Town Switches Off Speed Cameras

[D.X 0]

I will continue at my own speed slowing down past schools and built up areas but doing 85/90 on the Motorways like most others.(except when my partner is in the car.....bit neurotic!!).

 

OK so you do 90mph on the motorway. At an average of 90mph you'd have to travel 180 mile to pull out a 30 minute gap over someone averaging 70mph. Is 30 minutes so important. And let's face it, 180 mile journeys are very few and far between. On a 50 mile motorway journey you'd save 9 minutes. What can you really do in 9 minutes ?

 

No jokes about the wife

 

Driving isn't worth the stress mate, I learnt that a long time ago. I just relax and go with the flow now.

[Raymilkybarkid 0]

I take it that some of you fell that the limit is too slow.

The limit was reduced from 100mph to 70 mph on motorways in the late 60's due to the oil crisis.

 

Q.Why do the limits need to be raised?

A. They don't take the top gear challenge in the last series Bus, Car, Bicycle. The car come last!.

 

I am against speeding as my brother was killed by a speeding motorist 15 years ago so this is a subject I hold close to my chest. The car driver stated in court that he was only doing 40 MPH In a 30mph limit. If he was doing the speed limit maybe my brother would be with us today.

 

Yes sometimes we all speed but you don't get there any faster just a few minutes but its cost you up to 25% more in fuel. With the fossil fuel supply running out the limits will be reduced further, this has already been put into place in the HGV/ LGV/PCV/PSV but the fitting of speed limiters to govern the speed to 56mph for lorries and coaches to 60/70mph.

The introduction of speed limiters on cars is already under trial in the US.

I don't fully agree with the fitment of speed limiters on cars but if they only worked in built up areas that would sell it for me.

 

I think we should keep the speed limits as they are.

 

Yes for Motorways as cars safer than ever before but are the drivers?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I will continue at my own speed slowing down past schools and built up areas but doing 85/90 on the Motorways like most others.(except when my partner is in the car.....bit neurotic!!).

 

 

 

From what speed in the first place.

 

So why do you slow down when you partner is in the car ?

 

So what is your speed ?

 

Just interested as my brother was killed by a speeding motorist.

[DJ Ben 0]

Yes for Motorways as cars safer than ever before but are the drivers?

 

The problem is, that everyone thinks they're brilliant - and ignorance leads to arrogance, and arrogance leads to accidents.

 

No chance. British driving is the pits.

 

 

[D.X 0]

I am against speeding as my brother was killed by a speeding motorist 15 years ago so this is a subject I hold close to my chest. The car driver stated in court that he was only doing 40 MPH In a 30mph limit. If he was doing the speed limit maybe my brother would be with us today.

 

This is what makes me angry. Drivers are willing to risk people's lives just to get where they're going a few minutes earlier. It's absolute madness and despicably selfish. I can't imagine how that must've felt

[Raymilkybarkid 0]

This is what makes me angry. Drivers are willing to risk people's lives just to get where they're going a few minutes earlier. It's absolute madness and despicably selfish. I can't imagine how that must've felt

 

It would have been my brothers 50th this year, he left behind his wife and 1 Year old Daughter.

My brother was on his way to work on his push bike (wearing helmet &hivis) when the collision happened.

The news of his death devastated not only our family but his wifes family.

The accident happened on a ratrun which now has traffic calming in place in the form of chicanes and speed humps.

All this was due to speeding to get to work as the driver was late which in turn made my brother late for work permantly.

 

Unless this happens to someone close most people are completely oblivious to how speeding affects so many people in the event of death. At 35 my brother still had his whole life in front of him with his new wife and daughter.

 

For the first time since his death this is my first time to put my feelings in writing about the devastation that speeding can have on a family.The hardest thing that still upsets me is that I never got the chance to say goodbye or tell him how much he had meant to me.

 

So if you are a speeder please think if you do kill someone that you wreck many peoples lives.

[exbutlinred82 0]

It would have been my brothers 50th this year, he left behind his wife and 1 Year old Daughter.

My brother was on his way to work on his push bike (wearing helmet &hivis) when the collision happened.

The news of his death devastated not only our family but his wifes family.

The accident happened on a ratrun which now has traffic calming in place in the form of chicanes and speed humps.

All this was due to speeding to get to work as the driver was late which in turn made my brother late for work permantly.

 

Unless this happens to someone close most people are completely oblivious to how speeding affects so many people in the event of death. At 35 my brother still had his whole life in front of him with his new wife and daughter.

 

For the first time since his death this is my first time to put my feelings in writing about the devastation that speeding can have on a family.The hardest thing that still upsets me is that I never got the chance to say goodbye or tell him how much he had meant to me.

 

So if you are a speeder please think if you do kill someone that you wreck many peoples lives.

 

 

 

 

Ok Ray.....you genuinely have my deepest sympathy and i'm going to ask you to consider doing something which may seem impossible!!

 

 

At the risk of making myself extremely unpopular i'm going to ask you to spare a thought for the other person involved.I doubt wether he will ever get over what he has done.Only a miniscule minority of us would actually get in a car and knowingly go out to kill or maim anyone.

 

 

Before you all turn on me please be VERY VERY sure you have NEVER EVER accidentally or delibrately exceeded the speed limit because it may happen to you.If you have managed that in your entire driving history then you can cast stones at the other driver.We do not know if the guy was a persistent offender....or wether he had a lapse in concentration.He seems a genuine enough guy to admit to the reasons why he was speeding.

 

There are no winners in these situations.....

 

 

 

Going to leave the thread now.......Its too raw for me!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[McCardle 1]

Drivers are willing to risk people's lives just to get where they're going a few minutes earlier. It's absolute madness and despicably selfish.

 

So what are your thoughts on those using mobile phones when driving?. Seems to be a growing number of those, and although I hate I have to say it - usually the younger age group. Only the other night, I was leaving a friends house, when his neighbour came bombing past me in his chaved up Honda Civic, and yes he had a phone glued to his head. This was 200 yards from his house, why the call couldn't have been made whilst he was at home or even on his driveway is anybodies guess. But that probably wouldn't be cool would it :scared: .

 

I think that also falls under the category of despicably selfish and absolute madness. The (existing) speed humps and childrens playground didn't seem to deter (his speed) either.

 

 

If the police could set up cameras to catch thieves and rapists then they would. You can't really use that as an excuse.

 

First of all I didn't see anything in my previous post(s) which suggested that my point was used as any form of excuse . I still can't see why can't they set up this type of equipment to catch this type of crime?. We already live in a country with the highest number of CCTV cameras per head of population, so why not a few undercover mobile patrols?. Several councils have a fleet of vehicles fitted with spy cams to issue parking fines after capturing video of various minor parking offences, and the high Vis Police CCTV van always seems to make the journey without fail to the local football matches, as well as other camera based ANPR technology powering one of the UK's largest traffic monitoring network (Trafficmaster) so why can't it be used to capture other crimes?.

 

However, my brother in law and myself were really pleased when one of them flashed up 30mph when we went passed on our mountain bikes!

 

Leaving aside the lack of registration plates , are cyclists immune to the laws that motorists have to follow?.

Edited August 4, 2009 by McCardle

[DJ Ben 0]

are cyclists immune to the laws that motorists have to follow?.

 

Nope. If you cycle whilst drunk you can still get your licence revoked.

 

If you speed they will tell you off, but cannot prosecute you as bicycles don't have speedometers fitted as standard. There was a case a few weeks back, where police were using radar guns to catch cyclists travelling at more than 10mph along a prom in the UK. However, what they did with the info was anyone's guess as the realised they couldn't act on the data they'd collected!

 

 

[mattmcc 0]

 

Leaving aside the lack of registration plates , are cyclists immune to the laws that motorists have to follow?.

 

 

 

No. I have heard of cyclists being done for speeding and not just told off. Might be just urban myth but I'm sure there were a few cases in Glasgow area a few years ago.

[D.X 0]

So what are your thoughts on those using mobile phones when driving?. Seems to be a growing number of those, and although I hate I have to say it - usually the younger age group. Only the other night, I was leaving a friends house, when his neighbour came bombing past me in his chaved up Honda Civic, and yes he had a phone glued to his head. This was 200 yards from his house, why the call couldn't have been made whilst he was at home or even on his driveway is anybodies guess. But that probably wouldn't be cool would it :scared: .

 

I think that also falls under the category of despicably selfish and absolute madness. The (existing) speed humps and childrens playground didn't seem to deter (his speed) either.

First of all I didn't see anything in my previous post(s) which suggested that my point was used as any form of excuse . I still can't see why can't they set up this type of equipment to catch this type of crime?. We already live in a country with the highest number of CCTV cameras per head of population, so why not a few undercover mobile patrols?. Several councils have a fleet of vehicles fitted with spy cams to issue parking fines after capturing video of various minor parking offences, and the high Vis Police CCTV van always seems to make the journey without fail to the local football matches, as well as other camera based ANPR technology powering one of the UK's largest traffic monitoring network (Trafficmaster) so why can't it be used to capture other crimes?.

Leaving aside the lack of registration plates , are cyclists immune to the laws that motorists have to follow?.

 

I never said you used it as an excuse. But I see this argument pop up every time this argument pops up and it just seems that people are annoyed that the authorities have found a way to catch them breaking the law and say they should spend spend more effort or use similar means to catch other criminals.

 

It's not that simple though. Catching speeding cars is easy as there's millions of cars on the road and so many speeders. Driving round in a secret van on the off chance you'd catch a burglar, rapist or drug dealer in the act would be a massive waste of time and resources. Speeders are different, go to the nearest main road, pull over and I guarantee, within 10 mins you'll have caught a fish.

 

What speeding motorists need to remember is that speed cameras are THEIR creation just as parking wardens are a creation of people who park illegally. No speeders = no cameras. They've only got themselves to blame.

 

And yes, mobile phone users are just as bad. I see lots of people getting into a car on their phone and drive off still using it. Surely they can wait a few more minutes. Moronic.

 

 

[McCardle 1]

But I see this argument pop up every time this argument pops up and it just seems that people are annoyed that the authorities have found a way to catch them breaking the law and say they should spend spend more effort or use similar means to catch other criminals.

 

Its not an argument, its purely my opinion. Nothing more, nothing less .

 

No speeders = no cameras. They've only got themselves to blame

 

I just can't understand why the UK has to be the martyr for the ills of the world. We have the highest fuel prices and road tax and when we question it, we are told it is because of global warming, we have so many CCTV Cameras because of the terrorism threat and now, we seemingly have need so many speed cameras because we are a nation of speeders. Don't other countries have these problems as well or are they all a UK creation?.

 

And as I said before I have a clean license. But i'd be the first to admit that i'm only human and far from perfect and I've been warned twice for speeding, neither of them deliberate....... and one of those times I was on a boat

 

What is even more worrying is the trend for some of these new laws to wrongly convict innocent motorists, and it wouldn't be the first time that some motorist had been wrongly reported to be using a mobile phone, just because they were resting their arm on the window whilst sat in traffic, or scratching their head. On these occasions it has taken the individual to try and obtain phone records from their mobile provider (a difficult task in itself) in order to PROVE their innocence in order to overturn an AUTOMATIC penalty. Well what happened to the innocent until proven guilty theory which protects the perpetrators of various other crimes?

Edited August 5, 2009 by McCardle

[Dukesy 0]

This is interesting.

[D.X 0]

Global warming is a gravy train. One of the best ever excuses to tax us to death. Taxes which are unavoidable I might add. Unlike speeding tickets, which can be avoided by not speeding.

 

Don't other countries have these problems as well or are they all a UK creation?.

 

Of course, other countries have road safety issues too. That doesn't mean we shouldn't make some kind of effort to tackle our own problem. I went to Thailand a few years back, now there's a country with a serious problem. Check the stats out, very grim reading indeed and is a result of what happens when the population as a whole have a total disregard for the law and road safety.

 

Cameras are probably not the answer. A £60 fine will never be the answer to anything. It's just another example of the government going at something half-cocked. People's whole attitude to driving needs to change. Like Tony said earlier, driving is no fun any more. And many do see driving as fun. This is where the problem begins. Driving should be about getting from A to B as safe as possible. If you want to drive fast go to a race track. That way you're only risking your own life instead of risking others like Ray's brother. Some people think guns are fun so they join a gun club or pay a farmer to shoot on his land. They don't go in the street and shoot at the pigeons.

[McCardle 1]

Ok, here is another proposal for tackling crime in general. How about a criminal version of the Notice of Intended prosecution.

 

So for example, if somebody commits a crime as part of a group and the police are unable to catch or stick it on the rest of the 'gang' or co-accomplices, the person (people) they do catch have to nominate those others responsible, or personally face harsher penalites (i.e copping the entire charge sheet) for failure to name.

 

This way, if caught drug dealers have to name their suppliers, passengers of stolen cars have to name the driver and 'fences' have to name the burglars .

 

Of course, there may be fear of reprisals through naming, which may make people think twice about taking up crime in the first place which, of course can only be a good thing.

 

Idealistic? - perhaps! but i'm basing this idea loosely on the huge success rate with opting for the easy route of either naming themselves or those driving their cars when the 'nip drops through the letterbox.

Edited August 5, 2009 by McCardle

[D.X 0]

No, that would be a good idea. Crime needs tackling head on and that means using drastic measures. Respect for the law needs to be drummed into people from an early age though. Instead, chavs are knocking out armies of kids, letting them bring themselves up, teachers can't discipline them because it's against the kids' human rights and they leave school on a one way trip to a life of crime and inevitably jail. In jail they still have access to drugs, mobile phones and all other things they shouldn't so they learn nothing.

 

No wonder the country's in such a state

[Dream Catchers 0]

Well the idea of the police using cameras is now a reality.

After a successful trial our local bobbies are to be fitted with body cams.

Story from The Bolton News.

I can imagine though that they will be used for dropping litter or swearing under section 5 rather than tackle anything more serious.

 

 

Jim

[Dukesy 0]

No wonder the country's in such a state

 

Well, the vote has seriously declined - part of the problem. Sure, the political parties may all look and sound alike, but maybe next year the 'vote' will see a change in direction?