Emma Watson banned from driving for speeding
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cly10x7pjploOpen linkView original on lemmy.world136
Comments109https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cly10x7pjploOpen linkView original on lemmy.worldhttps://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cly10x7pjploOpen linkView original on lemmy.world
Seems strict to me. but I'm not British.
30 is for built up areas. Also key is that jaywalking isn’t a thing in Britain. Pedestrians always have right of way and can cross the street at any point so in urban areas motorists must be prepared to stop at any time.
There’s also a 10% grace where prosecutions under that are unusal. But the chances of survival being hit at 38mph are significantly lower than at 30, or even 33.
The ban is for exceeding the penalty points on her licence. She had 9pts before this conviction, and speeding carries 6-8pts which has put her over the 12pt limit, which she accumulated over 3yrs so that’s a 6-month ban.
After 6 months she will need to take her driving test again and reapply for her licence.
Just as this this guy says
you dont get a ban for the first instance. This shows repeated offences. Lucky she has the money for a driver.
I have little patience for serial speeders. Gripe all you like, but speed limits save lives.
Particularly in populated areas, slow the fuck down. Too many people could get hurt, go speed somewhere the people aren't.
Oh yes you can, do 30mph over the speed limit and you will more than likely be banned for that one offence.
I've been knocked down by a car doing 5mph. My head was embedded in the bonnet, bounced off it, and then I was on the road staring at the underside and tyre of a fortunately stopped car before my puny human brain could figure out what happened.
Being hit, even at 5mph, is not something you'd want, let alone 38.
My idiot sister racked up nine points in six months after moving to the UK. She claimed not to have seen the 40mph sign she blew past at 50. "They're so small!" She only started paying attention when she realised she was one ticket away from a ban.
To be fair, I struggled with the UK signs when I moved here from Sweden. Big yellow quite distinct, to smaller ones that pop less from the surroundings. Not an excuse as such, but I find it understandable.
If you don't know what the speed limit is then just go at 30. That's the slowest that any road will ever be unless it's a suburban housing but then it's pretty obvious.
The 40 signs are small but they're also repeated, you get it at the entrance of the 40 and then every couple of metres there's another 40 for the entire distance, so if you miss one you'll only be going at 30 for a while and then you'll see another and it'll tell you to go at 40.
I know!! Sometimes it's even painted on the road in huge numerals. I explained everything to her.
In America, we give medals for that kind of gumption, not punish it
/j (but only by the barest amount)
She already had nine points on her licence, so she's a repeat offender, hence the book getting thrown at her.
Conversely, this happened in Oxford, which is well known for being strict on drivers. She might have got away with it elsewhere.
You can go from a 40mph zone to a 30mph on the same stretch of road. But there are signs well in advance to indicate the speed change. It's quite common for the rozzers to be 'sat' waiting in these spots to catch those that don't slow down in time.
It's common to get caught. It's less common to get gmcaight lots of times. Particularly for someone who doesn't drive a lot. Like wealthy people with drivers. She should sloelw down. Matthew Broderick too
@Pumafred9 @robocall
Also modern cars read the signs, contain a map, and can be told to drive within the speed limits.
For older vehicles assistance to the driver is available as additional loose gadgets.
In my experience, it works very poorly.
I was in my friend's new car, and the "advanced" cruise control would raise/lower the speed, depending on what signs it saw.
We were travelling along a 30 zone, when his car detects one of those "this vehicle is limited to 60mph" signs that show a miniature speed limit sign in the back.
The car recognised this as a road sign and tried to accelerate up to 60 in a 30 zone. Crazy.
My dad's car also has the sign recognition, although all it does is beep at you and eventually try to brake when you exceed what it thinks the limit is — it isn't integrated into cruise control.
A frequent problem he has is leaving a motorway service station (where the car park has a 5mph limit), and joining the motorway where there isn't a national speed limit sign for another 300 metres or so.
He speeds up to join the motorway, and his car goes crazy with him, beeping and bonging constantly. Then it tries to brake, from 70mph, on the motorway.
Maybe those two are outliers, but I'm very hesitant to trust this tech.
@TheGrandNagus
Your descriptions are odd in these respects:
The speed is set for drivers as well as devices _after_ the (pair of) signs giving the limit are passed. It is usually difficult to overtake an HGV travelling at 30 in a 30 zone
The same system I described sets a distance to follow a vehicle in front.
So, no.
Regarding passing through a car park, and then accelerating to join a motorway is essentially the opposite of cruising. I suggest one should drive there.
Resume, later.
It wasn't a HGV, it was a British Gas van, pulled over outside of a Co-op, rather than driving along the road.
Cars/vans/lorries being parked isn't an unusual usecase. Most vehicles spend the majority of their time not being driven.
Again, it was a parked vehicle, no cars were ahead on the road. So it started accelerating and, had my friend not intervened, it would've went up to 60. I don't know what speed he was going when he applied the brakes, but it was noticeably more than 30.
Regardless, even if there was a car ahead, the car would've accelerated up until it was a set distance behind that car ahead (i.e. speeding in the meantime), and if the car ahead was speeding, so then would your car using this system.
As explained, this isn't under cruise control. It is behaviour when the car is driving with CC disengaged.
It still recognises signs (or doesn't!), beeps at you if it believes you're speeding, then after a time forcibly brakes.
There is an option to turn off this behaviour, but it needs to be done every time the car is started, and it's tucked within a stupid menu in the infotainment.
@TheGrandNagus
Interesting.
Mine behaves well.
I wonder if we should restrict the display of anything that might reasonably be taken for a speed limit sign, on vehicles and beside roads. Meanwhile there's a speed limiter mode on the ones I've had, which is distinct from cruise control, and doesn't regulate itself up or down.
(If there is a de-restriction sign ahead, I am in a speed-restricted area. Perhaps that sign should be moved down the access lane, or a limit other than 5mph posted?)
There's a road going out of Southampton that's 40, and has a camera about 6m before the point where it becomes 50. The 50 signs seem more prominent than the camera. I've always thought that was a bit cunty.
There's a road near me where because of idiots messing around with the road over the years they've ended up with a situation where the speed limit goes from 30 to 50 and yes they also have a camera just before the 50 sign but in fairness to the council I think it's just a leftover from before the roads got messed around with.
It used to be a 40 to a 50, but then they decided to build some housing on the stretch of road that was 40 and decrease the speed limit to 30.
What's a rozzer?
https://youtu.be/r340C_6UtKo
How so? Its very clearly over the limit, its not like you can accidentally go around 30% over the limit. Plus don't cars usually over report their speed slightly?
The only surprise is that she was caught, so she probably does this all the time and this was just the time she was finally caught doing it.
When that 30% is 8mph, yes you can
Look at a speedometer. You see where 30 is? Now see where 40 is. Do you notice that the line for 40 is past the line for 30? If the needle is past the line for 30 you are diving too fast. There is no way you can do it unless you are not paying attention to your speed.
I was once pulled over for doing 50 in a 30 and I was just coasting down a long hill. I've also been pulled over for doing 35 in a 25mph zone (a classic Texas small town speed trap where the posted speed went from 65 to 55 to 25 in a very short distance with a cop posted at the 25 sign. You had to be on the brakes to make it.) Some cars are quite quick, foot on the gas pedal a moment too long and you've blown through 8mph. Some people spend more time with their eyes outside the car than on the dash. Hell a lot of you drive around with highbeams on and there's an indicator light for that too.
But also, "Watson already had nine points on her licence before the speeding incident occurred, the court heard."
You paint a picture of a fucking atrocious driver who should not be on the road.
I'm glad my two anecdotes of 25-ish years of driving have given you a complete picture.
That's because Americans learn to drive at like 16 and then as long as they don't literally run over the instructor they pass.
Yes, a lot of people are bad at driving
I'm sorry your defence is that the gravity was doing the work not the engine and therefore the speed doesn't count? You realise that's not how it works
Did I say it doesn't count? The cop didn't issue me a ticket so he didn't think so.
I'd be open to this argument for something like 3 mph or 4 mph, maybe even five. But eight? If you're so bad at keeping track of your speed you can't tell the difference between zero and eight something is seriously wrong.
But it's double zero that's actually twice as slow
So I'm not advocating for speeding, and I think getting a ticket for going 38 in a 30 is reasonable enough, she should be more careful. But "the probability of death given a collision" is an astronomically low contributor to the risk to pedestrians compared to "the probability of a collision." We all know getting hit by a car is extremely dangerous even at low speeds. The risk of hitting a pedestrian doesn't go up much between 38mph and 30mph under normal conditions, so the risk to pedestrians doesn't change much. It's probably within typical margins considering the difference between drivers who may be older, have slower reaction times, have slept less that day, etc.
Normally speed checks take into account that the car's speedometer and the speed camera are off by a bit, always in favour of the driver. So whilst the violation might be 38 in 30, the actual speed was likely a little bit higher (eg 40-45).
@robocall @Davriellelouna
You might consider the equation for kinetic energy.
If you are USAian you might care to contemplate the enthusiasm with which they kill each other with motor vehicles.
(I gather they assert a right to be openly carried)
For those interested, 38mph has 60% more kinetic energy than 30mph. This makes a big difference for both stopping, and in a collision with a young child.
The amount you are allowed to drive over the speed limit is in fact 0mph (0 km/h for us Europeans).
Tolerance of violations of this is a sign of a deeply broken society
This is different in Germany but we learn about tolerance in driving school. Your speedometer can be wrong by about 10% and speed guns can also have errors. A good system accounts for unintentional speeding.
Speedometers are not allowed to display a lower speed than the vehicle is running at all under EU regulation - see https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX%3A42004X0331%2801%29&qid=1752829119241 § 5.3
Displaying a speed slightly higher than actual speed is common and an acceptable margin of safety, such that if you are driving at the speed that the speedometer shows, you are more or less guaranteed to not exceed the speed limit.
In the UK you're allowed 10% (and I think +2mph) due to car speedo's not being 100% accurate.
It's actually not law, just custom. Most/all speedometers over estimate for this reason.
The motorway cameras, near Birmingham have been known to issue tickets for doing 71mph.
It is. A lot of councils set limits arbitrarily low to frustrate drivers. It makes for easy pickings if you set up a speed camera or frequent the area with mobile speed traps.
Speed limits are based on medical case histories on survivabilities. Sorry you think you have more right to live just because you go around in a metal box.
Won't someone please think of the poor oppressed drivers!
Prove it. Otherwise your statement is a lie/fabrication.
I'm not sure how I'm supposed to prove an opinion. At the same time, I'm not sure it follows that a statement that would be very difficult to prove either way would necessarily count as a lie. I wish you all the best with your world view.
Having not lived in UK for a while I won't offer up anything local. However, there is this from my current homeland:
https://www.leinsterexpress.ie/news/crime---court/1688083/shooting-fish-in-a-barrel-judge-sets-out-reason-for-dismissing-speeding-cases-before-laois-court.html
They can't cos it's obvious bullshit
🤥
Better we get frustrated than kill people. If councils make money off of you being a brainlet then that's a good thing.
61km/h instead of 48km/h. You’re welcome.
38 in a 30.
You're welcome.
There’s a road near my house that has sections at 30mph, 40, and 50. Most folks drive 45 on all three.
I'd be upset if I was behind someone doing 45 when the limit is 50. I wanna go 60, and they're in my way! ^/s^
I dont find this too wild honestly.
I do. Driving 61 instead of 48 km/h increases your distance to stop at an emergency by almost 8m. This is assuming 300ms reaction time. By the time you would have stopped at 48km/h you would still be ramming whatever it is you're emergency braking for with
40km/h15km/h if you go 61km/h.Speeding is no joke, please read about how braking distance scales with speed. Especially if you go 50km/h in a 30 you're spelling a death sentence for anyone and anything running into the streets. And no, "they shouldn't run on the street" is not an argument, children and animals will always do unpredictable things, and being inattentive isn't a reason to execute someone
Edit: used km/h instead of m/s in my calculations
Good point, you are absolutely right, also since she was caught multiple times maybe its time for her to rethink her actions
If she was caught doing 38mph in a 30, then her car was probably displaying 40 or 41mph as the speedo's always report you going a higher speed than you're going. So I'd say that's pretty bad, especially when you've been caught several times before in such a short space of time.
Depends on where you are. 10 over on some roads is crazy, but there are many roads where 20 over is still fine.
I'd say 10 over on any 30mph zone is crazy. These are usually in built up areas so there's no excuse for it.
Can't say I agree. National speed limit is either 60 or 70mph depending on the road and I wouldn't want to do 20mph over on either.
There's a road near where I live that is 35, it's a two lane road both ways with a median, everyone regularly goes 45.
I would be wary of those roads. I've ran across several that seem like national, or 50 roads, yet limited a lot lower. Generally, there is a hidden danger on that stretch. The classic being a blind junction joining, or a school kicking out nearby. It won't be obvious, unless you are familiar with the area.
At the same time, i also know of a 30 limit on an otherwise national road. It's along the stretch in front of a previous Mayer's house.
Interesting the cultural difference here. People arguing in favor of, or at least the reasonableness of, the law and its application. Americans regularly speed, 20+ mph over the limit is not uncommon. People would lose their shit over a driving ban in the US, and probably keep driving anyway. DUI repeat offenders and suspended license drivers are pretty common.
In much of the US, the alternative is lose your job and become homeless, so.
I had my license suspended for 90 days - due to a paperwork error when I was in college. I just had hope I didnt get pulled over at that time because I had no choice but to drive for school and work.
Higher incentive to not speed, then
Passing by a sign that lowers the speed limit without noticing it means you deserve to be homeless?
If you can't pay attention in your multi ton machine, then yes I am in favour of consequences for your actions. I am not in favour of the system that makes those consequences homelessness, no.
Repeat offenders and unlicensed drivers happen here as well. But the use of cameras makes it much harder then the past.
But having lived in the US. Most of it has so little public transport not driving is impossible. Here it is doable in all but the most remote areas. Just crap compared to the 80s and before. It is still way better the most cities in the US.
I wish we had better transit here. I hate driving but, as you said, have to because there's no better solutions.
Are pets allowed on public transit in the UK/Europe?
Sure.
That's nice! Here the transit rules say only in a carrier which doesn't work with two 60lb. dogs. Even if the rules changed tomorrow the other riders would be mad if you did.
The US doesn't just have terrible public transit but there's also terrible culture around the public transit we do have.
if u got no responsibilities, just leave for australia or UK, you will adapt super quick and work-life-balance and public transport is so much better there
UK yes. As long as controlled.
No shit!
Who cares
minor gossip.
not really interesting, but still content.
Millionaire ($85m) problems. Girl can pay for uber
I think the point is that she can but she's still arrogant and entitled enough to speed and get caught... and then speed and get caught again.
And again, and again. 1st time is 3 points or speed awareness course (why would anyone not do it), then assuming she didn't accrue points in a different way (bald tyres etc) it's 3 points for each subsequent speeding offense and you need 12 points for a 6 month ban. That's 5 times caught speeding in 3 years.
So she's been caught speeding and got caught again, and again, and again, and again!
Or caught on the phone while driving (6 points) and then speeding a few times as well. A few combinations but either way you only get banned from driving if you really deserve it.
Thames valley police hate the car. I’ve been done a couple of times that way. 33 in a 30 for me last time, Really strict.
Have you tried… learning how to operate a car?
I suspect you might be telling on yourself here as someone who didn’t drive.
People who go through car education and actually drive learn about system tolerances. Speedometers can be off by up to 10% and radar guns can be off by about the same.
If you actually drive and use cruise control set to 30 and go up a hill to a level section of road, the cruise control will likely bring you up to 33 before it reacts the reduced power needs and brings you down to 30 again.
Cars in real life are not exactly like they are in video games.
By law speedos must never under-read. If you are driving such a car, you are breaking the law.
And your argument is balderdash. If there’s a tolerance with any machinery, a competent operator would factor that in.
That's pretty much what they said, speedos over read. If your speedo is indicating slightly too fast, you're probably sitting at the actual speed limit
But why would the sane do that?
Why wouldn't you?
Risking a fine for the sake of a few seconds off the travel time? Why not simply stick to the limit as read from the speedo.
I don’t own a car. I just maintain a drivers license for rare cases when I need to go to a place where public transport does not reach.
I just went through the education and have the practical experience regarding driving.
I don’t think this angry approach is the best way to go forward here. Action and advocacy will beat out internet anger all day.
Advocate for and use public transport at you local level.
I always thought she moved things along too fast
But, but... come on you guys! She's a feminist and speaks out for feminist rights. She can get away with anything and
womenfeminists laud her! She's great!They're (un)surprisingly quiet in here though.
I too like to get upset when arguing with imaginary people
I too like to see you triggered.
You are crazy.
I don't follow lunatics.
And they appear.
Don Quixote fought against windmills not giants.
mate, you forgot this:
💊
You really are chasing this down, huh? Next you'll be shouting "it's a hoax".
But I see you being abusive and offensive to someone you think has mental health issues because that's acceptable in your world.
what conspiracy?
"woman gets driving ticket"
and then you start filling a board sheet pins and twine.
Hahaha uh oh, there's a nutter on the loose
Lol, enjoy your breakdown buddy! 👋