Safe Speed Forums

So which part of my post do you disagree with then? Do you have/need to break the speed limit?

It is possible to keep to the limit rigidly but doing so requires a large chunk of one's available concentration, reducing safety. For example, looking away from the road for 0.5 seconds adds the same to one's stopping distance as travelling 10mph faster.

No you don't have/need to break the speed limit.

Nor do you have to stick to the limit to drive safely.

Which is why cameras are viewed as a means of raising revenue rather than a tool for Road Safety.

It shouldn't be about 'what the law says'. It should be about 'what makes the roads safer'.

Speed cameras are NOT making the roads safer. The main Safe Speed website analyses the data and explains how and why this is taking place.

Start reading this brief (but dense) 3,500 word summary if you're really interested:
http://www.safespeed.org.uk/againstcameras.html

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Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

you sados really have nothing better in your pathetic little lives...
grow up and live.
cars kill people. roads kill everything else.
go fuck yourselves.
we will be protesting against you- be sure of that.

Well Paul, we have a right one here, don't we?

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'The normally careful and competent actions of a reasonable person should be considered legal, regardless of the letter of statute'

Rioman, Herts

oooeeer, better hide. 'we' are coming.

Alcohol kills
Tobacco kills
Drugs kill
Greasy breakfasts kill
Guns (in the wrong hands) kill

off you silly little !


PS
Learn correct syntax as well, you good for nothing ignoramus!

[edited by moderator: there's no need to sink to their level]

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What makes you think I'm drunk officer, have I got a fat bird with me?

I was hoping to have a reasoned debate about this but.....

However, I agree with SCE that you dont have to drive at the speed limit to drive safely and in some places round where I live you could not even stay on the road at the max speed permissible.

As for Zamzara, I would say that an experienced driver would have a pretty good idea what 30, 40 etc feels like and then use the speedo as a check.

But, at the end of the day, we all should know what the speed limit of the road we are on, I admit, sometimes in an area I am not familiar with i've missed the sign/s, so i err on the side of caution.

Sometimes I don't know why the speed limit is what it is. Where I live, a road that used to have a 60mph limit on it, now is 40 and in places is 30. Don't ask me why, I don't understand it, but I dont intend to contribute to their fund so I don't speed.

Yeah I would agree with most of that Colin. But having a rough idea what speed you are doing is not really enough with scameras, you need to be certain you are under the limit or you will be quickly banned. Particularly above 50mph I would find it very hard to judge my speed *in mph* by eyeball alone. However, I always know *how long* it will take me to stop and drive at a safe speed based on the space around me. Checking the speedo is nothing but a distaraction and contributes nothing to my driving.

Up until a few years ago it was generally easy to figure out what the speed limit was just from the character of the road.
This is no longer the case. There's ever-increasing instances of completely daft limits - limits which bear absolutely no relationship to the character of the roads in question, and quite clearly have nothing whatsoever to do with safety.
I've seen many instances of almost motorway-grade rural dual carriageways with 40 or even 30 limits on them. WTF is that all about?

Why should drivers be placed in such an untenable position?

Cheers
Peter

The simple fact is that there are times when it is safer to accelerate away from a situation, possibly temporarily breaking the speed limit, to preserve safety. Imagine driving at a steady 70mph on the motorway when you realise the person behind is gaining extremely fast. You can either let them drive in the back of you or accelerate into a space to allow you to manoeuvre. Trouble is, when you accelerate to steer clear of the situation you go through a fixed speed trap at 80mph and get a ticket.

Situation 2 - you're driving in a 30mph zone, at around 28mph. You are naturally watching the road, the pedestrians and the like to ensure you don't get caught out by a situation developing. In the meantime your speed has drifted up to 35mph before you notice and take corrective action. This is safer than driving at a rock-steady 30mph watching the speedo rather than the road, but gets you a ticket for your troubles.

Situation 3 - you're an 18-year-old moron driving a knackered XR3i, showing off to your mates. You're tanking it through town at 57mph despite the 30mph limit. Knowing where the fixed cameras are you slam on the brakes, drive through at exactly 30mph then burn away in a squeal of rubber. According to the speed camera you are a safe driver.

Funny, my car hasn't killed anyone. If you want to protest try weaving through the protest traffic on the M4 - let's face it, the speed cameras don't catch stupid driving. Just don't break the speed limit, right?

Oh EXCELLENT!

Are you a typical representative of the people who support speed cameras? If you are, I have questions...

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Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

You're welcome to a reasoned debate. You could start by responding to my post above at 7:50 today (21st April).

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Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

Couldn't resist that! Just been on their site!

May the M4 protest be the first of many!

I am unable to make this but will be up for similar action in the near future. A good idea for the protest would be to do 56 on the M4, then loop round onto the A4 for a return journey - repeat this a few times. Certainly the prospect of cameras on that stretch will make me consider the A4 if I need to go that way!

I would love to take part, but sadly it's a bit far away for me. However you can be assured of having my absolute support in this farce that the scammers call 'Road Safety'.

Perhaps I could do my own bit, by driving at 30mph on our local bypass that was recently dropped from NSL to 50mph, and is now crawling with mobile camera units!

personally i completely agree with this protest, i find i spend as much time looking at my speedo in 30 areas than i do looking out for pedestrians and lights etc etc speed cameras are nothing more than a bloody curse

In the style of the ABD banners... I have a low res of this from some random website,, but I've reworked it at a higher resolution... I'm sure the ABD won't mind.

If anyone wants to make a banner, I have a REALLY high resolution version if you PM me!

There's a high resolution version of the 'official' M4 protest logo at:

http://www.safespeed.org.uk/~protest/logohi.gif

This logo may be used freely - including in publications for profit.

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Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety