Here's the proof that speed cameras ( I refuse to call them "safety cameras" ) are all about making money, not improving road safety. Drivers caught speeding on the rise due to 'stealth' cameras used by the police | Daily Mail Online Surely if they are designed to make motorists slow down then they need to be as conspicuous as possible? If they are purely designed as a way of taking money off people, then they are hidden... Yes, I know the argument; if you don't want to get caught/fined, don't drive above the speed limit - but on busy motorways it's not always that simple; most people just go along with the flow of traffic, even if that is a few mph above the limit. The irritating part of all this is that the brain-dead half-wit that drove into the back of my car and wrote it off, injuring me in the process, was reported for "without due care and attention" - he got invited to go on a "driving awareness" course : no points, no fine. Yet someone who gets caught a few mph over the limit on a motorway speed camera gets fined on the basis that it's dangerous and they might cause an accident... How TF does that work ? The law, as they say, is an ass... Yes, I am annoyed !
Hope your not too badly injured JR have you got whip lash? What I have noticed on the M25 is drivers slowing down to bloody 50 going under gantries while I'm doing 70 It's the panic in people that causes accidents not speed
On the M6 past Birmingham the other day the overhead gantries had, 40, 50, 40, 60, 50 then nothing at all in a seemingly random distribution. Couple that with not knowing where cameras were and it was all a bit fraught. That will teach me for going south of Kendal.
There are some roads where the variable limits beg the question 'why?!' most of the time. M6 is one of them
To answer the OP I think it is about changing behaviour. In some countries breaking the speed limit is now seen as antisocial behaviour in the same way we now view drink driving. Not knowing where cameras are puts additional pressure to obey the speed limits all of the time. Being forced to drive at 50mph on roads that would be safe at much higher speeds is soul destroying, but that is where we are headed. It is all part of the expanding nanny state and the really sad thing is that people just accept it.
My conclusion is that they get away with it because they have brainwashed people into accepting it by making them believe that speed is the root cause of all accidents - it clearly is not. The roads with the highest speed limits are, statistically, the safest... But speed cameras are (relatively) cheap and make loads of money, whereas traffic police cost a lot of money. Hence very few traffic police and lots of speed cameras. Cynical ? Me ? Never !
And thanks Ducbird - yes I still have some minor injuries to neck and shoulder, but it's getting better slowly. Still arguing with the insurance company though - despite it being a completely non-fault accident... Don't get me started on that industry !
As long as you are a pedal cyclist,you can cause any number of accidents for free,at any speed you so choose But what about... On Motorways,Speed limit (70mph):cyclists not allowed (thank f*ck) On Dual Carriageways,National speed limit applies,(70mph): Cyclists are a bloody disease! They even have friggin time trials on the A1 round here,with everyone and their brother hacking past at 70mph! You'll be lucky if you ever see one of THEM take a glance over their shoulder changing lanes approaching a roundabout,at any speed.... I ride a pushbike myself,but I don't expect the rest of the motoring public to be able to read my mind when I'm out on it And since cyclists are now a protected species,they can and do ride 3 and 4 abreast on the A & B roads,giggling at the long queue of traffic crawling along behind them. Health and Safety my arse....
Lightning - they may not be allowed on the motorway, but there was one cycling along the hard shoulder of the M42 when I drove down there last week... But I agree - they wander around here making a nuisance of themselves - riding two or three abreast on winding country roads an completely ignoring the (very expensive) cycle path that the council put in to keep them off the road ( for their own bloody safety ! ).
Fight fire with fire....the more cameras there are the less plod will be on the road, both my bikes have small plates. Ive been stationary in traffic right in front of the regular plod and they've not said a thing, and quite a few times as well....ill happily pay, what someone else on here has said "a vanity tax" if I do get pulled for it as id rather pay the fine than pay the fine and take the points...and yes, the next thing ill be doing is modding the tail tidy so the number plate angles down ever so slightly instead of up...
Having had a £60 fine for an illegal number plate ( legal size, just italic lettering ) I'll pass on that one thanks. Anywhere round here an illegal plate is just an excuse for the plod to pull you over and spoil your day...
Really don't mind TBH. I got pulled last year on the way to poole bike night with a strip plate and Austin pipe with no baffle and walked away from that and even I would say I was taking the piss as I forgot (genuinely) to put the baffle back in (just came back from the TT) even the bike copper said to me "i don't mind the 7x9's but that's a bit too small".... Also a couple of times ive gone through hidden speed traps (not excessively over the limit but a bit) and not heard anything...worth its weight it is!
