How many points on your licence?

menamestom

None in 23 years, but I expect 3 at least from a fixed camera last night.  The road used to be a 50, even the speed camera database says it is 50, I was going 50, but they have decided to change it to 40 and turn all the streetlights off.    The speed limit signs are the size of a side plate and the road is a 3 lane carriageway with armco at the sides, so houses nearby and no pedestrian access.

I suppose there must be a reason, but at least make the new speed limit signs big enough to see in the pitch dark.   It's also frustrating the police and council do fuck all about cars going down our road at double the 20mph speed limit risking lives, yet driving on a road that was built to be a 50 and totally clear is now an offence.

Rules are rules but it pisses me off that the fine is now half a weeks wages.  It's almost as if when the cameras are generating less revenue they decide to up the fines and change the speed limits to compensate.

Nitefly

@menamestom I have some sympathy, having been similarly caught in Bristol, on a 40 road that suddenly became 30 - got done for 37 in a 30 zone.  

I'd be surprised if they didn't offer you the option of a speed awareness course, instead of a FPN and 3 points.  You'll still have to pay for the course (I believe mine was £80, when the fine would have been £70, but I didn't want the points, so it was worth the extra tenner to me).

I found it very worthwhile, and I have modified my driving style in the light of what I learned, so I guess everyone's happy.  

One thing (among many) I learned is that, when the speed limit changes on a road, there will ALWAYS be a large sign saying what the new limit is, followed by the smaller repeater signs (the ones you called "side plates").  The problem is that often, the large signs are displayed at junctions, where there are already lots of things demanding your attention, so it's very easy to miss them.

I know there are some on here who found the speed awareness course a waste of time, but for me ot was a well-spent half day.  Good luck!

Myranda

0 points for me (licence is 9 years old) ... had the urge to speed taken out of me by a thing that could potentially have killed me.

Friend and I were riding together, being a little playful with speed... might have gotten the speedo over 3 figures playful... then an odd shaped roundabout jumped out at me... between heavy downshifting and breaking the rear tire lost traction for the briefest of moments ... the result was it regained traction enough to propel me along in the direction I wanted to be in on the roundabout rather than gain traction and cause me to flip sideways (like I did relatively slowly on diesel) catapulting me off.

Went back to the roundabout and there was a thick black line of rubber about a bike tyre wide near 3 metres long so what felt like a fraction of a second (probably was) was a long skid ... 

Realisation that luck was all that kept me alive told me I don't need to mess around like that again... journeys since then were planned based on travelling the speed limit and leave early enough to do so... and not having had a bike thanks to thieves and crap insurers has made keeping my license clear really easy

danlpt

Had my 3 points expire in June. No i'm at 0...... for now.

Dominic

I was banned twice in the 80s for speeding ........once at 140 mph in a Porsche 928 S4 - which didn't look good in court . I got away with a 6 month ban but if that happened today I think it would be The Big House .The real killer was trying to get insured afterwards . Lesson learnt ;zero since .

Axe_meister

Clear for 10 years (with one speed awareness course 36 in a 30 coming out of a 50 on what was still dual carriageway, I just came off the gas rather than hit the breaks so slowed down too slowly) Most points was 6 when young an stupid in a company car doing 120 on the A414. Pleaded guilty fortunately the police over estimated my acceleration (would have to have been driving a super car to get to the claimed I'd reached over such a short distance after a roundabout) so the judge went a little easy on me.

cruxiform

Well, it's now over the 14 days they need to send me the NIP and I've received nothing. I'm not rejoicing just yet but I might be lucky. Perhaps the camera was not 'live' so to speak as it was late at night. Since this happened though, I've been much more vigilant on the bike so that's a positive outcome I guess.

ToneControl

0
My cars have always been 3 litre or more since the second one, with cruise control fitted
I've always used it as soon as I am up to full speed
I have occasionally gone over the limit, but I think the cruise control is why I've never had any points, I see a lot of people doing 37 in 30 zones when I am a passenger, it's really easy to do that unintentionally 

Wolfetone

Zero for the last twenty or so years but I had many back in the seventies on the bikes. Got caught once in the car on the M4 doing 110 westbound at Newport in about 1997. Luckily the copper that pulled me knew me and let me off...phew.

cruxiform

A little bump just to say it's 2 months now without a letter and so I can safely assume that the camera was not active, phew. Maybe they're not active 24 hours a day or some are just 'dummies'. Either way, my licence remains on 3 points and I intend to keep it that way.

usedtobe

3, I think, unless they've expired.. Speeding..

ICBM

0 now. 3 a long time ago for doing 45 in a 30 - by a semi-hidden speed camera, when they were still allowed to do that.

In a Citroën 2CV .

FX_Munkee

Currently 0 and has been for the last 26 years but I just recieved a NIP for doing 40 in a 30, where the speed limit has recently changed from 40 to 30 (dual carriageway has been 40 for as long as I've known). Caught by a mobile camera, 100m away on the other side of the road behind me, looks like I'm about 15m away from the 40 sign as well when they snapped me.
I accept it's my fault but it does feel somewhat underhand.

quarky

I got three points for speeding through Limehouse Link Tunnel on the bike on Xmas Eve '99 (I was doubling the speed limit but the tunnel was practically empty at the time) but none since then. I did get pulled over in Poland a couple of years ago, but just had to pay a fine.

edbolivar

Only 3 at the moment for me, but in the last 14 years of driving, I have been issued 21.
Never banned and not proud, but very unlucky...

mike257

Had a couple of 3s over the 14 years I've been driving. Did end up shockingly with 9 a few years ago when the insurance broker I was using neglected to process my renewal and I got pulled over by an ANPR car two days after it was due. That was fun. Appealed the living daylights out of it citing their incompetence, they reduced my fine to the minimum but kept the points on.

Thankfully back at zero now and hoping to stay that way!

Danny1969

None for the last 20 years but prior to that I had accumulated so many points for various offences on cars and bikes I was hauled up in court and banned, with the threat of a custodial sentence if I was caught behind the wheel or the handebars again .....which was a bit of a problem because I had driven to court and was parked in the carpark!
I drove home, sold the car and after the years ban took my driving test and been a good boy ever since 

kossofffan

Received 3 points 30 years ago, however working as a full time driver for the last 20 years and completely clean the whole time.

Blaendulais

Dominic said:

I was banned twice in the 80s for speeding ........once at 140 mph in a Porsche 928 S4 - which didn't look good in court . I got away with a 6 month ban but if that happened today I think it would be The Big House .The real killer was trying to get insured afterwards . Lesson learnt ;zero since .

I am seriously impressed my best was 124.  You're right Mr Big in the showers for that speed now

Deadman

You don't want to get caught speeding now the new rules have kicked in.

Everybody around Oxfordshire seems to be getting a £660 fine with £66 costs (sometimes with other add ons too) and 6 points. You get less for assault or thieving.