Safe Speed Forums

From today's telegraph:

Police chief challenges 'petrolheads' with call for more speed cameras
By David Bamber and Melissa Kite
(Filed: 27/06/2004)


The police are pressing for hundreds more speed cameras to be installed covertly on roads across Britain.


Richard Brunstrom, the Chief Constable of North Wales and the national police spokesman on transport, said yesterday that he was urging the Government to make significant increases in the number of cameras. These would include hidden devices that he claimed would be far more effective in cutting speed than the present system of highly visible yellow boxes.

Mr Brunstrom said: "The evidence is overwhelming that something like more than three-quarters of the population of the country support the use of speed cameras in the way the Government is doing it.

"I would like to see more politicians in the Cabinet, from the Prime Minister down, standing up and saying: 'The evidence is solid. We are going to do this because it saves lives'."

He accused what he called the "petrolhead" lobby, led by car enthusiasts such as the presenter of BBC's Top Gear, Jeremy Clarkson, of having had too much influence on Government policy on speed cameras. The decision to paint Britain's cameras yellow to win public acceptance of the scheme had been correct, but it was time to move on to hidden devices, he said.

"There is no doubt at all that speed cameras reduce speed and save death and injury," said Mr Brunstrom. "The decision to paint them yellow was a political decision, taken by the minister because he believed that the public would not support covert cameras."

He added, however, that people's driving became erratic as they braked sharply to avoid being caught by visible cameras, then speeded up after them. "The evidence is that they work less well than covert cameras," he said.

"We ought to be looking at going to the Australian and New Zealand model of more comprehensive use of cameras - and not all visible - in due course."

The number of speed cameras has increased from 1,000 to more than 5,000 in the past five years, raising an estimated £45 million for police forces. Statistics show that there have been more road accidents despite their introduction.

The Government's own figures, disclosed last week by Kim Howells, the transport minister, show that only 13 per cent of accidents were caused by speed.

John Redwood, the former Tory minister who tabled the question to Mr Howells, said the admission should prompt a rethink of policy.

"No wonder serious accidents are rising again on the roads," he said. "The Government is targeting speed but its own figures show that speed is not normally the cause of accidents."

It makes the skin crawl. Sadly, a lot of people are going to believe this...

Edit: Must have still been pissed when I wrote that, I managed to spell 'skin' wrongly...

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-mike[F]
Caught in the rush of the crowd, lost in a wall of sound..

Influence? LMAO. If the petrolheads had so much influence on government policy there wouldn't be five thousand cameras. If there was an award for "remark most detached from reality by a public figure" I'd put that the shortlist.

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Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler - Einstein

Here's the Telegraph URL:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jh ... ncam27.xml

Note that they have kindly provided a link to Safe Speed!

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Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,5-2004292210,00.html


Cam off it, Brunstrom



Blast ... Clarkson




SPEED camera champ Richard Brunstrom has accused "petrolheads" such as Sun columnist Jeremy Clarkson of trying to scare the Government into slashing the number of traps.
Brunstrom, Chief Constable of North Wales, wants MORE cameras, some HIDDEN.

And he reckons people such as Jeremy who oppose their use have too much influence on road safety policy.

The police chief accused Tony Blair and his Cabinet of failing to push the case for cameras strongly enough, for fear of the electoral consequences.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "I think it is the Jeremy Clarkson effect, the petrolhead lobby, a very vocal, but actually very small group.

"We ought to have much more leadership, much more determination that we are going to do this."



Brunstrom ... fan of hidden cameras



He added: "The evidence is overwhelming that something more than three-quarters of the population of the country support the use of speed cameras in the way the Government is doing it."

But last night Jeremy, 44, hit back and called for a referendum.

He said: Police chief Richard Brunstrom - aka the Mad Mullah of the traffic Taliban - has claimed there aren't enough speed cameras because of the "Jeremy Clarkson effect".

He claims a small but vocal number of "petrolheads" has an undue influence on Government policy.

He said three-quarters of the population supports the current use of speed cameras.

And he argued that there should be more hidden cameras because they are far more effective at deterring speeders than highly visible yellow boxes.

How? If you can't see a speed trap, you won't slow down.



Sneaky ... more cameras are
appearing by the roadside



Certainly Brunstrom's daughter Kate didn't slow down when The Sun caught her speeding recently.

But it didn't matter because, despite photographic evidence, she wasn't prosecuted.

The fact is that, despite the huge number of cameras that litter our roads, the number of deaths is actually going UP.

That's because cameras are good at catching little old ladies who are going 3mph over the limit, but useless at catching drunks and maniacs.

My big issue with Brunstrom though is over his claim that three-quarters of the population - 42million people - support the current level of speed cameras and petrolheads are only a small but vocal group.

Cast your vote by calling the You The Jury Hotline numbers, right, and let's find out.

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Semper in excreta, nur quantitat variat.

If this were really the case - the darned things would be gone tomorrow! What a twazak!




Not exactly a small group - but growing daily as more and more unsuspecting normally law-abiding motorists are being menaced over a nitpicking 1-5mph above a speed limit - which has been reduced to unsuitably slow limit for road in question. (Dual carriageways safe for years ar 50mph - and then changed to 30mph overnight and scam whacked up to enforce a new artificial limit! ) Army of anti-scammers is thus growing.



From the bloke who has said he "loves the power". Shwoing himself up in his true colours here - as megolomanic twazak






Yup! They poll the same ones time and time again. That way they know they get "right answer". Hardly a random poll - is it?

We used to get polled for this - after all medico and wife was very SI'd, and family had suffered a loss from the dodgy artic. Only - we did not give right answer - and no longer get asked for our "valued opinion"



Ah - as I recall "they were not trained BiBs who pinged her!" But anyone else as probationer would have been banned. Certainly, if I were in his position and my child did something so embarrassing to my position - I would have ensured that ban would have occurred - imposed by me! Only decent and professional thing to do for a man who is "scamera zealot" and on "mission to save lives"

He also said "government should be doing more to save lives"

Agreed - investment in NHS would be good place to start, follwoed by investment in police, traffic police, fire service, education - fuinded by taxation for which we actuially see the books and proof of the phrases "Since we have come to power we have bliar bliar bliar...."



Exactly mate - said it all before - but so good - needs encore!

I am sure the weird one lurks on this site. If he does - no real disrespect intended, Mr Brainstorm - but you really do come across as

Hum... not what i'd say but i'd get banned off the forum for my views on him