New Speed Cameras

[JJonas]

I dont consciously make an effort to speed I try to drive at a speed that is safe for the road conditions but I do feel I am less safe than I was before the speed camera days as I am now spending much more time watching what speed I am doing. If they want to stop people speeding fit limiters and gps systems in all new cars so the car cannot exceed the speed limit. Then put a big red button on the dashboard to alllow the driver to override the system if they wish. Then throw the book at anyone caught using it to exceed the speed limit.

[sippo]

BBC News - No crash rise after Swindon speed camera turn-off

[ICT_GUY]

It has never been about safety, its about revenue. I would rather have a governor in my car that kept the speed below 30mph and a blanket speed limit of 30mph nationally then have the constant stress of speed limits changing every 200 - 300 yards. In Dorset it is not unknown for the speed limit to change 10times in 5 miles on fairly straight roads which are clear.

[Sarconia]

That speed camera system sounds really dodgy to me, I'll have to get an automatic number plate swapping system installed as well as some inconspicious colour changing chameleon style paint. I just don't really like being tracked, I've got nothing to hide but I feel that the amount of times I'm caught on CCTV whether in my car, in a shop, on the train, pretty much everywhere is getting to be a bit ridiculous, there's one road I drive down round here and it's got about 15 cameras for recording various things in the space of a mile - this is too much!

It could have it's uses but it would only really catch speeding offenses, not all of which would be justified anyway. It probably wouldn't have much effect on dangerous driving as a whole as not all dangerous driving offenses are always related to speed, a lot of the time it's just pure idiocy. Tailgating, for example virtually never gets caught by "the law", niether does dangerously overtaking around a blind corner and as such, I'm not sure why so much emphasis is placed on speed. It would stop the whole "break for the speed camera and then speed up again" issue which about 99% of people I know engage in but that's about it.

In regard to regular speed camera's being a cash cow, I do believe that they are. Some may have been strategically positioned in order to attempt to prevent accidents, however, surely if they were just supposed to deter drivers... we'd just get the 3 (or 6 if you're a new driver) points on our licenses... rather than the £80 fine which also goes with it. That means it's 4 speeding offenses and your license is gone... not really a lot when you consider how much some people drive.

On a side note, I've never been caught speeding as it's not something I generally tend to do. I usually try and err on the side of caution as it's better to be safe than sorry.

[TheLibrarian]

Until the UK goes fully average speed monitored I'd like to see regular signs warning that you are in / entering an average speed monitoring area.

I do think that there should be some government body that controls the ANPR database though, last I read it was up to the police to govern themselves and they weren't doing a fantastic job of it.
IIRC they used it to stop a private citizen on his way to a demonstration - the man hadn't got a criminal record, wasn't a security threat either - the terror squad tracked and stopped him!

[localzuk]

IIRC they used it to stop a private citizen on his way to a demonstration - the man hadn't got a criminal record, wasn't a security threat either - the terror squad tracked and stopped him!

Yes, they do this - it has happened to me. One journey from Lancaster -> Cambridge for a demonstration, we were pulled over 3 times with no proper explanation given. Then again on the way back up.

[CHR1S]

Yes, they do this - it has happened to me. One journey from Lancaster -> Cambridge for a demonstration, we were pulled over 3 times with no proper explanation given. Then again on the way back up.

Perhaps you were speeding lol

[SteveBentley]

niether does dangerously overtaking around a blind corner and as such, I'm not sure why so much emphasis is placed on speed

Tell me about it. I was driving on a country A road yesterday, in the opposite direction to a large number of cyclists. Suspect it was some kind of race, but it hadn't needed the road closing. I lost count of the number of times I had to take evasive action to avoid a pillock in a car coming towards me on my side of the road for an overtaking manouvre he hadn't got room for, rather than waiting on his side of the road behind the cyclicsts for a safe gap.

The reason emphasis is placed on speed is simply that it's easy for technology detect without much human input.

[localzuk]

Perhaps you were speeding lol

Lol, doubt it. Ford escort, with 4 people in on a motorway? Difficult to hit 70 in that.

[CHR1S]

So localz, do you at least acknowledge that speeding isnt the be all and end all to these stupid camera antics?

[Sarconia]

Yes, they do this - it has happened to me. One journey from Lancaster -> Cambridge for a demonstration, we were pulled over 3 times with no proper explanation given. Then again on the way back up.

That used to happen quite frequently to one of my family members. Eventually... on the 20th time, someone finally told them why... apparently driving a very clean (on the outside) Vauxhall Vectra with loads of maps on the back seat, being over 50 and wearing a suit means that you'll probably fit the profile for being either a terrorist or a drug dealer. As soon as they got rid of the car though, they've not been stopped since... it's very odd.

[Martin]

Rubbish, if you spend that much time monitoring your exact speed then your not paying enough attention to the road! This is my exact point, I predict a massive increase in accidents where people are too busy making sure they dont go over the speed limit on fear of death from the tax collectors....erm police!

image copyright © 2003 www.safespeed.org.uk

Precisely!



mb

[TechMonkey]

A few points here.
- One there have been a few cases where cameras in areas placed there supposedly for safety have had to be removed as everyone was being good so they were no longer cost effective. If this is the case the camera isn't there for safety it is there to generate income. Also if it is all about the safety why isn't the money returned to the police to be used or to safety groups rather than into a government pot?
- We have a camera on one end of the town and it has made that section MORE dangerous as people see it and brake to 25 or below, causing traffic to back up and sometimes close to being rear ended. People are terrified of getting a ticket so become more dangerous and often more & unreasonably cautious, causing traffic problems.
- On sections of average speed checks I have had more problems on my motorbike due to drivers being obsessed with sticking to the speed. As others have said this seems to take their concentration & causes traffic to backup due to speedos having slightly different calibration.
- As others have said, speed does not kill. Unreasonable speed, unsafe speed and speed unsuited to the conditions. This is more to do with driver training then the actual speed.

Finally I have no problem with people breaking the law being punished, but often these systems are not correct and put the presumption of guilt on you. You then have to go through many hoops to get it dropped. I have had this with the London Congestion and bus lane system & can understand why people just pay up even though I wasn't in the country and my car was no where near London. It also sets a bad in road, if we can be trailed all over the country to monitor our speed, why not expand it to where we are going, or who we drive to, or who we meet, or what we are doing. As has been said, people don't mind a police man pulling them over, explaining why and being able to deal with a real person. So why not spend this money on more police on the street.

[CAM]

The fact is we are all human, we all make mistakes. I have lost count of the number of times I have crept past the 70 mark on a motorway, looked at the speedo and gone "Oh! Better slow down." And drivers who have recently passed are most vulnerable to idiots behind them intimidating them to speed up. Ironically they are most at risk of a ban as they need only 6 points to lose their licence.

Some offences like drink and drug driving do deserve to be punished as they are downright dangerous. But the law needs to treat each case individually by taking into account the clarity of limits, road conditions, equipment faults (One guy was done for doing 90MPH even though the camera footage showed Error flashing over the screen), and so on. And the quality of ANPR readers leaves a lot to be desired. My father was done for the congestion charge even though the number plate clearly wasn't the same in the picture as what was on the letter. And looking at BP's Shark system on their forecourts, it always reads the number plates wrong!

[teejay]

There is a very simple way to solve the problem of dangerous driving, make it compulsory to have a big metal spike in the middle of the steering wheel and no seatbelt for the driver.