Ahh, the lovely thing that is a speed camera! A very very hot topic indeed!
Lets face it, driving standards in England are terrible! You have people who never signal, people who drive very slow, some drive very fast, and some just cant drive to save their life and are a danger to everyone else on the roads!
I am going to give a balanced view of speed cameras firstly!
"I got caught speeding"
Oops! There would have been many signs saying that there are speed camera's, and they are all bright yellow/green
Speed limits are law, they are to be obeyed and are there for a reason!
If you didnt see the signs, the bright yellowness of the thing, nor didnt know what speed you were doing, what hope is there if a child were to run across the road? Think about that!
"They are just a revenue generator!"
So its 0300 and you are driving down an empty dual carriageway, its a 50mph limit zone, you are driving at 60 or 70. Is this going to cause an accident? Is this dangerous? I dont think so! During the day when its busy or wet ofcourse its a totally different matter!
However, we are still back to the whole "its the law" thing here and if you dont speed you wont get caught! This also links back to if you cant see them, then tuff! All very confusing isnt it!
"Does speeding along kill though?"
It is a factor isnt it, but what about drink drivers? dangerous drivers? unlicenced drivers? cars in dangerous condition? need I go on? Did I miss the government sticking cameras up everywhere that can catch these types of drivers or is it the fact that only police officers can catch these?
Speed camera's where there have been loads of accidents caused by speeding motorists - yeah go for it!
Speed camera's down a nice long straight stretch of road which has had no accidents - no.
There should be more invested in forces roads policing units and road crimes units as it is these that can make a huge difference when sorting out issues of road safety. A Speed Camera will flash you, you might not even notice so you dont know you have done wrong, where as getting pulled over and getting told why you have been stopped, you will learn a hell of a lot more from that experience whether or not you are given a ticket. More often than not, a telling off and lecture works wonders where as a ticket can make the driver feel resentful. Does a speed camera tell the difference between different weather conditions, times of day, etc etc? No!
I would also like to add by the way that I have a clean license and dont speed ever . . . ok thats a lie! I do have a clean license though and hope to keep it that way, but the way camera's are popping up everywhere it will become ridiculous and I no doubt will end up with some for being very very dangerous driving at 33 in a 30! Damn - lets hope the drunk drivers are going to get caught as frequently as minor speeders!
Anyway, a balanced view here so what do you all think then? Answers on a postcard :)
8 comments:
I currently have a clean license and have done since I got it 18 years ago.
The day I get caught by a speed camera is the day I give up caring about sticking to the speed limit. I find it more worthwhile to keep my eyes on the road getting ready for the kiddie to run out in front of me or the drunk to trip into the road than driving around with my eyes glued to the speedometer.
I'm not a spead freak - I do however stray 4-5mph over the speed limit but I'm ever conscious over my clean license. When this is tarred with points then I wont care any more.
If I get 12 points then hey ho - I'll walk thus saving the extortionate road tax, fuel tax, poor roads leading to premature wear on the car, unlicensed and uninsured drivers - we have been hit twice in the past 3 years and nothings ever been done by the police about those even though they caught the person who did it.
This country needs more "proper" police on the roads and less cameras. "Proper Coppers" can make the judgement that the speed is excessive for the conditions and I'm sure the "real" police wouldnt dream of giving a ticket to someone who was driving carefully but only 5mph over the speed limit.
Rant over !
Completely agree, the money should be spent on proper police that can use there brains, rather than a camera that doesn't know about road conditions etc.
If there is a straight, national speed limit road, in the dry, no danger points, etc, etc, why is there a hidden speed camera?, Oh to allow the govn to waste more money.
Listen to the police, not your brown-nosing poltical friends!
Sod speed cameras, I think we should bring back flogging for inappropriate use of the humble apostophe.
Plurals do not need them; bloody well learn to write your native tongue, you illiterate, before you seek to criticise your betters!
blame the blogger spell checker! Besides, this blog is not an English exam :)
To be honest, yeah it is a money making scheme... but you can hope this money made can be put back into policing, as opposed to Big Tonys back pocket.
But... as said... the law is the law... stick to it and you wont have to worry. why you need to travel at 35mph in a 30 limit?
I used to drive at 50 though the 40 in through my village... now I think... why? so i've dropped down to the limit or below... theres not need for it!
extraspecial, I would love to know what other countries you have been to if you think British driving is so terrible! My understanding is that we have one of the lowest accident rates in Europe, never mind the world. You should try living in Belgium!
I know that there are of course bad drivers here, and how many lives traffic accidents claim (including those of my cousin and his fiancee, some years ago), but I think you might get a different perspective if you step back a bit.
Totally agree with you on the last comment, thats what is worrying! I have been to most western european counties but not driven in them, but have observed very very bad driving and would agree that its worse than here.
Obviously though I dont know how their legal systems deal with such driving, that would be interesting to know though!
Another point is sadly we only really notice the bad drivers today as they stick out like a sore thumb!
lol speed camras are totally gay speeding ids cool and safe only gay drive at 30 lol!!!!!!!!111111111111111
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