Mobile speed Camera Vans

[Lons]

I've never been "caught" by one of these vans and am in favour of speed checks where there is a road safety issue especially in built up areas however am totally against these vans being used to make large profit gains - Our active local councilor is of like mind and has unearthed some pretty damning evidence of this practice which is the reason a majority of people view the authority motivations with suspicion and undermines any good that they might do.

We have a very busy local country A road with a poor accident record. Loads of bends, hilly and subject to speeding motorists, motorcycle riders especially love the fast bends and are often on the wrong side of the road, over the double whites on blind bends :shock:

There has been an ongoing campaign for regular checks by the vans (NSRI - a partnership of police and 6 local councils which costs mine £120,000 pa). Chasing the stats my councillor eventually found that in the past 6 months the van has NOT ONCE been deployed on this road despite regular, sometimes serious incidents.

In contrast a road approaching our local market town drops from 60 to 30mph on a stretch for no obvious reason as it has only a few properties set way back from the highway. That's a seperate issue but there is a disused petrol station immediately past the speed signs which provides a perfect "hiding place" for the vans and there have been many complaints regarding this.

The figures for the same 6 month period show the van was "hidden" there 18 times, issuing 2300 tickets which at £70 a pop has generated £161,000. OK they were over the limit and culpable but from my experience I doubt if many were over 40mph in what should still be 60. Visitors in particular come round a long safe bend at 60 and either have to slam on the anchors which could cause accidents or commonly let the car slow which means they are doing 35 - 40 in the detection zone. Locals of course know about the trap!
There has never been an accident on this stretch of road to the best of my knowledge in the 30 years I have lived in the area. Cash cow or what :roll: Bearing in mind the cr*p these people give out is that the vans are there purely for road safety and this stretch was safe long before the vans were a twinkle in anybobys eye it rather leaves a bad taste.

Rant over, I feel better now :lol:

Bob

 

[themackay]

I could not agree more cash cow and very little to do with road safety,same with bus lane cameras.
Alan

 

[RogerS]

I could not agree more cash cow and very little to do with road safety,same with bus lane cameras.
Alan

Bus lane cameras are not so much do about safety as keeping the traffic flowing.

Lons...agree with you 100%. Couldn't you apply to the council under FoI to specify the rationale for placing the cameravan in the garage in the absence of any accidents ?

 

[DrPhill]

I have a different opnion. Probablyt contraversial, but here goes:

I do my best to obey the speed limit at all times. I have spent much skull sweat trying to justify why I, out of all road users, should be allowed the discretion to disobey them. Despite thirty years of effort I have not managed, and so have resigned myself to compliance.

This has the benefit of leaving me totally imune to speeding fines. Each time someone else gets fined that is a little less tax for me to pay, and a small deterent to dangerous driving. I benefit all ways. So where and when they park the vans is a non-issue for me.

There is one way to ruin their plans for revenue generation.........

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I regularly drive on a country road that has only a few houses on it, is virtually never walked on. It's about three miles, and I can often go from one end to the other without seeing a car or a pedestrian. Due to self righteous local councillors who love to be seen to be doing something, this is a 40mph limit. People happily obey laws they see as being fair and right, but things like this just encourage people to ignore limits.

 

[mseries]

.....People happily obey laws they see as being fair and right, but things like this just encourage people to ignore limits.

it's a good job everyone doesn't think like that. It's always the minority that spoils it for everyone else. The issue with your scenario that irks me is this. You and other motorists will happily ignore this limit and speed through because most of the time you don't see anyone else. Then, one day someone steps out and you can't stop in time before you kill him.

 

[mseries]

if you don't want to pay a fine for speeding, or driving in bus lanes, don't do it. It is really really easy. I presume the fine is what people are worried about rather than killing someone.

 

[bugbear]

I have a different opnion. Probablyt contraversial, but here goes:

I do my best to obey the speed limit at all times. I have spent much skull sweat trying to justify why I, out of all road users, should be allowed the discretion to disobey them. Despite thirty years of effort I have not managed, and so have resigned myself to compliance.

This has the benefit of leaving me totally imune to speeding fines. Each time someone else gets fined that is a little less tax for me to pay, and a small deterent to dangerous driving. I benefit all ways. So where and when they park the vans is a non-issue for me.

There is one way to ruin their plans for revenue generation.........

:lol: :lol: :lol:

Works for me too.

BugBear

 

[MMUK]

Each time someone else gets fined that is a little less tax for me to pay

I benefit all ways.

You really think it works that way? You must be totally delusional! Everyone down the line suffers without exception whoever breaks the rule, that includes you, you're not immune from increased costs.

I'm assuming you pay VED, insurance, etc?

 

[Jinx]

What annoys me is the lack of logic in some of the speed limits. Where I live the road goes from 60, to 40, to 30 then back to 40, with negligible changes in the type of road or the amount of houses etc. What I would like is to just say the whole stretch is 30 and then it is easier for everyone, the 40 stretch is only about a quarter of a mile long so why is it even there. Then I can just hit the 30, set my cruise control and not worry about the speed changes. Jinx

 

[mseries]

What annoys me is the lack of logic in some of the speed limits. Where I live the road goes from 60, to 40, to 30 then back to 40, with negligible changes in the type of road or the amount of houses etc. What I would like is to just say the whole stretch is 30 and then it is easier for everyone, the 40 stretch is only about a quarter of a mile long so why is it even there. Then I can just hit the 30, set my cruise control and not worry about the speed changes. Jinx

Just do that anyway.

 

[Jacob]

What annoys me is the lack of logic in some of the speed limits. Where I live the road goes from 60, to 40, to 30 then back to 40, with negligible changes in the type of road or the amount of houses etc. What I would like is to just say the whole stretch is 30 and then it is easier for everyone, the 40 stretch is only about a quarter of a mile long so why is it even there. Then I can just hit the 30, set my cruise control and not worry about the speed changes. Jinx

Just do that anyway.

Exactly! I got caught out twice in a local stretch like that so I now go slow all the way. It seems to annoy following drivers but soddem I'm not going to get 3 more points for nothing.
Speed cameras are a damn good thing and save a lot of accidents.

 

[MIGNAL]

It's actually pretty difficult to obey the 30 (or 40) MPH speed limit without turning your fellow drivers into seething, demonic idiots. They consider that travelling at 35 MPH in a 30 zone is FAR too slow. Just one of the reasons I gave up driving years ago. Too many nutters. Putting people in a car is the fastest way of creating more nutters.

 

[Jinx]

Trouble with that mseries and Jacob, is I used to have a driving school in Cambridge many years ago and one of the things your teach day in day out is driving to the speed limit when safe to do so, so as to not, 'waste road space'. Same as crossing my hands, ha ha, still cannot do it. Jinx

 

[Baldhead]

I am 53 been driving since I was 17 and picked up my very first speeding ticket in October, something I'm not proud of, I was caught by a mobile camera on a duel carriageway which has a limit of 30 and I was doing 37.
First off, I'm guilty, I've got no excuse for doing that speed, I was not in a hurry, it was a silly lapse of concentration.
I was given the option of, paying a speeding fine (£100) and getting 3 points on my licence, going to court to fight the speeding ticket or attending a speed awareness course(cost £85 and lasted 4 hours) I chose the latter.
I actually found the course very informative, the trainer (a driving instructor) was a nice chap, he tried the shock tactics, ie showing us several photos of the aftermath of RTC's where people had lost their life (I'm not heartless but this had no effect on me, my job before being pensioned out was a fireman, my first station covered an large area of the A1 the majority of which is single carriageway, so I've seen probably more accident scenes then he has) what he also did was teach, I had no idea what the proper stopping distances are for any given speed, TBH I wasn't sure about repeater speed signs on lamp posts, I learned a lot.
Now I use the speed limiter on the car, I get threatening looks from other motorists who have been 'stuck' behind me when they get the chance to overtake, I get headlights flashed when I break on the approach to a 30 sign, I've had lots of hand gestures etc etc but what I haven't got is 3 points on my licence.
I hate mobile speed cameras, I think they should be painted canary yellow so we can spot them, just like fixed cameras.
I do think they are sited more to make money rather than save life, there is certain criteria laid down for the siting of fixed cameras but not for mobiles, now I wonder why that is.

Baldhead

 

[bernienufc]

Baldhead
After doing the awareness course do you still have to declare the speending incident to the insurers? it was a topic that came up at work and nobody knew.

 

[Baldhead]

Baldhead
After doing the awareness course do you still have to declare the speending incident to the insurers? it was a topic that came up at work and nobody knew.

No you don't, we were told it doesn't show up anywhere other than police records so that should I be caught speeding again within 3 years I will not be given the option of a course, I will get a fine and 3 points.

Baldhead

 

[Phil Pascoe]

.....People happily obey laws they see as being fair and right, but things like this just encourage people to ignore limits.

it's a good job everyone doesn't think like that. It's always the minority that spoils it for everyone else. The issue with your scenario that irks me is this. You and other motorists will happily ignore this limit and speed through because most of the time you don't see anyone else. Then, one day someone steps out and you can't stop in time before you kill him.

It's a wide open country road with good visibility - there isn't anyone there to step out.
P.S. besides which, you are presuming too much. Nowhere did I say I exceeded the limit. It was an observation. There was no need to be so self righteous.

 

[markturner]

Some interesting reactions here..........I guess it comes down to what type of person you are - someone who obeys the law, no matter whether its ill thought out, inappropriate, or illogical, or whether, like me, you take a view that you are intelligent and skilled enough ( in this case we are talking about driving) and can make your own decisions about what's safe. If I don't agree with a law about something, I don't comply, but that's just me, I am not judging anyone else. So, yes, I speed when I want to...not always, but sometimes and I always drive extremely safely, plenty of space between cars, never overtake without perfect visibility, never speed in urban ares, etc etc. I have been driving over 30 years and have a clean licence and never had a serious accident.

In relation to the question in the post, it's all about appropriate speed for the situation.......you drive at 70mph on the motorway, but if road conditions etc were bad, it would be unsafe. So blindly following the limits is not right. I ride a motorbike as well as driving a car and you need to read the roads, read the surroundings and the conditions. If the road is not busy, visibility good and you wanted to drive at say 80 or 90 mph...whats the harm? of course, if the conditions change, you adjust accordingly. Also, you should never speed in built up areas. But on the open roads, it's a different story. Plus, you have to remember, the technology and performance of modern cars, with ABS, airbags, great tyres, etc makes them and driving much safer and also the speed limits on open roads much less relevant. Look at Germany - do they have a problem there? No.......

Speed itself is not the problem, is when it is combined with the wrong conditions and a lack of skill and ability to determine what is safe. We are fed the line about safety so much, but these cameras are all about revenue raising - if they were not, then why hide them? Also, the law is designed to fit the lowest common denominator, so unfortunately, its one size fits all.

Bottom line, use your own discretion, and be prepared to deal with the result if you choose to speed and get caught. And if you do speed, then you need to be bringing your A game to the table, as a motorcyclist, I always assume the other people on the road are idiots and have not seen me. So you assume the worst may happen, be prepared and cover the brake etc..By the way, I would totally not condone a lot of the riding I see many bikers doing, I use trackdays now to get my kicks, and drive pretty sedately on the roads when on the bike.


PS, the bit about someone stepping out - do think they will be any less dead if you were doing say 60mph ( national speed limit) instead of say 70mph? or 80mph ? If someone steps out into a busy road unexpectedly, then pretty sure its going to be messy, even with everyone obeying the limits.

 

[Jacob]

..........
PS, the bit about someone stepping out - do think they will be any less dead if you were doing say 60mph ( national speed limit) instead of say 70mph? or 80mph ? If someone steps out into a busy road unexpectedly, then pretty sure its going to be messy, even with everyone obeying the limits.

At lower speed it makes a huge difference, being hit at 10, 20, 30mph etc but in any case it's more about stopping distances i.e. avoiding hitting anything at all.
At higher speeds a pedestrian most likely has had it, but both you and he have had less chance to avoid the hit, and all the other consequences of a collision are greater in proportion to the speed, other vehicles and your own safety. You don't want to lose control or have a dead body hitting your windscreen at 90 mph. :roll: