Just got a speeding ticket, guess if I'll get another!

Just got a ticket in the mail today, 57 in a 50 mph zone on the M4. That's not worth a ticket!  I probably set my cruise control to that thinking it wan't high enough to get a ticket. 

The ticket was for last week when the whole family was doing some tourism in Wales.  Just yesterday, before I knew, I spent 8 hours on the M4 going to the  Gower and back.  I certainly wasn't driving any slower so I'm worried I'll get another. 

Keep your fingers crossed. 

Oh dear... that sucks.
Yes, fingers crossed for no more nasty surprises.

this is a very old post but same thing happened to me so I took a speed awareness course and really trying to not speed anymore however the limits sometimes change from one piece of road to the next.

this is a very old post but same thing happened to me so I took a speed awareness course and really trying to not speed anymore however the limits sometimes change from one piece of road to the next.

Not old at all, only 19 hours old x

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When it rains, it pours! 

Yesterday I got a parking ticket in the mail, it was for the parking lot at the O2 when we went to 5 guys for dinner.  There are no barriers, they use number plate recognition and you pay online.  I thought it was free and simply drove off without paying.  The sign had 2 columns, one side that applied until 7 pm , and the other side that had prices for after 7 that were £25 and up.  I assumed that the before 7 prices didn't apply since it was 8 pm and the £25 prices didn't apply because that's CRAZY and it must be for a season ticket or something since most car parks are free at night.

Welcome to England , £25 for 2 hours is what I should have paid so they sent me a ticket. 

I went ahead and paid because my only excuse was I am too stupid to actually read the sign and I just can't be bothered to fight with NCP. 

Add £60 to the already exorbitant price of dinner at 5 Guys.

It's Karma for another car park incident where they unfairly wouldn't let me out.  We (might have, no admission of guilt, this is just a story) tried to follow another car through the barrier only for the barrier to try to come down and then explode in a thousand pieces.  We floored it and drove off while the kids sat in the back seat slack jawed in surprise.  That car park deserved it!

Oh no!

I do find parking costs extortionate here.  And the fines - WHOA!

Hi Jimbo,

If you were perhaps 10% over the limit - so 55 mph, you 'might' have been offered the speed awareness course where you pay an amount and go for half a day at a local place to get the presentations and warnings etc about speeding etc. This also means there's no points recorded on your license. Sometimes people will say they were 10% over and +1 or 2mph on top, so 56/57 mph (in your case)  and were offered the course and other's weren't offered it.

As you mention, it was on the M4, was it in a roadworks zone by any chance? Unfortunately, I think the course isn't offered if you are caught on the motorway and less chance of it if it was in a roadworks. For the 'variable speed' limit sections of very busy motorway around the UK, it's always best to stay below the limit shown in the red circle and the same for roadwork sections - you'll wonder why other's go zipping by you at 5-10-20 mph quicker than you, but just ignore it and stay within the limit!

I had a speed awareness course perhaps 4 years ago now and it does make you realize about why speed limits are in place, along with how to tell which stretches of road have which limit etc. For me, it did have a good impact on my driving in terms of more awareness.

KFdancer - Agreed, parking costs are high, as a family we hardly ever park at Heathrow, we just call ahead and go to the departures point and pickup the person/family there for instance. Every now and again we do have to park and I had to a few weeks ago and 2 hours was £12 or so which I didn't like, however I know it's quite a bit less than other car park charges! In other places, for years now I've found where the 'free' parking is if I need to visit there semi regularly. I got caught out a month or so ago for driving in a bus lane that was literally 20 yards long and next to it was a width restriction. The vehicle I was in at the time was a van, so might not have squeezed through. The worst part? I did it twice on that day and again a week later one time (a client site visit) so 3 fines at up to £195..  EACH! I sent in a letter, but they decided (correctly) I should have paid more attention to the width restriction warnings further down the road - I missed those! I got an extension to pay the reduced charge of £65 each and so just coughed up that!

Cheers, DtM! West London & Slough UK!

I think you are both familiar with the Oracle in Reading.  When I was there recently (the day I spent nearly £12 on lunch for one at Five Guys), I was there to drop off my iPhone at the Apple store.  I dropped it off, needed to do an errand in Reading, and then return to collect it.  The minimum charge at the Oracle for parking now is £4!  So my car was probably parked for a total of 1 hour at the most and it cost me £8 as I had two entries and exits.  Absolute rip off!!

Hey Dennis, I haven't reached the point where I find out if I am offered the speed awareness course.  I had one 4 years ago as well so I think I might be eligible for another.  I don't think it was an actual construction zone, just a permanent 50 mph zone.

Funny, I thought the %10 + 2mph was the line you could expect to get a ticket at, I probably set my cruise control at 57 thinking I was doing good.  Interesting that you think that's the line for something else. 
I accept my ticket, It's just the cost of driving.

If I have to go all the way back to Wales, that's gonna suck.  If the speed awareness teAcher has a thick Welsh accent, it will be even more painful.

Not calling the Welsh thick, that is describing the accent not the person. 

Last October, the DAY after I passed my driving test, I got a parking ticket... for overstaying 11 minutes. What's worse is that the parking officer was right there filling out my ticket as I was approaching my car. Never received a ticket before and tried contesting it, but he still handed me the ticket anyways.

Paying to park in so many places has to be one of my biggest gripes about living here. It's such a rip off. Paying to park at hospitals is especially disgusting- morally wrong imo.

Our friend works in the city centre. To avoid parking costs, she parks in a side residential street and walks 10 minutes into town from there. Done so for years and says it's not illegal as there are no signs posted, no double yellow lines, etc. Can't say I blame her!

Last October, the DAY after I passed my driving test, I got a parking ticket... for overstaying 11 minutes. What's worse is that the parking officer was right there filling out my ticket as I was approaching my car. Never received a ticket before and tried contesting it, but he still handed me the ticket anyways.

Paying to park in so many places has to be one of my biggest gripes about living here. It's such a rip off. Paying to park at hospitals is especially disgusting- morally wrong imo.

Our friend works in the city centre. She parks in a side residential street and walks 10 minutes into town from there. Done so for years and says it's not illegal as there are no signs posted, no double yellow lines, etc. Can't say I blame her!

If they have already entered the ticket info into their hand held device they have absolutely no way of canceling it, if it was a paper ticket... 

I so agree on how sh*tty it is to charge for parking at the hospital. I was just there for 12 hours yesterday... Luckily I was brought over in an ambulance (well, that's debatable) and didn't have to pay initial parking, but we did have to pay for parking from 3-10pm.

I haven't reached the point where I find out if I am offered the speed awareness course.  I had one 4 years ago as well so I think I might be eligible for another. 

Be careful
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2016/jan/27/why-speed-awareness-course-could-hike-up-insurance-premiums

Funny, I thought the %10 + 2mph was the line you could expect to get a ticket at

It's up to the force in that area whether they will do that. If you go one mile over the limit, then you are breaking the speed limit.
 

If I have to go all the way back to Wales, that's gonna suck.  If the speed awareness teAcher has a thick Welsh accent, it will be even more painful.

I love the Welsh accent.

Our friend works in the city centre. To avoid parking costs, she parks in a side residential street and walks 10 minutes into town from there. Done so for years and says it's not illegal as there are no signs posted, no double yellow lines, etc. Can't say I blame her!

Not so good for the people who live in that street though. This is why these areas then ask their council to make their street  "permit parking only". Or you hear stories or cars getting keyed.

Be careful
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2016/jan/27/why-speed-awareness-course-could-hike-up-insurance-premiums

It's up to the force in that area whether they will do that. If you go one mile over the limit, then you are breaking the speed limit.
 
I love the Welsh accent.

Did you notice the article referred to the %10 +2mph rule of thumb?  What bad luck to get a ticket for 57 in a 50.

I'm not worried about the speed awareness/ insurance thing as I've never been asked and I am almost certain my current insurer told me it was not relevant. 

I thought that link would be about the new mysterious variable fines related to income that come into force today.  I'll be doubly unlucky if my eventual fine falls under that. 

I'll let you know if I have to do the course in Wales, maybe you'd like to attend for me?  You'd get your fill of that accent.