Couple of weekends ago I went to visit my girlfriend whilst she is at UNI at Southampton, (I live in Cornwall.)

First time I'd made the journey and was relying on a satnav, all was good and i was about 15 mins away and I look a wrong turn and ended up on a massive 3 lane roundabout, at this point the satnav was going nuts shouting at me so was flicking between that and changing lanes.

Anyway, long story short I went through a red light on the roundabout, I looked back at the road after glancing at the satnav and it was turning to red, since it was pretty much midnight and no one else was on the road I went for it instead of attempting some ridiculous emergency stop.

Just the luck, police at the other set of lights, pulled me over and gave me 3 points & a 60 quid fine. Telling me ''If it'd have done such a manoeuvre at rush hour I could of caused an accident'' Fact of the matter, if it had been rush hour chances are I would have stopped.

Such a ridiculously heavy penalty for such an offensive considering the situation. Also saying how lucky I am that they didn't issue me with further charges, followed by a bollocking about using a satnav and how dangerous they are.

To add more injury to this, they forgot to ask for my driving license, and so did my local police station when i went there to produce my documents, so now i have to send my license away and be left without any form of ID (which at 19 i still need) for a good couple of weeks.

Also, how long does the whole 6 point license last for? Is it the for the 3 years of driving?

Rant over, sorry for the wall of text. I feel a little better now.

Cheers.

6 points in your first 2 years is a ban

and i think they stay on your license for 4 years

also, gutted sat navs can be your best friend or worst enemy!

I know a female member that just got this same penalty for driving with NO licence because she said sorry and that it was a "one off" when she was actually doing it for about a year and she liked the odd tipple too

Fucking joke tbh

Luck of the draw man and you got an unlucky deal Rants ftw

I know a female member that just got this same penalty for driving with NO licence because she said sorry and that it was a "one off" when she was actually doing it for about a year and she liked the odd tipple too

Fucking joke tbh

Luck of the draw man and you got an unlucky deal Rants ftw

maybe it's all they can give for anything

i half expect someone to come out with a story of them getting 3 points and a 60 quid fine for christmas

Wasn't me btw!

Luck of the draw and the officers I reckon. If he hasn't been getting any sex off his wife or he's in a bad mood you're fucked and i do actually feel sorreh for men because you get so much unecessary attitude and shit off oldbill, it's unreal. I've been driving 2 years this month and I've never even been pulled once *touches wood*

Just you fucking wait now...

You jumped a red light, can't fault the copper for giving you a ticket for that. In fact if you admitted you were watching the sat nav and not your driving then they let you off very lightly as they could have got you up in court for driving without due care and attention. So be grateful you just have points and a fine and not been banned and left to deal with public transport.

Nick

Luck of the draw mate. They could have let you go, they could have given you a fixed penalty, or they could have done you for driving without due care and attention, or you could have run over the kid on a bike with no lights on that luckily wasn't there that night.

Had a few FPN's myself, some debatably not 100% my fault, but it's not the end of the world. Likewise, I've done some stupid things while driving where afterwards I've either thought "I'm glad xxxx didn't happen at the same time" or just wanted to take myself out and give me a damn good slap.

You live, you learn.

I know a female member that just got this same penalty for driving with NO licence because she said sorry and that it was a "one off" when she was actually doing it for about a year and she liked the odd tipple too

Fucking joke tbh

name and shame!

tbh mate if you had done the exact same thing and there had been these red light cameras then you would of got exactly the same punishment so its not like you were treated harshly. as has been said though some times the old bill are fair, some times they stick to the book and some times they take you in the back of a paddy wagon and take it in turns with you.... luckily for you they just stuck to the book

You jumped a red light mate...at anytime that's a FAIL in my book.

They could have gone to town with you if they'd have wanted to...

Driving without due care and attention springs to mind and i'm

sure there are a few more they could have got you with too.

Take the 3 points and the £60 fine put it down to "experience"

and move on...

as if ambers not on long enough to give you plenty of notice a red is coming lol

I have 3 points. They stay on for 4 years. 5 years you generally have to declair them for

Mine are for speeding. 2 years ago. Hardly affect my insurance. But everyone's got sp30. Insurance companies might see running a red as a more serious conviction.

And yes you cant have anymore than 6 points in your 1st 2 years. If you get 6 points. then there will be a ban or a retest coming

3 points is pretty much your lucky chance. next one is a harsher punishment.

Insurance companies might see running a red as a more serious conviction.

yeah, you're seen as more of a "risk taker" than if you were caught speeding.

as if ambers not on long enough to give you plenty of notice a red is coming lol

Dunno, there's a set on the ring road round here that change pretty damn quick. Did it on me the other week, I just stopped (yetitech brake rebuild + avons + having driven mk2's for years), the Audi TT behind me nearly didn't

Telling me ''If it'd have done such a manoeuvre at rush hour I could of caused an accident'' Fact of the matter, if it had been rush hour chances are I would have stopped.

this bit kills me, i hate when they say that kinda thing

Rants are always goood :)

Alex

Tbh, i make a gambled decision in that situation. If i hammer the brakes, will someone smash into me. If i go for it because i wont be able to stop safely in time, will i endanger anyone else on the road.

Sometimes (but only in a tiny percentage of the time), it is safer to continue than try to stop as whos to say that any car behind you will be paying 100% attention and be able to stop too?

At the end of the day, you've hopefully learnt your lesson and binned the shatnav in favour of learning as much of the route beforehand as possible.

I've had a sp30 before as well as a caution for no MOT so learnt my lesson quick.

drive properly and stop whining

sorry to hear this my mate went through a red because he was watching what i was doing i stopped for red and before he even realised he was getting pulled by feds i sat there through a green light pissing myself.. lucky for him they said "iv got better things to do than talk to little dickheads like you thinking you own the fucking road" and then he drove off... he was in all fairness correct but all police are tossers anyway mate got arrested for sticking up for himself when a cop accused him of assaulting ME haha (being my mate lol) funny times nowadays get done for anything and everything

I find it stupid that the police can call you whatever they like yet you do it to them and out comes the cuffs!

No wonder they dont get any respect.

old bill should be like gene hunt, give them shit and they chuck you in the back of the van and kick the shit out of you, then you'll learn respect

police brutality FTW!

fire up the quattro

Likewise, I've done some stupid things while driving where afterwards I've either thought "I'm glad xxxx didn't happen at the same time" or just wanted to take myself out and give me a damn good slap.

X 2 on that, its sometimes scary when you look back and think of the potential consequences of a certain situation which may have seemed so innocent.

like you said, that kid on a bike with no lights on could easily spring out infront of any of us, and fiddling around on a satnav for just two seconds could determine either life or death.

in that respect, the points and fine may almost seem like a blessing..

x3 on the above, especially when i used to drive my mini. I was on the way to take my mini to get its brakes fixed when they failed completely and i just didnt stop, luckily i was literally a minute away and i rolled to a stop as it was down a quiet street, but the journey was through a main town and a 3 laned roundabout so it could of gone a lot worse. I blamed the C*** i bought it off who has the pathetic excuse to call himself a mechanic, but if i had known the state the breaks were in at the time i would of trailored it to the mechanics rather then drive it, as it has been said, you live, make mistakes and learn.

Better luck for the next time :)

If its anything like it is around here you always know when the cops are out to stop you.. you see a cop car about every couple of miles. Where the rest of the month there isnt a single one. Unfortunatly around this time of month there out in full swing trying to pull as many drivers as possible!

I agree with the old bill on everything TBH. Though I'm less in support of the planners who are creating even more risk by putting lights up in the first place,which I'm no fan of - both accidents and congestion at traffic lights tend to be considerably worse than at roundabouts.

Yeah, lots of accidents seem to happen at traffic lights through people not paying attention etc.

I did exactly the same once, was in southampton late at night, dont know the place at all and had the satnav on to get home after a long tiring day of windsurfing with a mate. Trying to get in lane for some funky-ass roundabout thing, checking the satnav with a glance and as i looked up again the lights were just changing to red, everyone knows what mk2 brakes are like and i thought it would be better to just nip through as there was no traffic than screeching to a stop and probably going through it anyway. thought everything was fine, no traffic around etc.

10 days later a letter through the post, they had cameras on them! Its totally my fault and i just payed it and accepted it, tbh i went through a red light, yes there were abnormal factors that caused me to concentrate less than i should have done but hey ho it happened!

At the end of the day they see it that you could just as easily cause an accident jumping a red light as you could by travelling too fast.

such is life mate sorry to hear it, its all to easily done! just be careful not to get another 3!

Edited 21 October, 200916 yr by Matt_Oldfield

You did go through a red light, what else did the copper have to do at that time of night? Was easy pickings. 99% of coppers are complete arseholes so get used to it unfortunately.