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Australian here, i'm planning a road trip around the UK
Now i'm aware that your national motorway speed limit is 70mph, but there are no police patrolling the motorways and all speed cameras in the UK are signposted
So would I be correct in thinking I can cruise at ~85mph in the UK without being booked?
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You'll barely get chance to cruise around at 85mph. Unless it's really early morning or late at night.
"Unless it's really early morning or late at night."
Would the police generally tolerate 85mph in these conditions?
No
So it seems like they want to generate revenue from people driving at a perfectly safe speed of 85mph, just like Australia
What a shame
Mate, don't know what kind of agenda you're trying to push here but just chill and drive the speed limits.
The national speed limit on a motorway is 70mph however lots of motorways are now what are called smart motorways and have variable speed limits with the limits shown on overhead gantries. I would be very surprised if you managed to do a trip on any UK motorway without get a speed limit reduction at some point especially on the main ones like the M1.
On your second point no police do patrol British motorways and you might even see them at the top of bridges over the motorways waiting as well or at the side of motorways.
We have different types of speed cameras from fixed points to mobile cameras and average speed cameras, the camera does not have to be marked but the zone in which they operate will have signs at the side of the road however the camera can be anywhere in the zone. Fixed cameras are in general painted yellow so you can see them, same for average speed cameras, some are fitted to overhead gantries so you cannot see them until you have already passed them and mobile cameras are typically in the back of vans. The van will have a speed camera sign on it.
Some police forces do announce where the mobile cameras will be for the coming week online so good to check when planning a journey.
On your last point if you are cruising at 85mph on a motorway and get spotted by a camera you will get a fixed penalty fine, the police guidelines are speed limit +10% and 2 mph for a fixed penalty or speed awareness course, in your case as an Australian citizen then probably the fixed penalty, speed limit +20% and 2 mph and you are going to court. Personally I do not speed but at 78mph you might be OK at 79mph you are getting a penalty, you are definitely getting a penalty at 85mph and a trip to court at 96mph on a 70 mph road.
The UK is small compared to Australia I would relax go the speed limit or a couple of mile over and not run the risk of meeting a policeman on a bad day.
"you are definitely getting a penalty at 85mph"
By a camera sure
But how about by an actual cop?
Does it just depend on the individual cop on the day? etc
At 85mph you’d get a ticket from a cop
Well fuck
Looks like they just want to give tickets for the sake of revenue generation
Just like Australia
What a shame
Look at Germany, people do 120-150mph on the Autobahns and they have zero accidents
Dude! Why are you in such a rush? 😄
Just chill, respect the law and have a great time and don’t stress about getting a ticket(s). Or don’t, up to you.
Waze will help you probably too
I wouldn’t risk it, there are sometimes police patrols, unmarked police cars, average speed cameras, “smart” motorways with variable speed limits
The only ones you can speed on are the ones people have used everyday for many years and they know there’s little to no chance of police patrols. There’s an A road that I use 2-3 times a week which doesn’t have speed cameras and has never yet had a van camera so I can semi-confidently push the speed limit
"I wouldn’t risk it, there are sometimes police patrols, unmarked police cars, "
But i've heard they're pretty lenient with speed in the UK (compared to Australia)
I could be wrong though
You can sometimes have the benefit of the speed limit +10%, so most will travel at 75mph on motorways
Whether they’re lenient or not is luck of the draw, some will let you go, others will stick to the letter of the law
It seems like you’re keen to do it anyway so I’d just make sure you’re prepared with enough money to cover £100 per time you could be caught
"It seems like you’re keen to do it anyway"
Can't lose points on Australian license so might as well
But tbh i'm surprised that you guys only go 75mph on motorways lol
I honestly thought 85mph was the standard motorway cruising speed in the UK
It is, but like I said, that comes from experience on each road to know where cameras are and police will likely be. Some roads are renowned for mobile speed cameras so people won’t speed, some have rarely had them, like the one I use regularly so I’m happier to push it