Safe Speed Forums

Hi all,

I'd like to say that on numerous occasions in the past, and more recently, I had been "speeding" (40ish in a 30 zone) and noticed the traffic police in a lay bye though not any apprehension from my actions resulted, wonder why?

I had been stopped before (1995) and all that was said was "are you aware of the speed limit here" upon which I replied in my youthful knowledge "I thouht it was a 40 limit" as the road does change from 40 to 30 for no apparent reason and the general traffic behaviour does reflect this as nobody does 30 (all stay at 40-45).

Ironically I also got stopped for going too slow-20 in a 30-now that would be a rarity today ! You would probably get a local scamera award for benefiting us all.

Andrew

Nah, you'd be in big trouble for not adhering rigidly to the speed limit, regardless of whatever hazards were in the road. You'd probably have someone behind you flashing their lights, because they *know* that you can go 10mph faster and still be safe - the sign said so!

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

Yes, a lot of people drive as if the speed on the signs is the minimum speed limit, instead of the maximum one!

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I stole this .sig

Quick background: Passed test in 1977. Drive on average 25000 miles per year (used to do 50k p.a.).

Stopped once by police in 1988 whilst doing 83 on an empty dual carraigeway.. let off with a warning, which on the whole was fair, but it served as a good lesson.

Clean license from 1997 to 2003 (November).

Caught by a mobile camera in November 2003 in Weston Super Mare, exceeding a 50mph limit on a safe dual carraigeway (fences either side, no pedestrians allowed, dry sunny day, light traffic, early afternoon, aware of no hazards or dangers at location and no junctions within 1000 yds). Van parked in layby. No alternative but to pay up and get first three points ever. I was rather hacked off at the pointless location of the camera (which I still believe was not signposted at all).
Then, last weekend, was caught by another mobile camera, this time in Worcester. 36mph ! On a Sunday at lunchtime... Dry road, no pedestrians, clear visibility ahead, no obstacles or hazards percieved.
Another van, parked in a layby.

Here I am, a driver who has probably driven enough miles to have gone to the moon twice. No accidents since 1991 (someone came at me on the wrong side of the road). Now have 6 points on my licence.

Of the three 'offfences' I have knowlingly committed, the one I felt the worst about was the first one in 1987 - oddly enough it was the one where the police stopped me. I'm just angry about the other two.

Get rid of these speed cameras, and bring back the police - at least then you could be assured of being dealt with by a person that had reason for stopping you.

I have great respect for Traffic Police Officers, they do a worthwhile job and are on the whole very honest and correct in their opinions and their understanding and application of traffic laws. If they stop you, they have reason to. A speed camera cannot discern between good drivers and bad, nor does it take into account road conditions and driver perceptions.

Get rid of speed camera's now !

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David Keight, Devon

It looks as if, before the cameras, your were getting away with quite a lot of speeding around. You can't get away with it these days. My advice: change your ways before the b*****s take your license.

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I stole this .sig

How do you know that your advice isn't deadly?

After all, if someone pays attention to it and checks their speedo more often in order to comply they might miss seeing the conflicting vehicle that kills them.

Do you really want to be responsible for telling someone to watch the road less with no possible knowledge of the eventual consequences?

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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

Now now Paul, no need to get nasty - although you do of course have a valid point - seems like basingwerk is 'on our side', if a little misguided!

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

I made a typo in my last posting... I put clean license from 1997 - 2003. It should have read 1977 - 2003. That was 26 years without a single point. Now I have been scamera'd. To reply to basingwerk: No, generally I keep within the limit, and usually well below the limit when near schools, hazards etc. The only time I drive close to the limit (and this, like other times is when you are prone to slip up), is where the road is clear of obstructions, and it is safe to do so.

Anyway, back to my feelings on the topic of Police -vs- Scamera's: If speeding (on a safe road) is so bad, why are the police not stood there instead of some council-paid jobs-worth. Put police at the side of the road and everyone slows down. Put a van in a layby, and hardly anyone notices before they get the dreaded ticket !
I reported a driver to the police yesterday for driving on the wrong side of the road (and most likely speeding) whilst making obscene gestures at a string of other road users... What was their response ? 'Oh we're too busy to look into that'. Are the priorities all wrong. I for one think so.

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David Keight, Devon

The problem with scamera's is that is like being told by your mum, "Wait till your dad gets home".
By the time dad gets home, you have forgotten what you have done, but still get told off or your bum spanked.
By the time you get the NIP, you can't even remember whether you were on that road or not.
At least with a traffic cop, you can understand why you are being told of the error of your ways or why you are being booked.

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Semper in excreta, nur quantitat variat.

Hope it was delivered in that special tone We aim to make it memorable! Glad the lesson served you well for such a long time!




Hmm! Vans eh? Always use COAST - and you should spot 'em!

My neck of wood? You would get my lot in person lurking around -- armed with their mobile guns - but we do place some signs up - most of the time! But we never target near a speed limit change - honest! And always at nasty dangerous black spots! HONEST and where we know the drug dealers et al could drop by! And we do sometimes give the educational lecture in the really nasty voice! Depends how OTT you were!



How things have changed! Just think! You missed out on the lecture again! In other words - you learned nothing except resentment and that cannot be good for road safety! Why most cops dislike them too - our lads are getting the blame for antics of over zealous prats!



Glad to hear you prefer the acid lecture! Cameras and other types of traffic offence technology have a place - but the way they are being deployed is verging on insanity! Trafpol numbers are depleting, drunks and other illegals are rising and so, unfortunately, are the accident rates around the country. Cannot be co-incidence surely?

It also looks as if, before and even with the cameras, dkeight was a safe, accident avoiding driver (someone coming at you on the wrong side of the road is not his fault!). So what purpose would blithely complying with the posted speed limit have served before, and what purpose do the fine and 6 points and the progress towards a ban serve now??

Safety?? No!

Some sort of social engineering with the added benefit of revenue generation in the interim??

'Cameras and other types of traffic offence technology have a place - but the way they are being deployed is verging on insanity!'


Had an interesting chat with a policeman mate the other day, who tells me that any time he and his colleagues cause a camera to go off they have to fill in forms explaining why they were exceeding the limit. They already have a fairly mountainous paper workload. He described the patently ludicrous situation of doing a blue light run, slowing to the limit through cameras and then accelerating again to pursuit or response speed, in order to have enough time in his day to attend to muggings, robberies and generally alleviating distress in society. This country used to be the bosom of reason, but its golden age is well and truly over...

Thanks

Now on to how to decrease the numbers of camera's and increase the numbers of the traffic departments again

Any suggestions...

It's going to happen. But one thing that REALLY needs to happen is that traffic officers form an association and start pitching the traffic oficer story to politicians and the media. Far too many people don't realise the importance to road safety (and general policing) of good trafic officers.

I almost can't believe that there's no association of traffic officers!

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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

One of such an association's first jobs must be to disassociate the Police from the scandalous workings of the Safety Camera Partnership. The former is an outstanding body that represents a credit to this nation. The latter is an ominous warning of just how close we are to leaving honour and credibility behind in Blair's rush to finish Mrs Thatcher's work of making Britain thoroughly vile. Every time there's a story about misuse of mobile or static cameras the paper call the local chief constable. Who then proceeds to take a stance on the issue. If he/she doesn't play ball, the hacks then find a reasonably right-of-centre officer to get the quote they want. A simple 'call the Safety Camera bods/Transport Agency/Transport Minister not me, thank you and good day' would go a long way towards maintaining the Police's fine image. It's time these people stood up for themselves and refused to be this dreadful government's PR gimps.

I had no idea. I'd always assumed there was one of some kind. Does that mean anything they've got to say about road safety goes through the Police Federation or something? A seperate organistion would make much more sense, though the way their numbers are being cut it won't be a very big association unless they get their fingers out sharpish.

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

The problem for the public is that all of these Scamera partnerships always say that they work in conjunction with the local force. It isn't. It was set up with the help of the local force, and that's where most of the links end.

One of the big issues is: They don't work with the same ethical standards as the police. If ACPO would stand up and publicly distance themselves from these partnerships, it would make headlines, and show the public that the police are not the ones who want these money making schemes.

The public perception at the moment (and I can understand where they get this from), is that the police get a hefty cut of the profits from the fines. They don't. The government and these 'partnerships' split most of the money. If the money raised was honestly used for road safety, by now we would have better road surfaces and better signage, better lighting and safer crossing points for pedestrians. Meanwhile we have the police usually trying to avoid using the roads with camera's on, or having to slow down for the GATSO or even mobile sites.

Please can someone wind the clock back 10 years. Remove these camera's and allow the police to enforce the limits with due regard for the conditions etc.

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David Keight, Devon

I think you'll find the driving expert Paul Ripley disagrees with you on this. His advice is to never exceed the speed limit. I hope you won't feel too insulted if I give more weight to his views than yours.

Except, of course, he doesn't. He has said it in print, but that's the influence of political correctness, unfortunately.

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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

Are you saying Paul Ripley is a liar and/or knowingly giving out potentially deadly advice in an attempt to be politically correct ?