U.K. man spends three years, $47,000 fighting $165 speeding ticket

A British man is dedicated to fighting the system after receiving a 100 ($165) speeding ticket he believes was wrongly issued, throwing more than $45,000 at the cause so far.Richard Keedwell, 71, received a fine for traveling 57 km/h in a 50 km/h zone in November of 2016, while Christmas shopping with his wife.I never saw the flash of the camera and I certainly didnt feel like I was doing faster than (50 km/h), Keedwell, of Bristol, told The Telegraph. I was incredibly annoyed when I got the fine through the post.Richard is a former RAF electronics specialist, and says the only reason he got a ticket was because of the double Doppler effect, wherein a speed camera receives two different signals due to the radio waves bouncing off of a second car and then onto his own, causing it to trigger the camera. Although, allegedly, neither car travelling through the intersection exceeded 50 km/h, the camera was triggered.According to The Telegraph, Richard is also an expert witness, and claims he has used this argument in court before. In 2015, he successfully used it to show a van driver was wrongly ticketed for doing 137 km/h in a 50-km/h zone due to the double Doppler effect.Unfortunately for Keedwell, his arguments arent working so well in his pursuing his own case. Even worse, legal fees are not cheap, and in fighting for his rights and the rights of motorists, hes racked up 22,000 ($36,212) in lawyers invoices across three hearings, even dipping into a fund set aside for his childrens inheritance to cover the costs. But when you start looking into this, you realize that its more about them getting money than road safety, Keedwell reasons, believing British motorists are being steamrolled by the system.Richard has since paid the ticket, but still has 6,700 ($11,028) in additional legal fees to settle as he decides whether or not to launch yet another appeal.Ordinary working people like me are getting done over by the system, he says. I have not been listened to and there has not been any justice in this
Origin: U.K. man spends three years, $47,000 fighting $165 speeding ticket

Quebec doubles the fines for speeding in school zones

Each year when school starts up again, police and school boards remind motorists to slow down and pay attention in school zones.PNG Archive Maybe you didnt know, but last year Quebecs Highway Safety Code (HSC) went under a major revision the biggest since the creation of the Société de l’Assurance Automobile du Québec (SAAQ) some 40 years ago.Among the 80 new provisions of the Code de la Sécurité routière:Imposed curfew and passenger-limit on learners; Increased penalties for using electronic devices while driving; Increased fines for not wearing a seatbelt; New rules for cyclists, who now have to stop for a school bus with flashing lights, too. Even pedestrians get some attention: Quebec municipalities can now designate a shared street, giving pedestrians full priority anywhere they want to walk while cars are limited to 20 km/h.The revised HSC didnt forget about winter tires: Mandatory in La Belle Province for the last 10 years, they will have to be installed two weeks earlier, with December 1 now the have-them-on date. (The de rigueur period still ends the 15 of March).Speeding in School ZonesOtherwise, almost all of the 80 new Quebec road rules already went into effect between April 2018 and now, with the most recent being this one: from August 1, fines are now doubled for speeding in school zones during school hours. Its very much like how the law doubles fines in construction zones when workers are present in some regions (such as Ontario), although in Quebec, as well as in British Columbia, those fines are ALWAYS doubled for those who speed through construction zones.What are the school hours in Quebec? When not indicated on an indecipherable sign, they are from 7 am to 5 pm, every day of the week, from September to June, stated the Ministre des Transports du Qubec (MTQ).We would love to tell you that in enacting this law, Quebec became the best province in Canada for ticketing speeding in school zones. In Ontario, fines are not specifically doubled in school zones; they are, though, in the community zones designated by municipalities, which could include said school zones.And while British Columbia doesnt specifically double the fines in school zones, the max penalty for speeding in those areas, as well as around playgrounds and in construction zones, are higher period. They can reach $483, plus three points on your license. If you add the legal fees always involved but specific to each province, then the consequences from demerit points or penalty zones or risk premiums or whatever you call it get pretty severe as they should be. What are the penalties?Here are some scenarios we gathered for you in case you speed in Quebec school zones now that kids are back in school and that Article 516.2 is en vigueur.However, note that the fines may double during school hours but not the demerit points and, curiously, some fines are still well below those imposed for texting while driving in Quebec ($300 to $600 and five points) or even passing a school bus with flashing lights ($200 to $300 and nine points):10 km/h over the limit: $35×2 = $70* (0 points) 15 km/h over the limit: $45×2 = $90* (1 point) 20 km/h over the limit: $55×2 = $110* (1 point) 25 km/h over the limit: $90×2 = $180* (2 points) 30 km/h over the limit: $105×2 = $210* (2 points) 35 km/h over the limit: $155×2 = $310* (3 points) Higher speed brings the offender in the Grands excès de vitesse zone, so the following fines applied are not doubled:40 km/h over the limit: $350* (6 points) 50 km/h over the limit: $480* (10 points) three times the limit: between $630 and $1,230* (up to 18 points — enough for a license suspension) And if your Excessive Speed violation is a repeat one? The fourth infraction could reach $3,000*, with so many points the speeder will be forbidden from driving for a long time.But if were looking for the harshest penalties, in Arizona, criminal speeding (i.e. exceeding 35 mph near a school crossing) will strip you of your drivers license, get you a $500 fine and will put you in jail for 30 days.*Fees not
Origin: Quebec doubles the fines for speeding in school zones

Seat tech boss: it’s ‘possible’ to stop cars speeding for good

One of the Volkswagen Group’s senior figures in in-car technology has confirmed it has reached the point where governments could insist that cars no longer break speed limits. Leyre Olavarria, head of connected car and infotainment for Seat, admitted that cars actively preventing drivers from breaking a speed limit does not pose a technical challenge, given ‘intelligent speed assistance’ will be made mandatory from 2022. Asked what would happen if governments legislated for cars to no longer be capable of exceeding speed limits, in order to reduce road casualties and remove the cost of buying, installing and maintaining networks of speed cameras, Olavarria told Autocar: “From a technical perspective, it is possible. We can do it. It’s more a legal issue; how do regulators want to position themselves. It’s not a technical challenge to do that – the data is available.” Some experts envision a future where drivers may choose to opt out, and switch off any system that prevented them from breaking a speed limit, in much the same way it is possible to cancel the electronic stability control system of some cars. As the connected car and associated data becomes commonplace, many drivers have expressed concerns over the potential for data to be used against them. Olavarria said that, at present, GDPR data protection law clearly defines that data associated with driving remains private and the property of the owner of the vehicle. “We are GDPR-compliant, and that is our priority. The data belongs to our customers and they are the only ones who can release the data. But if the law changes, then we will change as well and adapt our policies,” said Olavarria. Modern cars already alert the emergency services in the event of a serious accident. And Hyundai recently revealed that it was working with MDGo, a company that specialises in medical artificial intelligence systems, to provide detailed predictions about likely injuries to vehicle occupants, based on the forces involved, deployment of airbags and more. Olavarria manages Seat’s new software development centre, which is leading research and development solutions around micro mobility on behalf of the Volkswagen Group. She defines micro mobility as being based on small vehicles, with two, three or four wheels, that will be used over short distances. “Looking into the future, there are many cities… that are trying to push the car out of the city centre but still there are mobility needs; people need to move from A to B. That’s what we are focused on,” said Olavarria. “As we are based in Barcelona, in the city centre, it’s kind of the perfect playground to test and make rapid prototyping in the real environment, and know about the city and mobility partners and better understand citizens’ needs and how mobility needs are changing.” Seat claims to be platform agnostic, exploring subscription services that could, in the future, allow for individuals to subscribe to a mobility service that is priced according to a monthly mileage that allows users to seamlessly switch from a car to public transport to electric scooter or autonomous vehicles. Olavarria is confident there will still be demand to sustain volume car manufacturing in the future, despite the millennial generation embracing shared transport solutions. James
Origin: Seat tech boss: it’s ‘possible’ to stop cars speeding for good

Montreal Grand Prix proves a real moneymaker—from speeding tickets

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton (44) of Great Britain leads the pack at the start of the Canadian Grand Prix, Sunday, June 11, 2017 in Montreal. A six-day provincial crackdown on speeders launched by Quebec police forces on June 7 the start of Montreal Grand Prix weekend saw more than 12,700 tickets handed out by police, about 50 of them for extreme violations of the posted speed limit.Extreme speeding violations occur when speed limits of 60 km/h or less are exceeded by 40 km/h or more; when limits of more than 60 or 90 km/h are exceeded by 50 km/h or more; and when the limit of 100 km/h is exceeded by 60 km/h or more.The crackdown was a joint effort of Quebec police forces and the provinces automobile insurance board (SAAQ), and coincided with the kickoff of June 7 thru 9 Grand Prix weekend in Montreal.While police officers working in 7,000 speed traps handed out the more than 12,000 tickets across the province, Quebecs photo radar network was activated more than 30,000 times by vehicles exceeding the speed limit during the week-long crackdown; two-thirds of those incidents occurred during the Grand Prix
Origin: Montreal Grand Prix proves a real moneymaker—from speeding tickets