Safe Speed Forums

OK this may seem far fetched but bear with it...

Imagine if Tony Blair et al became convinced that:

i. speed cameras were, in fact, useless.
ii. they were also going to lose him a large number of votes.

How would they actually go about getting rid of them ie what spin could be applied to a decision to cease all camera operations, a demand we see quite frequently from safespeed contributors?

Regards
Jim

Simple. They just do what every Government does when they want to make a complete U turn over an unpopular policy:

Step 1. Hail the re-introduction of the original system as a big new idea of their design. If necessary rebadge the original policy with a new name so there can be no doubt over the fact that it is "new".
Step 2. Quietly disassociate themselves from the "bad idea", and if pressed insist it was something they were saddled with from a previous Administration, and they had been trying to get rid of it as long as they've been in power.

They know they will easily get away with it because they are (in effect) bowing to public opinion anyway (albeit on their own terms), so any opposition is only to their methods, not to the policy in question.

Ask me another...

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Ticketo ergo sum : I scam therefore I am!

I'm sure I've heard rumours that people in the DfT realise that the current camera policy doesn't work and are looking for a way out that isn't too embarrassing.

I can't envisage a total abandonment of the policy as so much political capital has been invested in it. No government says "we were wrong all the time. Sorry."

As JT says, we would probably see a "relaunch" of the policy with the high-profile installation of a handful of new cameras, but at the same time removing a lot of those that have been shown to be ineffective. A good opportunity was lost to do this when the government claimed the audit of camera locations showed them all to be appropriate.

This relaunch could also involve disbanding the camera partnerships and returning control to the police - another Conservative policy being taken up by Labour. Or maybe even keeping the name but ending their operation as independent self-funding bodies. The police could then, without any public announcement, increase all the trigger thresholds by a few mph and slash the number of Talivans in operation.

There's no realistic prospect of all or most of the cameras disappearing overnight, but it's not hard to imagine a "refocusing" of policy that left them effectively withering on the vine.

When the vandalised ones don't get replaced we'll know the policy is dead.

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"Show me someone who says that they have never exceeded a speed limit, and I'll show you a liar, or a menace." (Austin Williams - Director, Transport Research Group)

Any views expressed in this post are personal opinions and may not represent the views of Safe Speed

Good news then, the one on the A46 heading into Bath was burnt to a crisp (second time in 12 months) in April or May. Still not replaced.

Mind you this one has always been a political hot potato as its justification (as far as I know) is that the road does not neet minimum engineering standards (the verges are a little too narrow ). There is no KSI justification.


Dave