MX-5 OC Forum

 No idea how but held a clean licence for 36 years   Touch wood!!

Good god i must be getting old, where did those years go?

Considering most of that was done in MGBs, Spitfires & MX5s with a few family buses in between i`m quite chuffed

DavesBRG5, just reminded me that I did not mention my licence had been clean for 42 years, and yes, there is an element of luck in that !

Given luck is the flip of a coin, so far the results indicate that luck wasn't much involved in the awarding of points.......

AT:

Given luck is the flip of a coin, so far the results indicate that luck wasn't much involved in the awarding of points.......

What - think before you type man!

If I was to make a poll "how many of you have won the lotto" - which I think everybody would agree is based solely on luck - you'd get a graph inverse to what we have here! Some people will have won £10-£100, a smaller amount will have won a little more, and a lesser amount (/none) will have won the jackpot

The reason I raised 'luck' is that I was incredibly lucky to come across a couple of motorway patrol cops who seemed to have a reasonable sense of judgement.

Driving along the M69, towards Leicester, a few years back in my Splash Green MK2.5 I was doing 90MPH. It was very quiet and as I came across the odd lorry /  car / van etc. I would indicate, pull out, overtake, indicate and pull back into the left lane.

I noticed a white Peugeot 407 slowly, very slowly, gaining on me. After about 5 miles they pulled up alongside and I muttered 'Oh ***!!*' as I noticed the blue shirts and epaulette markings. The one in the passenger seat indicated for me slow down, they pulled in front and made me go 70MPH for about a mile.

They then waved and shot away into the distance.

Now, THAT was lucky !  

AT:

Given luck is the flip of a coin, so far the results indicate that luck wasn't much involved in the awarding of points.......

To get points you have to:

a - commit an offence.

b - get caught.

c - get awarded points.

Only b and c involve any luck. Safe careful driving means zero points.

 Ouch.

How is this for "luck"?

Just last week, a newly qualified teacher in my wife's school was on the way home from a wedding. Can you guess? Stupid girl was caught speeding, then actually DD'd and will lose her new teaching post which is a round trip daily of 60 miles And she only bought her first house 6 months ago....and....teaching posts are just not there...and...and... 

Does'nt take much does it?

djrose007:

The reason I raised 'luck' is that I was incredibly lucky to come across a couple of motorway patrol cops who seemed to have a reasonable sense of judgement.

Driving along the M69, towards Leicester, a few years back in my Splash Green MK2.5 I was doing 90MPH. It was very quiet and as I came across the odd lorry /  car / van etc. I would indicate, pull out, overtake, indicate and pull back into the left lane.

I noticed a white Peugeot 407 slowly, very slowly, gaining on me. After about 5 miles they pulled up alongside and I muttered 'Oh ***!!*' as I noticed the blue shirts and epaulette markings. The one in the passenger seat indicated for me slow down, they pulled in front and made me go 70MPH for about a mile.

They then waved and shot away into the distance.

Now, THAT was lucky !  

There is also the aspect of "body chemistry", attitude, contriteness,. I've always believed Traffic Police are happier to give a rollicking than spend hours doing paperwork. Had you been in a knackered Chav Corsa, it would have been a bit different. I was stopped on the A74 North Bound in 1982 doing 3 figures late at night...the road to myself, coming back from Shropshire to Falkirk. I'd got a call while on holiday that Mater had been hospitalised, and may not make it the next day. They yanked me just after the last Little Chef northbound, and "processed" me with dignity. When we pulled up, I just got out of my car, walked to theirs and got in the back seat myself. They liked that!  I offered to get them to call Falkirk Royal, but they declined...more or less saying if that was so, it had to be true. They "reduced" my 112mph ( never forget that) speed to a much more "acceptable" 8o -odd and did me for that instead. Since then, I've always had a lot of respect for them.

If nothing else, police officers can make mistakes (even if you don't) and if you're in a court and it comes down to your word against theres, do you think you'll win?
If you were to find yourself in court, accused of using a phone while driving when there are two officers who are positive (and telling the truth) that they saw you using a phone - what can you do?
You can't tell me that an officer has never - in all the time we've had traffic law enforcement - made a mistake or bad decision which has led to an innocent person being charged?

Fact is, people commit offenses regularly (including "safe careful" drivers), even if they're minor - our penalty points system is designed around the probability/liklihood of getting caught - if each and every time we commit an offence (whether it's doing 30.000000001mph in a 30mph limit, or crossing over 0.0000000001mm of solid white line, or whatever else) we got penalised, how many of us would have a clean license? How many of us would have a license to be clean!?!

Of course it's not down entirely to luck - but it unquestionably plays a part - especially if you commit a greater number of offences. However even those who are always within 100% of the law (if such a person exists) stand a risk of being "unlucky" and getting falsely charged with an offence.

It's very difficult to keep a clean licence over here in QLD, the police operate a zero tolerance policy wrt speeding and other traffic offences. No allowance for speedometer error, so 61kph in a 60 zone = $100 and 2 points, talking on a mobile is the same. There are still idiots on the road though. However as the Captain says, obey the rules and you won't get fined. I didn't and I did

goodshipalbion:

funny story...you know when you pass and the instructer says you have to send your licnce off within 2 years or it expires...well i didnt...whoops.  So both my licences (past first time both times lol) are squeaky clean...however out of the 3 cars i have owned (punto mk2, rover 618, and now the mx5) the 5 is bound to get me into trouble sooner or later

Not funny for some one i know. He done the same as you & did'nt remember after the two years then got stoped & done for invalid insurace too. When it went to cort the judge ordered his full licance to be reinstated. That was the lucky bit. It must happen quite a lot do you think?

I only passed in July 2009 and i have no points and don't intend on getting any! 

I've never actually spoken to a police officer...