speed Cameras - Rant alert

[magicfarawaytree]

Why dont the wa**rs who go on about gettting rid of speed cameras go play catch on the m6! Get a life and put your engergy into something constructive. Its not like there isnt enough to choose from...education, crime in generel etc

wa*rs! that should be.

Why do people complain about them? If they don't speed then they don't get caught! (Saying that, I have never been caught by a speed camera)
I agree there is plenty more things to put our energy into.

this makes my blood boil. The answer is simple, if you don't break the speed limit, then you won't be photographed by a speed camera, very simple. But no, these idiots can't seem to grasp the concept that the speed limit is there for a reason, everything is a breach of their bloody human rights! well isn't it a breach of my human rights to be on the roads with idiots who can't adhere to the law and put my life, and that of my family in danger by driving faster than they should?

agree! Dont' understand at all why people complain - i;ve heard have had to be fatality/serious crash at site to warrant speed camera there in first place so wtf are people going on about? They save lives! Should put energy into road safety not bang on about right to speed (and therefore occasionally but inevitably kill)

Mostly I would agree and have been known to glare and shout rude things to passing cars that are speeding down my road. Also spent years campaigning for the speed limit outside my children's school to be reduced from 60 to 30mph - council wouldnt even give us a lollipop lady as they said it was too dangerous for her to stand in the road and stop the traffic . No pavement either!

But I have been caught by a mobile speed camera once for doing 6mph over the temporary 30mph speed limit on a 60mph dual carriageway. I have to say I was pretty cross - it felt very unfair - the photo showed I was overtaking a slow moving lorry. I dont intentionally speed and have an old slow landrover but in practice it is nigh on impossible to watch your speedometer all the time, you only have to be concentrating on some other car or reading a load of signs or just watching where you are going or overtaking for it to creep up especially when it is a long straight road. I simply cant see this as a criminal activity as long as you slow down as soon as you realise.

After I was caught I spent a lot of time (yes I know I am a bit obsessive ) seeing if I could judge my speed accurately on a straight dual carriageway without watching the speedo and I just cant do it and I cant drive at a constant speed of say 28mph either. I also came to the conclusion that watching my speed so closely didnt make me a better or safer driver as I wasnt watching where I was going properly and you would need to put speed restrictors in cars or robots behind the wheel to achieve total compliance.

I think average speeds over a longer distance like they do on motorways now are a better way of tackling this problem.

its not the speed camaras that annoy me its the fact that i got a £60 fine adn 3 points on my licence last year as i was cauht doing 34mph in a temporary 30mph zone.

the next day i read in the paper that a young lad who had no licence, tax, mot or insurance was driving whilst intoxicated (dont know if it was drink or drugs) and killed a child.

he got a 12 month ban (from waht? he ddnt have a licence) and £150 fine

I think average speed cameras are a much better thing and they work.

fatiemumma my dh got caught doing the exact same thing, it was a sunday morning 6am to be precise, and dh was returning from work, and the roads were clear so he went I think 34 in a 30 mph area not on purpose but it happens sometimes.......

Did anyone hear the guy on Radio 4 on Saturday morning who had written in to say that he had to swerve unexpectedly while doing 85mph on a motorway, and caused a crash in which his 5 yr old was killed? He was pointing out that fatal crashes are not all caused by psychos, but many by ordinary people just going a bit too fast. It really made me think, and I thought it was such a brave letter for him to write.

I mostly agree with you, magicfarawaytree, except that there are places where the speed limit changes are not properly signed and the cameras do seem to be placed in order to generate income rather than to save lives and I totally understand that when responsible drivers who would not dream of speeding deliberately misunderstand what the limit is and get caught, they feel a bit miffed about it.

And I so agree with fattiemumma that it would not annoy people nearly as much if the penalties for completely outrageous behaviour - driving without a licence, drunk or on drugs, uninsured or in unMOTed cars etc - were not so pathetically weak

I mostly agree with you, magicfarawaytree, except that there are places where the speed limit changes are not properly signed and the cameras do seem to be placed in order to generate income rather than to save lives and I totally understand that when responsible drivers who would not dream of speeding deliberately misunderstand what the limit is and get caught, they feel a bit miffed about it.

And I so agree with fattiemumma that it would not annoy people nearly as much if the penalties for completely outrageous behaviour - driving without a licence, drunk or on drugs, uninsured or in unMOTed cars etc - were not so pathetically weak

but 85mph isnt just a little over the limit is it.

yes it was very brave of him and i am sure he is (quite rightly) suffering the worst guilt imaginable but he was 15mph overthe limit.

thats the same as doing 45 in a 30 zone.
it reallyis a big differance. no not all speeders are young lads with ridiculous cars but all speeders are taking the lives of every other raod user for granted.

I dont get angry at my fine, i was speeding and i deserved it. it just annoys me that the crimes commited that are more serious are not punished with the level of severity

I'm really greatful for speed camers - without one I might well have run over a child a couple of weks ago.

I was driving home on a wide straight road, 4 lanes, v little traffic on my side, residential, but they are flats set back behind a wall. There are speed camers all the way down the road, otherwise I could easily have crept up to 35 or 40mph.

A child on a bike shot straight out of the gate from the flats and into the road, right in front of my bonnet. I was able to make a good emergency stop, but it was a very near miss. I am sure that had I been travelling at nearer 40 I would have hit him. I felt sick and shaky enough as it was, having stopped in time...

How is it that in Germany they mostly don't have any speed limit on the Autobahns and they have fewer accidents. Are they simply better, more conscientious drivers?

i prefer those things that flash up 30mph when you're doing over, it always reminds me to slow down and I think they are a far better way of bringing the speed down. Of course they dont bring in any revenue so thats why they are not used massively like cameras.

I have been caught on camera 3 times, and think 'ok fair enough' there is no excuse, if you drive over the speed limit them you have to take the consequences

fattie - one could argue that that man's 15mph excess was more like 21.4% over the limit of 70 IYSWIM, and thus for an 'equivalent' speed in a 30, it might perhaps be more like about 36 mph (though I appreciate there are various ways to interpret these sorts of numbers ! ).

FWIW, I think I've read analysis of speed camera rollouts / sites / accident reductions etc. and they can be shown to be partly deployed for safety concerns and partly as very efficient revenue generating devices. I think some of the concern over their use is about how it's sometimes more about pulling in money than saving lives or lowering overall speed of traffic.

Maybe the "85 mph on motorway" guy just flashed up an inconsistency in my own attitude - I am very careful about 30/40 speed limits in towns, as I'm constantly worrying about kids running out in the street, people pulling out of drives etc. I'm also usually strict about 60mph limits on single lane (as in one either direction) roads as there are lots of mad overtakers round here and I've seen quite a few near misses. BUT I do speed on motorways, partly because most other people are doing 80mph, partly because I guess they feel kind of 'safe', and this guy brought home to me that they're not, and that I am endangering my DD when I do so.

Yes, mosschops, flashing 30s are very good. I think I read that in Holland(?) they have two at intervals before you get to the speed camera so if you are still speeding by then I guess you are pretty much deliberately speeding.

Also agree that penalties are nowhere near severe enough for people who drive like idiots and kill or maim others. My sil was in a head on crash on her way to work the nightshift by a driver who was over the limit at the scene,
but just under back at the police station. He changed his story of waht happened several times before it came to court but the police proved he was on the wrong side of the road and going very fast. He still got away with just careless driving and a handful of points and a small fine whilst she couldnt work anymore (she had been a midwifery sister) because of her head and eye injuries. Desperately sad.

A freind told me about a system used somewhere in Europe (Portugal?). Exceeding the speed limit triggers a traffic light further down the road to turn to red, thus bringing the offending vehicle to a halt. Having to wait 30 seconds at a red light would probably be a lot more irritating to regular speedsters than writing out the odd cheque or two for fines. It also has the effect of making speeding more anti-social, because other vehicles also have to stop, making the offender most unpopular! But of course, there's no money in that system....

The police often say that on motorways it is driving too close that causes bad creashes, not just speed.

Maybe German Autobhans aren't as crowded as our Motorways?

Maybe Germany isn't as full of competitive impatient people who just have to overtake no matter how small the space they are moving into?

Maybe because they eat more Sauerkraut ?

Blu - have you ever driven in Germany - it's scary. I used to live and drive in mainland Europe. I found then that both the Dutch and German drivers to be incredibly aggressive and speed yes they do. Germany is trying to crack down more on fast Autobahn driving now. The Dutch have a tendency to drive right on your bumper and my husband (dutch) still does that. They also shoot red lights as I found out ending up spending the night in hospital thanks to being sideswiped. Here in Colorado where I live now (Expat may disagree ) round Boulder it's far more laid back - very few people speed. Speed limit in town is 30/25 miles an hour and strictly enforced with Cops everywhere and cameras. I find it far safer. All residential areas are 25 and at school in/out time it's 20 and double the fine if you're caught. Seems to work and by the way no speed bumps or roundabouts.

hub

KW - IME Germans are just as much speed freaks as Brits. On the Autobahn there are always tw*ts who shoot up behind you at 200 kmh or sit right on you if you keep to the limit. There was a case recently of someone who worked for Mercedes who shot up right behind a young mother with her child in the back and caused her to lose control of her car trying to get out of his way. She and her child both died . He maintained he had not been aware of any accident

I'm a complete fascist on the subject of speeding. If speed cameras are being used as revenue generators then I'm absolutely delighted.

No, I have not driven in Germany.
So what lies behind Kittywits' info that they have less crashes?