Speed Radar at Caleta

[Ivemovedon]

has anyone driven a short journey and on reflection found it hard to remember actually doing the driving. No recollection whatsoever of the time between start and finish.  Driving on auto pilot. Its happened to me a couple of times over the years and friends have told me its happened to them. Mind so full of lifes complexities and problems you miss the 'now'. Either that or its old age .

Scarey

[isleswing]

I know that one. And what happened to the slow blue van you followed on to that road? You haven't passed any turnings and you can see empty road for 500m ahead? Where did it go?

The surprise is not that there are so many accidents, but so few.

[KWC]

has anyone driven a short journey and on reflection found it hard to remember actually doing the driving. No recollection whatsoever of the time between start and finish.  Driving on auto pilot. Its happened to me a couple of times over the years and friends have told me its happened to them. Mind so full of lifes complexities and problems you miss the 'now'. Either that or its old age .

Scarey

Hands up here I have to confess     Especially when driving to work on the same old road for decades.

But I am not as bad as this lunatic driving a public bus at 70 mph on a local Motorway: http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/video-stunned-bus-passengers-film-3417808

[Brightspark]

For sure in the future I will no doubt slip up again, but if and when I do I will again accept it.
For nearly a year and a half though I have driven exactly to any limit at any given time so the rap on the knuckles did me good.

[Brightspark]

On a sidenote, without causing too much uproar, I have to be honest and say that on many occasions when driving into work on motorways around the area some of the worst cases for speeding + general bad driving, tailgating etc seem to be young women.... lost count of how many also driving whilst on their iphone texting or having a chat...

[zedzedeleven]

Ah yes, young women drivers. Play by their own peculiar rules. Not interested in improving their driving skills once through the test, it`s just a means to an end for them. No spatial awareness, no pride in their car, after all, it`s just another commodity, like the telly or the fridge. Often found driving down the centre of narrow lanes, cannot/will not move over, not in their curriculum . Pull out of a junction and shrug at the car they have just forced to brake hard to avoid a collision. I once watched one of those police patrol programs where they stopped a young girl. Her reaction was to burst into tears and get on her "mobby" to mummy.To get back to the main topic, there was once a life size cardboard cut out of a police patrol car, think it was on the M55? and very effective it was too. Didn`t stop the locals speeding of course but a lot of tourists use that route into Blackpool and it worked on them. Another ploy was a stuffed sheep positioned on the grass verge in Milnthorpe, looked for all the world as if it was about to wander into the road. That slowed people down as well. Prevention you see, not revenue generation.

[Windermeregolfer]

Ah yes, young women drivers. Play by their own peculiar rules. Not interested in improving their driving skills once through the test, it`s just a means to an end for them. No spatial awareness, no pride in their car, after all, it`s just another commodity, like the telly or the fridge. Often found driving down the centre of narrow lanes, cannot/will not move over, not in their curriculum . Pull out of a junction and shrug at the car they have just forced to brake hard to avoid a collision. I once watched one of those police patrol programs where they stopped a young girl. Her reaction was to burst into tears and get on her "mobby" to mummy.To get back to the main topic, there was once a life size cardboard cut out of a police patrol car, think it was on the M55? and very effective it was too. Didn`t stop the locals speeding of course but a lot of tourists use that route into Blackpool and it worked on them. Another ploy was a stuffed sheep positioned on the grass verge in Milnthorpe, looked for all the world as if it was about to wander into the road. That slowed people down as well. Prevention you see, not revenue generation.

I remember the Cardboard Cut Out Police Car on the North bound side of the M6 just after the junction with the M55, best was on occasions there was a police car parked behind it ready to set off after a speeding motorist.

This subject will run and run as every one has their own opinions on what is the correct speed limit for a particular stretch of road.  Why can't we have more of the variable speed limits dependent on the traffic conditions and time of day, 70mph on the M6 north at 23.00hrs when it is clear should possibly 90mph.

In my opinion another issue that causes speeding and accidents is slow drivers doing 30mph when the limit is 40 or 50, frustrating the drivers behind who then speed or overtake where they shouldn't.

[RVEEE]

Why is a hidden camera 'entrapment'?

If it's there to catch drug dealers or terrorists, is that also entrapment?

Some UK speed limits seem arbitrary until you know the policies that determine them. For example, a dual carriageway without a barrier on the central reservation will never be more than 50mph (although take away the reservation and it becomes 60mph). If it's lower than normal, it usually means that there was a fatal collision there within the last 8 years - but this doesn't have to be speed related, I know of one location where the collision was due to a heart attack.

I expect Spanish speed limits follow similar guidelines.

[Ivemovedon]

to be honest if you can't see the difference in importance and necessity of a hidden camera to catch drug offenders and terrorists and one designed to catch unwary motorists straying a few MPH over the limit in a position which does not improve road safety then all is lost anyway. pay up and shut up is how they want it and it seems for some of us thats good enough.

[macb]

I call it entrapment (Ok - sneakily catching me is correct) and daylight robbery into the bargain. In that respect their speed cameras are the same as the majority in the UK. Not located in dangerous areas but positioned to generate the most income. Take a look around at the number of substandard vehicles - where is the enforcement for them. Speed Kills my ****. Lack of concentration kills. Mobile phones are probably the biggest culprit in accidents these days. Even hands free which are still legal. It isn't where your hands are that is the problem but where your brain is.

Just got a 300 Euro fine notification (71kph on the fv207) plus a 40 euro stinger from the hire car outfit for their efforts to look up my address.  I heard that it's unlikely to be chased up in the UK though so I'll probably ignore it.
What are they gonna do - arrest me at the airport next time.
Don't think so.
Eh...Anybody been hauled up on arrival.

[Deso]

'Entrapment' is where you are lured into doing something wrong, not when they sneakily catch you for doing it. 

[Riverman]

As a highway engineer with 32 years experience I can assure you that all speed limits are set with full regard to safety and past accident records and not as a cash generating exercise. I can't understand the attitude of motorists who think that they have the right to break the law without fear of punishment. If you get caught for speeding, by whatever means, you were breaking the law. I bet that any of these moaners would have a different attitude if a member of their family was killed by a speeding motorist.

[Ivemovedon]

As a highway engineer with 32 years experience I can assure you that all speed limits are set with full regard to safety and past accident records and not as a cash generating exercise. I can't understand the attitude of motorists who think that they have the right to break the law without fear of punishment. If you get caught for speeding, by whatever means, you were breaking the law. I bet that any of these moaners would have a different attitude if a member of their family was killed by a speeding motorist./quote]

Yep thats why half the cameras are now redundant. Because none of them were cash generators.

[zedzedeleven]

I call it entrapment (Ok - sneakily catching me is correct) and daylight robbery into the bargain. In that respect their speed cameras are the same as the majority in the UK. Not located in dangerous areas but positioned to generate the most income. Take a look around at the number of substandard vehicles - where is the enforcement for them. Speed Kills my ****. Lack of concentration kills. Mobile phones are probably the biggest culprit in accidents these days. Even hands free which are still legal. It isn't where your hands are that is the problem but where your brain is.

Just got a 300 Euro fine notification (71kph on the fv207) plus a 40 euro stinger from the hire car outfit for their efforts to look up my address.  I heard that it's unlikely to be chased up in the UK though so I'll probably ignore it.
What are they gonna do - arrest me at the airport next time.
Don't think so.
Eh...Anybody been hauled up on arrival.

Is there a discount bonus for early payment? Mine was knocked down to about thirty five euros so I just paid it, not worth worrying about. If you did get stopped on entry (extremely unlikely) you wouldn`t be any worse off than you are now if it stays at three hundred euros. As regards the fee the hire car company charged you, well I guess that`s one company you won`t be using again !

[macb]

There was a discount of 50% if paid immediately but I was on the island for a month and had got done on the first week. The discount therefore expired before I knew about it. It took me ages to work out where I had been speeding. Still only have a general idea. The car was hired to take a couple of older (and nervous) relatives around. I was driving sedately for most of the time and I didn't realise I had been speeding. Certainly was not playing boy racers but it must have been a countdown sign on approach to a roundabout I think. Anyway the photograph appeared to show the offence!
Goldcar had my CC details so their 40 Euros was debited out smartly. They don't miss a chance to get some extra cash but they did provide a new car at a cheap price initially - it's all in the small print I guess.

[zedzedeleven]

Still and all, forty euros is a bit steep for thirty seconds work looking up a booking on the computer. Cicar didn`t charge me owt but you could argue that their prices are so high they already charged just in case!  Next time I was over I asked the expats that I knew what their thoughts were. None of them said they would have paid, one said that the unpaid ticket would only come to light if you committed another offence and your name and address was entered into the computer database.

[Jock719]

Do you get much grief off the old bill if driving a UK plate motor? Mine will be on UK plates till I can get it re registered but I don't want any interactions with the old bill....all insured and new mot, Florry waistcoats, triangles, bulb kits etc just in case of a pull. Can't be arsed with cops....

[KWC]

Do you get much grief off the old bill if driving a UK plate motor? Mine will be on UK plates till I can get it re registered but I don't want any interactions with the old bill....all insured and new mot, Florry waistcoats, triangles, bulb kits etc just in case of a pull. Can't be arsed with cops....

Jock if you wear spectacles for driving, you must have a spare set with you in the car as a back up   

[Jock719]

Handy for spying the old bill hiding places ......

[SheilaW]

We didn't get any extra grief while our car was on French plates; in fact it helped break the ice somewhat, seeing as we had British passports and Spanish NIEs. But they do always look at absolutely everything even though they've stopped you at a routine checkpoint, so check lights, tyres etc regularly. I really don't think they target any particular group: tourists in hire cars, expats in foreign cars, non-Spanish residents, Canarians... we all get to fork out sooner or later . Still, it doesn't always hurt too much as hubby's fine for a missing document was a massive 10€, reduced to 5€ for fast payment. He was at the checkpoint for a long, long while, taking up the time of a Guardia Civil, so I can't see how they made a profit on that. Something for the "wall of fame" for us though .

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

Has anyone warned Jensen Button? Or conversely, has anyone warned the policia?