Good news spreads fast...

[Scotty]

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em! [smiley=thumbsup.gif]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-10711786

[JAYJAY]

caught by 2 cameras over the last few years - one doing 38 in a 30 - going down hill at 5.20 in the morning - didn't see ANY other traffic - the 2nd on queens drive - dual carriageway - doing 57 in very light traffic taking someone to the hospital.

Can't see how either of those set of points and fines made the roads any safer - well done oxfordshire!!

And well done Scotty for the post

[Andy63]

Found this further down the same page.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-10719314 :'(

[Morticia]

Another one lost,

Ride In Peace

[Ducatista]

RIP.

I think this is mixed news and can't agree with Scotty that it's good news.
Yes sure I am against putting cameras in places where they are not safety related just to increase revenues.
But this could have an impact on road safety and the body count could increase.

Remember it's not just you that can go faster but all the other muppets out there including the ones that crash into stationary orange tango coloured bikes without even looking.
Given the general level of cometance our there on the road, I think an overall increase in speed would be bad, because most road users do not use it judiciously.
But we shall see when the KSI statistics come out.

[Scotty]

We'll have to agree to disagree on that count then Lisa. I found this quote on-line just now:
"Tory-run Swindon BC last year switched off speed limits on its patch, with results from the first six months showing no effect on the overall number of casualties."

If Speed Cameras were truly a safety device, then why isn't there one outside EVERY school in the country? The potential (and extremely contentious) claims for safety improvements from the cameras have been overshadowed by the accountants and bean-counters who have had them placed in locations to maximise takings end they have become revenue-generators, nothing more. >:(

Sad news indeed about the guy from Slough, R1 in a head-on with a van on the A40... :-? hmmm, draw your own conclusions :-/

[Morticia]

I personally think cameras cause more trouble. I forget they are there (hence 2 tickets so far) while the driver in front approaches them at 60+ then wacks the brakes on, which to me, on a wet day, is a nasty shock, a test of the old reflexes, and well, yeah, the old brakes too LOL

[R1chie]

For all the good reasons behind speed cameras when they first came out, they're certainly not there anymore.

Now with sat navs warning people of upcoming cameras most are rendered useless bar the odd sales rep who's too busy munching on his blt.

What I've noticed recently in Wilts is the number of displays which shows what speed you are actually doing and the effect they have on motorists. They seem to be a lot more effective...kind of like instant shame enforcement.

As much as I like being in a camera free zone, I suspect sooner or later they'll return. Probably the uber cameras that are being reported upon which sit in a 'cat eye' like box and can measure speeds both ways. That'll be the day I stop riding on the road I think.

[Ducatista]

We'll have to agree to disagree on that count then Lisa.

No worries :)

I just have mixed feeling about it.
I'm not worried about you going faster Scotty becasue you have the capability, but some of the people I see chatting on their phones etc.

The proof of the pudding will be there over time.

If it does show no increase in accidents then I shall be glad.

[Uber Dave]

As much as I like being in a camera free zone, I suspect sooner or later they'll return. Probably the uber cameras that are being reported upon which sit in a 'cat eye' like box and can measure speeds both ways. That'll be the day I stop riding on the road I think.



They wont happen, it was a while ago I read about it, but the Daughter of the Man who invented the Cats Eye owns a number of patents which would be infringed upon if they embedded cameras in them and she basically said he father invented them to help provide safe passage to motorists and not become a money maker for the govt. If anyone put a camera in a similar mount on the road she said she would file against them.

Also I think they would be easily recognised and promptly smashed to bits if they did go that route.

Good news on the camera removal thing though, I come from East Yorkshire and there are VERY VERY few cameras anywhere round where I live except from some very dangerous junctions and near schools. I always wondered why in Lincs, Wilts and Oxford they had so many as some of the roads really do not justify the cameras presence.

Good Riddance!

[ro]

...the Daughter of the Man who invented the Cats Eye owns a number of patents which would be infringed upon if they embedded cameras in them...
Unfortunately Percy Shaw's benevolent will can't be protecting us now as he died in 1976 (aged 86) and patents expire after 20 years.

[Jon_W]

Now with sat navs warning people of upcoming cameras most are rendered useless bar the odd sales rep who's too busy munching on his blt.




Surely if someone slows down for the camera, then the camera has done it's job???

I don't think there is one cure all for road safety. fixed cameras, mobile cameras, average speed cameras and good ole' coppers all have a part to play. Relying on one solution is in my opinion daft. Gatso's get speed down in one area, such as outside schools or on dangerous junctions. A cop with a gun will catch speeders but will it cut accidents in the long run??

I think, the removal of cameras is a finantial decision and has very little to do with road safety. The fixed cameras are all known about, mapped and programmed into every GPS in the land as stated above. So the revenue recieved has dropped, even though they still slow people down for a short distance. The fixed cameras cost money to run and maintain.

The man with the gun conversly can be anywhere, there is no need to prove the location chosen is a black spot and the same camera can change location multiple times per day. As detectors are now banned, there is no way of detecting the vans, so you have to rely on observation. By the time you see the van, the van has seen you. Booked! Coppers do not need to man the vans, trained voulenteers can now do this, so the cost is minimised.

Sorry, I do not believe this is a moment to cheer. Greed has prevailed in my opinion.

[jonnydangerous]

"speed camera ahead.....on the brakes.....slow down for the white lines....gone past them......go like hell again........"
everybody does this!
speed cameras DO make you slow down, agreed.....but ONLY for 12 yards.....!!!!!......
theyre as much use as a tax disc holder in a Pikeys shogun!