There was coverage in the media months ago stating in Scotland the police were going to trial a system where they issued a first offence formal warning before getting charged on a second offence of being 1mph over the speed limit, so doing away with any 10% allowance for speedo inaccuracy of allowing a tolerance for the accuracy of the detection equipment. All it said in any of the articles was “in the autum” so has this come into force?, anyone had a warning letter?.
Can’t see how that would be enforced?
You could be travelling at 40mph as per speedo reading, yet if they think your this 1mph over then you get a warning, next time an offence NIP ?
I’m sure even a poor solicitor can argue successfully that tolerances in actual sped to speedo reading and detection equipment weren’t allowed for, therefore how can the prosecution say 100% that you were actually speeding??
Wind can account for 1mph so there is absolutely no way they couod get away with this. Being Police Scotland i wouldnt be surprised though.
Speeding is an absolute offence, whether you like it or not you’re no more likely to be speeding a little bit, than you can be a little bit pregnant!
Forget all this 10% + Mach 2 or whatever, the vehicles we (by and large) drive have calibrated speed measuring devices fitted so no grace has to be given.
Not preaching btw as I 've had a fair few speeding endorsements over the years, just my attitude is to take it on the chin as it was me who broke the law, nobody else.
Like others have said, totally unenforceable, you would need every vehicle to have to be fitted with a calibrated speedo and not only that, it would also require digital speedos as 1mph on a dial is undetectable.
the maoster:
Forget all this 10% + Mach 2 or whatever, the vehicles we (by and large) drive have calibrated speed measuring devices fitted so no grace has to be given.
The calibration of truck speedos is no better than that of cars, even though they’re checked on a regular basis they can still be out by more than 1mph.
Rentadent:
the maoster:
Forget all this 10% + Mach 2 or whatever, the vehicles we (by and large) drive have calibrated speed measuring devices fitted so no grace has to be given.The calibration of truck speedos is no better than that of cars, even though they’re checked on a regular basis they can still be out by more than 1mph.
Totally agree with what you are saying, after all we’ve all experienced the different top speeds new tyres can produce. My point however is that there are no shades of grey with regards to speeding, you either end are or you aren’t and the important thing to remember is that the 10% thing is merely a guideline, it is not set in law.
H4L:
Wind can account for 1mph so there is absolutely no way they couod get away with this. Being Police Scotland i wouldnt be surprised though.
how can wind account for 1mph of difference ?
pepsifarr:
Like others have said, totally unenforceable, you would need every vehicle to have to be fitted with a calibrated speedo and not only that, it would also require digital speedos as 1mph on a dial is undetectable.
You don’t have to drive on the limit though. If you feel your speedo is under reading then get it calibrated or drive a little slower. If enforcement cameras can be shown to be 99% accurate, and I’m sure average speed cameras are 99.99% accurate then why should the speed limit not be enforced ?
I know that some of the units I drive have a top speed of 53 while others have a top speed of 58 all of them read 56 on the tacho, add in that Jock Plod has proven that he can’t even be trusted to walk straight, I can’t see any way a 1mph tolerance would be enforceable.
Above 30 mph, car speedos (at least) must not under-read. They are allowed to over-read by up to 10%, but they must not under-read. It’s to make sure that there is no legitimate defence of “well, you might have measured my speed at 90 mph, but my speedo said I was only doing 70 mph”. If you use that defence (and it is true), then you are guilty of driving a vehicle with a defective speedo 
For this reason, most car speedos are designed to over-read by 4-8%. If you want, you can confirm it by comparing against a GPS/SatNav. Therefore, if anyone is doing, say, 71 mph, then their speedo is probably reading about 76 mph. I know that in my car, my speedo reads about 75.5 mph when I’m actually doing 70.
Trucks are different, though; they have tighter requirements with respect to tacho calibration, and the indicated speed is usually pretty much spot-on the actual speed IME.
I still don’t see why Scotland hasn’t caught up with England and changed all the limits. Almost got caught in a single carriageway coming out of Edinburgh last week. Cruising at 50 until I saw a camera and something in my head suddenly said “YOURE STILL IN SCOTLAND, ITS 40!”
Hammy747:
I still don’t see why Scotland hasn’t caught up with England and changed all the limits. Almost got caught in a single carriageway coming out of Edinburgh last week. Cruising at 50 until I saw a camera and something in my head suddenly said “YOURE STILL IN SCOTLAND, ITS 40!”
The reason is because El president Sturgeon and her cronies who run this country don’t want to be seen copying something that the English implemented first!
NB12:
Scotland.
Zb Scotland, England, Wales & N.I are the place to be…!
I don’t remember reading or hearing anything about this trial being introduced. I’m sure they would have had an advertising campaign or something to give us plenty of warning if it was going to happen.
damoq:
I don’t remember reading or hearing anything about this trial being introduced. I’m sure they would have had an advertising campaign or something to give us plenty of warning if it was going to happen.
Sounds like RDC waiting room/DCPC bull dung to me
I don’t know about a full national (read Scottish) trial but the last time I was up there they were trialling a 50mph speed limit for trucks for most of the length of the A9 - which is a long way!
GOG47:
Hammy747:
I still don’t see why Scotland hasn’t caught up with England and changed all the limits. Almost got caught in a single carriageway coming out of Edinburgh last week. Cruising at 50 until I saw a camera and something in my head suddenly said “YOURE STILL IN SCOTLAND, ITS 40!”The reason is because El president Sturgeon and her cronies who run this country don’t want to be seen copying something that the English implemented first!
Most of the roads up here are not fit enough to do more than 40 'cos Westminster has been spending the money on upgrading all the roads down south and neglecting ours 
the maoster:
Rentadent:
the maoster:
Forget all this 10% + Mach 2 or whatever, the vehicles we (by and large) drive have calibrated speed measuring devices fitted so no grace has to be given.The calibration of truck speedos is no better than that of cars, even though they’re checked on a regular basis they can still be out by more than 1mph.
Totally agree with what you are saying, after all we’ve all experienced the different top speeds new tyres can produce. My point however is that there are no shades of grey with regards to speeding, you either end are or you aren’t and the important thing to remember is that the 10% thing is merely a guideline, it is not set in law.
There are plenty of grey shades in the accuracy of equipment used to measure that speed though…
This above idea is unenforceable. There are too many variables for the authorities to prove beyond all doubt a vehicle is 1mph over the limit. If it had been feasible, they’d have brought it in a long time ago, as the revenue from such a scheme would be £££££££££££££££££££!
raymundo:
GOG47:
Hammy747:
I still don’t see why Scotland hasn’t caught up with England and changed all the limits. Almost got caught in a single carriageway coming out of Edinburgh last week. Cruising at 50 until I saw a camera and something in my head suddenly said “YOURE STILL IN SCOTLAND, ITS 40!”The reason is because El president Sturgeon and her cronies who run this country don’t want to be seen copying something that the English implemented first!
Most of the roads up here are not fit enough to do more than 40 'cos Westminster has been spending the money on upgrading all the roads down south and neglecting ours
Think you’ll find Scotland has control over it’s transport policy but the SNP prefer free prescriptions and free university education as these are vote winners