Free Traffic Legal Advice

Existing points have no bearing whether a course is offered or not. A course would normally be offered up to 10% + 9, so in a 70 MPH limit that would be 86.

So I made a bit of a mistake the other day. I was driving on the M42 near the HS2 construction works in Birmingham. I’m not from the area and don’t usually drive on smart motorways—only a handful of times over the past few years—so I’m not that familiar with how they work.

Traffic was quite congested, and I noticed the hard shoulder didn’t have a “closed” sign. I assumed that meant it was open to use, so I moved into that lane. While driving along, I remember thinking, “Why isn’t anyone else using this?”

I passed a few overhead gantries and none of them were showing a red X—they were all blank. Then I eventually saw a sign on one gantry that said, “Hard shoulder for emergency use only.” At that point, I moved back into the normal lanes and carried on as usual.

Call me stupid if you want, but I only found out afterwards (after looking it up) that blank gantries actually mean the hard shoulder is closed. I also understand now that smart motorways can detect vehicles using the hard shoulder and issue fines and penalty points.

I know I’m in the wrong, but honestly, I do think it’s quite ambiguous. If the lane is closed, why not clearly show a red X?

Anyway, what I’m trying to figure out is: am I likely to get fined for this? If so, how much would it be, and would I be offered a course instead of points? For context, I currently have 3 points from an SP50 about three years ago.

Hi everyone,
I am a new driver (held my license for only 2 months) and I’m very concerned about an incident that happened late last night at a large junction.
While turning right, I misjudged the turn and accidentally entered the oncoming lane (the wrong side of the central reservation).
Details of the incident:
• The Situation: As soon as I entered the wrong lane, I noticed the traffic lights for that lane were Red and there were a few cars stopped there. I immediately stopped my vehicle to avoid any danger.
• Duration: I was in the wrong position for about 10 seconds before I safely maneuvered back into the correct lane once I saw an opening.
• Traffic: The road was otherwise very quiet, and no emergency maneuvers were required by other drivers.
• The Camera: Right at the junction, there is a large PTZ (dome-style) camera on a tall grey pole. It doesn't look like a typical yellow speed camera or a Gatso red-light camera.
My concerns:
1.   Since I was facing a red light in the oncoming lane (but never crossed a stop line to get there), is there any chance a "Red Light Offence" was automatically triggered?
2.   Do Council or Police CCTV operators typically review footage from these dome cameras to issue NIPs for "driving on the wrong side of the road" if no accident occurred and no police were on site?
3.   Is this specific type of camera usually used for general security/traffic monitoring or for automatic fine enforcement?
I am quite stressed about the 6-point rule for new drivers. Any advice or similar experiences would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you!