They have them in sneaky places where there are no accident backspots. Then the public do not cooperate with them on other crime matters. A top traffic consultant in Northamptonshire dismissed speed as the major cause of accidents. I think it was poor junction design, poor signs (the UKs are appalling with ting little signs with lots of little writing), and general poor driving which he put above speeding. The government ignored him to make money on cameras.
What bloody consequences? We have probably the most stable high performing economy in the world.
You mean like the OECD:
Andrew
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Speed may not be a major cause of accidents, but it sure as heck makes what might be a close shave or a minor bump into something much much worse. Poor junctions, poor signage, poor lighting and so on all contribute, but breaking the speed limit is a pretty reliable sign of a selfish attitude to sharing the road which can cause a lot of problems. "Speeding is a victimless crime so why are the police hounding people for it?" Grow up.
An example. There is a road near here which is absolutely straight for nearly a mile. On a good day you can see from one end to the other. People who don't know the road like to race down it.
People who do know the road know that not only is there a hidden dip, quite big enough to conceal a small car, but that there is a golf course on both sides of the road and three or four places where golfers regularly cross, there are also houses. To be honest, even 60mph can be dangerous on this road. As it happens, there is no camera on the road, though there are signs.
As this road nears our house the speed limit reduces to 40mph. Very few people take note of this limit and most of the time they will not have any problems - but you try crossing it with a toddler or a pram as we have to (no underpass, no bridge, no crossing, and the lights just up the road are designed to maximise traffic flow and make crossing the road at the lights *more* dangerous than crossing nearer our house) and you will see what I mean by speeding being selfish.
Given the fact that most speeders blithely ignore the limit, if the possibility of cameras makes them think, then they can only be a good thing. As I said before, it is emphatically *not* the cameras which cause the accidents, it is those stupid drivers who see them and, suddenly realising that they could get another three points on the licence, slam out the anchors without thinking.
If, however, you remember the speed limits and stick to them then speed cameras can safely be completely ignored in the same way that if you don't try to take a kilo of pot with you through customs you can safely ignore the officers scanning your baggage.
The problem with preaching (as I seem to be doing) is that no-one is perfect and so I hereby confess that there have been occasions in my
16-year driving career when I have broken the speed limit. Mostly completely inadvertantly and immediately corrected, twice or three times completely deliberately - but the deliberate cases were all on empty stretches of motorway and I wouldn't have complained, though I would have felt very stupid, if I'd been clocked.I have never tried to take anything so much as a grain of tobacco through customs :-)
Hwyl!
M.
Yeah, right..... .andy
To email, substitute .nospam with .gl
I assume that we are not going to hear your comments on Part P of the Building Regulations, then??
.andy
To email, substitute .nospam with .gl
In message , IMM writes
I have to agree there
Yes
Sanctimonious ****
And you were doing so well there
You prefer pure weed then ?
Someone get me a thermometer - I must be ill
I think you have it to a tee.
I wonder which one will be next. My money is on plumbing not being too far behind in the Politburo agenda.
I was recently looking at the Institute of Plumbing web site, since this would presumably become the closed shop for "qualified plumbers" able to self certify work for part Q of the Building Regulations.
Regarding qualifications for membership they have a FAQ:
*** I'm a working plumber - will my work be inspected?If you don?t have formal qualifications, we can accept practical experience instead, together with suitable references from others in the profession. In some cases we may ask one of our Professional Standards Inspectors to assess your work.
***What kind of a scam is that?
It's good to read that they hold the DIYer in high esteem, though:
****Putting up a couple of shelves is one thing, but trying a bit of DIY on your plumbing system can not only be dangerous and expensive, but could also drop you in hot water with the law! Many people are happy to do minor jobs like changing a tap washer but for anything else you are best to leave it in the hands of the professionals. If you do not know 100% what you are doing, DIY interference with plumbing systems can result in serious damage, expensive repair bills and potential health hazards.
The DIY householder is subject to the same regulations and controls as the professional plumber and everything connected to water supply has to comply with statutory requirements. Minimum standards for sanitary plumbing and drainage installations are laid down by law in the interest of public health and safety. Contravention can lead to prosecution and the possible imposition of substantial fines.
Don't take the risk of endangering your property, your own or your families health or risk breaking the law. For your plumbing problems always call the expert services of your local Registered Plumber.
***.andy
To email, substitute .nospam with .gl
And there are just downright crap drivers, whatever their speed. However, after driving quite a lot in Belgium and the Netherlands I will never moan about the overall standards of driving on UK roads again! Those guys will be gold medal contenders if tailgating ever becomes an Olympic sport...
Must have been all that dodgy Belgian beer!
how was the break?
cheers Richard
-- Richard Sampson
email me at richard at olifant d-ot co do-t uk
NICEIC electrician does not mean 'qualified'.
Deaths due to electrical installation faults in the home runs at around 5 per year, and falling. Deaths due to other accidental incidents in the home runs at around 2350 per year, most of which are from slips trips and falls, and although I have no figures, I'll but many more than 5 of these are already caused by tripping over extension leads.
Fortunately, I doubt anyone will take any notice of the new regs, and people will continue to improve the safety of their homes. This, combined with the Window regs and some other upcoming Building regs increasingly discredit the building regs as a whole, which is regrettable. I spoke with my Building Control department when I did my response to the proposals, and they had this view. Unfortunately, they were not able to go on record, but they did privately support me, completely agreed with my response, and wished me the best of luck.
I do. I think humanity should and I certainly do have a fundamental objection to policing by robot - which is what this amounts to.
As was pointed out in a newspaper last week, if you are caught shoplifting and have no record then you'll almost certainly be let off with a caution. Why no similar allowance for motorists - because making money is the aim IMO
IMO there would be a lot less resentment of speed cameras if (a) technology was employed to adjust the tolerance depending on weather, time and traffic flow - remember that the speed limit will be up to 9mph less than what is judged to be safe by traffic engineers; (b) the penalty was 1, 2 or 3 points depending on the amount by which you exceeded the limit; and (c) your record was taken into account: e.g. first offence [within x years]: no fine, one point.
Beyond this we ultimately need to have variable speed limits that are set according to what is safe at any particular time. The more we go for fixed penalties that take no account of conditions, the more we remove from drivers any conception that they should adjust their speed to what is appropriate. We used to get this when I was a BCO: "how little can I do to comply" was more often asked than "what would be the right thing to do here"
I also quite like the idea proposed by the institute of advanced drivers:
If you must have cameras at all, then they should be sited at an accident black spot (and not on a totally different road within some arbitrary radius!).
There should be a "camera ahead" sign a few hundred yards before it that shows the speed limit, and importantly, includes the reason the camera is there. So for example you get things like "30, Concealed Junction", or "20, School Crossing".
It that way there is less argument that you are targeting safety and not implementing another stealth tax. Also you would be carrying out a subconscious process of education - alerting drivers to the sorts of situations and road conditions that should require close attention to speed.
Cars leaving, entering and crossing from two small side roads on each carriageway. If you've ever tried it there you'll agree that cars doing 70+ on the 'clear open and straight stretches' are a hazzard. Without the camera an F1 start is required, and would be immpossible to join the A1 in a 7.5 tonner which has just come from the industrial estate up the eastern side road.
Toby.
I have no objection to being caught by robots (who are at least likely to be impartial). I also have no objection to ID cards, CCTV or any other sort of infringement of my personal liberty (i.e. my right to do as I wish and take a calculated risk of getting caught). It seems to me to be a fairer system altogether. And, yes, I did get caught at 1am doing 50 in a 30. Well pissed off I was too. I doubt whether speed cameras make money after the first week or so when all the locals get caught.
Then we should get rid of traffic light then. before they came along a copper stood in the middle of the junction.
An audible receiver should be in the car warning of the "blackspot", which has a camera to enforce the limit, ahead.
In article , "stuart noble" >dystopian. I still do not understand why people are so short-sighted as to
Policed by robots.
And I think mankind is sleepwalking into a nightmare.
[snip]
The bad bit is that those signs are there all the time. There are quite a few camera signs on the a59 between the A1 and the York Outer Ring, but there are no fixed cameras, no road markings anywhere on that stretch, and I've never seen a mobile camera either.
Thought the use of signs without cameras had been outlawed?
Do you have a source for these figures please?
Andrew
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