Speeding Tickets

The problem with this method is that there are some conditions where observing the speed limit is tedious and pointless - eg: travelling late at night on an empty motorway at under 70mph. If you do 30, 40 or 50,000 miles a year, travelling at that speed is likely to be increase the danger of you falling asleep at the wheel

2 Cheat the system

This seems to be a common approach used by celebrities and other high profile culprits, who drive at excessive speed and, when caught by a GATSO, suddenly develop amnesia about who was driving the car.

If "amnesia" doesn't work, you could employ lawyers who can come up with good reasons that make an acquittal likely: "I thought the unmarked car following me might have been an assassin, so I increased my speed to escape it". Hmmm...

Cheating the system is, of course, immoral and unethical

3 Apply common sense and observe the spirit of the law

Common sense recognises when it is reasonable and safe to exceed the speed limit. However, by "common sense", I don't mean "rationalisation".

Rationalisation is a process whereby people who drive excessive speeds justify their speed claiming that they are applying "common sense". Eg: "My car has superior braking and steering, so is capable of going 137mph between the two lanes of motorway traffic".

Real common sense, however, is something that a policeman or judge would listen to and agree with.

I recently had the pleasant experience of meeting a policeman with common sense in North Wales. I was driving along a virtually empty dual carriageway, at the end of a long journey (and I do roughly 30,000 miles per year). I normally try to keep my speed to about 80-85mph (having gone past police cars many times at that speed). On this occasion, however, my speed had crept up to around 90mph, with a limit around 70mph.

I hadn't realised the car following me had been a police car - it was behind me for several miles. When he stopped me said I was doing 92.

I apologised.

He asked me why I was driving so fast. I said there was no excuse, but I did about 30,000 miles a year and was near the end of a long trip.

Because of the North Wales' Police reputation for being hard on people who are even just slightly over the speed limit, I assumed he'd then get his ticket book out. But he took a quick look at my car (which I guess was to assess whether 92 was within its limits) and said he'd leave it at a "ticking off".

He said he was concerned about speed because he has to deal with the accidents on that road. He also said that I should keep a closer eye on the mirror: if I see a car tracking me from a fixed distance behind then that is likely a police car, so it would be sensible to slow down a bit. He also said I should be aware there are unmarked cars operating in the area, and a helicopter as well. He then wished me a safe journey and finished with "just keep an eye on the speed".

I think the reason he didn't give me a ticket is because common sense prevailed, and it’s the spirit of the law not the letter that counts. The road was pretty empty. There had been road works, through which I had slowed to under 45. I had kept good distance from any cars in front. So, although I was driving fast, I was in fact driving safely and considerately and, apart from not realising the headlights behind me were those of a police car, I was presumably demonstrating to the following police car good awareness of road conditions.

So why did I apologise to the policeman? Well, my speed had crept up - 92 is more than I would usually do on a dual carriageway (especially as the lanes are narrower and bends tighter than on a motorway). So his statement 'just keep an eye on the speed' is probably well judged advice and something for me to take on board.

At least I have demonstrated that there is a minimum of one policeman in North Wales who is reasonable and is able to apply common sense. And as he suggested, I will 'keep an eye on the speed' in future.

© S P Myers.