She already had nine points on her licence, so she’s a repeat offender, hence the book getting thrown at her.
Conversely, this happened in Oxford, which is well known for being strict on drivers. She might have got away with it elsewhere.
Comment on Emma Watson banned from driving for speeding
robocall@lemmy.world 1 month ago
38mph in a 30mph zone
Seems strict to me. but I’m not British.
crapwittyname@feddit.uk 5 weeks ago
Korhaka@sopuli.xyz 1 month ago
How so? Its very clearly over the limit, its not like you can accidentally go around 30% over the limit. Plus don’t cars usually over report their speed slightly?
kogasa@programming.dev 1 month ago
it’s not like you can accidentally go around 30% over the limit
When that 30% is 8mph, yes you can
Korhaka@sopuli.xyz 1 month ago
Look at a speedometer. You see where 30 is? Now see where 40 is. Do you notice that the line for 40 is past the line for 30? If the needle is past the line for 30 you are diving too fast. There is no way you can do it unless you are not paying attention to your speed.
JamesTBagg@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
I was once pulled over for doing 50 in a 30 and I was just coasting down a long hill. I’ve also been pulled over for doing 35 in a 25mph zone (a classic Texas small town speed trap where the posted speed went from 65 to 55 to 25 in a very short distance with a cop posted at the 25 sign. You had to be on the brakes to make it.) Some cars are quite quick, foot on the gas pedal a moment too long and you’ve blown through 8mph. Some people spend more time with their eyes outside the car than on the dash. Hell a lot of you drive around with highbeams on and there’s an indicator light for that too.
But also, “Watson already had nine points on her licence before the speeding incident occurred, the court heard.”
njm1314@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
I’d be open to this argument for something like 3 mph or 4 mph, maybe even five. But eight? If you’re so bad at keeping track of your speed you can’t tell the difference between zero and eight something is seriously wrong.
echodot@feddit.uk 5 weeks ago
But it’s double zero that’s actually twice as slow
noMoYnks@lemmings.world 5 weeks ago
kogasa@programming.dev 5 weeks ago
So I’m not advocating for speeding, and I think getting a ticket for going 38 in a 30 is reasonable enough, she should be more careful. But “the probability of death given a collision” is an astronomically low contributor to the risk to pedestrians compared to “the probability of a collision.” We all know getting hit by a car is extremely dangerous even at low speeds. The risk of hitting a pedestrian doesn’t go up much between 38mph and 30mph under normal conditions, so the risk to pedestrians doesn’t change much. It’s probably within typical margins considering the difference between drivers who may be older, have slower reaction times, have slept less that day, etc.
monochromemalcolm@lemmygrad.ml 5 weeks ago
Where I am in the UK, our driving lessons involve keeping an eye on the speedometer, so that we’re not constantly going over. Many modern cars also have digital map functionality built in (or you could get a separate device like a TomTom), which will often inform you of the speed limit between areas.
8mph difference is only possible to accidentally go over until you are taught to be hypervigilant about your exact speed and start having your eyes on the speedometer as much as the road, and then you start realising rather quickly when you start going over by even 2mph and correct it.
Lots of cars ignore it at their own peril, choosing instead to be hypervigilant for the speed cameras. My own father (a stresshead in the car) regularly speeds around, hoping not to get tickets. My point is, though, that it’s not difficult to be taught to control speed if people choose to want to.
GissaMittJobb@lemmy.ml 5 weeks ago
The amount you are allowed to drive over the speed limit is in fact 0mph (0 km/h for us Europeans).
Tolerance of violations of this is a sign of a deeply broken society
Akrenion@slrpnk.net 5 weeks ago
This is different in Germany but we learn about tolerance in driving school. Your speedometer can be wrong by about 10% and speed guns can also have errors. A good system accounts for unintentional speeding.
GissaMittJobb@lemmy.ml 5 weeks ago
Speedometers are not allowed to display a lower speed than the vehicle is running at all under EU regulation - see eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=… § 5.3
Displaying a speed slightly higher than actual speed is common and an acceptable margin of safety, such that if you are driving at the speed that the speedometer shows, you are more or less guaranteed to not exceed the speed limit.
blackn1ght@feddit.uk 5 weeks ago
In the UK you’re allowed 10% (and I think +2mph) due to car speedo’s not being 100% accurate.
cynar@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
It’s actually not law, just custom. Most/all speedometers over estimate for this reason.
The motorway cameras, near Birmingham have been known to issue tickets for doing 71mph.
Pumafred9@lemmy.world 1 month ago
You can go from a 40mph zone to a 30mph on the same stretch of road. But there are signs well in advance to indicate the speed change. It’s quite common for the rozzers to be ‘sat’ waiting in these spots to catch those that don’t slow down in time.
hitmyspot@aussie.zone 1 month ago
It’s common to get caught. It’s less common to get gmcaight lots of times. Particularly for someone who doesn’t drive a lot. Like wealthy people with drivers. She should sloelw down. Matthew Broderick too
DJDarren@sopuli.xyz 5 weeks ago
There’s a road going out of Southampton that’s 40, and has a camera about 6m before the point where it becomes 50. The 50 signs seem more prominent than the camera. I’ve always thought that was a bit cunty.
echodot@feddit.uk 5 weeks ago
There’s a road near me where because of idiots messing around with the road over the years they’ve ended up with a situation where the speed limit goes from 30 to 50 and yes they also have a camera just before the 50 sign but in fairness to the council I think it’s just a leftover from before the roads got messed around with.
It used to be a 40 to a 50, but then they decided to build some housing on the stretch of road that was 40 and decrease the speed limit to 30.
OrkneyKomodo@lemmy.sdf.org 1 month ago
It is. A lot of councils set limits arbitrarily low to frustrate drivers. It makes for easy pickings if you set up a speed camera or frequent the area with mobile speed traps.
ohulancutash@feddit.uk 1 month ago
Speed limits are based on medical case histories on survivabilities. Sorry you think you have more right to live just because you go around in a metal box.
Flamekebab@piefed.social 1 month ago
Won't someone please think of the poor oppressed drivers!
monkeyman69@lemmynsfw.com 1 month ago
Prove it. Otherwise your statement is a lie/fabrication.
OrkneyKomodo@lemmy.sdf.org 4 weeks ago
I’m not sure how I’m supposed to prove an opinion. At the same time, I’m not sure it follows that a statement that would be very difficult to prove either way would necessarily count as a lie. I wish you all the best with your world view.
Having not lived in UK for a while I won’t offer up anything local. However, there is this from my current homeland:
Technoworcester@feddit.uk 5 weeks ago
They can’t claim it’s obvious bullshit
snugglesthefalse@sh.itjust.works 5 weeks ago
Better we get frustrated than kill people. If councils make money off of you being a brainlet then that’s a good thing.
echodot@feddit.uk 5 weeks ago
🤥
ChairmanMeow@programming.dev 5 weeks ago
Normally speed checks take into account that the car’s speedometer and the speed camera are off by a bit, always in favour of the driver. So whilst the violation might be 38 in 30, the actual speed was likely a little bit higher (eg 40-45).
ohulancutash@feddit.uk 1 month ago
30 is for built up areas. Also key is that jaywalking isn’t a thing in Britain. Pedestrians always have right of way and can cross the street at any point so in urban areas motorists must be prepared to stop at any time.
Cherry@piefed.social 1 month ago
Yeh you dont get a ban for the first instance. This shows repeated offences. Lucky she has the money for a driver.
I have little patience for serial speeders. Gripe all you like speed limits save lives.
RisingSwell@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 month ago
Particularly in populated areas, slow the fuck down. Too many people could get hurt, go speed somewhere the people aren’t.
waz@feddit.uk 1 month ago
Oh yes you can, do 30mph over the speed limit and you will more than likely be banned for that one offence.
Horse@lemmygrad.ml 1 month ago
good.
you are clearly not competent enough ton drive if you can’t fucking read
catty@lemmy.world 1 month ago
I’ve been knocked down by a car doing 5mph. My head was in the bonnet and then I was on the road staring at the grill of a fortunately stopped car before my puny human brain could figure out what happened.
Being hit, even at 20mph, is not something you’d want, let alone 38.
MrsDoyle@sh.itjust.works 1 month ago
My idiot sister racked up nine points in six months after moving to the UK. She claimed not to have seen the 40mph sign she blew past at 50. “They’re so small!” She only started paying attention when she realised she was one ticket away from a ban.
HereIAm@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
To be fair, I struggled with the UK signs when I moved here from Sweden. Big yellow quite distinct, to smaller ones that pop less from the surroundings. Not an excuse as such, but I find it understandable.
echodot@feddit.uk 5 weeks ago
If you don’t know what the speed limit is then just go at 30. That’s the slowest that any road will ever be unless it’s a suburban housing but then it’s pretty obvious.
The 40 signs are small but they’re also repeated, you get it at the entrance of the 40 and then every couple of metres there’s another 40 time for the entire distance so if you miss one you’ll only be going at 30 for a while and then you’ll see another and it’ll tell you to go at 40.
MrsDoyle@sh.itjust.works 5 weeks ago
I know!! Sometimes it’s even painted on the road in huge numerals. I explained everything to her.
chuckleslord@lemmy.world 1 month ago
In America, we give medals for that kind of gumption, not punish it
/j (but only by the barest amount)