Police gave me the benefit of the doubt..
FFTS - 10/6/10 at 10:39 PM
Last friday needed a blast in the evening and wanted to check the inlet rubbers for an air leek so went out with no bonnet on and a can of degreaser
to spray on the rubbers. I got a little carried away on a nice open road near me (Blackburn rd) Just as I slowed right down to take the bend to go
home I saw flashing lights in my rear view a long way back. He turned the bend so I slowed and waived him past thinking he was on his way to a call
but he pulled behind me 
He asked if I knew where he picked me up? I said no. He said 1 1/2 miles back. I said Oh really. Do you know what speed you were doing? No I said. He
said when you left the 30 through the village you were doing more, when I entered the 50 I was doing considerably more, when I entered the national
speed limit well I couldn't tell you as I couldn't get behind to show your speed. I think I may have been a little over but my speedo isnt
working which I told him when he asked. When he checked my license on the system found it still said I live in Manchester as I moved 5 years ago and
haven't changed it yet. After breathalising me he came to admire the car, asked why I had no bonnet and said those lovely words "I suspect
you may have been breaking the speed limit but 'll give you the benefit of the doubt this time"
I think that means he couldn't prove my speed but I have to say he was a good bloke and quite friendly but lucky escape I think. 
P.S. Is it an offence to not have a working speedo?
austin man - 10/6/10 at 10:42 PM
I believe it is an offence for a none working speedo, as it is for not changin your address. I was once pulled and us the none working speedo lucky
for me i had a new speedo cable on the passenger seat . The policeman didn't know it had been there for 3 weeks or more, he too was a nice chap
coozer - 10/6/10 at 10:45 PM
Is it really an offence to not have a speedo? I use the tacho in my truck so I dont speed....
blakep82 - 10/6/10 at 10:50 PM
pretty sure non working speedo is a mot fail, therefore not road worthy. in saying that, i know a guy who built a bedford van with RV8, jag back axle,
no speedo at all. its legal. but it doesn't have one fitted so thats different i guess?
wrong address on license is bad too. up £1000 fine i'm told.
he knows you were speeding 
count yourself VERY lucky!
loggyboy - 10/6/10 at 10:54 PM
Speedo is not in the MoT that I can find:
http://www.motuk.com/mot_manual/index.asp
But it is in the construction and use regs, so should be fitted and working within tolerances.
[Edited on 10/6/10 by loggyboy]
Fozzie - 10/6/10 at 11:00 PM
It is an offence to not have a fully functional working speedo......a fine up to £1,000 and up to £2,000 for some HGV's......
You were very lucky.... 
Fozzie
FFTS - 10/6/10 at 11:05 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Fozzie
It is an offence to not have a fully functional working speedo......a fine up to £1,000 and up to £2,000 for some HGV's......
You were very lucky....
Fozzie
I think it was my lack of attitude and magnificent charm!! 
Maybe the fact it was also 9.45pm could have helped
Fozzie - 10/6/10 at 11:21 PM
quote:
Originally posted by FFTS
quote:
Originally posted by Fozzie
It is an offence to not have a fully functional working speedo......a fine up to £1,000 and up to £2,000 for some HGV's......
You were very lucky....
Fozzie
I think it was my lack of attitude and magnificent charm!!
Maybe the fact it was also 9.45pm could have helped
T66 - 10/6/10 at 11:26 PM
quote:
Originally posted by FFTS
quote:
Originally posted by Fozzie
It is an offence to not have a fully functional working speedo......a fine up to £1,000 and up to £2,000 for some HGV's......
You were very lucky....
Fozzie
I think it was my lack of attitude and magnificent charm!!
Maybe the fact it was also 9.45pm could have helped
Not an expert, but speedos will fall under the construction & use regulations, and yes you will need one.
Lack of attitude always helps, surprisingly cops are human and generally wired up fairly sensibly, like all professions there are knobs.
However its not at the top of the performance indicator flow charts having a functioning speedo, and seeing as your stopped he or she wouldt notice
anyway.
It would be a defence to speeding issues if the speedo had gone defective while on the journey in which you are stopped. And you could prove the same
etc...
Cops will be far more interested in speeding cars than dodgy speedos. So its probably resonable to speak with you, work out your a decent guy and not
a knob with a drink onboard or an attitude and send you on your way.
Well done.
dhutch - 10/6/10 at 11:27 PM
According to this thread and my experiences its not tested on an MOT which while not definitive suggests in my eyes its not a requirement.
Daniel
Fozzie - 10/6/10 at 11:38 PM
quote:
Originally posted by dhutch
According to this thread and my experiences its not tested on an MOT which while not definitive suggests in my eyes its not a requirement.
Daniel
It is an offence to have a faulty speedo in accordance with regulation 35(1) of the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986, section 42
of the Road Traffic Act 1988 and Schedule 2 to the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988.
An MOT is only concerned with safety ... it is nothing to do with the legal requirement.....
Just because it is not on the list of things to be tested by the MOT testers, doesn't make it legal to not have one ....
The MOT is a certificate of road-worthiness.
It would be impractical to put every car to be tested to be put on the rollers for an MOT...
A1 - 11/6/10 at 01:23 AM
it would have been a very different story if he could prove it...they like to make a point with nice cars. youre very lucky!
RIE - 11/6/10 at 07:22 AM
As already mentioned, incorrect details on a licence can carry a fine of £1000. It's free to get your address changed.
mad4x4 - 11/6/10 at 08:10 AM
quote:
Originally posted by blakep82
pretty sure non working speedo is a mot fail, !
No it's not unless the LAW changed in the last 6 Months . My old landy gets MOT and it speedo has't worked for ages....
FFTS - 11/6/10 at 08:28 AM
quote:
Originally posted by RIE
As already mentioned, incorrect details on a licence can carry a fine of £1000. It's free to get your address changed.
Yeh but Ive had my license for 30 years andf it's like egyptian parchment. It's that old that quite a few years back it fell into 8 pieces
along the folds when I pulled it out to hire a car at an airport. The lady kindly selotaped it back together for me and only realised a year later
that all the pieces are in the wrong places but it's kind of cute. If I get one of those nasty new cards my license will have no soul 
l0rd - 11/6/10 at 08:46 AM
quote:
Originally posted by FFTS
quote:
Originally posted by RIE
As already mentioned, incorrect details on a licence can carry a fine of £1000. It's free to get your address changed.
Yeh but Ive had my license for 30 years andf it's like egyptian parchment. It's that old that quite a few years back it fell into 8 pieces
along the folds when I pulled it out to hire a car at an airport. The lady kindly selotaped it back together for me and only realised a year later
that all the pieces are in the wrong places but it's kind of cute. If I get one of those nasty new cards my license will have no soul
I still have my Greek licence which is paper based in a small plastic transparency.
Something similar to this
FFTS - 11/6/10 at 08:49 AM
What if she was wearing a different colour veil on the day she got pulled? How would the police know it was her?
l0rd - 11/6/10 at 09:24 AM
I don't have a clue.
phelpsa - 11/6/10 at 11:38 AM
I've found that 'we'll give you the benefit of the doubt' generally means 'we're wrong but admitting it to you would
make us look like idiots'.
Had it twice... once when my tyres were 'rubbing' on my polo when I could prove the suspension didn't have enough travel for them to
rub, so he gave me 'the benefit of the doubt'.
Once a couple of months back when they stopped me at 2am on the way back from a rally because i went past them 'pretty quick'. I hadn't
been... bath city centre doesnt lend itself to fast driving! Then they proceeded to tell me they could sieze the car because I didnt have my insurance
documents and they wanted evidence that I was insured. Luckily the one seemed like a bit of a petrol head and was asking about the car and what
we'd been doing while the other guy ran his person checks. He 'had a word' and the guy came back rather sheepishly and told me
he'd give me the benefit of the doubt!
Of course i've had many good experiences with the police, but those are the only times i've ever heard those words
coyoteboy - 25/8/10 at 03:40 PM
quote:
It would be impractical to put every car to be tested to be put on the rollers for an MOT...
Digging up old threads but...
Actually most cars are put on calibrated rollers at every MOT - brake test?!
rusty nuts - 25/8/10 at 07:34 PM
quote:
Originally posted by coyoteboy
quote:
It would be impractical to put every car to be tested to be put on the rollers for an MOT...
Digging up old threads but...
Actually most cars are put on calibrated rollers at every MOT - brake test?!
At a whole 2MPH , Speedo is not covered by an MOT test but perhaps should be