The Zohan

Interesting, I noticed that the figures for road casualties in Kettering and surrounding had gone up rather than down few months back according to the Chron & Eck.

This almost total reliance on cameras and reasigning Traffic Police to other duties is a recipie for disaster IMHO. The cameras should be an aid/tool for the Police. Freeing them up for Patrolling our streets whether in cars or on foot amonst other things.

Hiow can a speed camera spot a stolen car?
How can it spot a car with bald tyres
How can it spot a car being riven irratically unless speeding?
How can it spot the multitude of things a Traffic cop with experience and common sense does.

Stupid and short sighted aproach to meeting government targets not solving the real problems.

Yes, nicking people speeding, outside schools, parks etc is important as well.

[Edited by Paul Habgood - 10/4/2003 9:43:22 AM]

Chris L

Taken from Pistonheads yesterday:

The ABD is once again making some extreme claims about Government policy. They claim that their analysis of Government-published figures shows that since 1993, the significant reduction in broad-based road safety education and police road traffic patrols - in favour of revenue-generating speed cameras - has been accompanied by the loss of over 5000 lives!

The figures apparently show that as the numbers of speed cameras soared from 1993 onwards, the downward trend in road deaths that had existed for decades was almost completely lost. Had the former trend (a year on year 6% decrease in fatalities) continued, about 5500 people that have died on the roads in the last decade would be alive today.

The lack of police on our roads is an increasing concern, particularly as policy makers rely increasingly on cameras to catch wrong doers. Drunk and dangerous drivers now enjoy a greatly reduced chance of being apprehended as traffic police are switched to other duties. Evidence of this is provided by the steady reduction in those apprehended for careless, dangerous and drunken driving from 232,000 in 1990 to 144,000 in 2000, a decrease of 37% in absolute terms, and a decrease of over 45% when increased traffic is allowed for.

A spokesman said "The figures are even worse than we had expected. Regrettably, they are quite clear and undeniable. I wouldn't want to be running one of the so-called Safety Camera Partnerships when this gets out ".

ABD Chairman, Brian Gregory commented "This makes me so sad and angry. We have been warning for years that speed cameras make the roads more dangerous. How many more will have to die before we return to traditional and proven road safety values based on skills, individual responsibility and consideration? This speed camera madness must end right now. "

Link : ABD

Chris

ProperCharlie

even if a camera does spot a speeding car - where's the safety benefit?

the person carries on their merry way and gets a NiP some weeks later - does that save lives? If the car is stolen, the owner gets the NiP and then has the hassle of having to prove he wasn't driving at the time.

If you are pulled over and given a ticking off by a traffic cop
a)you will be likely to drive more carefully afterwards.
b)if you are drunk or driving a stolen or unroadworthy car you will be prevented from carrying on to possibly cause an accident.

flash flash = useless "safety" measure.

STi wanna Subaru

iTrader: (1)

Great at making money though! The Government can hide behind an number of statistics they choose but the general public know that all they are, are money making machines! It is for that reason that the public hates speed cameras so much.

i8gtmf

I live on Notts/Derbyshire border and travel alot through work but the Police are much more active here than anyplace else I go.The problem with bombarding motorist with every type of speed trap possible you find yourself paying far to much attention to your speedo than whats going on ahead of you, ok speeding is dangerous if excessive but most people know roughly they what speed they are traveling at without having one eye on the speedo so as they don't get knicked for doing 33.5mph in a 30 limit.My boss who is in his fifties has been done 3 times in 2 months by plod hiding in his little van all of which was for doing between 35-38 mph in a 30 limit ok he was speeding but now finds himself completely paranoid and can't take his eyes off the speedo.

Dave

Jen

Alot of the cash is being put into what the public persives to be the problem (i.e. speeding - and remember, most the public does persive this to be the biggest problem - it's the one I get the second most phone calls about every week (the first is parking on the public highway)) and not putting money into the real problems

Budgets are tight and things such as measure idenitified in School travel plans, funding for engineering works for safety schemes, "belt up campaigns" etc. are being cut Without the priorites for the local Constablary being pushed towards speeding motorists.

Until the public (in general, by this I mean "Mr and Mrs Smith" - not just on a motoring bbs) call for an increase in funding for Local Transport initatives and more Policemen checking the cars on the roads and less on speed issues it won't happen.

johnfelstead

and the only way that will change Jen, is by educating the public about the real road safety issues.

If you have a nation bombarded with the speed kills message for a decade, you are going to get more calls on that. People in general are stupid, easily conditioned and believe what they are told, rather than thinking about the issues properly.

The government relies on that, and they get away with murder as a result.

There are so many of these speed reduction measures that make the roads more deadly, yesterday i spent 5 minutes dodging speed humps in the road, set 3 abreast, so on occasion you had to drive down the middle of the road to stop your suspension being hammered, even at 20MPH. Was i watching the road/pavement for kids? Was i hell, i was watching a few feet in front of me concentrating on this stupid lump of tarmac about to destroy my wheels/bushes.

Jay m A

iTrader: (2)

And now that our council has run out of places to put the speed humps, they are digging up crossroads and replacing them with red bricks and cobblestones, ala one big speed hump juction. If the council traffic dept doesn't spend their allocted amount each year they'll get it reduced next year, same as every ******* department because its not their money and its not as if their 'employer' are going bankrupt if they overspend. So their jobs are safe unlike the private sector. Its also easier to move people to another dept rather than let them go - far too much hastle and paperwork getting rid of dead wood and quite simple with unlimited funds.

All I have noticed since paying 15% extra is more local congestion due to roadworks and less frequency in collecting my bins.

must'nt grumble

Dave P

I went to a public meeting recently run by our local police authority and speeding and anti social behaviour were top of everyones lists. I live in a 30 speed limit, but on a busy road and I would guess as close to 80% speed. From my point of view it's not so much a safety issue as noise. It's surprising how much noise a car doing over 30 makes! So speeding is an issue for me.

However, many people at this meeting seemed to think a speed camera was the solution which is quite scary. Thing is in most towns and villages it's usually the local kids that are the problem and as soon as they know where a camera is, it's no longer a problem for them. So for my mind traffic cops and mobile cameras have to be the way, along with improved traffic calming. Didn't I read somehwere they have speed sensitive road humps these days.

Dave

scooby nutter

. It's surprising how much noise a car doing over 30 makes! So speeding is an issue for me.


Yes but what if they put speed humps outside the front of your house.These Increase the noise!
Cars slowing down then speeding off.Big wagons,motorbikes etc.

Nimbus

One of those raised speed tables at a t-junction nearly caused an accident awhile ago. I was driving through a village at 30mph and an on-coming car was waiting to turn right ahead of me. I had my lights on as it was evening. As I went up the side of the speed table at the junction the car ahear suddenly turned right across my path! He had thought I had flashed him to cross as my lights had briefly shone at him as my car went up the ramp.