brab wrote:
It does seem to be though that a far more effective method to get rid of speed cameras would be to not speed? But while people still speed there will be almost no chance of getting rid of speed cameras. Because when I look at it almost everyone who I know who complains about speed cameras regularly speeds...
Hi Brab.
If only it was as simple as that. In an ideal world, what you say would come to pass - limits would have been set to differentiate dangerous drivers from the safe and considerate. Unfortunately there are a few who con$pire to keep it far from ideal.
For example, it is well known that the great majority (>80%) of motorway drivers want to see the motorway limits increased, and that most generally choose to ignore that limit - yes that's right: the majority of motorway drivers admit to 'regularly speeding'..... in relative safety I might add (motorways are the safest road for any given journey, even with their highest limits and least level of compliance of them).
It is obvious many limits such as those aren't set appropriately. The authorities respond by continuing to reducing them and clamping down on the non-compliance of them - this is enforcement for the sake of it.
This leads to negative behaviours, such as:
- fatigue (accounts for about 25% of all fatalities on such roads [more % than exceeding the speed limit]),
- disrespect for law (devalues speed limits in general),
- erosion of the skill of being able to judge a safe speed,
- displacement of traffic to less safe roads (like I said, motorways are the safest).
Right now, a great way to stop 'speeding' is to set limits to end the needless criminalisation of safe and considerate drivers.
Those who stand to benefit from keeping these limits needlessly low (SCPs et al) are happy to misrepresent the effects of speed, with tricks such as
the gross exaggeration of the effectiveness of speed cameras (RTTM), while completely dismissing the other factors described. It is a sad fact that limits would still be reduced (even quicker than they already are) even if folks were 100% compliant. Today, everyone is being caught out, even my speed-averse mum.
Cameras are a very poor method of enforcement (click for side effects). All they do is gather evidence of one bad proxy of one behaviour, which is useless if the offender is illegal in other ways (circumventing identification). This campaign calls for a return to intelligent policing, meaning proper traffic police!
Police detect all forms of inconsiderate and dangerous driving, puts an immediate end to them, prevents circumvention of identification, and best of all - takes into account mitigating and aggravating factors. Unlike the SCPs, police need public support to function, they're not nearly so willing to screw us for a quick buck.
Cameras needlessly criminalize the safe and considerate, while allowing the dangerous and inconsiderate to continue unchecked.
It has been stated by the government that the intention of cameras are to replace trafpol. That’s not good is it!
We don't want anarchy, we actually want the same thing as everyone else (including yourself I hope): to remove the dangerous and inconsiderate idiots from our roads, but we’re not getting this – the speed camera policy allows idiotic road users to bloom!
I will end with this:
this campaign supports the use of speed limits, as well as the enforcement of them when exceeding them causes danger.We have good reason to reject the current policies used (to try to, yet have failed) to achieve this.