Tom Earnshaw
The AA has issued key advice on the issue of driving on roads across the United Kingdom and, in particular, when it comes to speeding.
Breaking the speed limit is a crime in the UK, with 203,801 people found guilty of a speed limit offence in the most recent year of data issued by the government.
That was back in 2023, with data from 2022 showing that 2.52 million drivers were issued with a fixed penalty notice for speeding offences. With around 50 million valid driving licences issued in the UK, that means roughly five percent of people driving on the country's roads have officially fallen foul of speeding.
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Obviously, the real number will be a lot higher. And on the issue of speeding, the AA has issued important information as to whether those thinking they can avoid a fine and points by slowing down before it pings you will actually see them get away with it.
The AA has issued substantial advice on this as part of its education and awareness programme surrounding speeding and why you shouldn't do it.
Alongside highlighting the dangers of driving too fast, which includes straight up killing people or yourself, there is an answer to the question about slowing down and if it'll see you avoid a fine.
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First up, average speed cameras - these check your speed between two fixed points on a road.
"Average speed cameras work by recording your speed at two different points. They don't capture your speed in a single flash," the AA says.
"Instead, they'll monitor your speed over a length of road. This is so people don't slow down just before they see a camera and then speed up again afterwards.
"They help to keep the traffic flowing steadily instead of stopping and starting."
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So if you're consistently going above the speed limit in an average speed check zone, expect a fine and points on your licence. Modern average speed cameras also don't look like the traditional yellow boxes on the side of the road.
When it comes to fixed cameras, you can expect a slightly different approach.
Located at specific spots known for accidents or where people are known to speed, such as outside schools, they track you for a short specific area of road.
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It's during this section of road that they will note your speed, with some cameras taking two images - one at the start and one at the end of the zone - to give an average of the stretch.
But as of 2023, new anti-braking speed cameras have been mooted in the UK to stop those who think they can dangerously brake as they approach a fixed camera.
This works by teaming up the speed camera with a mobile radar device to monitor those slowing down and speeding up. They have already been installed in Spain to crack down on the issue.
Gary Digva, Founder of dash cam company Road Angel, said: “They are trying to stop that pre-braking. If you look at a motorway and see a camera on a gantry, drivers slam their brakes on whether they are travelling at 80-90mph.
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"Whatever the speed is they slam the brakes on. That’s what the anti-braking cameras are supposed to come in to do, to say actually you were speeding.
“The fact you’ve seen the camera and slowed down is irrelevant as you were speeding pre-camera.”
Just go the speed limit and be done with it.