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Speed Camera Rant
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Dave
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PostPosted: Sun Nov 23, 2003 11:35 pm    Post subject: Speed Camera Rant Reply with quote

Top Gear for the second week running has now discussed Speed Cameras around UK Roads, which means this is a topic that just isn't going to go away. Interestingly enough Richard Hammond showed the graph of how motoring convictions have increased up until 2001 (latest figures) but road deaths have stayed stagnant. One thing Richard and Jeremy did forget to mention is that there are more drivers on the road every year, so the fact that road deaths have remained stagnant means that effectively they have dropped, but not anywhere as near the UK Government would like you to believe.

Speed Cameras really are becoming the scourge of the british road, just like cockroaches are the scourge of kitchens, again like in other areas of today's society, the Government isn't happy at going all out for the people who are causing these accidents, no they go for the regular joe public, why ? Quite simply, it brings more money in. That money can be spent in other areas where taxes can be lowered (sorry what was that ?). Yeah, I don't believe it either. But it does go to help pay for times when the government aren't doing well and suddenly have very little money to spend and need to dig into their reserves.

Unfortunately the common motorist now is the criminal. Forget murders out there, rapists, child molesters, it's you and I that are the criminals. All because we're caught doing 33mph in a 30mph limit! I know a number of drivers, a few have been driving for 5 years and are either on the verge of losing their license, or will do soon if they get caught again. So if speeding is anything to go buy, the government want a quick money fix to bring in lots of cash when they need it the most, so what's going to happen in 10 years time ? Murderers aren't going to be convicted of Life Imprisonment. Oh no, they're going to be fined! Lets say, £5000, maybe £10000, maybe a little more, who knows. I'm very surprised the government hasn't gone into making jay walking illegal. Heck, think of the money spinner there!

What is today's society coming to ? Then again, this is from the same government that makes you pay a TV license to pay for the BBC when all other channels can support themselves quite easily in advertising revenue. Also a government that gives us a free national health service, but it takes over a year to have an operation in which time if your case was life threatening, you could have died.

The next 5 years are going to be the most critical for road users in England, we're going to see speed cameras at least quadruple, toll roads multiply by a factor of 10, all because it brings in revenue and to think that one of the entries I used to have listed on my CV as a past time is "...and I Like Driving". That has now been removed, it's not a pleasure to drive anymore, it's a chore, and there's a 9 out of 10 chance you're going to be fined for doing it!

What really annoys me is that frantically looking for speed cameras, police cars, safety camera partnership vans, speed limit signs means that most of us will now stray over the designated speed limit. I wonder how that will stack up in court ? Maybe that's going to be the next legal loop hole ?

[ RANT OFF] Now that's off my chest, what do you all make of this ?
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vicky
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PostPosted: Sun Nov 23, 2003 11:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I got caught by a local mbile camera, (I was doing 40 entering a 30 limit) from a National SPeed Limit Dual carraigeway where it narrowed to a nlge lane 30mph

I was slowing to 30mph from 70 on the dual carraigeway but was only at 40 when I passed the 30 sign where the camera was aimed,

I was offed the £50 and 3 points so took it,

1 month later I found that the speed camera site was illegal on 2 counts,

1: The Speed camera sign was incorrect
2: The camera was in the notts police area operated by the notts force, but the camera was aimed about 30ft over the county boder into Derbyshire, so they were technically catching speeders in the wrong county

I applied to have the fine and points quashed on this but was told as I had not gone to court and had accepted the Conditional offer I had no legal right to have the points removed or the fine refunded as I would have had if it had gone to court and been dealt with by them!

The whole system makes me sick!


Victoria
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Cessquill
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PostPosted: Mon Nov 24, 2003 10:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

If the facts about speeding related crimes and positioning of speed cameras were correct on Top Gear, then something is very wrong somewhere.

(I'll stop paying my £19 a month if Sky can subsidise themselves, but that's another completely different rant! Twisted Evil )
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mpooley
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PostPosted: Mon Nov 24, 2003 11:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I am exremely angry about these speed camera's !
I have been driving for 35 years and never had an accident nor any convictions. Till a couple of years ago when i was getting to the london end of the M11 where it narrows down to 2 lanes. I was prosecuted for doing 70mph in a 50mph zone.
I had never seen the speed limit sign at all and i still thought i was driving at the correct speed.
The next time i drove past i noticed the tiny 50mph sign on the edge of the road quickly followed by the camera round a bend.
This seems deliberate to me. If they really wanted people to slow down they would put up a sign that you could see!
I can only think that a lorry must have been in the inside lane and therefore blocking my view of the ludricrously small sign.

I spend most of my time looking out for little yellow boxes and checking my speedo just in case i drift over the limit now! which i think is far more dangerous than keeping my eyes on the road where they should be!
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Privateer
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PostPosted: Mon Nov 24, 2003 12:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I, like the vast majority of this county’s law-abiding motorists, don’t set out to speed. In fact I have a vehicle that won’t travel much faster than 70mph on a motorway, even if I wanted it to!

However I have a GPS detector, a radar/laser detector, and a Pocket PC running TTNav2 with Checkpoint and the latest version of the PocketGPS camera database. I run all of these devices so that I can concentrate on the job of driving and looking out for that child running out in front of me, whilst they (the devices) carry on with the job of warning me of speed traps.

Whilst I agree to sensibly positioned speed cameras (e.g. near schools) my own perception is that most cameras are sited for raising revenue rather than decreasing accidents.

Inappropriate speed can lead to accidents which in turn can kill, but I’d like the authorities to also consider other factors of accidents and deaths, i.e. drink/drug driving, defective sight, defective vehicles in general, dangerous driving (tailgating, road rage, etc.). The trouble is that cameras can’t normally catch these factors. We need fewer cameras and more police vehicles on the road.

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Talkingbollox
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PostPosted: Mon Nov 24, 2003 1:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I wouldn't mind betting that all of the correspondents above are the archetypal "speeders" - all with years of accident free motoring and full protected no claims bonuses on their insurance!!

I was caught in similar circumstances to Vicky 6 years ago Embarassed , but it's only recently that they've clarified the law on signage etc.

There's no doubt in my mind that it's a revenue generator and job creation scheme for the government.

BTW is Captain Gatso in this forum? http://www.opinion.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2003/10/22/do2202.xml&sSheet=/opinion/2003/10/22/ixopinion.html
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MalinDixon
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PostPosted: Mon Nov 24, 2003 5:14 pm    Post subject: Speed Camera Rant Reply with quote

Maybe you should wonder why the speed cameras are worth placing, and what other effects they have? Why are the speed limits put in such stupid places?

Aproaching the A5 / A5127 / A5148 roundabout from the west at about 52.65283N, 1.84283W there is a 30 mph limit set about 1/2 mile away from the roundabout, on a 2 lane each way dual carriage way. It is simply frightening to get down to 30 mph for the start of the limit, because no one else is doing so. Even 1/4 mile later, the cars are still doing 50 mph.

Leaving the A563 Lubbesthorpe Way in Leicester, 2 lane dual carriage way, 50 mph limit there is a 200 yard long slip road up to a small roundabout. (52.6212N, 1.18984W). The 30 mph limit is posted at the bottom of this slip road and it is also frightening to slow to 30 mph for that limit when gravity would slow you as you go up the slip road.

These speed limits and the cameras are there because the vast majority of driver don't stick to the limits. As a result, the limits get extended and enforcing needs to be automated to handle the huge numbers of speeders.

My own experience? Getting told by my wife that I am a reckless driver because I slow for the speed limits, or brake moderately when I come round the bend and see a speed limit 30 mph less than my present speed. Getting photographed doing 43mph in a 30 mph limit, with an emergency Ambulance 2 seconds behind me, doing 39 mph. Spending £900 in legal fees to avoid getting points on my liscence.

And all this is because speeding is universal. Just think about it.

Also, you are no longer able to ask for a photograph. If it's not your car, just one carrying your number, you may have to go through the legal process to get your picture. I couldn'd afford a lot of those. It isn't much comfort to know that displaying the wrong number is not an endorsable offence, so the real criminals don't get real punishments.
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Cessquill
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PostPosted: Mon Nov 24, 2003 5:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

"Speed doesn't kill, stupidity does."
An elderly lady turned and said this to me straight out of the blue whilst we were both in a courtesy car the other day.

If 7% of all fatalities are down to speeding then revenue must come into it somewhere.

I'm all for staying alive but it's starting to look a little unjustified now...
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Dave
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PostPosted: Mon Nov 24, 2003 9:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

vicky wrote:
I applied to have the fine and points quashed on this but was told as I had not gone to court and had accepted the Conditional offer I had no legal right to have the points removed or the fine refunded as I would have had if it had gone to court and been dealt with by them!

The whole system makes me sick!

Vicky, Back in the early 90's when I received my speeding ticket it was down to the Police out with laser guns on an icy February morning (at the bottom of a steep hill none the less). I like many took the fine and fixed penalty points on the license, but this has always struck me as a blackmail, in that if you don't take this, not only may you get charged the same in court, but you may get charged a whole lot more. Rather than the Police requesting an answer on the spot, I think you should be given time to think about it, and consult with legal council. Though I guess innocent until proven guilty (and we've been caught speeding), so there's no innocent part to the clause.
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Dave
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PostPosted: Mon Nov 24, 2003 9:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

mpooley wrote:
I am exremely angry about these speed camera's !
I have been driving for 35 years and never had an accident nor any convictions.

Well, I must confess I have had an accident, but it wasn't my fault. I was stopped with handbrake on at a red traffic light behind another car waiting for the lights to change one Christmas Eve, and someone who was tanked up on alcohol decided to drive into the back of me at 30mph. Recked his car, only a little damage to mine, I had a passenger as a witness, you could tell the guy was either high on drugs or alcohol, and he then started walking across the road to the nearest pub, when I asked him where he was going, he said he didn't feel too well, and he was staying in the pub, I called the Police immediately, Police came out, went into the pub, by this time the guy had been drinking and the Police didn't want to know, as they couldn't tell if he had been drinking before or after the accident. I was the one penalised for the accident on my insurance for two years because the car he was driving wasn't his, he wasn't insured and the owner's insurance company didn't want to pay up.
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Dave
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PostPosted: Mon Nov 24, 2003 9:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Privateer wrote:
Inappropriate speed can lead to accidents which in turn can kill, but I’d like the authorities to also consider other factors of accidents and deaths, i.e. drink/drug driving, defective sight, defective vehicles in general, dangerous driving (tailgating, road rage, etc.). The trouble is that cameras can’t normally catch these factors. We need fewer cameras and more police vehicles on the road.

I totally agree. Tailgating, road rage, cyclists and pedestrians not taking care are also another common factor I see. Pitch black the other day in rush hour, traffic was near standstill in one direction, I was approaching a crossing in the other direction, suddenly a girl runs out from behind one of the cars that was driving slowly in to my headlights and luckily managed to run back in again. All the time the traffic lights were on green for me. Luckily I do slow down at junctions, crossings and schools, and do have my wits about me, and do try to make sure I don't twiddle with the Pocket PC whilst in these areas, but I do believe the Government and Police need to look at other areas. I think most of the cameras really are unneccessary, I know there are still a lot of deaths on our roads, but I really think most of this is due to reckless driving. I think the only thing that the Government and Local Authorities did do correct and that was to make GATSO's visible, shame they don't do it for mobile cameras though!
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Dave
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PostPosted: Mon Nov 24, 2003 9:35 pm    Post subject: Re: Speed Camera Rant Reply with quote

MalinDixon wrote:
Also, you are no longer able to ask for a photograph. If it's not your car, just one carrying your number, you may have to go through the legal process to get your picture. I couldn'd afford a lot of those. It isn't much comfort to know that displaying the wrong number is not an endorsable offence, so the real criminals don't get real punishments.

I thought it was still legal that you had to receive a photograph as proof of evidence ? I could see why they may stop it, if you are going to be dragged through the court process anyway, the picture will eventually come up there. Certainly SPECS do still send out pictures of speeding offences.
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CM4
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PostPosted: Tue Nov 25, 2003 12:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I agree with everything that has been said so far.

Sometimes when I am driving I spend more time staring at the speedometre then the road for fear of going over the speed limit!

When I was learning to drive (a few years ago) my driving instructor told me that most speed cameras have a 10% tolerence of speed, so:

Have to do over 33mph in a 30mph zone to get caught
Have to do over 44mph in a 40mph zone to get caught
Have to do over 55mph in a 50mph zone to get caught
Have to do over 66mph in a 60mph zone to get caught
Have to do over 77mph in a 70mph zone to get caught

Anybody know it this still applies?

BTW My driving pet hate is when other drivers do not indicate, especially at mini-rounabouts! E.g I am going straight, have to give way to the right so wait patently for the driver on my right to go; only to see that they turn left. IF THEY HAD INDICATED I COULD HAVE GONE! Evil or Very Mad
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Darren
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PostPosted: Tue Nov 25, 2003 8:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The 10% guideline is unofficial and Forces are not required to adhere to it. There have been some high profile stories lately where drivers have been prosecuted for exceeding the limits by less than this figure.
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Supatramp
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PostPosted: Tue Nov 25, 2003 2:53 pm    Post subject: STOP PRESS - Scotland Reply with quote

It was reported in the paper yesterday, 24th November, that the Scottish Parliament/Executive is to issue an edict to Scottish police forces to the effect that speed cameras are only to be erected at accident blackspots, and the statistics to qualify a location as a blackspot are already set-out and agreed.
Also, existing cameras which are not located at blackspots are to be removed, although it did say that this might take some time!!! (surprise surprise).
The reason for this is the Parliament/Executive's concern about the bad press and mounting public attitude against cameras, that they're simply revenue raisers etc etc.
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