Smile for the camera - NOT! (Speed Cameras and Speed Limits)

Member Name: Technical Tobes

Product:	Speed Cameras and Speed Limits
Date:	07/10/00 (667 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Money for the authority, More money for the authorities, And yet more money for the authorities

Disadvantages: Read on...

● UPDATED: 13/08/2001 ●

Well, I’ve updated this opinion to be more in depth and reflect my more recent thinking on the matter, here goes...


In a change of style since the last incarnation of this opinion, I’ve decided to make 5 bold statements & then back them up (or at least try to!)...



◦◊◦ ● THE BOLD STATEMENTS! ● ◦◊◦
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●1● Speed camera’s DO NOT prevent, or, to a lesser degree, deter motorists from speeding.
●2● Speed cameras CAN NOT be DIRECTLY related with the reduction in road deaths.
●3● Speed limits ARE, in general, TOO LOW.
●4● Britain’s roads are actually becoming MORE DANGEROUS.
●5● Speed camera popularity IS FALLING to an all time low.


Okay, that’s the bold statements, here is the backup or justification if you like...



◦◊◦ ● STATEMENT 1 ● ◦◊◦
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>>> Speed camera’s DO NOT prevent, or, to a lesser degree, deter motorists from speeding. <<<

You are driving in 40 zone doing 50mph, you see a speed camera ahead so you slow down for it, make sure that you’re doing 40mph during that conveniently white line painted speed trap section, then speed back up to 50mph again. This is what just about everyone does either all the time or at least sometime in their driving career.

The speed camera successfully managed to make you adhere to the speed limit for approximately 200 metres. A worthy investment? If there were about 10 million speed camera’s then, yes, they would stop people speeding!

The very idea that a handful of speed camera’s dotted around the place is going to stop anyone bar Mr Sensible 2001 speeding for more than the few hundr
ed meters around the camera is absolutely ridiculous, I mean, come on!

But are they a deterrent? Well, to a small degree yes. There are many people, usually those new to the area, who upon seeing that speed camera sign will stick around to the speed limit. This is the hardcore sensible people who are familiar to the sound of roaring engines speeding past them and the odd middle finger salute. Good for them!



◦◊◦ ● STATEMENT 2 ● ◦◊◦
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>>> Speed cameras CAN NOT be DIRECTLY related with the reduction in road deaths. <<<

The above statement goes someway to justify this statement, since if speed camera’s do little to prevent motorists speeding, how can they help reduce road fatalities?!?

But, I feel a little more weight is needed to backup this statement...

Firstly, it’s widely been reported that road deaths have fallen by quite some margin in the last few years. I am not disputing this. Secondly, the number of speed camera’s in place has increased hugely over the last few years. I’m certainly not disputing that either!

It all boils down to good old statistics! I hold statistics with contempt as anyone can juggle results around to mean anything they want. By way of presenting facts you can if you so wish, create two statements based on the same results that mean the exact opposite of each other. Anyone wanting an example, just let me know!

You see, there are many other factors that can quite easily affect the road death toll figures, and each of the following, to me at least, carry a lot more weight than speed cameras...

Fact: Road congestion has dramatically increased in the last few years and is fast reaching, if not already, crisis point. There are far more traffic jams now than there were just a couple of years ago – and it’s getting worse. <
br>Fact: Cars stuck in traffic jams, be them stationary or slow moving, cannot kill people.

Fact: Traffic calming measures including speed bumps, chicanes and barriers – not to mention closing off roads and re-routing traffic have been introduced in great numbers over the last few years.
Fact: You cannot comfortably navigate through these obstacles with enough speed to kill someone.

These are just to of the bigger examples that better explain the decrease in road deaths, you could add more into the equation, such as people are driving more economically, thus slower, due to the increase in the price of petrol.

Basically it is pretty near technically impossible to calculate or rather, quantify the exact effect and particular statistic has on the number of road deaths and by excluding/including particular statistics from the equation you can come up with just about anything you want.

I would say that, yes speed cameras probably are in that equation, but only a small proportion. Of course, speed cameras have to be seen to be having a big impact to ensure there continued use and thus income for the authorities – hence the choice of statistic to advertise.



◦◊◦ ● STATEMENT 3 ● ◦◊◦
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>>> Speed limits ARE, in general, TOO LOW. <<<

Speed limits should be in place to indicate the maximum speed you can travel safely for the conditions of the road, taking into account general visibility, proximity and likely hood of pedestrians etc etc. A general limit is always needed, and we have 60mph for general roads, 70mph for motorways, with variations for lorries, dual carriage ways and so forth.

Firstly, and more obviously, 70mph on the motorway is too low, in fact statistically (!), you are the exception if you stick to this limit. In fact, this limit is so disregarded, even the police don’
t care until you start speeding around the 90/100mph+ mark! If you are in any doubt of this, why not try it out... drive down the motorway at 70mph, no more, and count how many time you get overtaken – it will be a lot! Further still, because so few people drive at or below 70mph, those that do frequently cause dangerous blockages on the motorways!

Secondly, 60mph on the main roads. Well, I think this is okay as a limit. Trouble is, just you try finding a road which still has this limit! Speed limits are coming down daily everywhere. In many case this is justified, but in many more it just seem s totally illogical. In my local area just recently, vast countryside roads have suddenly gone from 60mph to 50/40mph, sometimes even 30mph limits. Often there is not a house in sight, the roads are fairly straight and you can see for miles. Why?? Oh, no – hang on a minute, surprise surprise – look what is popping up in these new slow zones – speed cameras!

I drive down a road on my way to work, it’s a long straight road, a dual carriageway in places and has a footpath and cycle root offset several metres away from the crash barrier protected road – so why on earth is a 40 limit imposed, you could do a ton down this road and still stand no change whatsoever of killing anyone!

I think that ALL remote country roads should be left at the national speed limit, introducing speed limits serves no other purpose than to increase congestion, increase pollution and increase road rage.

There are places that could actually genuinely do with a speed limit imposed, not 5 miles from my house I go through a tiny village where the gates open directly on to the main road, the speed limit – 60mph!! And just around the corner, through empty countryside it’s 40mph!

Speed limits need to be set at REALISTIC speeds and IMPOSED as LIMITS. For example, the motorway limit should be set at 90mph, any
one doing just 1 or 2mph above that should be punished – fined and points on the license. Non of this 10%+3 bull, a limit should be a limit! Do this and the public may actually begin to respect and adhere to speed limits

I would go a step further and add that there should be minimum speeds also. Excessively slow drivers are themselves often more dangerous than those speeding, if only because of the road rage and dangerous overtaking manoeuvres they provoke.



◦◊◦ ● STATEMENT 4 ● ◦◊◦
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>>> Britain’s roads are actually becoming MORE DANGEROUS. <<<

This is an interesting one, but it’s true! While you are less likely to die on the roads today, you are much more likely to be injured, often seriously! Figures recently reported in my county showed a drop in road deaths but an increase in non-fatal road accidents.

Why might this be I ask myself?
Well, it is frequently mentioned on TV about road awareness, problems like ‘Are you a good driver’ do test where you have to spot potential hazards such as people crossing the roads, obstacles and distractions. The police have even condemned certain billboard adverts for distracting drivers resulting in more crashes.

So does it help that we drivers are now forced to weave in out of chicanes, squeeze through bottle necks, and negotiate hundreds of pedestrian crossings while observing countless signs. Well you don’t have to be a genius to work out that forcing drivers to perform complicating salaam courses is likely to decrease their awareness of pedestrians & cyclists do you?!?

As a keen bicycle rider, I am now terrified to ride my bike on most of the in town roads. The idea of a bottle neck maybe to get drivers to slow down – but they just don’t & they often don’t care if they have to squeeze past me on my b
ike to get through either. Chicanes and bottle necks are an absolute danger to cyclists.

The countless mini-roundabouts popping up where there just simply isn’t room for a roundabout is another danger, increasing the number of small shunts & bumps. Together with the ‘where there’s blame, there’s a claim attitude’ is resulting in soaring insurance costs.

Putting zebra crossings on roads which only a few weeks back used to be 40/50mph zones and expecting cars to simply instantly obey this new limit & notice the crossings is another stupidity.

Just a few weeks ago I saw a near death of a pedestrian – a toucan crossing that straddles 3 lanes just before a roundabout. Lorries were stopped in the outside and inside lane completely obstructing the red lights. A car passes straight through the middle, oblivious to the red lights narrowly missing the crossing pedestrian. The very though of putting crossing across 3 lanes right next to a big roundabout notorious for bumps & shunts is just plain madness!

Road layouts need to be as simple as possible; drivers should be spending more time looking out for pedestrians and cyclists than negotiating chicanes & near invisible mini-roundabouts.



◦◊◦ ● STATEMENT 5 ● ◦◊◦
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>>> Speed camera popularity IS FALLING to an all time low. <<<

It amuses me listening to TV/radio reports contradicting each other over the popularity of speed cameras.

TV stations recently started running reports that the public overwhelmingly support the use of speed cameras and the proposed introduction of thousands more. Meanwhile, the motoring organisations like the AA and RAC report exactly the opposite! Strangely, the results reporting on national TV came from the police force, while the AA & RAC actually asked motorists.

Been here before ha
ven’t I – it’s those statistics again! Ask the right people and you’ll get the right answer! Need I say more!



◦◊◦ ● CONCLUSION ● ◦◊◦
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Speed cameras are NOT the answer and only play a small part in reducing road deaths. The police force are fast loosing support from the general public and risk alienating themselves from the very people they reply on to help fight & solve crime.

Education and police presence is the name of the game. In reality, speeding is not a serious problem, speeding is used as an easy excuse for the cause of an accident when in reality driver error cause by poor or darn right dangerous driving skills is often the real cause. The public should use the crossings provided and the old green cross code brought back to life. More cycle routes should be installed and public transport improved. The driving test should be made realistic, thorough and brought up to date, and re-tests made compulsory, at certain ages.

At the end of the day, people who break the speed limit are not suddenly going to stop because a camera has popped up or a speed limit has been reduced. In fact drivers are tempted to driver quicker when the finally get some open road purely because of the frustration.

There will always be reckless drivers and there will always be accidents and deaths as a result. More often than not, the people who drive recklessly & cause accidents don’t care about the speed limit anyway – so what point does reducing it serve?

With the current thinking, we are going to end up trawling around at pathetic speeds everywhere, in fact surely train speeds should not exceed 30mph – their stopping distance is immense and they kill loads of people each year! A line has to be drawn somewhere, only it needs to be a realistic line.

Don’t get me wrong, I think
there should be speed limits and road safety should be a prime concern – I just don’t think it’s being tackled the right way.

Somehow, I think that road safety is no longer the motive behind the continued introduction of speed cameras and lower speed limits. I don’t think I am the only one with this view either. Am I?


Thanks for reading (well done! ;-)
Any comments welcomed, positive or negative!
T.Tobes

© 2001

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