Are speed cameras being over used?
157 Comments | Add Comment | Blog entry posted 6th September, 2006
Lots of PetrolPrices.com users have written to us recently with complaints about speed cameras.
{poll=9}Jake in our office certainly thinks that the police do not use speed cameras appropriately. He just received a ticket for driving at 39mph in a 30mph limit. While he agrees that speeding can be dangerous, he was driving on a wide road with little traffic in clear, dry conditions. Jake thinks that the police picked this spot because it is one of many locations where a 30mph limit is too conservative.
Jake said: “We need to use common sense a lot more in our policy making and law enforcement. If the police used speed cameras in a sensible manner, they would gain the backing of the public. The British public does not want to be treated like children or criminals, yet this is what happens due to the way in which the police uses speed cameras.”
Here are some recent emails from PetrolPrices.com users:
- “There is an excessive use of speed cameras on our roads, especially Motorways.” Jeff Davis, South Wales
- “I spend more time watching that darn spedo than I do the road sometimes. I have a 37 years clean licence and live in fear of losing that. Yet all around you see drivers on mobiles, drivers who are a danger, drunk drivers, a camera can’t catch them. I dream of seeing every camera gone.” June Fraser, Surrey
- “I was driving to London and I got caught speeding on a deserted stretch of motorway near Carlisle. I was doing 87mph. I feel this is petty and only done to raise money.” Asif Ali, Glasgow
What do you think?
Replies to Are speed cameras being over used?
Jay Smith January 19, 2010
hi today was going down road........ when opiste side was a plain white van with a black and red stripe 2 cameras poking out the back , any ideas? lotz of police hanging around in vans and estate cars even saw a dog section estate van / car any ideas please ??????????????? as i was hitting above 30 when i noticed it
Jenni Boyle August 31, 2009
In reply to #15 (Kenneth) There are several speed cameras at several points along that road, the average speed kind, and they are not only on the dual carriageways.
I dont agree that the road should be 50 mph but at the end of the day it wouldnt be more than a 60 and 50 doesn't make much difference. If you dont want a fine/points then don't speed. It's not rocket science.
Amanda August 24, 2009
I do agree with speed resitrictions, they are there for our safety yes.
But i have just been done myself coming into a 40 from a 60, a police officer on his own (no vehicle in sight) obv dressed in uniform therefore in black, standing in front of a clean pub blackboard, i did not see the officer until i was level with him and he moved. I am yet to recieve the notification through the post, but i am furious, can they do this? can they hide so blatently to catch us out, granted i shouldnt have been speeding, but sneaky is sneaky.
Philip August 24, 2009
At the end of the day yes its 30 for a reason.... I happen to agree with this. 85 or 90% of roads with a 30limit deserve that limit..... yet the other few roads which are wide.... metal barriers to protect pedestrians.... traffic lights and crossings, yet still 30mph? and these are the roads the police enforce the limits on? easy money.....
Our limits are 10mph apart....... why not have 35's and 25's respectively? For some roads 30 is still a little fast.
As far as Motorways go.... speed is not a common factor of accidents "tiredness" is the biggest killer...... Yet the nation still focus on "speed" well i guess its easier for them to make money from speed than tiredness....
speed cameras are an inferior method of enforcing the law. I was heading down to Devon around 2 weeks ago on a 60mph road in a steady stream of traffic at 55 - 60mph all was fine for around 20minutes..... until we came to a speed camera, one driver was obviously unsure of the speed limit and braked hard, the effects of this trailed back for 5 or 6 car lengths causing a pile up..... the police will say "there have been accidents in this area so the camera warrants its usefulness" never mind the fact it caused the issue in the first place.....
Goon June 30, 2009
I was driving towards Norwich M11 on May bank holiday. I was on the middle lane where I always felt safe. I never went over 75 mph. At this moment a vehicle which was on the first lane got in front of me to over take ywo long vehicles. There were very little trafic, and the third lane was free. I just got in to third lane to go pass the vehicle in the middle lane. I noticed a car behind me.
So to let him go pass, I decided to go little faster so that I could get back to middle lane quicker. As soon as I put the foot down I noticed this police van on top of a bridge. At that perticular time I was doing 83. I was hoping that the policman would have noticed what I did and that I will get away without a speeding fine. But I was wrong and I did get fine.
I always thought that it is better to speed up when overtaking. I was wrong.
Brian Nesbit March 17, 2009
Excessive speed kills, why are people so casual about speeding on the roads in the UK. Where I live in the middle of a Warwickshire village drivers travel down my road which is a 30 mph section of the road well above the speed limit (40 mph and even up to 70 mph). We have children and also disable people in wheelchairs using this section of the road to get to the village centre, we have residents homes only a few feet from the edge of the road, yet these drives just do not care. I think that the government advert on television at the moment tells it all, hit someone at 30 mph they may live but hit them at 40 mph they will probably be killed. The other advert that shows someone living with the knowledge that they killed a child, is this what you want for yourself. The problem in this country so many people think that a driving offence (Crime) is only a 'LITTLE' crime so it does not matter. Also, so many drivers just do not understand the physics of a motor vehicle, they wrongly believe that they are invincible in this little tin can. I say anyone speed should expect to be heavily fined and if they injure or kill someone they should go to jail for a very long time. I dive on the roads every day and on so many occassions meet the speeding morist at the next traffic lights, so what do they gain by sppeding. By the way what about our concern for the envirnment?
Callum A February 27, 2009
As much as I don't like speed cameras I have to admit its the only thing that I think works, I will confess that I break the speed limit on a few occasions but only on roads I judge to be safe and depending on all relevant factors such as traffic, time and weather etc.
But when Steven Ladyman said that the Government don't really make that much in revenue from the Speed cameras, they make more in income tax from Simon Cowell each year, but seem to be the only thing which will stop people from breaking the speed limit but also do have a tendency to make motorists break and slow down even if theyre not speeding, which is a huge risk in itself.
The idea of the fine for speeding going up depending on how fast you were traveling is also a brilliant idea, as I don't agree with people being 1mph over the limit to be fined the same as someone going 20mph over, I do disagree however with the 'SLOW DOWN' signs, I think theyre a complete waste of time a flashing sign is going to do nothing to the likes of people who race and speed on our roads, whereas a speed camera would instantly stamp out speeding on that part of the road.
But at the end of the day there is no winning this pointless argument because the answer to it all is don't speed don't break the law and you won't have to suffer the consequences.
P.S or you could just do like Jeremy Clarkson and buy a car that can go past a speed camera fast enough it wont be able to take a picture because you'll be gone by the time it snaps you.
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