Safe Speed Forums

East Anglian Daily Times EADT hereFear to use science is a sad day indeed. Fear to spend the time understanding properly ought to be a criminal offence when in office ... perhaps it already is ?

_________________
Safe Speed for Intelligent Road Safety through proper research, experience & guidance.

They're switching their cameras back on? One step forward, two steps back.

All of a sudden - reckon they have chickened out or been got at ! Great shame for road safety.

to Safe Speed.

_________________
Safe Speed for Intelligent Road Safety through proper research, experience & guidance.

Thank you for the welcome!

I thought they were a brave, forward thinking lot when they decided to switch the cameras off. I have always believed it would be interesting if it was done countrywide over a given period of time as an experiment just to see what impact decommissioning cameras, even if only temporarily, would have and always considered Suffolk to be a bit of a testing ground. Sad it looks as if they have indeed chickened out or bowed to pressure.

There was an interesting article in last week's MCN about how many camera sites in London were actually active. I am sure it has maybe been reproduced here, or something similar, but it was explaining how a lot of cameras in the capital (mainly the older, less cost effective Gatso-type) had either seemingly been abandoned entirely or been neglected to such an extent that they could no longer be used to secure a conviction (lines had not been repainted, foliage obscuring the lens etc.) but sadly this seems not so much to indicate a change of policy but a lack of funding and a preference for digital cameras over the more costly gatso. Not that I ever speed of course, but at least the gatsos are easier to spot. The lesser of two evils, if you will. The monitron type are about 20 feet in the air and a lot smaller which doesn't give you much of a fighting chance - neither do the lines that are painted either side of the lane - the old-style central markings were easier to identify.

I can't remember if it was in print or on the telly box but I do remember one of I believe it to be Safe Speeds' representatives calling for decommissioned or inactive cameras to have bags on them. Pity that wasn't a legal requirement. The only road I have seen with this is the A13 and that is sadly as they have introduced a specs average speed system. Shame those in charge view cameras, even when not operational, as such an effective road safety measure. They are dangerous enough when live, without having people braking hard at the last minute for empty boxes. I wonder how many collisions those empty boxes have been responsible for?

The unused figure was around 53% but as many counties have been turning them off this will rise over the next year.
The Gatso is cheaper than the mobile units that often cost around £100K to kit out the van.
Yes I have certainly called for covers for speed cameras during several radio interviews, for all speed cameras that are unused, as otherwise they continue to create the paranoia in motorists, and teach that a numeric value is more important than good road observation and travelling at an appropriate speed for the conditions.

I regularly call for the removal of all speed cameras static and mobile units, although Police using devices to immediately stop people and apply appropriate & proportionate enforcement is sensible.
I also call for more well trained police officers to patrol and serve the public as they ought.
When funds are short the Country needs to rely on it's best known assets and that is through good quality Police patrols.
This will slowly help to restore the public's faith in the Police and the Court system, nothing else can ! The rift is massive and it must be addressed.

The Vehicle Activated Signs - VAS are good as they remind motorists of their speed, and as they do not threaten their licences or livelihoods produce no panic braking or sudden change, but encourage good behaviours and act as a sensible 'reminder'.

Might I assume that you are located in the vicinity of Suffolk?

_________________
Safe Speed for Intelligent Road Safety through proper research, experience & guidance.

It really shows the authorities' blind faith in the speed camera that they continue to believe in them as an effective means of road safety even when inactive. I'm personally glad the gatso is the cheaper option to the mobile unit. In as far as such a thing could ever be deemed safe, it is at least safer than the mobile units which I am not a fan of. At least with a fixed position camera you can either use local knowledge, a GPS-based warning system or simply make sure you are driving well within the speed limit, watching out for camera signs and limit changes (the latter, as you have suggested, is not a safe way to drive - speed being, as the government have admitted in their own studies, a negligible factor in accidents when contrasted with inattention and otehr factors, which looking out for cameras and signs and constantly checking your speed certainly promotes). I have no problem with appropriate law enforcement tactics (again, not just relying on speed as a determining factor for prosecution, but whether it was used appropriately and how the person was driving. To believe that exceeding the limit automatically makes you a danger is ridiculous) but the mobile units are just another form of speed detection and prosecution. Having a trained person cowering in the back of a van with a speed gun really just seems a waste of resources. Most people who get caught will pose no danger to themselves or other people whatsoever. That would be my opinion anyway.

Unfortunately for years now we have been abused by the people we entrust power to not served by them. They have sought to vilify the motorist and create an almost hysteria driven system of punitive measures which prove highly lucrative but erode respect for the law and politicians. I agree, police applying appropriate and proportional enforcement is sensible. As long as they base it on more than just the speed at which a person was riding/driving - unless that speed was totally inappropriate - 90 outside a school for example would be indefensible. I also agree that well trained, fair-minded coppers with a good grasp of common sense who seek to educate and serve the public are invaluable and that all a camera or certain police policies at the moment can ever do is alienate the general public.

How do you feel about redlight cameras by the way? Personally, I don't think they will ever match up to a police officer with the powers of reason, who can discern a genuine mistake from a reckless endangerment of other road users and act accordingly. They can also be placed on confusing light systems where it is often easy, if not familiar with the set up, to find yourself in danger of going through a red. I mean, I can't be the only person in the world who has accidentally gone through a redlight. Hasn't happened very often but it has happened. Human error. No one was ever endangered, I hasten to add.

I believe there is evidence to show that VAS systems do actually work. Plus anything that doesn't cause, as you say, fear and paranoia over licence and livelihood or inadvertent braking but a gentle reminder has to be far more positive than the cameras.

Oh and no I am not from Suffolk. I split my time between London and the cun'ree soide

I just keep an eye out for developments in the on-going war with those out to take our money under the pretence of road safety and thought that Suffolk was a positive step in the right direction.