On a 40mph road, whats the maximum speed before getting caught in the speed camera in UK.?

Question

Suppose im driving on a 40mph road and there is a speed camera, what is the maximum speed i can travel before the camera flashes. This is because today in the morning i saw a car infront of me going much faster than 40mph and he didnt get caught in the speed camera.

thanks.

Answer 1

its down to each local police authority to set their margin of error, this allows for the fact not all speedometers are accurate. Most will set it at around 44mph...the general rule of thumb is 10%.
Ones in some counties have a zero tolerance however...and will fire of at 41mph.
Dont forget the ones with a red lens on the front dont flash, it uses a light sensitive film to see in the dark instead.

Also...in some counties... NOT all cameras are loaded, they get loaded on a rota system, so you never know when its active, this saves money but still makes u slow down. Here in Northamptonshire... ALL cameras are live....damnit..lol

Answer 2

I've recently been done for 45 in a 40 limit and 35 in a 30 limit. i.e.60 points.
I today passed a camera van in a 30 limit and I am praying that I was not photographed. On this particular stretch of road, a dual carriageway, the "offences" will be in their thousands.
Some years ago a child was playing "chicken" with friends and got killed. The limit on this dual carriageway was reduced from 40 to 30 for no real reason.
I'd like to be sorry for the child but really I'm not.
I do not consider myself to be a speeder.
I could very easily have 9 points on my licence, on the verge of disqualification!!
Surely the police/courts should have discretion in minor "offences" before they do disqualify someone.
Any ideas anyone?

Answer 3

Don't speed - the limits are there for a reason!

All the above answers about +10% etc etc etc are all ignoring the fact that your speedometer is legally allowed to be +/- 10% accurate, which is why the cameras are set +10%, to compensate for under reading speedometers (cars that are travelling a little faster than the speedo indicates).

The only safe speed to not set off a speed camera is the speed limit itself, because if your speedometer is reading 10% under your actual speed, and you decide to go over the speed limit a little , you will actually be WELL over the speed limit................ and a ticket for you in the post!

Answer 4

think the tolerance is about 10 % because that is the allowance that is made in case your speedometer is faulty or badly calibrated.

I have been caught at 36 mph through lack of concentration, and have been allowed through at 35 mph on the same camera.
Some people are just lucky but the number of speeding tickets has doubled in the last 10 years and 2 million people are on 9 points one flash away from a ban.
I think it would be fairer to only charge us 1 point for a speed up to10 mph above the limit and an increasing penalty for amounts above that
This would still bring in the revenue the government want and allow drivers to keep their license.

Answer 5

firstly I'd advise you to stick to the speed limits,but what works for me is this- 30+10%+3=36mph in a 30mph zone and so on example in a 60mph zone 60+10%+6=72 mph but i only do this in good driving conditions and in areas where the limit appears unwarranted like an empty motorway or areas i know well with very few pedestrians/other road users. so 48mph in a forty should escape a fine although cameras don't always have film in them and some police forces like to make more money than others and set a 40mph camera at 44 whereas others will set them at 50mph

Answer 6

Anything over 40 could get you caught... depends how the camera is setup. I'm not sure there's a standard above the limit before it catches you; as that would defeat the purpose. Everyone would do 50mph in the 40 zones then.

You can also go about 170mph I think it was, Top Gear beat a speed camera. Drive fast enough so it can only snap one picture and you'd get away with it.

Answer 7

If you can get upto 120mph on a motorbike or good car you wont appear in the field of view,give it a go !...Try doing 50 with a mate mooning out the window,but cover your plates first. seriously they are calibrated to take a shot at anything over 44,but your car maybe reading more or less on the dial,watch others breaking at these "money" spinners and see how different they all go through.....I recently saw a police car chasing a motorist through a camera and the motorist actually slowed for the camera :-) the police nearly collided with the back of his car,i dont think they were expecting that !....some new equipment out there is digital and requires no film and data is sent rather than physically collected,some of these do not need to flash

Answer 8

it could have been that there was no camera in the box. in stoke where i live they have 8 camera's (unless they got some more since) which get moved around the yellow boxes, so u might not get caught today cos there is no cam but then tomorro they put one in and you do.

in terms of speed, my dad said that ur dial in ur car is always a couple of mph slower than what it says, so if u r goin 40mph u might actually be goin 39. not sure of exact numbers tho and u should never try and risk goin over 40mph anyway just incase

Answer 9

Hi
simply to aloow for the cars speedo, the cameras are set to ACPO rules of 10% plus 1 mph. asif you r driver a new car with digital speedo, its normally correct to 1 or 2 mph, but an older analogue version has a tolerance of about 10%. So they are normally set to reflect this, also to buy a speed camera kit is about £35k each, where as a houseing is circa £20k, so they only buy 30-40% of cameras to housings, so many wont have cameras in.
In my area (west Mids) our council is so flush with money that on roads with a camera they installed another 1 or 2 everywhere, anywhere they could make a few quid. I agree with hotspots and schools, parks etc. but on a normal road on a bend (cant see it till its too late) you get the drift, over that last 6 months ive seen approx 20 -30 installed, then they close our swimming baths as they dont have any money...aaarrgggh, labour council for you.
Any way hope this helps, as its is considered a way for the government to get cars of the road, if your banned you cant drive. you have to use public transport. As you got yourself banned not them!

Answer 10

The speed limit is ALWAYS the last speed limit sign that you passed. It does not matter what the type of road is - or how many junctions you have negotiated, the speed limit is ALWAYS the last speed limit sign you passed. Speed limit signs are only posted where the limit changes - so every road does NOT need to have a speed limit sign on it. ONLY IF THE LIMIT CHANGES. National speed limit ONLY applies after you pass a National Speed Limit Applies sign (white circle with black diagonal).