Speed Cameras

[matrix]

Should Speed cameras (aka GATSO cameras) be allowed?

 

I believe that local council's and police are now just placing these camera's for purly profit making reasons. They have no intention of reducing road traffic accidents as is evidenced by the lack of this type of device on roads with a high fatality rate. It appears that the only drivers to be caught are the law abiding citzens (soft targets)who register their vehicles with the DVLA when purchased. Since when has a speed camera caught a stolen vehicle, a drunk driver or a driver who has no insurance?

[Big J R]

The answer is, I'm afraid Matrix, quite simple.

 

YES ! They are quite justified.

 

If you break the law, which includes speeding, you deserve to be punished.

 

The difference between 20 M.P.H. and 35 M.P.H. costs many more young lives.

 

Personally, I'd like to see a 20 M.P.H. limit anywhere near schools, hospitals and colleges !

 

Time to throw yer rattles out yer prams, kids !!

[matrix]

I quite agree that they should be placed outside schools, hospital's, and roads with a high accident/fatality rate. I believe this is the original government guide lines for thr placement of such cameras. However, what I am sugesting is the positioning of cameras by council's and police for pure revenue making reasons i.e. non built up areas where drivers are prosecuted for doing 45mph in a 40mph limit, hardly big crime and certainly makes the public anti police. Speed has not been linked to the direct cause of accidents as proven in some US states where the limit has been increased for 55mph to 70 mph resulting in a 7% decrease in the amount of accidents.

[EMH O30crew]

The early problem with the positioning of Gatso's is still a concern..ie..local knowledge of where they are..meaning drivers accelerate then brake suddenly because they know they are about to come up on a camera..causing the poor unsuspecting person behind to brake like a nut nut and having a knock on effect behind them..I have seen this personally...also the intimidation from the person behind(I myself take no notice of) when you slow down because you know a camera is about to appear and they dont. The more nervous amongst us do get intimmidated by this..

Dont get me wrong..certain places could do with them as refered to above..but is there really any need on major "A" roads?on a totally non-hazardous stretch? (A406 springs to mind!)..purely to rip off us easy targets called motorists..

[Badger]

I agree with Big JR on this. Why is it that speeding isn't seen as an offence by those that do it? The problem with speed cameras is that they have no decision making ability. A traffic cop would likely turn a blind eye to you doing 50 in a 40 zone at night when there's little or no traffic around. A speed camera will take a piccie.

[mala_D]

Personally - and I know I'll be slagged-off for saying this - I can't wait until vehicles (inc. motorbikes) are fitted with limiters which, in tandem with GPS, prevent anyone (xcpt emergency vehicles) from going over the speed limit.

Living close to a school as I do, I'm scared witless every morning seeing ignorant ba5tards tearing down my road without due regard to everyone else.

Oh...even tho' Jeremy Clarkson's quite amusing, I think his attitude stinks.

If you can't pay the fine, don't do the crime!

[bigboybubs]

Don't get me started on speed cameras. Take for instance when u get a speeding ticket from a camera for being 1 mph over the limit. Then the police lie about the postioning of the camera. This has happened to me on the A180 nr Grimsby. The police say on ticket that a camera was in a lay-by in a marked van, but when i see the photograph it's a car in front of me. So thank you Humberside police for your bully boy tactics by forcing me to take 3pts (most clubs would like this) and 60 pound fine. They would be better send and updating records on paedo's, thus 2 little girls would be alive today, than nicking some 1mph over the limit.

 

------------------- grrrrrrr i hate speed cameras ------------------

[MbrunoB]

you said you were doing 78mph in a 70mph zone which when i went to school was 8mph over the limit,you mean it was 1mph over what you think you should be allowed over the limit.where would you draw the line?

[bigboybubs]

Ah!!! that's with 10 % u are allowed. My gripe is that cars being made to go faster, and the police should be looking for murderers, muggers, and rapist, not spending all thier budgets on trying to get the motorist.

[mala_D]

Motorists are easy targets because the majority drive registered vehicles...therefore are easier to trace.

In order to track down all other criminals etc spotted on CCTV they should introduce the compulsory wearing of registration numbers by all pedestrians; one nailed to the forehead and a yellow one nailed to the neck. Hats and hoods will have to be banned, of course. So will umbrellas and balaclava helmets.

Dogs could also be emblazoned with number plates. Two on each side and one pinned to the ar5e. That way, when they spot an owner not picking up his/her dog's mess they can track them down.

And while we're at it...

 

Sex offenders, jehovas witnesses, scientologists and mormons should be made to wear a large concrete block the size of a small cloud on their backs. They'd be easier to run away from then.

 

Tramps, beggars and charity collectors should be forced to wear stilts 15 feet high, therefore making it difficult for money to pass hands.

 

Emergency vehicles should have their sirens removed and replaced with speakers playing pan-pipe versions of "The Snowman" or "Greensleeves".

 

Leaves should be stapled to trees by a certified team of licensed leaf staplers, approved by the Dept of Environment.

 

All houses should be securely tethered to the ground with 1" core steel cable to prevent them from floating away.

 

People who post messages on forums which are unrelated to threads should be dipped in sealing wax, suspended in a bath of aspic jelly, and then placed in a large storage building, which will, of course, also be securely tethered with 1" steel core cables.

 

[Big J R]

Quote:

maladroit said:


Sex offenders, jehovas witnesses, scientologists and mormons should be made to wear a large concrete block the size of a small cloud on their backs. They'd be easier to run away from then.

I quite agree Maladroit, [color:"red"] BUT...... [color:"black"] The above does NOT apply to a Jehova's witness from Liverpool.

The reason being, when you answer the door to one of them, they tell [color:"red"] YOU [color:"black"] to 'F' off !

[mala_D]

<img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

[MbrunoB]

and what would you do to those gits who put take away leafleats through the letterbox,i say hanging is too good for them?

[mala_D]

...or just seal them in a microwaveable container and set the timer...

[Little Miss Urchin]

Quote:

bigboybubs said:
Ah!!! that's with 10 % u are allowed.

So you agree 78mph is over the limit. I do, however, agree with what you write re the misinformation by the police, which is why phones on cameras are so handy these days (such as the occasion a motorist was given a ticket for parking with 2 wheels on the pavement dispite the fact that just yards away the entire police car had been parked on the pavement!).

Quote:

My gripe is that cars being made to go faster

This really annoys me. Why should they be made to go at such speeds? It's unnecessary and pointless due to laws in this country. If you want to drive fast, join Colin in Germany.


Such laws are required to keep order. However, sometimes they do need touching up a little.

[American FLEET FAN No1]

I have an idea how to keep speed down........lets have a man with a red flag walk in front of every vehicle...wonder why nobody thought of that before <img src="/images/graemlins/Rofl.gif" alt="" />

can't wait for athe smart answers.......lol

[Badger]

Quote:

maladroit said:
Personally - and I know I'll be slagged-off for saying this - I can't wait until vehicles (inc. motorbikes) are fitted with limiters which, in tandem with GPS, prevent anyone (xcpt emergency vehicles) from going over the speed limit.

Can't see this working to be honest. It'll cost the government billions to set up, and if it works, they're not going to be getting any of it back as there won't be anu speeding fines. It also takes responsibility for safety away from drivers, so they'll drive with the accelerator full down regardless of road conditions, weather, pedestrian traffic and so on. If anyone does go over the limit, they'll try and so the manufacturer of the limiter claiming that it isn't their fault.

On a related note, there was an item on the news the other day saying that most drivers exceed the speed limit because they are driving in too high a gear. An dI thought it was because they were driving too fast and couldn't be arsed to check their speedo. Apart from anything else, once you've driven a car a few times, you should have a rough idea how fast it's going from how it feels - you'll certainly know the differene between 30 and 40.

[mala_D]

You're right, Badger. Too many microwaves in the air as it is now!!

Can't legislate for idiocy, no matter hard we try.

 

[Uncle Urchin]

ha ha ha...nice one maladroit... <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

 

what about double glazing salesmen.... <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

[Big J R]

Won't need speed camera's on my section of the M.25. I see that as from tomorrow, MORE re-widening starts between the M.3 and the M.4 Junctions. Up to 12 bl**dy lanes, now. I well remember the last -re-widening' fiasco.

 

It would probably be quicker for me to walk the 20 miles to Thiefrow, (Sorri - Heathrow !!)