Safe Speed Forums

Relative of ours in the Manchester area has passed this snippet up to me. It appeared in the "Salford Advertiser" - one of those free rags. If it appeared in the "M.E.N" - then I missed it...

Mat Nicholson reports:

Driving slightly over the speedlimit gave Salford University Professor Rose Baker a flash of inspiration.

After she was snapped by a speed camera on Bury Old Road in April as she drove towards Manchester, the statistics expert who is in charge of this faculty at the Salford Uni (and perhaps worth contacting as ally - Paul?) set about calculating just how likely it is that motorists who speed will get caught.

Her conclusion, which will not come as a surprise for many motorists is simple: life is just not fair!

"I was able to work out that it's really quite random which speeding motorist will get caught," said the 57 year old professor.

"It might be the one who usually drives within the limit or the one who usually drives over the limit. It is a real lottery and it is not justice.

"A real goody two shoes might get caught in months, whilst a habitual speeder may get copped onces in every 20 years. And I discovered that in areas where they are more speed cameras - it is even more random!"

Professor Baker who has been lecturing in Maths and Statistics at Salford University since 1977 decided to produce her own statistics after picking up her first ever 3 points in April 2004 - driving just above the speed limit in Broughton.

She said: "If I were a poet, I suppose I would have written a pome about it!. I was just driving along, and this speed camera had only just been installed on a road which had previously been a 40 mph road. It just flashed at me. At first i did not know whether it had got me or the car behind me.. but when the letter arrived ... it started me thinking - as there had been just two flashes - which meant that the speeding car behind me never received a fixed penalty!"

In her research paper - published in the journal "Mathematics Today" Professor Baker also says that thanks to 4,500 scameras all normally law abiding drivers who have occasional blips should see bans as inevitable.

According to her formula the average driver would get a fine and points every 2 years and on average, a quarter of all drivers would be banned under the tot-up system. A lucky 9% would escape.

"I did the research because it was interesting. I did learn a lesson from getting the penalty points in the first place."

Rose Luv - invest in a an origin or RA

Paul -would it be worth your while contacting this lady regarding her stats and background - as interested party?