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Big Brother is Watching

3K views 15 replies 12 participants last post by  Kelvyn 
#1 ·
Item on our local television news last night in Kent - speed cameras hidden in catseyes are being trialled in this area. There was a former traffic cop extolling the virtue of covert cameras so everyone would be forced to drive withing the the speed limit for any particular stretch of road.

There was also an interesting programme several weeks back which highlighted the fact that many speed restriction signs are invalid as they do not conform to the prescribed format given in the Road Traffic Act for example if the sign has one of those yellow highlight boarders surrounding it it is not legal and that in fact most local authorities in the country were guilty of complacency in using them. Also applies to parking restrictions where many road markings do not conform either.

Mike
 
#2 ·
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There was also an interesting programme several weeks back which highlighted the fact that many speed restriction signs are invalid as they do not conform to the prescribed format given in the Road Traffic Act

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There's absolutely chapter and verse on this - very useful - at the ABD site:

http://www.abd.org.uk/

You have to click 'Speed Limits' then 'Speed Limit Signing Requirements'.
 
#4 ·
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There is, of course, a very easy way round all of this!

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That would, of course be not to speed in the first place!

I would note that the speed limit is LAW and therefore breaking the law is a criminal offence. Speed limit is criminal law as distinct from Civil Law. Whilst I do not agree with penalising anyone who inadvertently breaks the law by accident or by a few miles per hour occasionally, my opinion is that anyone who breaks the law consistently deserves to ultimitely be punished as the law prescribes.

I am not totally in agreement with the present use of traffic cameras or the Politically Correct "safety partnerships" who are by and large out to just rip the motorist off BUT it is the law and should be enforced.

I live on a main road with a 60mph limit although sections of the road are not safe to drive at this speed. Every year there are 2-3 major crashes on a 5 mile stretch of this road and a fatality approximately every 18 months. The road was closed three times in 2005 for 3 - 4 hours on each occasion to allow for major accidents to be cleared away. If the installation of speed cameras on this section cuts the number of deaths, injuries and accidents on this road then I am in favour.

Also, our local petrol station has experienced a large number of drive away incidents by cars with false or stolen numberplates. On this basis I am happy to have ANPR systems installed too.
 
#5 ·
No one is suggesting or condoning speeding but considering the number of motorists who have been issued with a fixed penalty notices and points for being marginally over a limit, the fact that for many locations cameras have been placed not to improve road safety but to raise cash for camera partnerships and the fact that the Government is now backtracking with the installation of new cameras, the use of covert cameras is not the answer. As stated recently in another item on traffic mangement on television, a better solution is better road design which artificially tricks a driver into driving at a speed suitable for the road conditions and hence reduces their speeds. I would be far happier if the visible police presence on the roads that has diminshed with cameras was re-introduced to deal with some of the appalling examples of driving we meet on the roads everyday. One camera system I do consider works well is where average speed is monitored along for example a set of roadworks which creates a safe environment for both the driver and the staff working on site. In Kent recently signs have been attached to Gatso's stating "Camera's work - 37% reduction in accidents" - what it doesn't state is of how many accidents and over what period so a relatively unhelpful piece of information - not only that but potentially another piece of distracting information at a site where a camera has supposedly been put because it was an unsafe piece of road?

Mike

Mike
 
#7 ·
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Cameras in 'cats eyes' a very bad idea on a single carriageway road. Imagine the number of morons who will habitually & deliberately drive over them, in attempt to destroy, and crash, head on as they travel along the middle of the road.

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I suspect the catseye cameras will be pretty immune to this, just like ordinary catseyes. The guts of the mechanism will be buried.
 
#8 ·
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I would note that the speed limit is LAW and therefore breaking the law is a criminal offence. Speed limit is criminal law as distinct from Civil Law.

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Not so sure.

Except for the most serious of offences e.g. drink driving, causing death by dangerous driving, you do not get a criminal record for being convicted of a motoring offence, nor do you have to declare them for disclosure purposes.
 
#9 ·
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my opinion is that anyone who breaks the law consistently deserves to ultimately be punished as the law prescribes.


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That's very big of you to say so Comical, would you include yourself in this category???

My own opinion is that there is a case for punishing inappropriate speed, but that it is not an absolute issue, hence my general contempt for speed cameras. I would prefer more policemen who can exercise some judgement about a person's driving. Sometimes people can be dangerous below the speed limit as well.

That said, cameras in genuine black spots that are well-signposted (ie specific to that site, not the stretch of road as a whole) are a good thing. They focus people's attention, where it matters most. The A43 between M1 & M40 is a good example.
 
#10 ·
I think the speed limits are all screwed up. Where I live a guy took his bosses car and pranged it across a central reservation killing a oncoming pensioner.
What did they do? - they changed the speed limit from 50 to 70!

We have country lanes with 60Mph limits - I can barely get to fifty until I have to slow then it goes to 30 and 20 mph in parts - it is all screwed up! They should be 40mph, max 50mph.

They should make the motorways 80mph, 20mph in front of schools and 30mph in residential areas. I don't think speed kills - it's dangerous drivers, stupid road design, tired drivers and blackspots and other things that kill.Not just speed.

The Police should spend more time weeding out the idiots rather than catching out motorists with speed cameras. There are loads of sites that have cameras - but there are no signs to tell you what speed you should be driving!

I think every speed camera should have a speed sign infront of it - so drivers know the correct speed for that road.

I got caught by a speed camera on a very steep hill on snake pass. The Camera was hidden behind a tree on probably one of the steepest hills - I was rolling down to save petrol.

I think speed cameras should be stopped and camera's be put in local council and government offices monitoring how much tax payers money is wasted. And wasting tax payers money whould become a crime. The prisons would then be full of bureaucrats! Best place for them! The money saved could raise 100 times of what speed cameras could raise - then speed camera's should be abolished! My 2p
 
#12 ·
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I see the RAC are calling for all Gatso's to be de-activated after a motorcyclist proved that although clocked at 46 MPH (I think) he was actually only doing 18 MPH and they are stating they cannot be acurately relied upon.

Mike

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Apparently the radar was confused by reflections from a bus going in the opposite direction. This could have set up all sorts of lovely interference patterns - a little like the jamming pods on military aircraft. I believe they emit all sorts of false returns to make it appear the aircraft is somewhere else/moving in a different direction etc. Anyone work for a breakers yard specialising in ex-RAF gear?

" According to our records sir, you were driving backwards at 85mph down isle four in Tescos."

The downside of unreliable Gatsos is the eventual forced carrying of sealed gps gear to check our speed in a rather more insideous way. It could be on it's way folks...
 
#14 ·
Re: Big Brother is Watching - You aint seen nothin yet

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The downside of unreliable Gatsos is the eventual forced carrying of sealed gps gear to check our speed in a rather more insideous way. It could be on it's way folks...

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Presumably fitted to new cars at manufacture rather than retro fitted to older cars. Maybe we will see a rise in second hand car prices?.....

Mike
 
#16 ·
Re: Big Brother is Watching - You aint seen nothin yet

It will be interesting to see the wording of the official statement from the relevant authorities saying that "covert" cats eye cameras aren't being used as revenue earners.
Perhaps they will make them yellow like the camera boxes so we can spot them.
Like most people I have no issues with cameras sited at known black spots, there they serve a useful role, even if people slow down only as they pass the camera, that could make the difference between safety and not.
Speed cameras sighted properly will hopefully reduce reckless speeding but what the camera doesn't catch is the reckless driver (and in my opinion there seem to be an alarming amount around). As has been said so many times before its possible to do really stupid and dangerous things well within the legal speed limit.
What we also need are more police patrol officers, better road design and possibly even a review of the licensing laws (not the alcohol one ). Maybe we should have to re-take our driving test at regular intervals (like we have to renew our passports). Certainly I think that anyone who is banned from driving for ANY reason should have to sit a re-test before being allowed behind the wheel unsupervised.
 
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