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Councillors in Swindon have voted to stop funding the town's speed cameras, stating that new measures were needed as road deaths and injuries had begun to rise, even though police said the cameras had helped to cut accidents.
So... Are speed cameras essential for keeping road accident levels down, bad because they make people simply slow down for a moment then go quicker once they've passed them? Are they a good use of tax payers money or is the government ripping us off, considering they don't even have active cameras in most of the camera boxes? Could it even be that the flashes from speed cameras are actually causing more accidents than preventing them, by temporarily blinding people as they drive past...
So... Are speed cameras essential for keeping road accident levels down, bad because they make people simply slow down for a moment then go quicker once they've passed them? Are they a good use of tax payers money or is the government ripping us off, considering they don't even have active cameras in most of the camera boxes? Could it even be that the flashes from speed cameras are actually causing more accidents than preventing them, by temporarily blinding people as they drive past...
What do you think?
I was once told by a very clever instructor that "driving is a constant process of decision making" I have had a clean license for 43 years now and driven long distances in many countries therefore I could not care less about speed cameras.
I do however shudder at the mentality (abnormal) behaviour and decisions made by others when driving so anything that gets these potential killers off the road is okay in my book. As for Swindon Council, they have made a decision they'll regret and having lived in Wiltshire, nothing surprises me with their councillors
Speed cameras are a waste of time, money and resources the only thing that is more stupid is speed bumps as all they do is destroy my car.
all cameras do is make people brake and speed up erratically and lead to more accidents.
More police is what is required and sorting out those idiots that drive without licences, tax, insurance. That would cut down the accidents.
Yep i agree, one speed camera had to be taken down by me because it HAD cause so many accidents! Same with bumps just make people speed up and slow down....
I think there should be more ANPR (automatic number plate recignition) patrol units on the roads, catching vehicles that arnt taxed or insured or people with licenses, these are the people that are costing the country millions of pounds each year.
I think swindon have made a great decision, I think more training should be given to normal car drivers.
Bikers have "bikesafe" which is run by the police, which is a two day course, consists of class learn theory and then going out for dies with the police biker, who will then give you tips etc when you go back to the class room.
It usually costs around 80 90 quid, and can bring down your insurance, its a pity cars dont have the same sort of thing.
I think swindon have made a great decision, I think more training should be given to normal car drivers.
I hope you're not talking about sticking the training costs on Council Tax Payers If these plonkers can't make the right decisions on the road regarding Position, Speed and Gear of their cars then no amount of training is going to change their dullard brains
hence why seeing a great big yellow speed camera causes the same ignorant morons to cause accidents by dramatically changing speed when they notice one at the side of the road while they are doing 3 times the speed limit overtaking a line of traffic and squeezing back in to make sure they don't get a ticket.
The other cameras (average speed checks) are even worse as then you get plonkers in both lanes going at 40mph in a 50mph so you cant get past at the correct speed. 15 miles of going 10mph below the speed limit is infuriating.
Pull them all down and sort the real criminals out instead...
When I travel from my hometime to Leeds which I often do I go through North Yorkshire, into West Yorkshire.. the difference?
As far as I am aware and as far as I know North Yorkshire has no speed camera's anywhere. And (I haven't got any quotes in front of me but..) I believe that crash statistics are well below national average. Hop over the county border and you have a different story...
One particular point that sticks in my mind is a dip just before you enter Leeds coming from York, its a 50mph road, quite busy and a straight line (I can't see it being an accident blackspot without the camera). People come down the hill at 50, probably creep upto 60 (they are going downhill) then spot the camera and slam on to usually and almost every time to around 35-40mph. This not only is erratic driving, but also causes a backlog for any traffic leaving (or entering) Leeds <-> York.
Contrast that to the A64 inside North Yorkshire where there are no speed camera's and traffic flows freely and easily.
In my eyes, and as a new driver (only been driving 10months) they are useless and in most cases I wreckon they cause more accidents that prevent. (Throw in the fact that apparently 75% of all speed camera's nationwide are infact disabled then it is a case of, what is the point of them?)
I also echo more ANPR cameras. There is no reason why we cant replaced the Camera's inside Speed Camera's with ANPR cameras ? Surely that would be more productive...
I understand the need for them in accident black spots and the like but when they put them on roads with a good safety record then it's not about safety anymore and feels like a blatant cash grab. I would love to see 90% of them removed personally. Hate them.
i think regular speed cameras are bad, but those smart ones are good. them ones that record your number plate at one point, then records it again like 5 miles down the road then looks at the time n works out the average speed u were going
cos there does need to be a way to slow people down =P
They wouldn't be so bad if there was any logic behind them. There are so many in places thats really not needed but then on blackspots it takes so many fatalities to get them to take notice to put one up!! Odd way of thinking really.
The other cameras (average speed checks) are even worse as then you get plonkers in both lanes going at 40mph in a 50mph so you cant get past at the correct speed. 15 miles of going 10mph below the speed limit is infuriating.
I've only ever seen these used on motorways, and being forced to do 20 mph below the speed limit for miles on end is also quite infuriating.
Reckon you're on to something with the more police bods, and the ANPR gizmos. Speed cameras are little more than a money maker for the police, which is why they're painted yellow now afaik.
I've only ever seen these used on motorways, and being forced to do 20 mph below the speed limit for miles on end is also quite infuriating.
Reckon you're on to something with the more police bods, and the ANPR gizmos. Speed cameras are little more than a money maker for the police, which is why they're painted yellow now afaik.
Actually NONE of the money from cameras go to the police, it goes to the government and the safety camera partnership. I think the money would be better used in funding the police, are put towards roads policing. Would mean more patrols, more ANPR units, and safer roads.
South Wales Police has even cut its motorway patrols as it hasnt got the money to do it! Its insane!
Actually NONE of the money from cameras go to the police, it goes to the government and the safety camera partnership. I think the money would be better used in funding the police, are put towards roads policing. Would mean more patrols, more ANPR units, and safer roads.
South Wales Police has even cut its motorway patrols as it hasnt got the money to do it! Its insane!
Ah, my bad. I vaguely remember reading something a while back about speed cameras being made more noticeable (yellow paint) so that the fines collected as a result of them catching speeding motorists could be used by the police. Perhaps that never was the case, or perhaps that changed. Don't really know, since I can't recall where my memory of this came from...
Perhaps using the fines to fund more motorway patrols would be a good use of the money, would probably mean we'd nab more incompetent bastards who shouldn't be on the roads and speeding idiots.
The cameras are set up to take the photo from the rear
Ow, I thought you were talking about them 'tin cops' that measure speed just before the box and take a photo from front if you were speeding. And sadly they're doing beta testing here in Finland with the cameras that read your plates and measure average speed between two points... They're buying the technology from UK.
Ow, I thought you were talking about them 'tin cops' that measure speed just before the box and take a photo from front if you were speeding. And sadly they're doing beta testing here in Finland with the cameras that read your plates and measure average speed between two points... They're buying the technology from UK.
The mobile units who do take your speed from infront of you will make a note of your number plate as you go past the van. Though my friend thought it was a 40 when it was a 30 going past a van and didnt get done, so I think they just didnt take a note of his number plate or didnt catch him properly.
the front pointy ones are much easier to fool and need a much longer stretch of road to measure an offence overtaking a stood vehicle can cause the reading to fail so they probably didn't get the right amount of distance to give a ticket
The government some time ago admitted that speed cameras were a cash generation idea rather than a road safety idea.
The fact of the matter is that deaths caused from high speed account for 4% of deaths on the road, by far the najority of deaths are caused by drunk/drug driving.
Speed cameras are good in the right place and only if they are mobile not static in my opinion.
Speed Cameras, Good or Bad?
If these plonkers can't make the right decisions on the road regarding Position, Speed and Gear of their cars then no amount of training is going to change their dullard brains 
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