March of the 20mph camera enforced speed limits on busiest roads across Britain

Motorists face £100 fines as 20mph limits are imposed on some of Britain’s busiest roads.

Until now, the lower 20mph speed limit has been restricted to smaller roads in residential areas or near schools. However this is about to change with 20mph limits to be introduced on major arterial roads (policed by the latest digital speed cameras).

London Mayor Boris Johnson has revealed that eight pilot schemes will be run on ‘Red Routes’ – the main arterial roads that carry a third of the capital’s traffic. 

Other towns and cities including Bristol, Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh say they also intend to introduce the new limits.

The minimum fine fore motorists caught breaking the 20mph limit will be £100 fine and three points on their driving licence.

The AA says the new limits are being driven more by ‘dogma’ than road safety. A spokesman said: ‘These 20mph zones are popping up like spring daffodils.

‘There is a lot of fear among drivers that, with 20mph being a relatively unfamiliar speed, widespread speed camera use will make them look more at their speedometers than at what is happening on populated streets in front of them.’

If the trials in London ( due to last 18-months)  are judged a success, the 20mph limits will be made permanent and imposed on 30 miles of key ‘Red Routes’ considered by transport bosses to be ‘more local road than motorway’. Some 175 miles of residential streets.

Under the new London scheme, the first road to convert to 20mph next month will be Commercial Street in Shoreditch, linking into plans for Tower Hamlets and Hackney to become 20mph boroughs.

Rod King, founder of the ‘20’s Plenty for Us’ campaign group, said: ‘The current 30mph national limit is being rejected as “unfit for purpose” for communities so we’re setting out a series of government actions required for a planned transition to a UK default urban limit of 20mph by 2020.’

A Department for Transport spokesman said: ‘Research shows 20mph zones can save lives and this government has made it easier for councils to introduce them.

‘It is for local authorities to set speed limits and for the police to decide how best to enforce them.’

The spokesman added: ‘We are undertaking a three-year research project to better understand the effect of 20mph zones and their impact on local communities.’

First day of summer - Hazards of driving in sunny weather

Image Source polaroidsunglasses.co.uk

So its the first official day of summer today there’s nothing like cruising along with the sun glinting off your shades.Unfortunately even warm, dry roads are full of  hazards.

More Bicycles - leave 'at least a meter between you and the bike when passing .

More Horses  -  pass slow and wide, with no loud noises.


More Motorcycles -  Double check at junctions, as these are blackspots


Rain after a dry spell - It takes a few days for the dust, oil and diesel to wash away. After three dry weeks, the risk of a fatal crash is almost 10% higher than if it rains all along.


More teenagers about - Holidays mean more teenagers on the roads. Men aged 17-20 are seven times more at risk than any other group. Under 25s are also more likely to fail a breath test, a 2012 police campaign found.


More kids in the street - Good weather means children playing outside.


Distracted holidaymakers -  People who are unfamiliar with the roads that they are driving with their eyes being distracted from the road by GPS, phone calls, food, drinks, children etc



More Tractors - Tractors don't need brake lights or indicators, and they're loud. The driver may not know you're even there – and you may not see the field it's about to turn into. Take great care overtaking.


Deer in the road - Deer spread from breeding grounds in late spring to early summer, and are most active around sunrise and in the darkness before midnight. 


Breakdowns - Hot weather increases your chances of a breakdown as older cars go on long hot trips. Look for leaking hoses, low water levels and broken fans before leaving, and watch for breakdowns blocking the road.

£15bn plan to turn Britain's busiest A-roads into mini motorways

As part of a £15billion overhaul of the nation’s highways motorists will get new ‘mini-motorways’ 

On busy A-roads roundabouts and traffic lights will be stripped out – to cut delays and transform them into ‘mile-a-minute expressways’.

Details, included in a strategy by the Highways Agency presented to Parliament, also include new slip roads to make the roads flow and banning slow moving vehicles such as tractors and bicycles.

There are up to 18 A-roads that are likely to be transformed in the first tranche with seven more to follow. The strategy document says: ‘Our ambition for the next 25 years is to revolutionise our roads.

’Our busiest A-Roads will become expressways, providing improved standards of performance, with technology to manage traffic and mile-a-minute speeds.

‘Users of motorways know they can expect a broadly consistent standard from the whole of their road, and that this ensures they have a safe, free-moving journey.’

But it notes: ‘The same is not true of A-roads, where piecemeal upgrades have often resulted in inconsistency and substandard stretches of the road that are often less safe and a regular cause of congestion.

‘By 2040, we want to have transformed the most important of these routes into expressways: A-roads that can be relied upon to be as well-designed as motorways and which are able to offer the same standard of journey to users.’

These will be ‘largely or entirely dual carriageway roads’ that are ‘safe, well-built and resilient to delay.

They will be built so that ‘traffic on the main road can pass over or under roundabouts without stopping’.

The strategy document seen by the Daily Mail says: ‘An expressway will be able to provide a high-quality journey to its users.

‘Most expressways should be able to offer mile a minute journeys throughout the day, particularly outside of urban areas.’

The Highways Agency has presented the Road Investment Strategy to Parliament ahead of it being transformed on April 1 into the new private sector roads operator called Highways England.

WHERE THE CHANGES WILL HAPPEN

 

The first group of nine expressways is expected to include the A303 and A30 from the junction with the M3 in Hampshire to Exeter.

The A1 north of Newcastle, which motorists have long campaigned to be made into a motorway, is another, as is the A14 from Huntingdon to Cambridgeshire.

These will also link with up to 400 miles of ‘smart motorways’ where hard shoulders are used at peak times to reduce jams.

A dual carriageway is planned for ‘the entire A303 from the M3 to the M5 at Taunton’, as well as building a tunnel as the road passes Stonehenge.

There will also be a new bypass on the A27 at Arundel together with improvements at Worthing and Lancing in West Sussex.

Also featuring will be construction of the Mottram Moor link road together with overtaking and safety improvements and duelling the A61 to improve Trans-Pennine connectivity.

A range of duelling and junction improvement schemes on the A47/A12 corridor supporting growth at Peterborough, Norwich, Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft is also planned.

Read Full story

Now motorists face £20 fine if they leave their engine idling!

Twenty Pounds

Motorists face £20 fines if they leave their engines idling in what has been branded ‘another stealth tax’ on drivers.

A hit squad of ‘traffic marshals’ will target stationary cars as part of the crackdown aimed at cutting pollution to meet strict European environmental targets.

Motoring organisations accused Westminster council of ‘picking on car owners’ when the real problem is emissions coming from large vehicles.

There will be 85 traffic marshals at any one time scouring its streets when it introduces the scheme on May 1.

Islington Council, in North London, which introduced a similar clampdown last August, has 24 such marshals prowling roads and known hotspots with powers to hand out the £20 on-the-spot fines.

The fines, which rise to £40 if not paid within 28 days, are intended to be a ‘last resort’ if drivers refuse to turn off their vehicles.

Motorists outside school gates, on shopping runs or waiting to pick people up at stations are likely to be hit by the ‘draconian’ clampdown, which is aimed at those who leave their engines idling after pulling over rather than motorists stuck in traffic or at red lights.

Other councils around the country are also likely to start enforcing the ‘stationary idling offence’, which was quietly introduced by the Government in 2002.

Several councils, including Corby in Northamptonshire, Torfaen in Wales and Havering and Wandsworth in London already warn motorists that they face a £20 fine if they leave car engines idling when stationary.

Havering Council also warns parents dropping off children at school not to leave engines running because youngsters with asthma are particularly at risk from car pollutants – and urges people to contact the council if they know areas where cars are regularly left idling.

West Sussex County Council have introduced signs urging motorist to turn off their engines in Shoreham-by-Sea. 

The crackdown comes despite most modern cars being fitted with stop-start technology whereby the engine automatically cuts when it is stationary for a few moments.

The move angered motoring groups, who said it would do little to help cut pollution but would enrage already hard-pressed car owners and was simply a way of extracting more cash from drivers.

An AA spokesman Luke Bosdet said: ‘The real test will be how heavily they enforce this. If you get people nabbing motorists first thing on winter mornings as they are trying to clear frozen windscreens so they can drive safely to work then it really will be worrying.’

Steve McNamara, general secretary of the Licensed Taxi Drivers’ Association, told the BBC: ‘One of the real problems is cars stuck in traffic; research has shown pollution is up by 30 per cent in areas of heavy traffic. Do something to help get the traffic moving.’

The fines enforce Rule 123 of the Highway Code, which says: ‘If the vehicle is stationary and likely to remain so for more than a couple of minutes, you should switch off the engine to reduce emissions and oil pollution.’

Westminster councillor Heather Acton said: ‘We want to raise motorist awareness of the impact engine idling can have on the environment, with air and noise pollution affecting overall health, as well as it being an unnecessary use of fuel.’ 

Honda Civic couldn’t go over 40mph - what mechanics found you wont believe!

An elderly driver, from Poole Keynes in the Cotswolds, drove her Honda Civic to the local garage when she was unable to drive at more than 40mph for some unknown reason.

Mechanics trying to figure out why the car would not exceed 40mph were more than a little surprised to find that the engine was filled with nuts, stashed there by a squirrel - every space and opening had been filled – with nuts.

The squirrel had been squeezing himself into the air filter to stash his nuts (Pictures: SWNS)

‘It was rammed solid with nuts,’ said David Evans, who owns the garage.

‘I’ve been doing this job for 18 years and I’ve never seen anything like it. I couldn’t believe it.
‘(The animal) had been getting into the garage, where she parked the car, and had been climbing right inside the engine bay and squeezing himself into the air filter.’

Plans For Super Highway Means Ultimate Road Trip Could Be Possible From Britain To USA

A 12,400 mile super highway is being proposed that would take you from Britain to America in what would be the ultimate road trip.

The idea has been put forward as a way to improve Russia's tourism, with the hope that people would be more willing to travel through the country having a much more desired destination at the end, like the States.

The Siberian Times report that the route would be based on The Trans-Sibera Railway, going through cities like Yekaterinburg, Irkutsk and Vladivostok. Not exactly most sought after tourist locations it must be admitted.

Head of Russian Academy of Science says that the project is 'ambitious and very expensive' and that it not only gives the chance to improve roads in the country, but also the railway.

"It will solve many problems in the development of the vast region. It is connected with social programs, and new fields, new energy resources, and so on. The idea is that basing on the new technology of high-speed rail transport we can build a new railway near the Trans-Siberian Railway, with the opportunity to go to Chukotka and Bering Strait and then to the American continent." Vladimir Fortov, the Head of the Russian Academy of Science

The real selling point for the rest of the world, is that you could theoretically travel, by car, from Britain via the Channel Tunnel and then all the way to the USA.

With it being 12,400 miles, it could take more than 200 hours to get over there, and that is probably only as far as Alaska. However, you'd just have to make a road trip as epic as that.

Source

Road safety charity Brake "Beep Beep" campaign

Slow down to save little lives 

Road safety charity Brake (the road safety charity) and Churchill Insurance are urging drivers to ‘go 20’ and take more care in communities, as their latest survey puts the spotlight on irresponsible driving around schools and nurseries.

Three in five parents (59%) reported witnessing speeding outside their child’s school or nursery in the past year, with the same number (60%) also reporting drivers pulling out or turning without looking properly.

The findings come as up to 26,000 tots across the UK take part in the first national Beep Beep! Day of 2015, a road safety project for nurseries and infant schools run by Brake and Churchill and aimed at helping keep young children safe on the roads.

To read more about Beep Beep Day click here 

25-Year Old Ferrari Driver Arrested In UK For Speeding

A 25 year old driver was arrested by Surrey Police for driving his Ferrari California doing 150 along the M25 between junction 8 and 10. The driver was arrested and his car seized by police.

 A brand new California will set you back a massive £150,000. It has a top speed of 193 mph a figure the driver was doubt testing when he was caught by police.

The rumour mill suggests that the police caught up to the driver in two BMW 530s, which, according to BMW have a top speed of 155 mph.

Pictures from Surrey Police.

Stig at St Patrics Day Parade

How the 2015 budget affects UK motorists

• Petrol duty frozen for fifth year 
• 0.5p-a-litre Sept increase scrapped 
• Little change in company car tax 
• Severn toll crossing reduced
• 5p cheaper fuel in rural areas
• Tax-exempt classic cars from 1976 
• £100m fund for autonomous cars

The Chancellor George Osborne announced the abolition of planned fuel duty increases in the 2015 Budget, claiming the accumulated tax freezes would save Britain's 30 million motorists £10 every time they filled up at the pumps.

It's a typically oblique political claim; cutting a planned 0.5p-a-litre increase will not save a tenner for any motorist filling a typical fuel tank of, say, 50 to 60 litres. Rather, he's referring to the planned five-year freeze on the fuel duty escalator, in real terms. But then this was very much a Budget of posturing and smoke and mirrors, as the May elections loom large.

Drivers living in rural areas may benefit from 5p-a-litre cuts, as a new countryside tax relief kicks in on 1 April 2015, the Budget also revealed today.

And Osborne announced further investment into autonomous cars and revealed Government plans to reduce the Severn road crossing toll from 2018, when it passes into public ownership.

Read on for a full analysis with carmagazine.co.uk

Kent Police educating motorists about the dangers of speeding

Kent Police has taken to the roads of Ashford to educate motorists on the dangers of speeding.

Local PCSOs carried out the speed awareness event at six locations in the area along roads highlighted by residents as being potential speeding ‘hot-spots’.

A total of 575 vehicles were checked during the two-day exercise on Tuesday 10 March and Saturday 14 March.

Of those, 22 drivers were found to be exceeding the speed limit and were spoken to about the dangers of speeding.

Roads checked were:

• Faversham Road, Kennington: 125 vehicles checked, nine exceeded the speed limit
• Canterbury Road, Kennington: 111 vehicles checked, seven exceeded the speed limit
• Charing Hill: 80 vehicles checked, one exceeded the speed limit
• Smarden: 25 vehicles checked, none exceeded the limit
• Appledore: 60 vehicles checked, none exceeded the limit
• Canterbury Road, Kennington: 130 vehicles checked, three exceeded the limit
• Top of Charing Hill: 44 vehicles checked, two exceeded the limit

"The speed checks were carried out along roads which residents have highlighted as having issues with speeding drivers.

It is reassuring that such a low number of drivers had to be spoken to but we will continue to monitor any areas of concern.

Educating drivers continues to be fundamental in our efforts to reduce the number of deaths and serious injuries on Kent’s roads.

Appropriate advice has been given to those drivers and although the purpose of these patrols was to educate drivers, next time people could face penalties.

Speeding can put pedestrians, cyclists and other motorists in danger so we are asking all road users to play their part in helping keeping our roads safe."

  – Inspector Andrew Judd of the Ashford Community Safety Unit

Man jailed for changing number plates after speeding

Kyle Nixon who changed the appearance of his number plates after he was caught speeding on the A1 has been jailed for three months

Mr Nixon was clocked by a static speed camera doing 87mph in a 70 mph limit on the A1 at Great Ponton, near Grantham, on October 2.

Lincoln Crown Court heard Nixon, from Kent, was sent a notice of intended prosecution by Lincolnshire Police as he was the registered keeper of the vehicle caught speeding, a Vauxhall Zafira.

After receiving the speeding notice Nixon telephoned the ticket office and claimed he could not be the driver as he had not been in Lincolnshire for two weeks and asked if there was any pictures of the vehicle and was told to email the ticket office images of his own car.

Mr Bishop said when the ticket office received three images of Nixon's car on October 29 it was clear the appearance of the number plates had changed but not the registration.

Nixon sent the ticket office further close up images of his number plates on November 11 but finally admitted he was the driver three days later.

Siward James-Moore, mitigating, told the court Nixon initially did not realise that his journey had taken him through Lincolnshire.

Mr James-Moore said when Nixon finally realised he was the driver he tried to "wriggle off the hook." Mr James-Moore added: "He was in a hole and kept on digging when he should have put his hands up."

Nixon pleaded guilty to a charge of perverting the course of justice between October 9 and November 14 last year and speeding on October 2.

He was jailed for three months and also received three penalty points on his driving licence.

Passing sentence Recorder Ciaran Rankin told Nixon his actions struck at the heart of the criminal justice system.

Recorder Rankin told him: "Having been caught, what followed was a series of acts of the upmost stupidity."

End of the middle lane hogs?

Fed up of getting stuck behind a tractor on a long and winding country lane? been soaked by a motorist driving through a puddle? you may finally have a reason to celebrate.

New figures show the police have handed out around 10,000 on-the-spot fines in one year under new laws which allow them to give £100 tickets to inconsiderate or careless drivers.

The crackdown on anti-social driving has seen people performing the following actions given fines and given three penalty points on their licence.

• Tailgating
• Middle lane hogging
• Undertaking 
• Wheel spins
• Handbrake turns
• Driving down roads closed for repairs
• Soaking pedestrians with puddles 
• Tractor drivers not pulling over & letting traffic by
• Dirty windscreens
• Driving with a obstacles blocking view on passenger seat. 

The figures show 9,852 penalty notices were handed out for the careless driving crimes in the 12-months after the new powers came into force in August 2013, The Sunday Telegraph reported. 

Before then, the offence could only be dealt with in court and many drivers escaped punishment because of the bureaucracy involved.

Yet the figures show that some forces are using the new powers more than others. 

Gwent Police handed out 608 of the tickets - compared to Essex where not one motorist was fined on-the-spot for careless driving. 

The most tickets - 1,397 - were given out by the Metropolitan Police.

RAC Foundation director Professor Stephen Glaister said he was happy to see the powers being used but hoped they would be used consistently across the country.

He said: 'As with using mobiles at the wheel and drink-driving, it is not enough to outlaw anti-social behaviour on the roads. People need to believe they will get caught. These figures suggest in several areas they won’t.' 

But road safety minister Robert Goodwill welcomed the figures, adding: 'Careless driving can risk lives, and I am glad to see police tackling these offences at the roadside.

'This is exactly why this government brought in a fixed penalty notice so officers can deal with offenders on the spot rather than having to prosecute offenders through the courts.'

'Rush-hour eclipse' on Friday morning - stay safe when driving

This Friday is the first time that an eclipse will happen during a busy modern-day commute.

Motorists have been urged not to take their eyes off the road during the eclipse as it could cause an accident.

Around the UK the proportion of the Sun covered by the Moon during the near-total solar eclipse will increase towards the North, ranging from 84 per cent in London to 89 per cent in Manchester, 93 per cent in Edinburgh, and 97 per cent in Lerwick in the Shetland Isles.

Times will also vary. In London, the eclipse begins at 8.24am, reaches its maximum extent at 9.31am, and ends at 10.41am. For observers in Edinburgh, the eclipse starts at 8.30am and peaks at 9.35 am. The last solar eclipse of such significance occurred on August 11 1999, and was “total” – with 100 per cent of the Sun covered – when seen from Cornwall.

A Highways Agency spokesperson said: “Safety is a top priority. As always, we advise road users to drive carefully, adjusting their driving according to weather and road conditions and during the eclipse we’d ask them to do the same.”

Only the Faroe Islands and the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard will see a total eclipse.

Read more: UK solar eclipse 2015: When is it, what time will it start and where can I see it?

Mr Scagell explained that partial eclipses leave “a thin sliver of the sun”, which he noted can make sun-watching even more dangerous.

He added: “We’ve always had this problem with partial eclipses in particular. You need to cut down the light of the Sun by an enormous amount before you can look at it safely.”

A primary school in Cardiff has already announced plans to ban pupils from watching the eclipse due to health and safety concerns, according to WalesOnline.

The Royal Astronomical Society and Society for Popular Astronomy have both called on the public to use safe viewing methods such as special viewing glasses and pinhole cameras. The Met Office forecasts largely clear skies on Friday, though a spokesman said some parts of the country, particularly the north-west, may see some cloud cover

Man has been jailed for six months after trying to avoid paying for speeding tickets

Martin Whitworth from Wythall, Birmingham,  A man has been jailed for six months after trying to avoid paying for speeding tickets.

He was issued with a speeding ticket after driving through a safety camera at 64 mph in a temporary 50 mph speed limit on the M5 in August last year.

Upon receiving the notice in the post he told police that someone must have stolen or cloned his registration plates.

Thinking he had got away with it he tried the ruse again when he sped through a West Midlands camera in Shirley on 18 August.

However enforcement officers became suspicious after investigations revealed that the theft had never been reported and after viewing the photographic evidence they were convinced that the man in the image was the registered keeper.

In a bid to clear up the confusion the 46-year-old was asked to visit the station to speak to the enforcement officers. Knowing that the police were on to him he panicked and reported his plates as stolen to cover up his actions.When interviewed where he admitted that he was the driver and had fabricated the lies in a bid to avoid the penalty points and fines.

Whitworth was jailed at Birmingham Crown Court on Monday 2 March after pleading guilty to perverting the course of justice and two counts of excess speed.

PC Jason Dooley, from the Camera Enforcement Unit, said: “This should be a cautionary tale for anyone thinking of trying to avoid speeding tickets.

“The man spun a web of lies and tried to wriggle out of paying for the fines, thinking he could evade the police.

“What he did not count on was that we would investigate the offense fully.

“If Whitworth had taken the points he would have been out of pocket for a short time but now he will have a conviction that will always be with him.”

Speeding fine for Richmond Park cyclist riding at 41mph - is penalty lawful?

A cyclist in London’s Richmond Park has been fined for riding his bike at more than twice the speed limit – just four months after a Royal Parks spokesman said that speed limits in the places it manages don't apply to cyclists.
 
Rory Palmer pleaded guilty to breaking the park’s speed limit of 20mph on Sawyers Hill on 2 January this year, reports This Is Local London.

Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court was told that police officers spotted the cyclist overtaking cars as he headed towards them from the direction of Richmond Gate. The officers were conducting an anti-speeding operation close to Barn Wood, said to be busy with vehicles at the time in question.

The rider, admitted when stopped that he had been travelling too fast, telling officers, "I know, I'm sorry."

Mutahir Ahmed, speaking in mitigation, said: "Cycling is his hobby and he understands how dangerous it was. It was a windy day and he was coming down the hill.

“He did realise at the time he was going above 20mph but did not have a speedometer."
Magistrates fined him £65 plus a £20 surcharge and he was also ordered to pay prosecution costs of £65.

BBC broadcaster Jeremy Vine was stopped for 'speeding' in Hyde Park in November of last year. A Royal Parks spokesman subsequently told him that there was no speed limit for cyclists in Hyde Park - and, by extension, any of the other 10 parks or open spaces it manages in London. So was Rory Priors fine lawful?

What do you think? should speeding limits apply to vehicles such as bicycles that dont have numberplates or speedometers?

Surely if you don't admit fault under these circumstances something to do with "not knowingly breaking the speed limit" would come in to play

Maybe cyclists should start investing in camera detectors as well as car drivers, then at least you would get alerts and it would tell you your speed!