those speedvans and my friend told me and swears on it that it's approximately 46 yards the fully legal detection range supposedly.

Sounds about right. I've a radar detector , and it goes off when fairly close to the van

stefanovich

9935452 wrote: »

There is a good chance you weren't caught. You would be surprised how close you have to be to the van for them to see you.
They might have been setting up.
The camera could have been pointing in the other direction.
You could slowed enough by the time they saw you as we'll.
Don't get too excited til you get a ticket.
If you do get one you should inform the insurance when you get the letter saying you have points.
It will depend on the insurance company to as whether your policy goes up

Yeah, I slowed down but a bit late. Took me a second to realise it was a speedvan. I have past them before and slowed and avoided a ticket. I was on the outside lane overtaking other traffic which may have shielded me somewhat.

9935452 wrote: »

Sounds about right. I've a radar detector , and it goes off when fairly close to the van

Didn't think they were available for sale in Ireland.

9935452

stefanovich wrote: »

Yeah, I slowed down but a bit late. Took me a second to realise it was a speedvan. I have past them before and slowed and avoided a ticket. I was on the outside lane overtaking other traffic which may have shielded me somewhat.



Didn't think they were available for sale in Ireland.

They are not.
They used to be legal to own illegal to use. The law changed I believe. Now illegal to import , own and use.
Mine came from England. I do have one that came from the states but it doesn't work here. Different frequencies

2012paddy2012

9935452 wrote: »

Sounds about right. I've a radar detector , and it goes off when fairly close to the van

Can you show link to radar detector had a few rubbish thks

9935452

2012paddy2012 wrote: »

Can you show link to radar detector had a few rubbish thks

The radar detector I have is a snooper s5r.
http://shop.snooperdirect.com/product50186catno20186.html
Www.snooper.co.uk.
It detects the vans but it goes off at automatic doors on the same frequency and blips if you meet someone on the road who has one in a car.

I have to point out that it is illegal to import and use these in Ireland and am not encouraging anyone to buy one and face possible prosecution.

ironclaw

2012paddy2012 wrote: »

Can you show link to radar detector had a few rubbish thks

http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1991/en/si/0050.html

They are illegal since 1991 and the penalties are harsh for having them. There have been cases and Traffic Corp do know about them. I know I won't persuade anyone, but if anyone wants my credentials, feel free to search my user name here on this topic. But here we go:

You are absolutely wasting your time when it comes to detecting these vans with anything other than your eyes, in my opinion. The vans are sharply vertically polarized and extremely low powered. All major RDs are horizontally polarized with severely reduced detection in the vertical. Thats hard physics at work and antenna theory. You cannot beat it. The ONLY way to increase your range is to vertically mount, and subsequently make it beyond obvious on your dash. RDs are all based on two major designs, the V1, M3 and the M4. Both of which are dated when it comes to this newer tech. GoSafe (aka RedFlex) also operating at the extreme low end of K band (24GHz dead) which make its extremely hard for an RD to detect it due to the filters / heterodyning employed in their construction, as its literally at the edge of their 'listening' range. Add to this the low power output and you won't get a 'hit' until you are literally on the van itself, if you get one at all. No point what so ever.

How do I know this? I had the pleasure of driving through Arizona (RedFlex's home turf) and other States where this tech is employed and RDs are completely legal on all the major 'exotic' rallies. My background is Electronic Engineering and its a topic I keep a close eye on, purely out of interest as it feeds into my day to day, which is closely related.

If you want to detect these vans, you need a spectrum analyser. End of. And you need a panel antenna, not a horn antenna. Both of which will set you back €2000+

Oh, and I should probably mention again where we started. They are completely, and utterly, illegal in Ireland. You cannot bring one into the country and you cannot have one in your car, for any reason, even in a lead, sealed bunker of a box. You can't have it. If you have one, accept that the book will well and truly be thrown at you for having it.

The fine for having one would far exceed the saving of you will make. Again, I can't persuade anyone, but I cannot urge you enough to spend the money improving your driving technique and increasing your visual perception. It will save you far, far faster.

cnoc

stefanovich wrote: »

I think I got caught by a mobile speed camera on the way to work last week on the dual carriageway from Limerick to Shannon. They had positioned themselves just after a bend in the road. I was keeping with the flow of traffic but I was probably doing about 115 when I saw them and started to slow.

Where was it located?

2012paddy2012

9935452 wrote: »

The radar detector I have is a snooper s5r.
http://shop.snooperdirect.com/product50186catno20186.html
Www.snooper.co.uk.
It detects the vans but it goes off at automatic doors on the same frequency and blips if you meet someone on the road who has one in a car.

I have to point out that it is illegal to import and use these in Ireland and am not encouraging anyone to buy one and face possible prosecution.

Is it similar to speed traps app? If so it be beeping every minute more if a nuisance than a help .... Does it actually detect the physical van and presumably the signal it sends out to detect speed of approaching vehicle or does it beep where these vans usually are?

2012paddy2012

ironclaw wrote: »

http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1991/en/si/0050.html

They are illegal since 1991 and the penalties are harsh for having them. There have been cases and Traffic Corp do know about them. I know I won't persuade anyone, but if anyone wants my credentials, feel free to search my user name here on this topic. But here we go:

You are absolutely wasting your time when it comes to detecting these vans with anything other than your eyes, in my opinion. The vans are sharply vertically polarized and extremely low powered. All major RDs are horizontally polarized with severely reduced detection in the vertical. Thats hard physics at work and antenna theory. You cannot beat it. The ONLY way to increase your range is to vertically mount, and subsequently make it beyond obvious on your dash. RDs are all based on two major designs, the V1, M3 and the M4. Both of which are dated when it comes to this newer tech. GoSafe (aka RedFlex) also operating at the extreme low end of K band (24GHz dead) which make its extremely hard for an RD to detect it due to the filters / heterodyning employed in their construction, as its literally at the edge of their 'listening' range. Add to this the low power output and you won't get a 'hit' until you are literally on the van itself, if you get one at all. No point what so ever.

How do I know this? I had the pleasure of driving through Arizona (RedFlex's home turf) and other States where this tech is employed and RDs are completely legal on all the major 'exotic' rallies. My background is Electronic Engineering and its a topic I keep a close eye on, purely out of interest as it feeds into my day to day, which is closely related.

If you want to detect these vans, you need a spectrum analyser. End of. And you need a panel antenna, not a horn antenna. Both of which will set you back €2000+

Oh, and I should probably mention again where we started. They are completely, and utterly, illegal in Ireland. You cannot bring one into the country and you cannot have one in your car, for any reason, even in a lead, sealed bunker of a box. You can't have it. If you have one, accept that the book will well and truly be thrown at you for having it.

The fine for having one would far exceed the saving of you will make. Again, I can't persuade anyone, but I cannot urge you enough to spend the money improving your driving technique and increasing your visual perception. It will save you far, far faster.

Agree 100% thks - interesting

9935452

2012paddy2012 wrote: »

Is it similar to speed traps app? If so it be beeping every minute more if a nuisance than a help .... Does it actually detect the physical van and presumably the signal it sends out to detect speed of approaching vehicle or does it beep where these vans usually are?

It's purely a detector. No GPS in it. It does detect the vans and the lazer gun.
The ones that use GPS and go off where the van might be are a waste of time. Grand for where there are fixed cameras.

On another interesting note I have a jammer/confuser. I was told when I bought it that it originally started life as an automatic garage door opener that happened to jam the signal when turned on.
That item has never been used or even taken out of the box

Keith186

stefanovich wrote: »

I think I got caught by a mobile speed camera on the way to work last week on the dual carriageway from Limerick to Shannon. They had positioned themselves just after a bend in the road. I was keeping with the flow of traffic but I was probably doing about 115 when I saw them and started to slow.

I now fear I might get a letter. If I get 3 points for this am I obliged to inform my insurance? If not how many points do you need before you tell them?

You normally have to declare any penalty points, never heard of a minimum threshold and you normally inform them at renewal, not when you get them.

9935452

Keith186 wrote: »

You normally have to declare any penalty points, never heard of a minimum threshold and you normally inform them at renewal, not when you get them.

No minimal threshold. People used to say your premium wouldn't go up until you went above 4penalty points