Speed van position and speed limit allowance

bmorrissey

Hi there,
I passed a speed van today on the other side Of The road, I was driving towards the front Of The van not the rear, I was doing between 103/104 km and slowed as I passed it to around 95km. Does anyone know if I will get caught and if there is an allowance for speed limits?
Thank you

magicbastarder

depends on what the speed limit on the road was!
however, if your speedo was indicating 103km/hr, you were probably doing under the ton.

_Kaiser_

They only detect from the rear of the van (but yes they can do both sides of the road simultaneously). If you were doing an indicated 95 km/h when you passed the back of it, that's really about 88-90 km/h. If it was a 100 zone you'll be fine.

bmorrissey

magicbastarder wrote: »

depends on what the speed limit on the road was!
however, if your speedo was indicating 103km/hr, you were probably doing under the ton.

Yeah was 100 road, I heard speedos are usually displaying higher than what I Am actually doing too.
Happened twice today both at the same speed

Isambard

why would you slow to 95 in a 100 zone?

highdef

Isambard wrote: »

why would you slow to 95 in a 100 zone?

It infuriates me when people driving in front of me at the speed limit or slightly less drop anchor when they see the speed detection van. They obviously have no idea what speed they are doing if they feel the need to brake in such a dangerous manner.

magicbastarder

why, are they likely to lose control of their vehicle?

tabbey

Isambard wrote: »

why would you slow to 95 in a 100 zone?

It is an instinctive reaction, people think it is best to slow down, just in case they might be over the limit.

In reality, if they were sufficiently over the limit to be caught, the camera would have been triggered before the motorist reacted.

These people who slow down excessively are a menace to other road users. There used be a fixed camera on the M1 southbound near Dunleer, whether it was operative or not, I do not know. People who had been driving at 100-110 km/h would frequently slow to 80 or 90, an awful curse as it was near the bottom of a hill, and people then revved like mad after the camera.

MuddyDog

tabbey wrote: »

In reality, if they were sufficiently over the limit to be caught, the camera would have been triggered before the motorist reacted.

Only if they were in range of the van of course!

magicbastarder

tabbey wrote: »

These people who slow down excessively are a menace to other road users.

people unable to react in time to a car slowing down in front of them are a menace to themselves and other road users.

highdef

magicbastarder wrote: »

people unable to react in time to a car slowing down in front of them are a menace to themselves and other road users.

Please elaborate as to what you mean with this statement. Are you saying that if some eejit brakes unnecessarily (as in, they're not actually breaking the speed limit but have not been monitoring their speed approaching a speed camera and so drop anchor) and forces following vehicles to also brake heavily to avoid a collision, it's the following vehicles fault and it's the following vehicles that "are a menace to themselves and other road users"?

nailer54321

Totally agree with #highdef, travelling 100kph in a 100 zone will not get you a ticket so no need to slam on the breaks when you see a speed van, was travelling in a 100kph zone recently tipping away at just under 100 when suddenly the car in front hit the breaks and slowed to 60kph just because a speed van was present, ffs learn tbe rules and dont put other road users in danger by spamming on tbe breaks fir no reason.

magicbastarder

highdef wrote: »

Please elaborate as to what you mean with this statement.

i would have thought it was clear. it's the duty of the car behind to maintain a safe distance from the car in front.
there's a clear difference to it being annoying, and it being dangerous. whatever irritance you might feel towards a car in front of you braking when they don't need to, any danger from this manouevre comes from you if you're the car behind. you should be able to deal with a full on emergency brake from the car in front, so the notion of them tapping the brakes to bleed off 10km/h should be of no consequence, safety wise.

highdef

magicbastarder wrote: »

why, are they likely to lose control of their vehicle?

No, I hate slowing down for no reason at all, especially when it's because the driver in front is harshly braking for absolutely no reason at all. I drive no higher than the speed limit so have NEVER had reason to brake /lift foot off the accelerator /deactivate cruise control when approaching a speed detection van.

People who brake harshly like that cause a domino effect that can lead to tailback as each following driver brakes that little bit harder to compensate the braking level of the one in front of them. This can lead to phantom tailback where you find yourself coming to a sudden stop on a major road that is normally free flowing. You then get moving again and pass the speed camera further down the road, sometimes a kilometre or more. The same phenomenon happens for other reasons too, of course (by rubberneckers to any sort of minor incident) but braking unnecessarily for a speed detection van is a particularly annoying one as its purely down to a lack of observation by the driver.

highdef

magicbastarder wrote: »

i would have thought it was clear. it's the duty of the car behind to maintain a safe distance from the car in front.
there's a clear difference to it being annoying, and it being dangerous. whatever irritance you might feel towards a car in front of you braking when they don't need to, any danger from this manouevre comes from you if you're the car behind. you should be able to deal with a full on emergency brake from the car in front, so the notion of them tapping the brakes to bleed off 10km/h should be of no consequence, safety wise.

I've never had a situation where I've nearly hit the car in front. I stick by the two second rule at all times so my safety is not an issue. It's simply the fact that a vehicle should not brake harshly on a clear road for no reason other than panic because they suddenly see a speed detection van, have not been monitoring their speed so brake HARD to over compensate their speed.... When I say over compensate, I'm talking dropping from 80 to 50/60 in a couple of seconds on an otherwise clear and free flowing road.

loyatemu

passed a GoSafe van the other day - half a dozen cars coming in the opposite direction flashed their lights at me and the guy in front of me (who was only doing 60 or so in an 80 zone) hammered on the brakes. Clowns, all of them!