Bermudashorts

When I first read this I assumed you were doing 103 on a 110 road and was very sympathetic to the injustice. But if it were a 100 road as subsequent posts seem to suggest, then you were over, so not sure why you think this is unjustifiable. I think it is always better to keep a few km under the limit, not over.

GreenMan72

A couple of points here. For all those saying I should have been at or under the limit, can you honestly say you adhere to this? I am usually slower than most drivers, in fact the majority sit around at or marginally above the limit.

For arguments sake, I'll admit I was over the limit, but most drivers here sit just above the limit.

However regardless of above/below the limit, my issue is the actual speed he was asserting I was traveling at and therefore determines the extent of my fine. I will get both my odometer and sat nav checked as a previous poster said, to ensure it doesn't happen again.

There were a lot of road works on the Pacific Highway this weekend and plenty of opportunities to check your speed with those screens that feed back your display. Our speed against these was consistent or within 1/2 kphs of what was being fed back vs our odometer and sat nav. But to be told we were 13/14 kph more than what we were reading is questionable.

roaringmouse

The speed limit is a limit, not a target - i.e. the maximum you should travel at. If you're over it, even only by a little, then you're breaking the law - whether or not you're caught breaking the law is neither here nor there.

itigo

I've found that not many people sit just above the limit in Victoria at any rate. The majority do under.....with good reason. They don't want fines. I got a fine a couple of years ago for doing a corrected 63 in a 60 (alleged 67) when I was overtaking a weaving ute doing 35 on a dual carriageway. I was over the limit, even though it was a clear wide road so I sucked it up and paid the fine and took the point.

They are talking about giving a police caution with speeding fines now so that it sits on your record for a bit.........

Tramps_mate

You Gps will differ from your speedo by 8-12%. So in all likeliness you were doing 116 on your speedo.

GreenMan72

My speedo was definitely reading about 103 kph. No doubt about that. I was looking at it at the time we noticed the police car as well. FYI, I watch it like a hawk as am aware they are tough here.

I honestly believed he made an error. Whether my speedo is incorrectly calibrated could be an issue, expect the road works we passed through both before and after confirmed the feed back speeds were consistent with our speedo speeds.

I am happy to accept I was over the limit, but by 13/14 kph is an exaggeration. The first poster gave me some good advice re: contesting it, so I'll at least give it a go. Whether or not I'll succeed is another matter, but at least I'll try.

EvannTel

Interesting vales for sat nav vs speedo. I have had two VWs here both of which I reckon read 6 km over at 110. I set cruise at 120 and sat nav says 114.
I have been through many many radars at this and never been done. The worst I have had is flashed lights up north so I reckon that's pretty right. I would be very suspicious if sat nav matches speedo. Speeds are normally low.

Japonica

Yup. We've had a ticket for 4 kp/h over here in Perth. Nice surprise. Canadian cops tend to give a 5 kp/h buffer at the minimum...

Tramps_mate

No 10% buffer like the UK then?

Pollyana

Nope.

Zambia

The law is all about bringing your case before a magistrate if the facts are in doubt.

If you feel you were not doing the speed you where clocked at do contest the fine.

comet555

Unless you're around my area where it's quite acceptable to go just under 120 in a 100 zone on the 401 in Ontario. On a slow day you might not want to go too close to 120 but when it's busy there are plenty going over 120 for the cops to catch so you're pretty safe under that mark.

Other parts of Canada or Ontario are not so lenient though.

mikelincs

Getting your own speedo chaecked will not do any good, as it wasn't done on the day in question, so you can't argue that 'well it was OK a week later' and get away with it. Normally traffic police cars have their own speedos checked daily, or at least at 2 day intervals, but you are likely to have been caught by a 'radar ' trap. My own advice is to suck it uyp, going to court and contesting it is likely to be a no-brainer, and sometimes magistrates take a dim view of people contesting these cases, and you may find your fine etc. is higher than you would have got.

KJCherokee

To comply with ADR 18/03:

For type testing

5.3. The speed indicated shall not be less than the true speed of the vehicle. At the test speeds specified in paragraph 5.2.5. above, there shall be the following relationship between the speed displayed (V1 ) and the true speed (V2).

0 <= (V1 - V2) <= 0.1 V2 + 4 km/h



and for the production speedos:

The production shall be deemed to conform to this Regulation if the following relationship between the speed indicated on the display of the speedometer (V1) and the actual speed (V2) is observed:



In the case of vehicles of categories M and N:



0 = (V1 – V2) = 0.1 V2 + 6 km/h;



In other words, if you are travelling at an actual speed (V2) of 100kph, your speedo will have been designed to read somewhere between 100 and 114 (V1), and the one actually fitted to your car will read somewhere between 100 and 116.

If you are travelling at a steady speed on a reasonably straight road, your GPS will be far more accurate than your speedo, and your speedo should never read less than the GPS

DadAgain

Generally speaking I'd trust TomToms reporting of your speed more than your car.

TomTom work off GPS - which is acruate. Your cars speedo however gives an approximation based on the rotation of your accels and an estimation of your wheels diametre. Different tyres or different tyre wear will over time introduce variances between what your car speedo reports and what your actual speed is.

The reality is however that most modern cars with stock tyres are pretty close. (Typically car speedo's are mildly 'optimistic' by 1 or 2kmh at highway speeds)

I've been done by rural police on the BNE/SYD run too - I too was running a nice steady 111kmh in a 110 zone when I was pulled over for doing alledgedly 113 in a 100... I was cruising along an empty dual carriage way in dry clear bright conditions perfectly safely when a cop car coming the other way pretty much pulled a near-lethal handbrake turn (ok - probably not - but thats how I remember it), bumped over the median strip and roared up to catch me.... FAR FAR FAR more dangerous than my driving in the first place!


Since I couldnt dispute that the I had the speed limit wrong - and technically was over the limit of what I thought was the legal speed anyway there was no point in arguing it. I jwas worried that I'd be up for 6 points (it was a public holiday weekend in NSW) - but when I paid the fine in Brisbane they told me it was a 1 point offence in QLD as the threshold for the 1pt/3pt cutoff is different and QLD has no double points. Thankfully having a QLD licence means you get penalised according to QLD rules - not NSW!

I think the reality is that if you're going to drive SYD-BNE you have to factor in the high chance additional cost of speeding fines (still cheaper than flying if you have a family with you). Driving slightly above limit for most of the way for 11 hours (with breaks) still makes it a safer drive than crawling along and being totally shattered 13 hours later.... [<--- outrageous claim just trying to poke a stick at the 'oooh the wreckless fool' crowd]