Sharp rise in speeding tickets on 'smart motorways'

The introduction of smart motorways has seen a big rise in speeding fines. According to data collated by the BBC's The One Show, between 2010 and 2015, fixed penalties issued on smart sections increased from 2,000 to a whopping 52,000.
There are more than 236 miles of smart motorways in England, which use the hard shoulder and variable speed limits to control traffic flow. The government says they are not there to generate revenue but are used to improve capacity.

Smart motorways are operated by Highways England, which uses overhead gantries to direct traffic into open lanes and change speed limits depending on the volume of traffic (the gantries also containing speed cameras).

A further 200 miles of smart motorways are currently under construction or in the planning phase.

Revenue increased The One Show asked 12 police forces in England which monitor major stretches of smart motorway, including parts of the M1, M25, M4, M42 and M6, for the total number of speeding tickets and fines collected.

The majority of forces responded, with half supplying directly comparable data, showing that a total 52,516 tickets had been issued on these stretches in 2014-15 compared to 2,023 in 2010-11.
That meant the revenue going to central government every year increased to more than £1.1m, from £150,600 five years ago.

There is just one stretch of smart motorway on the M9 in Scotland - this saw tickets increase from 9 to 41 over the 4 years. No data was supplied by police for the stretch of the M4 in South Wales.
On one section of the M1 in Nottinghamshire, police issued 8,489 tickets, amounting to £425,000 of fines, in 2015. In 2010, it issued no fines at all.

Nottinghamshire police defended the figures, saying the speed cameras had only been fully operational since 2013.

Safety concerns Nottingham-based motoring lawyer Paul Wright said he had seen a "deluge" of cases along one stretch of the M1.

He told the BBC: "A cynic might say that it's another way of getting more and more money out of the motorist, over and above what we're paying already.

"And it's an easy way to extract fines from people, because once you're clocked over the limit by the camera, it's very difficult to fight against that."

And the AA told The One Show "questions need to be answered about the money being recouped".
It has also raised safety concerns about drivers having to use emergency refuge areas when the hard shoulder is removed to operate as an extra lane.

AA president Edmund King said more emergency refuges were needed and they should be twice as long, adding: "Only a couple of weeks ago one of our members broke down on a smart motorway. There was a red 'X' up but they still got hit from behind."

Cut congestion With motorway traffic forecast to increase by up to 60% from 2010 rates by 2040, the government is pressing ahead with its £6bn investment in smart motorways.

A spokesman for the Department for Transport said: "Smart motorways smooth traffic flow and cut congestion for millions of motorists, with evidence from trials showing they are just as safe as regular motorways.

"Enforcement is a matter for the police and it is clear that speeding costs lives. However, we have been clear for a number of years that speed cameras should not be used to generate revenue."
Shaun Pidcock, head of Highways England's smart motorway network, said they were "the safest motorways on the network".

"We have 100% CCTV coverage and we have people watching over them, making sure they're safe, and we can get people in the traffic office to them far safer and quicker than we can do on normal motorways."

For a full report, watch The One Show on BBC One, at 19:00 GMT on Monday 7 November.

Source: BBC

Rise in Company Car Drivers Speeding on Motorways

Although speeding is illegal, it appears that company car drivers are becoming more relaxed when it comes to this particular driving offence.

New research from RAC Business has revealed that nearly nine out of 10 (88%) company car drivers admitted to speeding on motorways -- a 7% rise on the previous year. (reported by Fleet News)

The research, part of the RAC's Report on Motoring 2016, found discrepancies between how frequently company car drivers and private motorists broke the speed limit.

According to the report, nearly half (48%) of company car drivers break the motorway speed limit on the majority of their journeys, while just over a quarter (26%) of private motorists admitted to doing the same.

The number of company car drivers who said their typical speed on the motorways was 80mph also increased, with 51% confessing so this year, compared to 46% in 2015. And there was a rise in those driving at 90mph, which grew from 5% last year to 7%.

The report also revealed worrying views on traveling at such speeds, with 60% finding it acceptable to drive at 80mph on the motorway.

What's more, nearly a third (31%) of company car drivers said they believe the current speed limit is inappropriate for the road, while almost three quarters (71%) feel the motorway limit should be increased to 80mph.

Discussing the Report on Motoring 2016, RAC Business's corporate business sales director, Jenny Powley, said that some worrying upward trends were brought to light.

Powley added: "A key way in which companies can respond to this growing problem is to make the most of telematics technology to identify high risk drivers and journeys and use the data to inform their staff training."

Do you think the motorway speed limit should be increased to 80mph?

Auto Express - Speed Camera Detector Test Results Are In..........

Recently Auto Express tested a range of speed camera detectors and the results are in.....

The Cheetah C550 was voted "Best Price". The unit is designed to keep getting smarter with time. It's the very latest and most advanced of Cheetah's innovative and award winning GPS speed and red light camera detectors.

The C550, uses the internationally acclaimed Trinity 3.0 database to the maximum, sets the highest benchmark for consumer GPS speed and red light camera detectors.

Road Angel Gem+ came 2nd in the tests. The Road Angel Gem+ was incidentally voted best in 2012 which I think was the last time that Auto Express ran tests on speed camera detectors.

Which one will you choose to protect your license?

Helpful motorist parks up behind police van and opens boot to BLOCK its speed camera

Mobile speed cameras have long infuriated drivers, popping up sneakily and catching out drivers going a few miles too fast.    

One man was so fed up of living in fear of a huge fine that he decided to take matters into his own hands.

Upon seeing one such mobile camera Kristian Portugal, from Hemel Hempstead, rolled his sports car right up behind a police van and opened his boot to block the radar inside so it couldn't scan the speed of passing cars.

He then got out of the car and went for a pint in The Crabtree - his local across the road in Hemel Hempstead.

A worker at the pub said the mobile van is always outside. 

The incident was spotted by one keen-eyed observer, who posted a picture on Imgur with the caption: 'Someone just parked in front of a speed camera, lifted his boot so nobody could get caught speeding. Then went to the pub across the road.'

According to traffic police, obstructing a speed camera may amount to obstructing the police and may also amount to perverting the course of justice, depending on circumstances. 

This image has spread widely across the internet gathering lots of comments. Peoples views on this mans actions have varied hugely, comments such as 'Someone buy that man a beer' at one end of the scale right the way down tto comments from some who were less impressed with his actions, claiming that speed cameras play an important safety role. 

Read more: dailymail

Roadside 'textalyser' will treat drivers on smartphones like drunks

Police may start using a "textalyser" soon the new gadget will help them gauge if a distracted driver has been using their mobile phone before a road incident.

The move is in response to the rise  of instances of distracted driving that have led to accidents and death.

The idea was proposed by a draft legislation in New York, which would require drivers to submit their phones for testing, if pulled up by authorities.

"Reports indicate that 67 per cent of drivers admit to continued use of their cell phones while driving despite knowledge of the inherent danger to themselves and others on the road," the draft law said.
"Therefore, it is in the state's interest to treat this impairment with a similar methodology to that of drunk driving."

The new law, known as "Evan's Law" is named after 19-year-old Evan Lieberman, who died in a 2011 collision caused by a distracted driver. His father, Ben Lieberman, helped to draft and implement the law through his awareness nonprofit  Distracted Operators Risk Casualties (DORCS).

How the device would work

Obviously, due to privacy laws, police would not be able to force people to unlock their phone to check their recent calls, texts or social media activity.

Instead, the "textalyser" would look at metadata on the phone just to check whether it was used recently or not - keeping conversations, contacts, numbers, photos, and app data private.

Mobile phones are biggest accident risk in the UK

67 people were killed in Britain in the past three years purely because drivers were on their phones - and this doesn't include those who may have just put down their phones or been about to pick them up.

The Department for Transport has said that of 88 deaths caused by distractions in 2012, 17 (or 19pc) were due to mobile use – the highest death rate compared to other in-case causes such as people, children or sat-navs.

For more in depth information please read the article by the Telegraph

Just give me the points and a fine

A driver caught using his mobile phone asked for penalty points and a fine rather than opt for a "boring" course, police have said.

The unnamed motorist stated on a caution form he had completed a driver improvement course the day before.

He wrote: "Just give me the points and fine - I did the mobile phone course yesterday. It was as boring as hell."

Those who commit motoring offences are sometimes offered courses as an alternative to penalties. No details about where the man was stopped have been released.
.
The force's road policing team shared a photo of the form on Twitter with the comment: "Some will never learn".

M5 Truck and Multi vehicle crash 16/3/16 - Sydney NSW

Its always scary just how quickly things can go wrong on the road from a slight lapse of concentration