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PostPosted: Wed Apr 13, 2016 02:25 
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Telegraph wrote:
Motorists face 'zero tolerance' approach to speeding on the motorways
By Martin Evans, Crime Correspondent 6:47PM GMT 04 Nov 2015

Radical revenue raising proposals by Befordshire Police and Crime Commissioner means all drivers breaking the speed limit will be fined

Prisoners charge £200 to take speeding points
The controversial plan is intended to raise millions of pounds in revenue for the police
Photo: Alamy

All drivers who travel at more than 70 miles per hour on the motorway face being fined under radical new proposals being considered.

Speed cameras would be switched on permanently across stretches of the motorway network catching everyone who exceeded the limit.

Motorists would then be forced to pay a £100 fine as well as having points added to their licence, or could opt instead to attend a speed awareness course, costing £90.

But rather than being used to improve road safety, the controversial plan is intended to raise millions of pounds in revenue for the police.

The “zero-tolerance” approach to motorway speeding is the brainchild of Bedfordshire Police and would be rolled out across a busy stretch of the M1, used by tens of thousands of cars each day.

Good Friday Easter traffic hell on the M25A stretch of the M1 would have a zero tolerance approach to speeding under new propsals Photo: LNP

Olly Martins, the Police and Crime Commissioner for the region, said he hoped the scheme would be up and running by April next year, and would generate up to a million pounds for his cash strapped force.

“If motorists do not like it then they can always stick to the speed limit.”
Olly Martins, Police and Crime Commissioner for Bedfordshire

But the proposals have sparked widespread anger amongst motoring groups, who fear it is inevitable other forces will follow suit.

Hugh Bladon, co-founder of the Association of British Drivers said the plan “beggared belief” and would lead to revolt on the roads.

He said: “I think this is a dangerous precedent. I am really appalled that a police force should be even considered such an idea. My fear is that if police forces see this working in one area they will quickly adopt a similar approach and soon the whole motorway network will be operating a zero tolerance policy”.

He added: “If the police want us on their side this is hardly the best way to go about it. This is utterly outrageous. Speed cameras are supposed to be there to make the roads safer, but as we now see the real reason is to make money.”

Olly Martins hopes the scheme would be up and running by April next yearOlly Martins

But Mr Martins remained unrepentant and said: “If motorists do not like it then they can always stick to the speed limit.”

He said he had been forced into suggesting the scheme because his force was at financial breaking point and fining speeding drivers could help Bedfordshire retain 25 officers it would otherwise be forced to lose.

He told The Telegraph: “If it is a question of reducing the force by 25 officers or introducing this scheme, then I am going to go for this every time.

“We have lobbied the Home Office for fair funding, but they have not listened so I am forced to come up with new ways of raising revenue. Strict enforcement of the speed limit could raise as much as £1 million, so it is something I have to take seriously.

“It will only affect motorists breaking the law, so people who do not speed have nothing to worry about.”

The Bedfordshire force has responsibility for policing the M1 motorway which runs through the county, including the busy stretch between junctions 10 and 13.

At the moment the cameras in that area are only used to enforce variable speed limits, such as when drivers are restricted to 50mph during periods of congestion.

But under the new plans the cameras would be switched on permanently meaning speeding motorists would be caught whatever the time of day or the driving conditions.

Under the current system, forces have the discretion to apply leeway around the speed limit, meaning drivers in a 70mph zone are able to travel up to 79mph before being at risk of a fine.

But the Daily Telegraph understands that under the Bedfordshire proposals, no such leniency would be offered, raising the prospect that anyone travelling at 71mph, whatever the time of day or night would be liable to receive a £100 fine.

While the revenue raised from speeding fines goes to the Treasury, police forces can make money by persuading drivers to sign up for speed awareness courses, which they run themselves.

“We have total sympathy with cash-strapped constabularies, but no sympathy with forces explicitly setting out to raise money from cameras."
Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation

The vast majority of drivers prefer this cheaper option as it means they do not incur points on their licence and therefore do not suffer higher insurance premiums.

The course in Bedfordshire costs £90 to complete and is open to all but the most serious offenders.

Motoring organisations have condemned the plans, claiming it went back on a government pledge that speed cameras would never be used to generate revenue.

Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said: “We have total sympathy with cash-strapped constabularies, but no sympathy with forces explicitly setting out to raise money from cameras.

“We support the proportionate use of cameras for safety reasons but this step would fan the fury of millions of sceptical motorists who already suspect that some of them are only there to raise revenue.”

Claire Armstrong, co-founder of Safe Speed, said: “When the attitude of the police is to enforce on the basis of funding their force, then we have lost all sight of road safety.”

Not least too that this is a clear return to the hypotication scheme that was promised never to return! :(
If they stopped spending money on 'managed motorways' and cameras then they'd have plenty of money for more police- surely?

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PostPosted: Wed Apr 13, 2016 11:13 
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It was intended as a threat to force a funding increase.
After the local referendum to increase the police precept on council tax (needed because the necessary increase would have meant that the annual council tax rise would have breached the referendum lock), said referendum being very VERY roundly voted down

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-32694166

Of course, the moaning about "wasn't the right question" ... the other problem is that the POLICE had to pay both the cost of the referendum AND the cost of refunding the already-charged increase, some £600,000.

Really, they would have been MUCH better-off by sticking to the under-referendum-lock increase and gritting their teeth. Unfortunately, they are stuck with Olly, who has a rather inflated idea of his own importance and is more than slightly paranoid. The election for a new PCC is in a month. He will then be history. To call him a knobhead is an insult to every other genuine knobhead.

If you want to travel down the M!, at a time when the endless roadworks have packed-up for the night...you will be struck by the 40/50 limits, with not a worker in sight. Then there are the endless speed reductions to 40/50 for "congestion", when you can see the road ahead is clear for bloody miles....still, what do I know of congestion on the M23...butterflies and wind from wings?

The lines after just about every gantry are worn-out by brake applications....good job most have ABS now!!
And, to add another complaint, the very intense flashes from the gantries are a distraction when driving in the opposite way....each gantry has ONE flash unit for all the cameras...

Incidentally, the police only get to keep the speed awareness course fee......something else they are on record as having denied...

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56 years after it was decided it was needed, the Bedford Bypass is nearing completion. The last single carriageway length of it.We have the most photogenic mayor though, always being photographed doing nothing


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PostPosted: Fri Apr 15, 2016 02:01 
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Whilst I can understand the extra time involved in removing some of the roadwork works equipment is impractical, and whilst I can appreciate the need to set a safe speed, having this speed at a suitable one is important to retain respect and prevent un-necessary frustration. This isn't being met.
I've been on the M42 and it was reduced to one lane for nothing, and forced all drivers at 2am to 40mph for no reason whatsoever, and after miles people gave up and just started re-using the motorway! A prime show of cry-wolf too much and people will simply start to ignore the rules altogether!
About 2 further miles down it was all just gone, no end no 'sorry' nothing. Think that made most users frustrated.
Road-works have become more of a bug-bear for many and with the technology about it's about time this was sorted out properly.
Recognition of traffic volume as it reduces ought to as a minimum allow a return to the National Motorway speed limits ? Or perhaps just after a set time period? That would help, unless the roadworks is in action, which I have seen through the night.

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PostPosted: Fri Apr 15, 2016 10:29 
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Did I mention the 15 miles of the A14 Cambridge, which has been under "repair" and "construction" for so long that they even google maps shows it, and that map is from 5 years ago....sod me, they've even re-painted the av speed camera poles twice...40mph over 3 lanes/2 lanes etc...and trucks undertaking...nightmare. And they just extended it another few miles....that has got to be the most congested road with the most enraged drivers in the eastern counties.

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The world runs on oil, period. No other substance can compete when it comes to energy density, flexibility, ease of handling, ease of transportation. If oil didn’t exist we would have to invent it.”

56 years after it was decided it was needed, the Bedford Bypass is nearing completion. The last single carriageway length of it.We have the most photogenic mayor though, always being photographed doing nothing


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PostPosted: Fri May 27, 2016 11:30 
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Yeah I've been on that a few times ... fails to make the roads safer, but more dangerous! Bunches up traffic and since 'density of traffic' is the prime time when people have accidents this is a recipe for disaster.
The A9 now has 110miles of average cameras only interspersed with the sections of dc where they try to place mobile vans. So overtaking can be very difficult.
I'm concerned too that people are too scared to go over the 60mph in a valid 70mph for fear of getting a ticket.
Their 'aim' to make any road safer has failed and all that matters now to people is to prevent prosecution that any road safety concern. Just driving a bit slower won't make you safer. For some their attention is so distracted you can see them slowly moving around their lane, clearly doing something else. Stuck in streams of traffic is not about any road safety concept but about control.

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PostPosted: Sun May 29, 2016 11:26 
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Quote:
Stuck in streams of traffic is not about any road safety concept but about control.


Totally agree. I would say that about 80% of road "improvements" these days, is more about control than safety.

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My views do not represent Safespeed but those of a driver who has driven for 39 yrs, in all conditions, at all times of the day & night on every type of road and covered well over a million miles, so knows a bit about what makes for safety on the road,what is really dangerous and needs to be observed when driving and quite frankly, the speedo is way down on my list of things to observe to negotiate Britain's roads safely, but I don't expect some fool who sits behind a desk all day to appreciate that.


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PostPosted: Sun May 29, 2016 13:53 
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graball wrote:
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Stuck in streams of traffic is not about any road safety concept but about control.

Totally agree. I would say that about 80% of road "improvements" these days, is more about control than safety.

That has always been my view. Applies in other spheres too, such as the campaigns against smoking, drinking and eating "unhealthy" food.

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PostPosted: Sun May 29, 2016 23:00 
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Yes, isn't it strange that LAs who seem to be run mainly by the left wing and are always banging on about human rights, workers rights etc are the first in line to restrict motorists rights and issue controlling bye laws for everything from how much rubbish you can have poking out of the top of your bin, to the colour that you can paint your front door.

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My views do not represent Safespeed but those of a driver who has driven for 39 yrs, in all conditions, at all times of the day & night on every type of road and covered well over a million miles, so knows a bit about what makes for safety on the road,what is really dangerous and needs to be observed when driving and quite frankly, the speedo is way down on my list of things to observe to negotiate Britain's roads safely, but I don't expect some fool who sits behind a desk all day to appreciate that.


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