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Driving 41 mph in a 40 mph zone

Hi all,

So last night I was driving through a 40 mph zone. One second I was doing 38-39 mph then when I glanced at my satnav I was doing 41 mph so I took my foot off the accelerator and brought myself down to 38 mph again. My satnav (Its a Garmin Nuvi) beeped and said we were in a 40 mph zone but as I just glanced at it, I dont know if it said anything about there being a speed camera). I didnt see a speed camera and I have been on google maps to see if there is one there but there isnt (although the photos were taken in 2009 so its plausible that there could have been one installed). Its really stressing me out as I am a new driver so I do not want to get any points. I am careful of my speed but I literally just took my eye off the speedo and the satnav for a second when my speed increased. Just to clarify, if there was a speed camera there, I think it would have been a Gatso as there is one in the 30 mph zone further on, but I didnt see any flash. Also my partner says that if they were to send me a ticket for 41 mph in a 40 mph zone then I could contest it and I would win. Other people have also been saying that online. Additionally, I am aware of the 10% leeway that there is so I could actually have to be doing 44 mph in a 40 mph zone to have been caught. Its just because I am a new driver so this new Drivers Act has brought in that 6 points = loss of license and I certainly do not want that! So please, if anyone could reassure me, I would be forever grateful!

Thanks
Chloe

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Reply 1

NWA

The maximum penalty for 41mph in 40mph zone would be 3 points and a £60 fine or a drivers awareness course which costs roughly £75 but you receive no points.

You were doing 41mph, and as you correctly stated there is a 10% leeway so you are completely fine.

Reply 2

chloelsmith92

But you have just said that I could get 3 points and a £60 fine for doing 41 mph in a 40 mph so how would I be fine? Im really stressing out

Reply 3

Lethorio

Original post by chloelsmith92

But you have just said that I could get 3 points and a £60 fine for doing 41 mph in a 40 mph so how would I be fine? Im really stressing out

You'll be fine. You're allowed 10%, as you said.

Reply 4

DotDotCurve

Original post by chloelsmith92

But you have just said that I could get 3 points and a £60 fine for doing 41 mph in a 40 mph so how would I be fine? Im really stressing out

In a 40 limit, driving 46-65 is a fixed penalty and 66+ is a summons, so you are fine. Nothing to worry about.

Reply 5

c_al

Nothing will happen. People drive 5-10 mph above the speed limit all the time, and the wouldn't do it if they were going to be punished for it

Reply 6

BANS2012

it happens to everyone. Speed gathers quickly. You will be fine !

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 7

Exon

One mile over the speed limit honestly isn't a big deal.

I would try to avoid going much further than that though because they will fine you if they get the chance.

Reply 8

Henrikh

So you dont think there was a Camera. I imagine you didnt see any markings on the road. You were only going 1mph over the speed limit on the road. Bear in mind 1mph is probably going to be less than the margin for error on the Speed Camera.

Relax and forget about it.

Reply 9

rmhumphries

Original post by chloelsmith92

You *should* be fine. If you were caught however, the 10% leeway is a guideline, not a rule - so you can't content a ticket where you were going 41mph just because you were within the 10% usual leeway,

Reply 10

JC.

41 in a 40 and you're worried?
Keep driving as conscientiously and you'll be absolutely fine. :smile:

Reply 11

Mechie

So you're worried that you drove 1mph over the speed limit, when you don't even know if there was a camera? Really, you'll be fine.

Reply 12

JordyS

I think you should relax! :smile:

Reply 13

anony.mouse

I did 21-22 in a 20 zone before ... luckily there was no speed camera. But I was wondering about going 1-2mph over the limit. Especially if your speedo isn't digital, so is less accurate.

Reply 14

Camoxide

I find people mostly do between 40 and 50 in 40 zones anyway...

Reply 15

It's****ingWOODY

I've got a Nuvi as well. I always have it on so it beeps when I'm coming up to cameras, but for the love of god turn off speed limit alerts. So annoying that it beeps every time you go 1mph over the limit, I'd rather just be informed when I need to slow down a little bit so I don't get caught. Almost all drivers drive a few mph over the limit, if you drive under all the time you just end up getting tailgated all the time.

Reply 16

Advisor

Original post by chloelsmith92

But you have just said that I could get 3 points and a £60 fine for doing 41 mph in a 40 mph so how would I be fine? Im really stressing out

To clarify, your speed (if verified by a calibrated measuring device) was technically an offence, but although there is no leeway in law, the trigger point of automatic speed cameras is usually set to a small tolerance above the prevailing speed limit.

In other words, it's highly unlikely that the camera triggered, but please do not assume that there is always a "10% leeway" with speed limits. There is not.

Reply 17

Scott.M

10% leeway, so you will be fine.

Besides it's not as bad as doing 55 in a 54.

Spoiler

Reply 18

fluttershy

As others have said, the 10% is only a guideline, not a rule, and doesn't have to be followed. You can get done for doing 1mph over the limit. It's unlikely, but those saying you can't or making out the 10% is a rule are wrong. Same goes for awareness cources, the guideline is for no other offenses within 2 years and less than a certain amount over, but they can still give you the 3 points and fine for a first offense, 1mph over.

Reply 19

SillyEddy

Original post by anony.mouse

I did 21-22 in a 20 zone before ... luckily there was no speed camera. But I was wondering about going 1-2mph over the limit. Especially if your speedo isn't digital, so is less accurate.

Digital speedos are more accurate? I would think they get their data in the same way as analogue ones, but I suppose you can see a bit of a difference on those depending on your line of sight.

Speedometers should read no more than 110% + 6.25mph over your actual speed (so if it reads 70mph, you could legally only be travelling at 58mph true speed). This can be down to flaws in the measurement system but also changes in tyre tread depth and the such.

So at 22mph you may only be going 15mph if you had a dodgy speedo. GPS in a clear patch at constant speed over a reasonable distance should tell you quite accurately how far off your car's speedo is at that moment in time. The speed camera may be set to +10% +2mph, so 24mph... Though I don't think I've ever seen a 20mph speed camera before. The police can be quite flexible too. They'd probably only stop you if your speed was dangerous, not just a tad over. As mentioned in another thread, there was a programme where they weren't stopping cars even though they were well over the speed limit because everyone was doing it and it wouldn't be feasible to stop everyone.

Either way, you were probably going way too slowly.