Your Comments

Well now we all know what is classed as more important in this country.
If you comit a crime towards another idividual or company or even any other variety of criminal acts, you can claim the right of silence. But if you are a car driver, you can not as you dont have any rights.
Never mind lets all roll over and accept it as we usually do. Stiff upper lip and all that, wot old boy.

You do the crime... you do the time. Take it on the chin instead of being slopey shouldered and grow a spine.

Funny that - I never knew that Magna Carter had been repealed - you are innocent until proved guilty and that is UK law - perhaps someone should tell that to the judges in the European Court.

The smart arses who just drive to the local shops and spout "don't speed and you won't get fined" need to get into the real world. I drive 30,000 miles per annum - it is not possible not to break the speed limit on occassions in the real world. In the real world, anybody travelling that sort of mileage will have been flashed by a camera when even travelling in the opposite direction - they can and should be challenged as much as possible.

Sneaky speed cameras are everywhere. Now we learn that the Glasgow/London bombers were tracked from Scotland to London via automatic number plate reading cameras situated on M-ways and A roads. Does anyone know what these look like??? Also can anyone confirm how to tell that Gatso camera are armed? Something to do with the open/closed slots I believe. Word on the street says that average speed cameras cannot track your vehicle if it changes lanes between cameras.

I take issue with the last post.
1) Reducing pollution. Most of our roads are being limited to 40 MPH in areas that were once 60MPH. Not so long ago it was found that the most ecnomical speed for the internal combustion engine as fitted in a car was 59 MPH. So unless that has changed we are now running our engines at a less efficient speed and therefore burning more fuel reletive to the speed being travelled.
2) If you reduce the speed disportionaly to the actual dangers presented by a particular stretch of road, it will lead driver to feel "safe" due to lack of mental stimulation and therefore loose concentration though boerdom and thus lead to a greater risk of an accident.
3) Refer to item 1 as burning more fuel costs you more.
4) Is the only comment that can really be agreed with.

Derek: I would disagree with you there. I drive approximately the same distance per year as yourself and the first and last time I was fined for speeding was about 14 years ago (within a year of passing my test).
I did not moan and complain. i paid the fine and took the points. I also changed my driving style.
This is not to say that I do not speed. You can drive down the motorways all day / everyday at 80mph and not be fined (although I am not condoning this). All police regions that work with a safety camera partnership (which I believe they all do now) give a 10% + 2mph leniency so that covers the "accidentally" straying over the limit.

Dave: Would just like to state that I for one agree with your comments.

The comments made in number 8 Dave 10th July are correct and endorsed by the IAM good comment I agree with every word

So ..let me get this straight ..the law in this country is expecting us to believe that 100% of these cameras are 100% accurate 100% of the time? ..I'm sorry, but we are people of the technology age and it's quite clear that is impossible.

I've been convicted for alledgedly doing 39 mph in a 30, when in reality I had pulled up virtually stationary at the time while looking for an address ..but as i can't prove it, I've been convicted of a crime I haven't committed.

I've no objection to speed cameras ..people do drive wrecklessly and those that do speed risk lives ..but I personally have no doubt the device that took my photo was faulty, but as there's no way I can prove it I'm lumbered with a fine that isn't mine to pay.

This is truly a scandal of epic proportions that when eventually exposed will cost the government millions in settlments.

One last thing to put my comments in perspective ...

I've held a Full Driving license for 28 years, I'm a motorcyclist having had bikes up to 1100cc ..a regular car driver ..a public service vehicle driver (buses) a light goods vehicle driver on deliveries throughout the South East and London (always against the clock) and had company cars and travelled in excess of 30 to 40,000 miles a year.

I also hold an AMI (advanced motorcycle instructor licence) which qualifies me to teach people to ride motorcycles.

...and in all that time on the road, up until the point where I've been flashed by what I believe to be a faulty camera ..I've only been pulled over once by the police for a rear number plate light in which the bulb had blown in the early 80's.

So to those of you who read this and your thoughts are on the lines of, "if you do the crime, you do the time stop whining and grow a spine"

...just wait till it's you in this situation, you know you're innocent, but the only financially viable thing to do is pay up and take the points (or be offered the speed awareness course as I was for £111, where you're basically patronised and told you're a naughty boy but some youngster who hasn't even been alive for as long as I've held a license )

Because the alternative is possibly thousands of pounds in legal fee's, days off work to go to court, lost earnings and without any guarantee of winning against a system that is totally drenched in propaganda and a belief in technology that by it's very nature is inherently prone to error.

and see if your attitude is quite so smug then!

Those that burn out cameras the same night they get flashed don't pay anything if they don't get caught doing it.
This would be the wrong thing to do in SOME areas at CERTAIN times. Speeding during the day outside a school is foolish.

But there again driving at 56mph on a 40mph pedestrian free dual-carriageway, to reduce fuel use due to extortionate pricing by the government is a good idea.

Driving in a 30 at 40 after 10pm is beneficial if you know where the cameras are - saves time and fuel as it allows 5th gear instead of 4th.

If I see a person burning out a speed camera in money-spinning pedestrian free locations, I never actually saw them!!!

I personally think the current system needs a review

Instead of each incident resulting in a fine, points or that course that was mentioned earlier, a three strikes and you're fined and banned for six months would be a better way to manage it.

Each incident would be recorded and a letter posted to the offender these would remain valid for 12 calender months.

That way the person who's accidentally gone over the speed limit or who has a faulty speedo, or indeed the radar device is faulty gets the warning he needs and the persistant and dangerous people would ultimately be taken off the road till they learn their lesson the issue of government theiving revenue from innocent drivers would go away and everyone would be happier about it.

It would also stop the high price lawyers making a mint getting their rich clients off, because they can't argue that it's unfair to prosecute Mr Mercedes from Buckinghamshire because his job depends on his vehicle, if the silly fool has been caught three times.

Thats my tuppence worth, not that it'll make any difference!

I have been fined for exceeding the 40 mph limit when I was in fact AT the limit.
I was accused of ding 46 mph - yet the pictures were not clear enough to measure the distance I had travelled - agreed by the magistrates. However the camera partnership representative said they had software which enabled them to click on a part of my vehicle number plate on the two pictures and IT calculated my speed! They failed to demonstrate this in court, yet I was found guilty.
The difference in distance between exceeding the limit or not would have been 175 mm!!!!
You can see the evidence and comment here: http://www.safespeed.org.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=15275

I THINK IT IS ENEVITABLE FUEL WILL GO UP AS FUEL RUNS OUT AND THE ARABS HAVE GOT US BY THE SHORT AND CURLYS

my view on speed cameras or what ever people like to call them ,is quite simple the police are employed to implement them. so every driver should withdraw support for the police , do not be a witness to not make statements,do not assist in any way this is not illegal, as we are policed so far be consent lets us see the reaction of the police as public support for them is gretaly reduced.

My daughter had an accident in her car at the age of 18. It was established in court that when she was distracted and clipped a kerb she was doing 55mph in a 40mph zone. She was on a main trunk road dual-carriageway, no pavements, grass verges, driving in a straight line in the inside lane on a downhill stretch and she was 'one and a half seconds' out of the 70mph limit. She did nothing else wrong.

Unfortunately the car came of the road and hit a tree. Her friend in the rear of the car, who had refused point blank to wear her seatbelt in my daughter's car, in fact in every car whether in the front or back seat, trgically did not survive the impact with the tree. My daughter's neck was brocken from the impact of her rear passenger.

She was dragged through the courts on a charge of causing death by dangerous driving. She was found guilty by a majority verdict of a jury consisting mainly of middle-aged women.

My daughters punishment for this accident - 3 years in prison and a 5 year driving ban.

Don't talk to me about speed limits or fines or what is constituted as dangerous driving. I can get pis..d out of my mind and drive past primary schools all day long at it is not classified as dangerous friving. If I am a policemen, even off-duty I can travel at over 100mph on an A-Road and I don't get charged with dangerous driving.

My daughter drove this satretch of road no different to me and thousands of others every day. She was held up by the Judge as "an example to other decent young people", as he described it. We don't have to look far to see who are the sick and evil minded people in our society.

The whole legal system relating to drivers is corrupt in the extreme and open to abuse on both sides of the fence.

I see from a recent deliverance in 'tips' that the advanced school of motorists advise -to keep in 3rd gear to maintain 30 mph in 30mph zones and that it will save fuel. Utter rubbish. Why do they think a car goes faster at low engine revs and that the optimum in fuel consumption of most modern cars is around 50mph. Many 2000 and newer cars are quite capable of 40mph in second gear and 70mph in 3rd.
Although it has nothing to do with speed they can even give incorrect advice when stationary as they advise holding in the button when engaging the hand brake. What do they think a ratchet was deigned for. Their advice to press down on the lever when the handbrake is engaged is the opposite to what is correct. I haven't met a mechanic alive who would condone their behavior.
I can't remember who said it but it goes-- It should never be allowed that those who critisize have not a fraction of the expertise,experience or knowledge of those who they critisize.