Speed Cameras!!!!

[Wezzie]

Okay there winding me up and i cant just botle it up. Yes i do speed i admit it but i only abuse the speed limits on country lanes where it is safer to do so. If there was no speed cameras i still wouldnt speed in built up areas. I agree they are needed in citys and built up areas to control idiots and lessen the chance of them killing someone.

In the countryside where the speed limit is 60 is the only place you can feel happy about speeding as your not lickely to get caught or hurt yourself or anyone else. So i see 2 policemen in a car parked on the brow of a hill on a very wide county lane waiting for people like me coming over the hill. Luckely i was been slowed to 65mph by traffic and had time to take 5mph off be4 i was in full view.

Mobile speed cameras in unmarked vans are totally unfair on country lanes or safer roads why not targer the unsafe areas ow i forgot they only want to make money. If anyone reads EVO its proven that they have had no affect on road deaths apart from them actually increasing. The better way to slow people down is active signs like the one near me that flash the speed limit.

Sorry for the rant feel free to let out your agresion and views on the subject.

 

[Wezzie]

Oh and i know i cant type very well before you point it out and i cant be arsed to correct my mistakes!!. All anger is out now unless i get a speeding ticket. Then its time to start ripping them down.

 

[172_4_life]

Have to agree the signs that flash you speed up are far more effective than the GATSO etc.

Makes you think more and slow down

 

[cnic69]

Unless you are out for a good old blip most speeding is done without really knowing you are doing it.

When i see the signs that tell you the speed you DO slow down..they are a great idea and more effective than a Gatso...if we all destroyed one a week then they would be gone very quickly!

 

[S2 PTH]

who wants to join that organisation that destroys speedcameras??!!!

ive always wanted to take that millitant approach!

 

[lot105]

The thing is, youre arguing that you should be _allowed to break the law_.

Not saying I dont do it, but if I get caught by any means at all, its fair enough, I knew the limit, I chose to exceed it. (If I didnt know the limit or what speed I was doing then I wasnt really taking due care and attention.)

Perhaps it would be more honest to campaign for higher speed limits? Except then everyone might drive fast not just us really-good-drivers who can handle speed.

 

[SimonV6]

Quote: Originally posted by lot105 on 18 June 2004

The thing is, youre arguing that you should be _allowed to break the law_.

Not saying I dont do it, but if I get caught by any means at all, its fair enough, I knew the limit, I chose to exceed it. (If I didnt know the limit or what speed I was doing then I wasnt really taking due care and attention.)

Perhaps it would be more honest to campaign for higher speed limits? Except then everyone might drive fast not just us really-good-drivers who can handle speed.







When caught "speeding" other factors should be taken into account in my opinion.

1.Where was speeding done, type of road etc.

2.weather conditions, rain, snow, fog, clear sunny day etc...

3.type of car, my V6 (with its 330mm discs and 4 pot calipers) can stop in half the time the highway code states

4.Experience of driver, drivers should have different courses allowing them different speeds ( I am an Advanced Driver..etc)

4.Traffic conditions at the time of speeding

The way it is now is that a 80 year old driver driving in very wet conditions on a Motorway 5m behind an another car at 70mph is ok, yet if I drive on the same motorway at 90mph in my V6 with little traffic on a dry sunny day I get done for speeding and yet clearly the old guy is in a far more dangerous state???

Speed limits need a real good looking over these days I feel??

Simon.

 

[h3lter]

agree! i slow for them igns cus i think sum one is watchin me lmao!

 

[18Stu]

It does take the p!ss tho when you see a "safety camera unit" van hiding on a bridge looking over a straight dual carriage way with no junctions on it. Does it get more safe than that? Yet they are just waiting for a chance to give you points and a fine.

Dont get me wrong I am all for speed cameras in places where ace-holes race around where people try to cross roads etc. But what makes me drop the boom is the authorities milking the roads for every pound they can.

 

[SimonV6]

Quote: Originally posted by Strike on 18 June 2004


It does take the p!ss tho when you see a "safety camera unit" van hiding on a bridge looking over a straight dual carriage way with no junctions on it. Does it get more safe than that? Yet they are just waiting for a chance to give you points and a fine.

Dont get me wrong I am all for speed cameras in places where ace-holes race around where people try to cross roads etc. But what makes me drop the boom is the authorities milking the roads for every pound they can.





I agree totally.

Simon.

 

[mechachrome]

or you could face up to the fact that speeding is speeding,

why should you be able to break the law because you are not deliberately killing someone or stealing something at the time makes it any better or acceptable?

i agree that there are a lot of cameras and stuff around, but maybe people have got away with it for too long and have to accept that there are forces in place to stop people breaking the law!!!

because you are not in a built up area doesnt mean there is nobody around, what would happen if you were cycling/horse riding/walking with family down a country lane, and some T**T who thinks its acceptable to speed cos its the countryside comes round the corner/over a brow/ whatever, and kills you/friend/family????


[Edited by mechachrome on 18 June 2004 at 10:30am]

 

[MrAtego]

When was the last time you saw an umarked camera van where they should be, ie outside a school!!!

 

[MikeC]

strike - thats how i got done, 101mph on a completely empty motorway... i knew the limit, i chose to exceed it, now ill face the consequences, bummer tho still!

 

[SimonV6]

Yes but what tests have been done with modern cars/drivers to say that the speeds set are the correct speeds for todays cars/drivers.

For example the "Shortest possible Stopping distances" quoted on the back of the Highway code (the ones you are tested on in the theory test) have not changed from the day they where measured....1969

They where tested using cars (Ford Cortina) from that era.

Since then we have had huge improvments in brakes (Cortina used drum brakes), tyres, roads and so on.....

70-0 is quoted as 96m including thinking distance.

70-0 in my V6 is quoted as 46m plus thinking time of .75 second which at 70 mph is approx 23m total stopping distance therefore is 69m, some 30% better than Highway code states

Like I was saying before, it should depend on type of road, if you go into a blind bend/brow of hill at excesive speed then you could come into contact in tractor, horses, cyclist and so on, but on the wide country lane with low fences/hedges where you can see that no one is apraoching then speed could be faster if you/car can handle it....

also empty Motorway clear conditions 100 mph is not dangerous, but 70 mph in pooring rain to close to car infront is dangerous.... doesnt make sense

Simon.


[Edited by shmall on 18 June 2004 at 10:51am]

[Edited by shmall on 18 June 2004 at 10:53am]

 

[mechachrome]

what makes you think that "todays" drivers can handle their powerful cars? seen some posts recently of 18-20 year olds going from passing their tests to getting 172s etc, would that be classed as todays driver?

and what about reps driving 250Bhp+ mercs and the like? whos to say these guys have any driving qualifications other than the same piece of paper my girlfriends dad of 70 has?

i think people with cars over a certain power should have to take instruction from professional drivers etc, like motorcyclists are only allowed to drive a certain size bike arent they? until a certain amount of experience?

also agreed on the motorway point simon


[Edited by mechachrome on 18 June 2004 at 11:14am]

 

[MikeC]

i agree on motorway point too, guess thats why i did it, but like i said before, no excuses. I do genuinely believe that speed limits need to be reviewed. Motorway driving especially. If its safe and clear to do so, why not do 80-90 or even 100? better not say that to the judge though when i go to court

 

[SimonV6]

Quote: Originally posted by mechachrome on 18 June 2004


what makes you think that "todays" drivers can handle their powerful cars? seen some posts recently of 18-20 year olds going from passing their tests to getting 172s etc, would that be classed as todays driver?

and what about reps driving 250Bhp+ mercs and the like? whos to say these guys have any driving qualifications other than the same piece of paper my girlfriends dad of 70 has?

i think people with cars over a certain power should have to take instruction from professional drivers etc, like motorcyclists are only allowed to drive a certain size bike arent they? until a certain amount of experience?

also agreed on the motorway point simon


[Edited by mechachrome on 18 June 2004 at 11:14am]

Well I agree too, as I said in an earlier post drivers should be graded as to there proffesional skill, more tests are required to allow people to drive at different speed limits depending on there skill and there car.

When learning to fly there are a huge amount of tests to take, when you first pass your test you are only allowed to fly the same type of aircraft you lernt in.

I took my test in a single engined Cessna 150 and therefore was only allowed to fly single engined in VFR (Visual flight rules).

there are test for IFR (Instrument Flight rules), twin engine, Multi engine, jet, comerical and so on.

Driving should be the same, when you first pass your test you should be limited to cc and speed, and then futher tests should be required to get bigger cc (power) and higher speeds and so on

Just a thought

Simon.

 

[MikeC]

Agreed ^^^. Ive done my full motorbike licence, my car driving changed completely. I was much more aware of what was going around me and I feel im a much more competent driver as a result of this. People do need advanced training or be limited in some way without a doubt.

 

[SimonV6]

Agreed.

being an ex-Motorcyclist and advanced driver myself makes you a far more aware driver.

Its a crazy situation that allows you to pass a test and buy a Ferrari (if you have the money).

There was a lad in my village that passed his test on a Friday and smashed his Modded Escort up on the Saturday )less than 24 hours later).

Car was to powerfull for his inexperience, but his dad bought it for him??

Simon.


[Edited by shmall on 18 June 2004 at 11:39am]

 

[lot105]

While I think I can drive more safely than the average person at say 90mph (where appropriate), by definition half people are below average. So that makes setting a legal limit problematic, and its going to be slower than some people can safely drive.

Its a tough thing, in an ideal world speed limits wouldnt exist and prosecutions would be for dangerous driving in whatever circumstance, and would accept that not all speed is as dangerous as others. Training and experience would count, etc, etc.

But it puts a huge burden of proof on the system, its a much more subjective decision, was something dangerous?

Although in other laws, the terms of legislation are quite often deliberately left up to judicial interpretation. For motoring law, it seems that hard and fast exact measurable things like speed, Co2 emissions, etc., are the order of the day. Not sure why.

 

[Don]

On the original topic of too many cameras, they are effectively "blind instruments"...ie blind meaning that everything is black and white, there is no course of leniency. How many people if caught by a traffic cop, and advised about their speed and sent on a driving course (so you can learn about the dangers of speed) would be better for it?

I think that all school zones (say 1 square kilometre at least around the school) should be 20mph. but at 3:00 on a Saturday morning in summer, should this still be the case? There should be an element of leniacy with the cameras (or would that lose the police forces money? ) so that if conditions were excellent and clear, and there was no traffic or general hazards about, then the caught driver would just get a suspended 3 point fine whereby its on their record (for say a year or 2), and if they chose to break the speed limit again within that time limit, then they would get the 3 points from new occasion PLUS the suspended 3 points. Would that not cause people to drive on the err of caution?

Anyone else agree or disagree?

 

[mechachrome]

reminds me of when i was at college sorry to be off topic slightly, but kiddie in my class passed his test and his dad, a well off ish fellow, gave him a mint condition escort mexico, (mint in the proper sense of the word!)

he wrote this 30 odd yr old car off in the space of a week!

T*at!

 

[MikeC]

donnyo, i agree completely with your saying. IMO, if someone gets done doing 60 in a 50 for example, by a speed camera and gets points and a fine, theyll just be gutted. But if the same person gets done doing the same thing, but instead of getting flashed by camera, they get pulled by copper and sent on a course, theyll learn a hell of a lot more. There does need to be leniency also, but as its such a good money spinner, they wont change their ways unfortunately.

 

[SimonV6]

Quote: Originally posted by mikec172 on 18 June 2004

but as its such a good money spinner, they wont change their ways unfortunately.



Which is why I am buying an Origin B2 GPS system...

May get a Laser Diffuser too, but I hear they are ilegal, so not to sure on at one yet...

Simon.

 

[MikeC]

whats a laser diffuser?

 

[Jim.]

speed cameras dont do anything apart from make u stare at ur speedo, and not watch the road ahead / ur mirrors

 

[SimonV6]

Quote: Originally posted by mikec172 on 18 June 2004

whats a laser diffuser?

When a Laser gun is fired at the car the Laser Diffuser ( think thats what its called??) fires back it at stopping it locking on for 5 seconds and gives you time to slow down before the cops can get a speed reading



Simon.

 

[MikeC]

really? how good is that!! theres no chance thats legal, surely? If your about to get one though, let me know...!

 

[Don]

Simon, the diffusers are classed as "perverting the cause of justice" if youre found to be using one. They can be reasonably well hidden in the car, so not blatently obvious. plus, most "safety units" **Cough (bullsh*t) ** have one person watching and they prob cannot be bothered to go hunting you if they cant get you, its your choice if you get one, Im still thinking about it at this mo in time.

 

[SimonV6]

Quote: Originally posted by donnyo on 18 June 2004

Simon, the diffusers are classed as "perverting the cause of justice" if youre found to be using one. They can be reasonably well hidden in the car, so not blatently obvious. plus, most "safety units" **Cough (bullsh*t) ** have one person watching and they prob cannot be bothered to go hunting you if they cant get you, its your choice if you get one, Im still thinking about it at this mo in time.



Yeah thought they must be ilegal, but still if you can hide them well and they only block the sinal for 5 seconds then maybe the cops wont notice???? I hope..lol

Let me know if you get one, would like to hear from anyone else that uses one too?

If you get a fine and points and they take it from you could be costly as they seem to be around £250 each???

Simon.

 

[mechachrome]

they are the same things that open auto doors on garages, cops know about them, and if they have been blocked,

if you get stopped with one, you have to prove you need it, e.g you have a gargage with an electric door i guess!

 

[SimonV6]

Quote: Originally posted by mechachrome on 18 June 2004


they are the same things that open auto doors on garages, cops know about them, and if they have been blocked,

if you get stopped with one, you have to prove you need it, e.g you have a gargage with an electric door i guess!

Damn this is getting costly now..lol

How much are Electric garage door openers..lol

Simon.

 

[mechachrome]

dont know mate, do a search on google, but it would be expensive

 

[MAC30L]

I have just got a Road Angel - no so that I can drive flat out everywhere, but try and safegaurd my liscence against the bams who give you points in stupid places.

 

[Wezzie]

Quote: Originally posted by cnic69 on 17 June 2004


Unless you are out for a good old blip most speeding is done without really knowing you are doing it.

When i see the signs that tell you the speed you DO slow down..they are a great idea and more effective than a Gatso...if we all destroyed one a week then they would be gone very quickly!

Its so temting to Wreck these things specially the ones you pass every day on a duel carriage way on your way to work in a 40 zone when you know full well its wide and safe enough to be 50 and 60 when condtions are right. I agree with the comment about raising speed limits where neccessary. I know there are a lot of people who are very dangerous indeed and should not be alowed these same higher limits. They could also have off peak times like phone networks do eg. Between 5:30 am and 11 pm normal speed limits apply and any other time 10 mph on most all places except country lanes and motorways which are raised by 20 mph. I also think if they do anything it should be raise the speed limit on the motorway its the f*cking cobras fault for clocking 180mph back in the 60s that they introduced a speed limit. Times have changed and something needs to be done about issues people feel strongly about in the world of motoring. Especcially when yoy have to pay tax on your earnings, car, petrol and then get fined for minor speeding offences.

 

[BossCup]

Quote: Originally posted by MAC30L on 18 June 2004

I have just got a Road Angel - no so that I can drive flat out everywhere, but try and safegaurd my liscence against the bams who give you points in stupid places.

Snap !

I have to drive for my work so can not run the risk of losing my license.

IMHO it means I can actually put all my effort into concentrating on what is happening all around me rather than being distracted by the ever present threat of being zapped.

 

[Wezzie]

I think even lorrys should be allowed 65mph but no more as i have seen many HGVs travelling at 70+ and the breaks are simply not good enough. Where it is safe to do so i speed sometimes because the limit is far too low but i do this with much care as my license is very valuable to me. Other times i speed like most people on here because i enjoy the thrill of driving as EVO call it i mean this on counry lanes. Motoway driving is extremely dull and makes you feel tired at 70mph. Im off to thruxton on monday and ill be on a 3 hour journey at 70 mph and i consider that dangerous because after ive listened to 3 cds ill be sick of driving and get tired. I would be far happier to go at night as i could average a 90-100mph run without risk of loosing my license. I am quite capable however of driving 3 hours and will not fall asleep as i drive a van a lot for work and have done double that in the past but you must agree its terribly boring at 70mph on the M-way and it needs to be reconsidered.

 

[NIN-172]

I agree that the cops are just out for cash. I dont know why they just didnt say that in the first place instead of making the accident blackspot thing up.
If you tell someone to slow down because they are aproaching an "accident blackspot", then you can get done big time from the police. But why is that?
They would prefer the speeding driver to keep his speed up, with more chance of him killing somone, just so they can fine him.

When I was younger there werent any speed cameras or bumps & although I did boot it round sometimes I didnt do it where I could create any danger.
Now there are so little places to put the foot down, people are probably getting more wound up & speeding just for the sake of it.

Someone told me the other day that all this speed camera thing isnt working & people are speeding more now than before.

I think of it like this. Tell someone they cant do something & what do they do............

 

[Wezzie]

Ok ive moaned about speed cameras but yes i could have killed someone the first day i got the cup at 130mph on the m18 (2 laned motorway) but hey it was 2am and i felt like it and thought f*ck it why not. I agree with "Tell someone they cant do something & what do they do............" that was me you couldnt have put it better!!

 

[Don]

Also, this thing where some cameras are going to be looked at to see if theyre accident savers or money generators...I think this is a good idea, and if the camera is seen purely as a revenue generator, then why not just remove the internals from the camera...so that there is just the housing? This way, it will still encourage all of us towards the speed limit, if not below it, but the "camera" would not be a revenue generator as it wouldnt actually work. Its almost like the cardboard cutouts of a policeman and a police car that they used on M-way bridges several years ago, so that people saw the policeman and car, and slowed down, but wouldnt be so blatent.