Speed cameras?

Fat Tony!

Fat Tony!

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A bit controvesial here in the UK, for some reason many people seem that cameras are for "making the government rich" :P. I think they are great if you get fined your breaking the law, tough shit:)
 
They are all over here.

I live in Sacramento, CA and I just laugh at night when I see someome run the red and see 17 flashes from the cameras to get every angle possible :P
 
My mum's been caught by them twice in two weeks.
 
You only think they are a good idea if you dont drive :D


Seriously though...Im perfectly ok with them in built up areas where speeding might end up with you hurting someone. However, out on the more open roads, they are just annoying. They even have them on motorways in some places....now really what difference does it make if you are going at 70 or 80 miles per hour?
Also, they shouldnt be hidden. That really bugs me, because they dont serve their purpose if you dont know where the camera is. They are supposed to be part of this traffic calming thing, but if you dont know the camer is there then you wont slow down.
 
Damn, we need those in Florida. I run half a red, only to see four cars follow me through. EVERY freaking time. Plus nobody uses their indicators. NOBODY. Arg, this is what causes roadrage, folks.
 
I think it's great. We have them over here in Denmark too. That'll teach you speedsters!
 
Farrowlesparrow said:
You only think they are a good idea if you dont drive :D


Seriously though...Im perfectly ok with them in built up areas where speeding might end up with you hurting someone. However, out on the more open roads, they are just annoying. They even have them on motorways in some places....now really what difference does it make if you are going at 70 or 80 miles per hour?
Also, they shouldnt be hidden. That really bugs me, because they dont serve their purpose if you dont know where the camera is. They are supposed to be part of this traffic calming thing, but if you dont know the camera is there then you wont slow down.
Click to expand...
Yeah I think they put up their, "speed cameras in area" signs and then expect people to keep slow through out the whole area or something which doesnt work, i agree with you however usually all they do when you see them is drivers slow down at the speed camera then immediately start speeding again. I havent seen many speed cameras in motorways, but there is a point to having them there. There always seems to be accidents on the motorways and you see programs with policemen using their speed gun things on motorways, now this is probably to do with higher speeds= lower friction or something like that, but theres obviously a reason for it i just dont know what :(. What are the main causes of car to car accidents? Answer that and it should come clear.


Whether or not they work or not doesnt, matter. They bring in lots of money which can be channeled back into speed cameras, road repairs etc... Theres another reason for hidden speed cameras, people speed past them since they dont know about them and get fined loads therefore lots of money + they got paranoid about it and go slow through a lot of the area. :thumbs: good stuff.


Did anyone from the UK see that program/news Bulletin(or if you know about it occuring in your country) in the uk there is the crazy group of drivers that hate speed cameras and go around with cans of petrol and tires going around burning or smashing up speed cameras. urg god I hate them so much.
 
We have them here in Canada(At least in British Columbia).There are signs where they give you a bit of warning before your picture is taken and you're busted.
 
Why does everone love speed cameras? Most of them are just a nuisence.

I say: Less speed cameras, More speed signs.

My mum has narrowly avoided getting caught lots of times. Once she saw a 'cameras in area' sign but didn't know what the limit was. She was so busy looking for a speed sign she nearly hit a tree. Was that what was intended?

Drivers have to keep their attention on the roads, not be constantly looking out for cameras.
 
Farrowlesparrow said:
You only think they are a good idea if you dont drive :D


Seriously though...Im perfectly ok with them in built up areas where speeding might end up with you hurting someone. However, out on the more open roads, they are just annoying. They even have them on motorways in some places....now really what difference does it make if you are going at 70 or 80 miles per hour?
Also, they shouldnt be hidden. That really bugs me, because they dont serve their purpose if you dont know where the camera is. They are supposed to be part of this traffic calming thing, but if you dont know the camer is there then you wont slow down.
Click to expand...

I totally agree. Plus I think every speed camera should have the speed limit posted near it so you know how fast to go!
 
Usually the speed limit for country roads are the same, speed limit for in town is the same etc.. Im not entirely sure about this one but oh well. People shouldnt be looking out for cameras, if your not breaking the speed limit then your fine. But yeh I see where your coming from there arnt enough speed signs, its a bit stupid.
 
Fat Tony! said:
Usually the speed limit for country roads are the same, speed limit for in town is the same etc.. Im not entirely sure about this one but oh well. People shouldnt be looking out for cameras, if your not breaking the speed limit then your fine. But yeh I see where your coming from there arnt enough speed signs, its a bit stupid.
Click to expand...

I do think that something should be done about speeding, im just not sure more cameras are the way to go. I think your average Brit is more likely to play spot the camera than to lower their speed.

What's the answer? Cars that won't let you go too fast? More policemen? I quite like the signs that light up and flash if you are speeding. Anyone got any opinions?
 
Yep, they are here in Finland too, and have been for as long as I remember. But most of the time they don't even have film inside them, since our police doesn't have money to fund them all.
 
The flashy sign thing sounds good. But there is no real answer to this. I think speed cameras are the only way of doing it, but make them hidden and with a much fairer penelty system (more fairer then the new change being made at the moment) I think that drivers that drive 1-6 mph more then the speed limit should get a warning with no fine if they are between 1-4 and a £5 fine if they are more then 4mph over it and no licence points taken off. But if the person is speeding 6mph+ they should get heavily punished with 5 licence points taken off and a £50 fine. But the main aspect is that they are hidden so people cannot speed anywhere just incase they get the heavy fine.
 
You make it sound like an ideal system. It isn't.

Speed cameras are only supposed to be placed in accident blackspots. Yet one was recently put up on the outskirts of my village just by the transition from a 40 to a 30 zone. Since 1998, I've not seen a single accident there, yet it's placed just perfectly so it can catch people that don't slow down enough.

The money from Speed Camera fines doesn't go back into road maintainance. It goes to the government (with a percentage given to the local police). If it was ringfenced back into the road fund, I'd have less of a problem with it.

the major problems on the roads are:
People driving with no license/tax/insurance
Drink/drug drivers.
People with little or no driving ability.
Not speeders. Speed isn't usually a factor in the cause of road accidents. Here in Lancashire, we've got more speed cameras than any other county, and last year our fatal/dangerous accident rate went up for the second year in a row.

There's more important things to address than speeding. How about compulsory retests every five years? Enforce a minimum standard of driving, and a lot of the problems would just go away.

Also, Fat Tony - you obviously don't drive. I've yet to meet a driver that likes speed cameras.
 
Im sure i posted this(This is basically repeating what i said before)...probably something to do with the forums going down. Anyway...those flashy things work. People will normally slow down, especially fi they think the police are patrolling in the area.

Having hidden cameras defeats the point of them and just means a few extra tickets sent out before people realsie where the camera is. They really need to make them stand out so people see them and slow down. The point in camera is not just to issue tickets, thats what happens if you speed, but the reason for them is to slow you down in that area which they do. I dont have a problem with cameras...but that should keep them in the areas where speeding is a problem and where it may cause an accident. In an open road, its really not necessary...and they do have them on motorways. I was in the car with my um a while back and it was night time...up ahead we kept seeing flashes and it was because a camera was getting people as they went past. We saw about 14 before anyone noticed what it was. Its not really fair that people who were only going about 80 should get sent tickets when the 70 mile per hour speed limit is rather outdated with modern cars.


Thats a good point Pi...If all the money went into the roads and the police force then i would at least olerate the cameras more. But still many police forces face money problems and not all the roads are great. I have to say though, the council in my area has its bad points but policing is realtively good and the roads are all quite nice thanks to the massive amount of money the council is left with at the end of each financial year.
 
When money goes back to the government its always a good thing, its not as if it goes into their pockets, where did you hear about this? ive always heard that it goes back into getting more speed cameras unless the news has been lieing to me again :(. Of course speed is a problem if you are going 1, 2 or 3 mph more then you should then you wont stop in time before you run over someone, they also determine whether a crash is fatal or not. And yeah I dont drive but thats a good thing, I have a unbiased opinion, who would want to pay out loads because your speeding? They do no harm anyone but someones wallet so its fine with me if they stay. Like I said before anyway other then taxes to get money legitimately is a good thing :).
 
state revenue can go **** itself

anyone from vic, Australia will agree. we have it the worst, they always hav'em set up just after speed signs or at the bottom of hills, not in actual problem areas. Victorian police can kiss my ass. :flame:
 
The theory with hidden cameras, is that if people know that they could get caught at any time (because the cameras are hidden), then they'll not speed anywhere.

Unfortunatly people don't work like that.
 
I'll repeat it shall I?

Speed isn't the problem. Education is.

And yeah I dont drive but thats a good thing, I have a unbiased opinion, who would want to pay out loads because your speeding? They do no harm anyone but someones wallet so its fine with me if they stay.
Click to expand...

You'll think differently when you start driving.
 
Heheheh... biiiiiiiiiig trouble over some speed cameras over here in Australia at the mo'...

Apparently, they were put into operation totally uncalibrated... The government is going to be compensating some people who were unfairly fined... I also hear that the calibration equipment itself is uncalibrated...
 
its there to stop you speeding, speeding is a crime, dont speed dont get fined :/
 
Brian Damage said:
Heheheh... biiiiiiiiiig trouble over some speed cameras over here in Australia at the mo'...

Apparently, they were put into operation totally uncalibrated... The government is going to be compensating some people who were unfairly fined... I also hear that the calibration equipment itself is uncalibrated...
Click to expand...


:frown: i know, bastards. they dont care, more money for them.
 
They dont have any of those in texas thank god. I got my second speeding ticket in like 2 years a few weeks ago. It sucks, and they cop didnt even use radar or pace to determine my speed so im taking it to court.
 
staddydaddy said:
They dont have any of those in texas thank god. I got my second speeding ticket in like 2 years a few weeks ago. It sucks, and they cop didnt even use radar or pace to determine my speed so im taking it to court.
Click to expand...

stickin it to the man

i like it :cheers:
 
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