new cameras

[old joe]

hi guys another speed trap for scotland

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/4681507.stm

getting fed up with this.

dazza

[Xtremeteam]

thats ok for me,they are miles away in a place o the world i only go to get to the best offroad site in scotland  :lol:  :lol:

[TimM]

I used to really hate Speed cameras (back when I was a boy racer  :oops: ).

I don't hate them as much as I used too, especially if I'm in our Discovery (which is diesel and stuggles to speed anyway!), but I use a GPS based satnav, this warns me of approaching cameras, and then I take great pleasure in watching the unwise speed through.

Seriously though, cameras should only be used in accident blackspots, I'm not sure if Scotland has many blacspots, but it certainly doesn't have many cameras compared with the rest of the UK. If cameras are there it should represent an area that has had some fatalities, and if by putting the camera there it slows the traffic (assuming that slower traffic reduces fatalities), then it should reduce the accidents.

I would rather end up at my destination late than never.

Tim.  8)

P.S.

If my wife reads this she would assure you that I speed regualarly myself, and only slow down for bad roads/cameras (thought I better say that before someone either points out that I'm lying or too sad).

[TimM]

Thought of something else:

Are these/do these cameras spoil the countyside, I remember seeing a thread on some plyons that were being put up that spoilt some parkland (if I remember correctly).

Do these spoil anything (other than your driving), or are they just an addition to the road which is there anyway?

Tim.

[Guy90]

Can't see the problem with speed cameras. They are there to enforce the law. Don't break the law and you won't fall foul of them!

[TimM]

Good point  =D>

[V8MoneyPit]

Although you are quite right Guy, in reality, people do break the speed limit and installing yellow boxes (usually empty of course) just causes people to brake violently and then accelerate away. If that is safer than the same people doing a steady 80mph, I'll eat my hat!

Same goes for speed bumps in towns. They cause more danger and pollution than they stop. All you have to do is sit in any town centre any evening and watch the 5" tailpiped Corsas hurtling between the bumps!

[MuddyMary]

I've got nothing against speed cameras or anything else that tries and keeps the roads safer. Far too many people seem to take their driving test then forget everything and do what they damn well please, drives me mad!  :x

[NiceBlueWellies]

Too much like easy revenue for my liking.

They should put the money into more serious issues, i.e. terrorism.

[V8MoneyPit]

I've got nothing against speed cameras or anything else that tries and keeps the roads safer. Far too many people seem to take their driving test then forget everything and do what they damn well please, drives me mad!  :x

I don't think I'm alone in not being convinced they always do make the roads safer. If they were always used in the right places, I would agree 100%, but too many of them are on wide open clear roads with no chance of a child getting run down or a 'speeding' car mowing down a bus stop full of people. in those cases they are just revenue generating devices.

I think you have hit the nail on the head mentioning the driving test. ongoing driver training is more likely to have a positive effect on driving standards.

[Spooky]

Hmmm, yes, these'll slow some people down - but NOT the motorbikes, as there's no number plate on the front ...

I'm willing to bet that a fair number of the 'fatal accidents' on this particular stretch of road involve (stupid) bikers doing crazy speeds.  And let's face it - there's naff all in the way of protection on a bike, especially if a car or truck pulls into your path.

I wonder if a shout of 'discrimination' (in favour of motorcyclists) would get you off ... :? :-k

[Budgie]

Spooky,

You may be able to confirm this, I'm sure that when I was working in Southampton at the start of 2004 they were talking about putting this system in on the M27 between Fareham and Eastleigh.
Anything come of it?

[Spooky]

Nope, drove along there about an hour ago (on the way back from a flying visit to Billing), and no such cameras are in operation yet, thank God! [-o<

[denviks]

i travel the M27 daily aswell and have not seen them yet! just loads of traffic as usal.

[iianorthants]

Hmmm, yes, these'll slow some people down - but NOT the motorbikes, as there's no number plate on the front ...

I'm willing to bet that a fair number of the 'fatal accidents' on this particular stretch of road involve (stupid) bikers doing crazy speeds.  And let's face it - there's naff all in the way of protection on a bike, especially if a car or truck pulls into your path.

I wonder if a shout of 'discrimination' (in favour of motorcyclists) would get you off ... :? :-k

most cameras are starting to be turned around, due to missing money on bikers. Most biking accidents on bikes are cause be car & lorry drives pulling out without looking (try riding a bike for a week, you pay more attention to the road and tend to see that there is a lot more people then you thought  that don't look at junctions and roundabouts)
 speed cameras only slow people down for 30 yards anyway then they go back to there normal driving. my opinion is to get them off main roads and into the towns, around schools and high streets as no need to speed in built up areas.

[muddyweb]

just causes people to brake violently and then accelerate away. If that is safer than the same people doing a steady 80mph, I'll eat my hat!

erm... it's not the cameras that cause that... it is the drivers.

I'm not a fan of all the speed cameras that are around because a) I don't believe that driving fast is intrinsically dangerous and b) it is IMHO a way yo be *seen* to be doing something about road safety rather than actually doing it.

What is needed is an improvement in driving standards...  more emphasis put on anticipation, observation and control than on some of the daft 'set piece' manouvers that learners practice parrot fashion.   The test needs an overhall.

[hobbit]

Advance driving test made compulsory?

Or retesting on a regular basis

[daveh]

The speed camera system in scotland is the same as SPECS and is already in operation in several motorways including a chunk of the M25. It's biggest use so far though is in restricted sections of several morways where there are roadworks, you have been warned.

[V8MoneyPit]

just causes people to brake violently and then accelerate away. If that is safer than the same people doing a steady 80mph, I'll eat my hat!

erm... it's not the cameras that cause that... it is the drivers.......

........What is needed is an improvement in driving standards...  more emphasis put on anticipation, observation and control than on some of the daft 'set piece' manouvers that learners practice parrot fashion.   The test needs an overhall.

But it's the camaras that encourage the drivers brake and accelerate. No cameras, no stop/start driving.

As for driving standards improvement..... that is the *only* way to improve road safety long term in my view. All the so called traffic calming measures tend to have side effects. Causing some drivers to create more danger than if the traffic calming measures weren't there.

[muddyweb]

But it's the camaras that encourage the drivers brake and accelerate. No cameras, no stop/start driving.

It could also be argued that..  No speeding = no stop / start driving.. take away the cause and the symptom disappears... the camera becomes redundant.

People need to take resposnsibility for their own actions on the highways.... we are increasingly becoming a blame-based society, trying to find any reason to justify what we do.

I'm not going to evangelise about speeding...  just that if someone does it, they must appreciate and accept the possible consequences.