31 replies to this topic

[onthesquare28]

The offence is endemic, the fault is the nutty method of building criminal cases via correspondence.  It is believed that more than a million people in the country have done the same as Huhne.  

More than a third of the population when asked have said they would ask someone to take their points if the alternative meant losing their licence.  It's an easy no brainer for most.

 

It strikes me as frankly ridiculous that the SCPs have been allowed to become agent provocateurs for this offence, ignoring its commission for the most part, them, when evidence strikes, coming down like a ton of bricks.

 

It's a pointless way of creating serious criminals out of otherwise decent people.

 

Certainly when it comes to speeding, I think clearer, more frequent, signage would be more effective. After all, if people are expected to keep to a speed limit, it might help if they knew what it was! I've been on a speed awareness course which teaches you to take an educated guess at what the speed limited should be in certain environments - which is all well and good, but there are plenty of anomalies. Since doing it, I still find that it is not immediately obvious what the limit is on some stretches of road (there can sometimes be no advice for miles). More frequent periodic reminders painted on the road surface would certainly give drivers less excuse of not knowing what the limit is (not that that work's as a defence, but I suspect POs tire of hearing it).

[Sub-seven]

No excuse, you shouldn't be driving if you don't know the speed of the road you are on.

[gripper]

The offence is endemic, the fault is the nutty method of building criminal cases via correspondence. It is believed that more than a million people in the country have done the same as Huhne.
More than a third of the population when asked have said they would ask someone to take their points if the alternative meant losing their licence. It's an easy no brainer for most.

It strikes me as frankly ridiculous that the SCPs have been allowed to become agent provocateurs for this offence, ignoring its commission for the most part, them, when evidence strikes, coming down like a ton of bricks.

It's a pointless way of creating serious criminals out of otherwise decent people.

Certainly when it comes to speeding, I think clearer, more frequent, signage would be more effective. After all, if people are expected to keep to a speed limit, it might help if they knew what it was! I've been on a speed awareness course which teaches you to take an educated guess at what the speed limited should be in certain environments - which is all well and good, but there are plenty of anomalies. Since doing it, I still find that it is not immediately obvious what the limit is on some stretches of road (there can sometimes be no advice for miles). More frequent periodic reminders painted on the road surface would certainly give drivers less excuse of not knowing what the limit is (not that that work's as a defence, but I suspect POs tire of hearing it).

And what victimless crime did you commit, to go on a speed awareness course :D

[onthesquare28]

And what victimless crime did you commit, to go on a speed awareness course :D

 

61 in a 50 on a dual carriageway. The stretch had previously carried the National Speed Limit.

[gripper]

Ah, well, that explains your previous stance, in relation to victimless motoring offences.

[onthesquare28]

Ah, well, that explains your previous stance, in relation to victimless motoring offences.

Does it? I thought the SAC was a good idea - I quite enjoyed it!

[Soren]

More than a third of the population when asked have said they would ask someone to take their points if the alternative meant losing their licence.

Got a link?

http://www.roadsuper...et/shp.news.htm

"A survey of 2,000 drivers by Churchill Insurance found that 2.2 per cent admitted to taking points on behalf of their partner. With 33 million licence-holders, this is the equivalent to 726,000 drivers. A third said that they would consider asking their partners to admit to their speeding offence if it prevented them from losing their licence. The overwhelming majority of those who had taken points on behalf of a partner were women."

This survey was in 2005, so the '726,000' figure will have moved on significantly. People do often tell tales in surveys admittedly, but it ties in with one of the reasons why the survey was carried out, which was the recognition that, despite a massive increase in drivers getting penalty points via speed cam prosecutions, virtually no more were being banned for totting up.

[gripper]

I hope they pass the details onto the Police.

[meditate]

No excuse, you shouldn't be driving if you don't know the speed of the road you are on.

 

If you go on the ring road in Bham you will find a dual carriageway where the road speed drops from 40 to 30. It is so badly signed that it catches a shed load of people. A bit like the yellow box in London that is making money for the local council because it traps people in the box (caused by the sequencing of the lights I think). The upshot is that sometimes you may think you know the speed limit but, sometimes the council are making it difficult - is this on purpose? Some think so.

[Ernest Marsh civilian]

Got a link?

 

According to the Guardian - quoting more than one survey:

Two-thirds (66%) of motorists willing to do so told a survey last summer that they would do it to ensure their friend was not disqualified from driving, while more than half (59%) said they would do it to protect their friend's livelihood if losing their licence also meant losing their job,

A fifth (21%) said that they would be prepared to take on points for a friend because, despite incurring penalty points, they believed that their friend was a "safe" driver.

Of those who admitted taking on someone else's penalty points, 6% said they were paid to do it.

About 300,000 drivers have lied and said they were driving their friend or partner's car when they were caught speeding and taken on the penalty points incurred by the offence, according to the research by LV Insurance.

The issuing of fixed penalty notices for speeding offences has been falling, according to Home Office figures released last year, but more than 1.1m such notices were still issued in 2009 alone.

Research carried out by Ipsos Mori in 2006 suggested that the practice of penalty point swapping was even more widespread, with as many as 12% of drivers surveyed saying that they would ask a relative or friend to take speed camera penalty points for them if they were facing a driving ban.

The same survey also found that 13% of drivers would agree to take the points in the same circumstances and that the illegal practice was most prevalent among younger motorists.

Men were also 13% more slightly more likely to ask someone to take their points than women, according to the 2006 poll by Ipsos Mori.

Motorists in the East Midlands (6%), eastern England (8%) and north-east England (8%) were less likely to ask for their points to be swapped although the biggest potential for the practice was in south-west England where 20% would ask someone to take their points, and in south-east England where 18% of drivers admitted they would consider taking points from someone else.

The actual numbers prepared to swap points varies according to who was asked and when.

 

Not sure how you would ensure an accurate answer was given!

[onthesquare28]

If you go on the ring road in Bham you will find a dual carriageway where the road speed drops from 40 to 30. It is so badly signed that it catches a shed load of people. A bit like the yellow box in London that is making money for the local council because it traps people in the box (caused by the sequencing of the lights I think). The upshot is that sometimes you may think you know the speed limit but, sometimes the council are making it difficult - is this on purpose? Some think so.

Indeed. If the aim of the game is road saftey, it would surely be logical to make a speed limit abundantly clear. Make it unclear and, at the same time, enforce it, one cannot be berated for inferring that The State is exploiting the situation for financial gain at the actual expense of safety.

Edited by onthesquare28, 11 February 2013 - 02:08 PM.

[Ernest Marsh civilian]

http://www.mydeals.com/huhnes-fine/

 

Enjoy a little light hearted relief at Mr Huhne's expense!