WATCH THOSE SPEEDTRAPS!!!

[Tal]

My friend got busted last weak for doing 70mph in a 40 limit. He almost lost his license.

 

The answer is simple though; don't drive faster than the limit. If you don't, you don't get fined.

 

I don't know why people hate cameras and speed traps so much. That's like saying 'I hate CCTV cameras because they get me cought when I burgle someone!'. Just stick to the limit and the speed traps won't bother you.

[Variance]

while that may be true.

 

I do have a point with my earlier argument.

 

As for the speed-cameras and what not. Think what else that money could be going to use for? Do you know how many rape-cases go unsolved because of underfunded DNA Crime Labs for example?

 

and your analogy of speeding to a CCtv robbery is a very skewed one at that. skewed analogies can be brought up to prove any point. and 9 out of 10 times statistics can be made up to prove a point.

 

You can't just look at the laws. you have to look at the reasoning behind them. Nothing is absolute. Nothing is black and white.

 

a speed limit of 60 in a five lane freeway that is obviously meant and very capable of safety at least 70 or 80.

 

Its unofficial taxation plain and simple.

 

Its Local City Revenue, Porkbarrelling. whatever you want to call it.

 

its not necessarily the cops fault either. They do have quotas(unofficial or not) If they dont write up tickets it looks like they arent working hard enough.

 

Blame the bureaucrats for wasting the cops time enforcing secondary taxation instead of protecting and serving.

[aefibird]

My friend got busted last weak for doing 70mph in a 40 limit. He almost lost his license.

 

The answer is simple though; don't drive faster than the limit. If you don't, you don't get fined.

 

Well, someone doing 70mph in a 40mph zone deserves to get busted for stupidity. That's one case where a speed camera is useful.

 

My problem with speed cameras is not the actual cameras themselves (they can sometimes be useful in preventing accidents) but it is the governement reasoning behind them and the way that they are used on perfectly safe roads just as another form of taxation.

 

Also, the amount of money would be often better used for other police work. Would you rather your hard-earned tax money be spent on busting someone for driving TWO mph over the speed limit (as actually happened to a friend's uncle) or would you rather it be spent on catching criminals such as murderers or rapists?

 

Many people in the UK feel hard done by regarding speed cameras and crime statistics. We feel that police are being diverted from doing their jobs properly into just being jobsworths who try to catch as many speeding motorists as possible in order to bump up statistics and meet official targets. I think that at one time or another most drivers have gone over the speed limit, but there's a difference between punishing a driver for doing an extra 5-10mph on a perfectly straight and accident-free road and actually catching dangerous drivers who put the lives of others in jeopardy by tearing round city centres like maniacs. It just seems that its always the first sort of drivers who are being caught and the boy-racers who always get away with it.

 

Sorry for the rant.

[Drunken Monkey]

y'know, i wouldn't actually half mind if the money from fines actually went into transport for uk but it doesn't.

 

like i said, many of the accidents (the main reason cited for the use of speed cameras) are because of road conditions, road layout, signage etc, things that can be easily 'fixed'.

 

instead, they choose to fine drivers and ignore the reason for the accidents.

 

it isn't really the speed that causes accidents.

 

it's the stupidity and carelessness of the people involved.

 

if you take a drive around london towns and some of the surronding areas (eltham, upminster, barking, romford) you will see little bunches of flowers, placed by the road to mark , in respect, for the victims of accidents at those immediate locations.

 

the majority of these are on dual carriageways where there is no obvious crossing spot and in some cases, there is no reason for any pedestrian to be there.

 

is it entirely the drivers fault for these accidents?

[Tal]

I know money spent on speed cameras could be used for better things. But money spent on all sorts of needless stuff could be spent on better things. If government money was spent entirely on useful things, we'd live in heaven. A lot more money is wasted in greater amounts on other things (I'm not going to mention what; its probably contraversial and would need a topic of its own to discuss), but few people complain about it. Most people I know who complain about speed cameras do it because they get annoyed when they are caught and fined. If we are bothered about governments wasting money, there are things we should look at before speed cameras.

 

My analogy about the CCTV cameras is not skewed. If you commit a crime and are cought by the CCTV camera, you pay the consequenses. If you don't commit a crime; you're ok. If you speed and are caught by a speed camera. you pay the consequenses. If you don't speed; you're ok.

 

I don't agree with the government's reasoning behind speed cameras. In fact, I don't agree with most of the governments reasoning. Speed cameras are just very low down the list of things I disagree with.

 

If people stopped speeding and just stuck to the limit, no revenue would be generated by speed cameras, and they'll be taken down. Its that simple. Stop speeding and the cameras won't bother you. In fact, they'll dissapear. You could say that by speeding, you are wasting the government's money by encouraging them to put up speed cameras.

 

By the way, an extra 5-10mph is about another 25000J of kinetic energy for a ~1 tonne vehicle, which is big enough to change the outcome of a collision with a pedestrian or other vehicle. If a car hits you at 10mph you'll know about it.

[Drunken Monkey]

yes, i'll admit that the simple answer to this is to simply obey speed limits.

 

BUT

 

it is kinda hard to stomach when you know aht the speed limits are out of date by about 30 years.

 

that is what i am trying to say.

 

the limits are out-dated and the laws are out-dated and the reasons for the use of speed cameras are suspect and the actual use of the money gained from speed fines is suspect.

 

like i say, ok, lets use cameras and the fines to help pay for better roads, better lighting on roads, better public transport etc etc.

 

AND lets have all road users obey the same rules.

 

if you're going to fine one particular group of users then why not fine all groups.

 

cyxlists shouldn't cross lanes without indicating/looking, shouldn't ride on pavement, shouldn't run traffic lights.

 

let them pay road tax, insurance, have some sort of test maybe....