Community Speed Watch...

[Jim 1]

Has anyone else come across this? On my way home from work I go down a piece of road which is houses on one side and greenbelt on the other and it's about a half mile long, quite quiet and as straight as an arrow. Naturally, people tend to go down it like idiots.

 

This evening I was tootling down there and had just gone round the corner onto the straight only to notice a bright yellow road sign saying "Community Speed Watch" - there was about a seconds confusion and I then looked down the road to see two older folks in high vis jackets with a f*cking police speed gun! They span round and excitedly trained it onto me and continued to follow me closely all the way down the road!! I was doing the speed limit but I was absolutely livid. I almost threw on the brakes and reversed up the road to have it out with them. I'm still debating going back there now because I'm so annoyed about it.

 

Just because I was in a sporty looking car, they immediately thought "Here we go!" - cheeky bastards. Of course they wouldn't know I have over 10 years of driving experience under my belt now and an unblemished driving record - I know how to behave in a car, in residential areas! And if they made an assumption that because I was a young guy in a sports car I'd be statistically be breaking the law, maybe they'd like me to pull over and start quoting statistics about how dangerous eldery motorists are or something?

 

Angry isn't the word. If I see them again, I will be speaking to them. Since when were we promoting neighbourhood vigilantism?!

[OllieVR6 0]

I'm familiar with this, they pass on the details to anyone speeding to the police and you get a letter warning you that you were speeding. Not sure what happens if you get caught a second time, I don't think you get points, I think they send the police round for a chat.

 

There is an old couple who live in the road parallel to my parents road and they are always out there in the summer. Last year I went up and down the road a few times on my motorbike and every time I was out of sight I booted so it sounded like I was going really fast.

 

I don't really mind, I'm not breaking the law, but what gets me is that they get all excited and starting dancing about and focusing only on you and no one else just because you have a bike or a sporty car, they act like they have won the lottery.

[mort1414 0]

had one of these near me a couple of years ago i believe you just get a warning letter if they get you, it didnt last long as soon as everyone worked out they didnt get caught infact im sure speeding increased up that road :epicfail:

[Jim 1]

I don't really mind, I'm not breaking the law, but what gets me is that they get all excited and starting dancing about and focusing only on you and no one else just because you have a bike or a sporty car, they act like they have won the lottery.

 

That's precisely what pissed me off. You should have seen the look on their faces when they saw me come down the road.. they weren't interested in the half asleep woman in a Bora who was sitting behind me, an inch off my bumper of course, but frothing at the mouth in desperation to catch me going over the limit.

 

Like you, I waited till I'd gone round a kink in the road (where the houses stop and it's just fields) and gave it a bootful to signify my disgust.

 

I never thrap it down there. It's a residential road, there are often kids playing out on the pavement.. I'm not a complete idiot. I hate the automatic assumption that I am one just because of the car I drive! :bad-words:

[Jon_vr6 1]

:snipersmile:

[Andy665 0]

We have a few areas around here with similar schemes. They are fully fledged police radar guns but all they can do is pass details of vehicles to the police, the police cannot prosecute but they generally issue a letter "advising" the owner of the car to be more careful in future.

 

The residents have been trained on how to use the gun but I don't doubt that they "target" specfic types of car.

 

Yet another example of potentially bigotted members of the public that the police should be doing.

[moneypit23 0]

Isn't there a way of scrambling these guns? If only to annoy the do-gooders?

[OllieVR6 0]

I heard something about automatic garage door openers but I have no idea how it works or if it works and I wouldn't want to try it :nuts:

[Rob_B 0]

We have alot of those round here. You have to be careful because the old bill sometimes sit round the corner or with these community idiots

[Jon_vr6 1]

Isn't there a way of scrambling these guns? If only to annoy the do-gooders?

 

You can but they are illegal and apparently now if an error is thrown up on the police gun a picture and a red flag is put against your reg, id get one of these would be well funny

 

http://www.speedflip.com/

[greasegriff 0]

Next time you go past them, drop it into second and boot it. Gotta be worth a letter off the fuzz!

[Swompy 0]

Next time you go past them, drop it into second and boot it. Gotta be worth a letter off the fuzz!

 

And give them the bird 8)

[mrbeige 0]

Next time you go past them, drop it into second and boot it. Gotta be worth a letter off the fuzz!

 

And give them the bird 8)

LOL! Love it! :lol:

[Yandards 0]

Yep annoying rubbish but as already mentioned the old bill let the didders do it for a few days so people get used to it and then they turn up on day 3 and book everyone.

[swiftkid 1]

Yea i've seen this before, and made me absolutely furious. Its those nosey anoraks at it again, nothing better to do and the place they were when i saw them was literally a few metres after the speed limit reduced from 60 to 40.

 

I'd love to just stop and light up the tyres and just sit there at 0mph with a big grin on my face whilst covering them with tyre smoke :lol:

[yacobwood 0]

Would mowing them down and using the excuse, 'He pointed a gun at me' be to unbelievable? :lol:

[The_Dude 0]

iirc the police guns have to be calibrated every day, so i doubt these old biddies are doing that! surely that negates any readings they get? how can they prove they are not just making it up?

and could you not do them for invasion of privacy or something?

[lauraJ 0]

Has anyone else come across this? On my way home from work I go down a piece of road which is houses on one side and greenbelt on the other and it's about a half mile long, quite quiet and as straight as an arrow. Naturally, people tend to go down it like idiots.

 

 

Whereabouts Jim so I can be ready for them! I'm thinking beeping my horn to make them jump :lol:

[Dan_Storm 0]

Whereabouts Jim so I can be ready for them! I'm thinking beeping my horn to make them jump :lol:

 

Check out some of the videos on hornblasters.com :) So childish, but so funny :)

 

There was something in my local paper about this scheme, although I haven't seen any yet.

Regardless of the police not giving points to speeding offenders, I really hope they require solid data to back up the 'speed watchers' claims! Otherwise its open to abuse. e.g. 'his exhaust was loud - he must have been speeding'!

 

I can't see it lasting long, and I'm amazed it's allowed. There's bound to be an incident sooner or later between a 'speed watcher' and an angry motorist - that should halt the scheme.

[Yandards 0]

I had a great idea for this when I was out doing some running in miles earlier.

 

Simply approach the speedwatchers area in 1st gear at 30mph, it will sound like you are going really fast and there is a level of childish amusement to be had from a car running at 4k+ RPM doing 30mph just to upset the speedwatch chimps.

[Jim Bowen 1]

I had a great idea for this when I was out doing some running in miles earlier.

 

Simply approach the speedwatchers area in 1st gear at 30mph, it will sound like you are going really fast and there is a level of childish amusement to be had from a car running at 4k+ RPM doing 30mph just to upset the speedwatch chimps.

 

 

its childish but thats what i do, i drive past 10mph under speed limit with clutch dipped and blipping the throttle :lol:

 

makes me feel better anyway

[WigsVR6 0]

Have they got nothing else better to do than this? They just like poking their noses in everybodys buisines. Can't they do something more creative with their lives like knitting yogart or something.

[Jim 1]

Has anyone else come across this? On my way home from work I go down a piece of road which is houses on one side and greenbelt on the other and it's about a half mile long, quite quiet and as straight as an arrow. Naturally, people tend to go down it like idiots.

 

 

Whereabouts Jim so I can be ready for them! I'm thinking beeping my horn to make them jump :lol:

 

Red Lane!

 

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&sourc ... 55361&z=14

 

I'm still fuming. On the bike today so going to head back that way and give them a gobfull if they're still out..

[Swompy 0]

Just been on hornblasters.com and I want one :grin:

[Kevin Bacon 5]

They span round and excitedly trained it onto me and continued to follow me closely all the way down the road!! I was doing the speed limit but I was absolutely livid. I almost threw on the brakes and reversed up the road to have it out with them. I'm still debating going back there now because I'm so annoyed about it.

 

Just because I was in a sporty looking car, they immediately thought "Here we go!" - cheeky bastards. Of course they wouldn't know I have over 10 years of driving experience under my belt now and an unblemished driving record - I know how to behave in a car, in residential areas! And if they made an assumption that because I was a young guy in a sports car I'd be statistically be breaking the law, maybe they'd like me to pull over and start quoting statistics about how dangerous eldery motorists are or something?

 

Angry isn't the word. If I see them again, I will be speaking to them. Since when were we promoting neighbourhood vigilantism?!

 

And you are such a laid back and nice bloke in person :lol:

 

I know EXACTLY what you mean though mate. I actually brought this up in the Spleen venting thread a while ago because a Village I have to drive through every day do the same thing, approx 5 or 6 days in every month.

 

I stick my fingers up at them as I drive past in a very childish and immature way, and rev the engine etc etc to wind them up. I've been gunned by them twice, 33 and 35mph (massively over the limit :roll: ), and all you get is a slapped wrist letter through the post from the local constabulary. They've got no power AFAIK? There is no picture evidence to support their claim you were speeding, no guarantee their speed gun is properly calibrated and no independant witnesses.

In the wrist slapping letter it mentions if you're caught again a police officer will come round to 'have a word' in your ear about your wreckless and dangerous driving doing 3mph over the limit, but that hasn't happened to me yet.

 

And you're absolutely right though, these jumped up pensioners with chips on their shoulders make you feel like criminals waving their pretend little guns at people like cowboys and indians. Just because they don't like people driving through their sleepy little hollows, they intimidate innocent motorists. Well f'ck em. It's a public road and we have every right to drive through.

 

It's just bloody double standards. Why aren't they standing by the side of a dual carriageway gunning people? Cause they don't care about that, it's not their little village. Arse holes.