Radar/speed traps

[daneuse27]

I'm here to vent about the driving and police where I live. I go out with my LO pretty often, and since we live in a small village, getting anywhere usually requires driving.

I have seen a police car doing radar EVERY SINGLE time I've gone out with LO in the past two weeks. They're always on the side of the road pointing that gun as you go by. It's gotten to the point where I'm always paranoid while driving and constantly watching my speed as I can't afford a ticket - my eyes scan every intersection ahead to see if there are cops there looking for speeders. if this paranoia is what they're aiming for, it has definitely worked

The police presence just seems so prevalent here even though we're surrounded by farmland and small communities. They keep pulling people over. So far I havent been caught, but a few days ago, it was the vehicle next to me - scary! I hope my turn never comes.

Is it like this in other parts of the world? Do you find you see radar a lot where you live?

 

[Toms Mummy]

There's a lot where I am in North Wales, and Ironically the Chief of North Wales Police got done for speeding a couple of years ago .... There are no fixed ones but they're all mobile.

I don't mind them, they're there for a good reason

 

[dgirllamius]

There are loads of static ones here and they always like to catch you out after you've come off the no speed limit motorway. There's always most certainly a speed camera when a limit comes in.

I don't see many mobile ones but I did get caught by one - was doing 10km/h over. It was in the most stupid place ... There's a bit of road that goes 100km/h for a while and drops down to 70km/h for about 500 metres and back up to 80km/h ... Loads of people ignore the 70 and just drop when it hits 80, god knows how many people were caught that day.

 

[suzib76]

I don't really understand the problem tbh

They don't bother me at all, however you say so far you haven't been caught which indicates you are maybe speeding regularly?

 

[Bex84]

They are quite alot about where i grew up in countryside, people speed alot there as they think countryside means quiet roads. I dont have a problem with it due to amount of accidents happened there and several people i went to school killed as roads deceptive

 

[daneuse27]

I don't really understand the problem tbh

They don't bother me at all, however you say so far you haven't been caught which indicates you are maybe speeding regularly?

It sounds like you're assuming I'm a criminal who speeds regularly. don't intentionally speed but sometimes if I'm not staring at my spedometre, its easy to go 5 or 10 km over without realizing. It doesn't mean I'm not being careful..

The fact that I've never gotten a ticket should tell you I'm not that bad.

 

[suzib76]

I don't really understand the problem tbh

They don't bother me at all, however you say so far you haven't been caught which indicates you are maybe speeding regularly?

It sounds like you're assuming I'm a criminal who speeds regularly. don't intentionally speed but sometimes if I'm not staring at my spedometre, its easy to go 5 or 10 km over without realizing. It doesn't mean I'm not being careful..

The fact that I've never gotten a ticket should tell you I'm not that bad.

Yep you are right, I was assuming you were regularly speeding, based on the information you gave in the OP

You came on to 'vent' about them, said they have got you 'paranoid and constantly watching the speedo' and that you 'haven't been caught so far' and 'hope your turn never comes'

So yes, I did assume that you were speeding regularly

Your post says it all

 

[daneuse27]

I don't really understand the problem tbh

They don't bother me at all, however you say so far you haven't been caught which indicates you are maybe speeding regularly?

It sounds like you're assuming I'm a criminal who speeds regularly. don't intentionally speed but sometimes if I'm not staring at my spedometre, its easy to go 5 or 10 km over without realizing. It doesn't mean I'm not being careful..

The fact that I've never gotten a ticket should tell you I'm not that bad.

Yep you are right, I was assuming you were regularly speeding, based on the information you gave in the OP

Well you've misunderstood.
You came on to 'vent' about them, said they have got you 'paranoid and constantly watching the speedo' and that you 'haven't been caught so far' and 'hope your turn never comes'

So yes, I did assume that you were speeding regularly

Your post says it all

Well you've misunderstood
I just thought it seemed odd that they are checking all the time and yes, I do worry that one day in going to be doing 90km instead of 80km and get a ticket for it.
But I've never gotten a ticket in 11 years of driving you have no right to accuse me on here of anything.

 

[Pirate]

We have speed traps, red light cameras, speed cameras, multidirectional radar installed on the police cars (enables them to clock you while they are driving), and my personal favorite is the state police helicopters that clock you from the air.

In a tough economy, police have to generate revenue somehow.

 

[blake12336]

I personally don't see a problem with them as they're there for a reason and help save lives.

But yes, we have them a lot by us too.

 

[Pearls18]

Tbh it's having the desired effect, it's making you watch your speed, going over by 10mph or whatever can be easy to do but that doesn't mean it's ok to do it, so if they're making you more inclined to watch your speed it's no bad thing IMO. There are a lot of static speed cameras around here, there are more police on the side of the road in the rural area I am from because people drive like idiots on country roads.

Parking attendants on the other hand......grrrr lol.

 

[Tegans Mama]

Well you've misunderstood
I just thought it seemed odd that they are checking all the time and yes, I do worry that one day in going to be doing 90km instead of 80km and get a ticket for it.
But I've never gotten a ticket in 11 years of driving you have no right to accuse me on here of anything.

So basically you're saying you do speed and you just hope you won't get caught. if you speed you deserve to get caught. You need to be more aware of the speed you're doing. I gather you're not from the UK since you use KMH rather than MPH and maybe things are different wherever you are from, but in the UK people are very vigilant about their speed and there are speed cameras every few miles where I live.

 

[teal]

They don't bother me. I get that it's easy to go just above 30mph but I mean by 1 or 2mph. I'm always checking my speed.

There are roads I drive on that go from 30mph, to 60mph to 40mph in a short distance and I always stick to the speed.

Speed limits are there for a reason and if you're speeding you deserve to be caught because you deserve the consequences.

 

[daneuse27]

Everyone trying to judge: I have never once even been pulled over for speeding. And that's in 11 years of lots of driving. I do make a concerted effort not to even do 5km over because yes - the thought of having my insurance go up does freak me out. I only wondered if the radar elsewhere in the world was as constant as it is here. The police in my town have been known to be a bit corrupt and because there isn't much else to focus on here crime wise, they will try to nail you for any little thing they can find. I was tailgated by a cop in the dark about 9 years ago because she was trying to get me to speed, and luckily I didn't. They can be crazy here; I've known two people who were t-boned by other vehicles through no fault of their own and they were treated like criminals through the whole process even though they did nothing wrong. I think a pp had a point in saying that cops do need to generate some kind of revenue; I'm pretty sure there's a monthly quota of money they need to bring in to prove they're doing their job.

I never said that I thought speeding was ok, and never wrote that I purposely speed or try to hide my speeding. But I do worry about getting pulled over for a minor mistake
if you want to judge and assume I'm a speeder go right ahead; I know what kind of driver I am and I think my low insurance and perfect record is reflective of that.

 

[Tegans Mama]

You are literally digging yourself a bigger and bigger hole here. You don't want to get caught because you don't want your insurance to go up. Not because the speed you are driving could cause accidents, if a child steps into the road in front of you and you're going 40mph, that child will likely be killed, but if you're going 30mph there is a much better chance of the child surviving. Stop thinking about personal reasons for not speeding (can't afford a fine, can't afford for insurance to go up etc) and maybe think about the actual reasons that speed limits exist - to make the roads SAFER for other users of the road. The speed limits are not there to torture you personally, they're not there so cost you money, they are there to save lives.

 

[Pirate]

Everyone trying to judge: I have never once even been pulled over for speeding. And that's in 11 years of lots of driving. I do make a concerted effort not to even do 5km over because yes - the thought of having my insurance go up does freak me out. I only wondered if the radar elsewhere in the world was as constant as it is here.

I'm with you. All of the speed traps are annoying. Necessary but annoying. It seems like a lot of people who have replied to this thread must be a) perfect or b) don't drive in typical city traffic on a regular basis. I wish you all could ride along with me on my daily commute, but then again, you would probably have a heart attack or wet yourself. I'm sorry that this topic has been hijacked and the topic has strayed from the intent of the original post.

 

[Tegans Mama]

Everyone trying to judge: I have never once even been pulled over for speeding. And that's in 11 years of lots of driving. I do make a concerted effort not to even do 5km over because yes - the thought of having my insurance go up does freak me out. I only wondered if the radar elsewhere in the world was as constant as it is here.

I'm with you. All of the speed traps are annoying. Necessary but annoying. It seems like a lot of people who have replied to this thread must be a) perfect or b) don't drive in typical city traffic on a regular basis. I wish you all could ride along with me on my daily commute, but then again, you would probably have a heart attack or wet yourself. I'm sorry that this topic has been hijacked and the topic has strayed from the intent of the original post.

or c) from england. It seems there is a divide between the people who agree with the OP and the people who don't, and that divide seems to be the country they live in

 

[daneuse27]

You don't know which country I live in Tegan, and I'll tell you that it isn't the same as Pirate.

I do agree that of course, a person life is a billion times more important than someone having to pay money or have their insurance go up - of course it is, that is a given. The roads Im referring to are highways - slowing down in a school or residential zone comes naturally (or at least it should) to anyone, but it is a lot easier to go faster than you realise on a highway - and Im talking about just over, not dangerously over. I would never try to endanger another person's life. I think you're being overly judgmental here and assuming too much about me: you are accusing me of not caring about children's lives, and thinking my money is more important than them surving. Thats ridiculous.

PS. My best friend is actually English and I was able to ask him this question without having my value of human life questioned.

 

[Pearls18]

Everyone trying to judge: I have never once even been pulled over for speeding. And that's in 11 years of lots of driving. I do make a concerted effort not to even do 5km over because yes - the thought of having my insurance go up does freak me out. I only wondered if the radar elsewhere in the world was as constant as it is here.

I'm with you. All of the speed traps are annoying. Necessary but annoying. It seems like a lot of people who have replied to this thread must be a) perfect or b) don't drive in typical city traffic on a regular basis. I wish you all could ride along with me on my daily commute, but then again, you would probably have a heart attack or wet yourself. I'm sorry that this topic has been hijacked and the topic has strayed from the intent of the original post.

I live in London....(does that get more city for you? Although what being a city driver has to do with anything I don't know) and no not perfect, but not a speeder either, you dont have to be perfect to try not to speed.I don't understand what the OPs problem is, if she doesn't speed, there isn't any issue, she says the police are corrupt giving an example from 9 years ago but as speeding fines are done on evidence (I.e. speed cameras) they can't really fake it can they?

 

[Tegans Mama]

Sorry but in what context is 10km over the limit acceptable??? you said earlier "i worry I'm going to be doing 90km in an 80km zone and get a ticket for it". I think really all I'm trying to say is if you're doing 10km over the limit you should get a ticket. Slightly speeing is 2-3km over the limit. 10km over the limit is just plain speeding.

You're painting yourself in a really negative light here. Highways/motorways are dangerous enough without people who are speeding