Speed Cameras; A Stealth Tax On Innocent Motorists? (Speed Cameras and Speed Limits)

Member Name: splodgethecat

Product:	Speed Cameras and Speed Limits
Date:	17/08/01 (41 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cameras save lived, Proven statistics, Effective in reducing death and injury

Disadvantages: Some feel it's just to get revenue

Right, now I’ve got your attention!

Many motorists have become extremely vociferous since the introduction of speed cameras. “Why aren’t they out catching criminals instead of fining drivers?”, or “It’s just a way of taxing motorists more”.

I hear my darling son in law muttering something along these lines quite frequently. (This is the man, I might add, who has been done for speeding twice!)

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I don’t actually believe in the title I have used for this opinion, I‘m afraid. I just used it for attention getting purposes. ;-) Also, I am sure my viewpoint will not be popular with many, but it is my opinion, so here goes.

At just 35 mph you have twice as much chance of killing someone that you hit with a car than at 30 mph. The faster we drive, the less reaction time we have and the harder we hit. It’s not rocket science. It has been proven that in the many counties who undertook pilot schemes with speed cameras, that deaths and serious injuries were reduced by around 50%. In some areas it was up to 60%. Drivers speeding at camera sites fell from 55% to a mere 16%. In a nutshell, speed cameras save lives.

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Recently, the government encouraged the police force to introduce thousands more cameras around the country. The revenue from catching speeding motorists however, according to recent new regulations, is to be put back into funding more cameras or maintaining older ones. Many motoring organisations, plus a large chunk of the general public, have of course welcomed this, my self amongst them. However, some drivers are still of the mindset that the cameras are simply a revenue generating system. Because of this, some police forces are reluctant to introduce more cameras, simply because they feel it might turn motorists against the police.

Surely though, if these speed cameras reduce deaths and injury, why all the hullabaloo
? Those who *don’t* speed have nothing to fear. I suspect it’s the people who break the law on a regular basis who are the ones doing the complaining. At the present time you have to be doing 41 mph in a 30 mph limit to get a ticket anyway. However, under new rules, this could be lowered to around 35 mph.

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The new regulations state that cameras should be visible and well signed, they should only be erected at sites shown to have the greatest casualties, there must also have been proven speeding problems at a site in the past and they must not be used for political or money making purposes. Personally, I don’t see any problems with this at all. I, of course, don’t speed though!

My view is apparently echoed by many others. According to Richard Brunstrom, the Chief Constable of North Wales, the force has had more letters from people wanting more cameras, than from those complaining of the fixed penalties.

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However, the introduction of more and more cameras does bring into question other aspects. I feel that there has perhaps been a reduction in the number of traffic police since their introduction. Maybe I’m wrong, but traditional traffic policing does seem to be in a decline. Speed cameras are great for catching motorists who are breaking the speed limit, but of no use whatsoever for catching criminals in possession of stolen goods, tailgaters or drink drivers.

Also, apparently many drivers are wrongly fined for speeding every year because of speed camera errors. The AA states that both computer error and human mistakes in processing data has meant there has been somewhat of an increase in the numbers of drivers wrongfully accused of speeding. However, although about a million fixed penalty notices are issued every year, the AA does concedes that the ones issued in error are a tiny minority.

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Still, taking all this into account, I still feel that
the cameras are a good thing. If they are well signposted and easy to see, they are not tricking anyone. They are giving speeders fair warning to slow down. Those who ignore these clues and continue to break the speed limit therefore deserve to get fined. Drivers who stay within the limit have nothing really to fear .... as I have said to my son in law on a couple of occasions!

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