This afternoon OH and I were returning home along a stretch of road where there was a police car at the side, and a policeman with a hand held radar gun pointing down the road.

Luckily OH was doing the speed limit - mainly because I had just reminded him that the road had become a 30mph once we were over the cattle grid!

However, we disagreed over how these radar guns operate. He said that if you are doing over the limit, the policeman waves you in to the side of the road (it was actually a large layby) and tickets you there and then or gives you a warning. I said that I thought that they just let you carry on your way and a ticket comes in the post.

Who is right?

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Between dreams and reality, a shadow sometimes falls.

The cruellest lies are often told in silence. (R.L. Stevenson)

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I think that it varies, Kits so there is a chance that you are both right!

OH had the same thing happen in the next village a few weeks ago (he was not speeding btw!) and people have said that they were not stopped there and then but knew some had received tickets through the post. However, we have one stretch of the A37 between Yeovil and Dorchester where they will put a car with a radar gun at one point and then they radio ahead to a layby about half a mile ahead and you can get pulled in there thinking that you've escaped!

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I think that they send you it in the post, but I guess if they can stop you, they will.

A few years ago my ex partner was shot by one of the hand held guns and was stopped further down the road by a car that was there for that purpose. Other than that I am fortunate to have no further experience of them.

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Marge is always telling me off for speeding, although I have never been caught.

Several weeks ago, she received a summons in the post. Apparently, she was doing 42 in a 30 zone, and was photographed by a Gatso camera. That cost her (us) £60 and three points.

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Always put off 'til tomorrow what you could have done today.

a few months ago i was stopped doing 34mph in a 30mph zone-bear in mind that this was at 1.30am and i was on my way home from work and there were no other cars or pedestrians on the road-i was let off with a warning that next time i would get a ticket and i left the PC standing by the side of the road for the next unfortunate driver

ok technically i was in the wrong but i was not a danger to other drivers as the road was empty and it was the middle of the night-was this an example of a complete waste of time by a PC?

dave

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I thought they didn't bother if less than 5mph over on the grounds that speedometers aren't that accurate anyway. To me, that makes sense and is perfectly acceptable. It's not as if you were driving at a dangerous speed.

When Marge got her ticket, incidentally, it was a similar situation: late Sunday evening and no traffic or pedestrians about.

Wouldn't it be nice to return to the days of common sense?

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Always put off 'til tomorrow what you could have done today.

I always understood that the allowance was 10% for possible error on the car speedometer plus 2 mph for possible error on the equipment - at least that was what I was told by a police rapid response driver!! Presumably each force now uses it's own method.

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We should all look up to teddy bears.

Speedometers only have to be accurate up to 30mph anyway.

Where on earth did you get that from?

__________________
Between dreams and reality, a shadow sometimes falls.

The cruellest lies are often told in silence. (R.L. Stevenson)

The Pink Pantheress