Box Brownie Inc (Speed Cameras and Speed Limits)

Member Name: forrest

Product:	Speed Cameras and Speed Limits
Date:	08/08/01 (97 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Save lives in the right place

Disadvantages: Devious , Money making idea

Well the first point I guess to make about speed cameras is that the police have taken the concept of hiding under the hood of the old camera and managed to hide 8ft tall grey metal boxes from the unsuspecting motorist. A skill I reckon Paul Daniels would be proud of. But is this the right way to stop speeding?

I guess on the plus side it catches the person who is going too fast because they don?t have time to brake. The problem is that it only catches someone once and then they are aware of the camera. The other problem is the driver who sees it too late but still decides by slamming on their brakes that they can get away with it, much to the annoyance and danger of the driver behind.

So if they are put where people can see them does it work as a deterrent? Well yes it does, we have all been behind the wheel or behind a car that slows to a varying degree as they approach the camera and then turn into Michael Schumaker as soon as they are past the tell tale white lines in the road. The problem is that not all the cameras work. What is the point of having a paid for box when it is sitting there idle.

That leads me nicely onto the next problem?the white lines. Forget whether the driver can see or not see the camera, if they are looking at the road they can sure as hell see the row of white lines painted there to catch them. Some of the newer cameras have infra red beams and a single line in the road, by the time you have reached the line, that?s it.

Newer cameras are designed to average your speed over a set distance. Nice idea but there are a couple of flaws with this approach:

1. They are only used on motorways, what about the more apparent dangers of speeding in a town where there are pedestrians, who can be killed by a speeding motorist. At least on a motorway it is a vehicle against a vehicle.

2. It anticipates that the driver will travel the distance between the two points at least. If the cameras are too clo
se together it will create a bottleneck as people drive within the limit. If too far apart people will get wise and change their route.

3. If people become wise to the location it can only serve to move the drivers from the motorways back onto the A and B roads, where there are less cameras.

4. The new cameras are designed to take a picture from the front of the car and transmit this to the DVLC Directly so that the drivers details can be held and the picture displaying the driver can be used as evidence. This is in my opinion the biggest flaw?.. Motorbikes!!!!! As pointed out by a friend of mine, they do not have a number plate at the front, so it would appear that the cameras are there merely to catch the unsuspecting car driver. Isnt this a little unfair as most motorcyclist get to their location a lot quicker, even if there is a traffic jam as they can ride between cars (yes I am a bit jealous here)

Okay so people say that the camera is there to stop the driver speeding and make it safer for all. They are there to uphold the speed limit. If this is the case why are they not set at 1mph over the speed limit for the area? It is because it is legal to drive up to 10% over the displayed limit, 55 in 50 zone, 77 in a 70mph area. The only exception to this appears to be where there are road works and the mobile cameras have been used. Which I guess is to protect the workmen (when they are there?).

Another point is that cars have improved both their safety and their braking to such a degree that most cars are able to stop within half the documented stopping distances of the highway code. The only reason cars take so long to stop is the driver and their reaction time. Most people drive to their own abilities, only a few idiots think they are racing drivers and the cameras are not going to stop them. If cars are that much safer why do we need to have so many controls on the faster roads. People call for the speed limits to be increase
d but I do not think this is the best action as people will always brake them, just don?t be so tough on the regular driver, target those who are a threat and driving with total disregard for any laws.

The final point to my argument is that the cameras are mostly on motorways and act as a money making function, more than a speed regulation device. I heard on the news last night that there are plans to move the cameras to accident black spots, this I cannot agree with more, but at the same time look forward and think of what impact this will have. It could potentially move the black spot elsewhere, a bit like sweeping it under the carpet for someone else to deal with.

If the cameras are making that much money, how about investing some of it into hospitals to help those that are hurt by the careless motorist instead of the driver just seing it being used against them.

I am all for saving lives on the road, but do it properly without trying to dupe the driver.

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