M4 cameras - anybody up for a protest?
Discussion
groucho said:
Let's get a couple of hundred PHers (or anybody that's interested) together with their cars and do a slow drive on this part of the motorway, like 30mph, taking up all the lanes. Banners the lot. 
I'm up for it.
I have been thinking along these lines for some time but now that the matter has landed in my back yard, so to speak (I live in Chippenham), perhaps the time has come to do something about it.
As Groucho said, three cars driving in convoy could cause havoc in a quite short space of time. However, a number of teams of three, setting off simultaneously eastbound and westbound from junctions 14 to 18 would have a greater effect. It would also have the advantage, should Plod like to make an issue out of it, of having to have Officers at every junction to “have a word” with the protestors when they came off (If they came off, of course ,,,!!!). The argument could then be put that Plod were more interested in the speeding fines than anything else because a) they would have to be taken off other duties to deal with the protest, and, b) the protest itself would be “helping” the safety aspect of all this because they would be slowing down traffic on the motorway. The “Safety Camera Partnership” surely couldn’t argue with any conviction against anything that helped achieved their aims for them, could they?!
A “lose-lose” situation for both Plod and the Tax gathering partnership, I suggest !!!
It would, of course, be essential that any cars involved were totally street-legal. It would be no good giving the “safety team” a cudgel to beat us over the head with when Plod, as they inevitably would, try to get the upper hand by doing a few “roadside MOTs” with a view to discrediting the protest.
Banners on the cars would, of course, be important, but so would banners from road overbridges, preferably being waved by people clearly in support of the protests. There are only 14 road (as opposed to footpath and occupation bridges) overbridges between junctions between junctions 14 and 18 – banners on half of them (and preferably well-spaced and down country lanes away from main roads – this would also have the advantage of depleting Plod’s resources if they wanted to argue the toss about the protest) would show that the protestors in the cars were not lone voices.
In brief, if we could get 30-40 people together acting as a team, the M4 in Wiltshire could virtually grind to a halt, and all in the name of safety. The fuel protestors did it in 2000 and did us all a lot of favours; perhaps its time to repay them.
Publicity would also be important. I shall be firing off a salvo to the Wiltshire Gazette and Herald next week to hopefully start a ball rolling.
I might add that I have never been caught speeding in 37 years on the road. My interest in all this is really that I have become totally sick and tired of this “Big Brother” attitude regarding speed cameras, whilst you are wasting your breath if you report other “minor crime” like muggings, burglaries and harassment to Plod, because they don’t seem to be at all interested – perhaps if these people had registration numbers tattooed on their foreheads, they might be able to do something about it!
If anybody out there shares my views and would like to help in getting something organised, please e-mail me at robin@rsummerhill.freeserve.co.uk .
towman said:
Please, please - if you are going to do it (and more power to you if you do), do it at the weekend, prefferably Saturday. Some of us who drive for a living and are not affected by motorway cameras just need to get on with it.
cheers
Steve
But then, Steve, it would have next to no effect - you know that it will best at 8am Monday eastbound or 6pm Friday westbound.
You're either with us or against us
(j/k) Anyway sounds interesting, I would be up for something like this, live an hour or so away from bristol.
Cheers
Paul
gopher said:
You're either with us or against us
I had a feeling I would get this type of response. I am very much with you, but if it happens on a normal working day you will not gain much sympathy from the neutrals. You may even get a hostile response - it only takes one journalist to get held up in traffic and write a damning piece and all your good work will go to waste.
Look at the bad publicity the truckers got over the fuel protests - Mr and Mrs average don`t like anything which disturbs their dreary little lives.
The weekends are relatively quiet, news wise, so you may be able to tip-off a film crew. remember, if you are making a protest, good publicity is everything.
If you do it, I wish you the very best of luck. If it works, go for the M25 next - I`ll join you.
Steve
rs1952 said:
groucho said:
Let's get a couple of hundred PHers (or anybody that's interested) together with their cars and do a slow drive on this part of the motorway, like 30mph, taking up all the lanes. Banners the lot.
I'm up for it.
I have been thinking along these lines for some time but now that the matter has landed in my back yard, so to speak (I live in Chippenham), perhaps the time has come to do something about it.
As Groucho said, three cars driving in convoy could cause havoc in a quite short space of time. However, a number of teams of three, setting off simultaneously eastbound and westbound from junctions 14 to 18 would have a greater effect. It would also have the advantage, should Plod like to make an issue out of it, of having to have Officers at every junction to “have a word” with the protestors when they came off (If they came off, of course ,,,!!!). The argument could then be put that Plod were more interested in the speeding fines than anything else because a) they would have to be taken off other duties to deal with the protest, and, b) the protest itself would be “helping” the safety aspect of all this because they would be slowing down traffic on the motorway. The “Safety Camera Partnership” surely couldn’t argue with any conviction against anything that helped achieved their aims for them, could they?!
A “lose-lose” situation for both Plod and the Tax gathering partnership, I suggest !!!
It would, of course, be essential that any cars involved were totally street-legal. It would be no good giving the “safety team” a cudgel to beat us over the head with when Plod, as they inevitably would, try to get the upper hand by doing a few “roadside MOTs” with a view to discrediting the protest.
Banners on the cars would, of course, be important, but so would banners from road overbridges, preferably being waved by people clearly in support of the protests. There are only 14 road (as opposed to footpath and occupation bridges) overbridges between junctions between junctions 14 and 18 – banners on half of them (and preferably well-spaced and down country lanes away from main roads – this would also have the advantage of depleting Plod’s resources if they wanted to argue the toss about the protest) would show that the protestors in the cars were not lone voices.
In brief, if we could get 30-40 people together acting as a team, the M4 in Wiltshire could virtually grind to a halt, and all in the name of safety. The fuel protestors did it in 2000 and did us all a lot of favours; perhaps its time to repay them.
Publicity would also be important. I shall be firing off a salvo to the Wiltshire Gazette and Herald next week to hopefully start a ball rolling.
I might add that I have never been caught speeding in 37 years on the road. My interest in all this is really that I have become totally sick and tired of this “Big Brother” attitude regarding speed cameras, whilst you are wasting your breath if you report other “minor crime” like muggings, burglaries and harassment to Plod, because they don’t seem to be at all interested – perhaps if these people had registration numbers tattooed on their foreheads, they might be able to do something about it!
If anybody out there shares my views and would like to help in getting something organised, please e-mail me at robin@rsummerhill.freeserve.co.uk .
Bloomin hell, a breath of fresh air. May I applaud you rs for doing something against the camera overlords which doesn't involve breaking the speed limit and simply playing into their hands
>> Edited by funkyrobot on Friday 15th April 09:24
I'm in!
If there are 10-14 bridges, then maybe we could do a little 'driver reducation' with short high impact messages on banners
eg
Bridge 1; '£700m in Speeding Fines Since 98'
Bridge 2; 'Yet Deaths on UK roads rising'
Bridge 3; 'Doesn't add up does it?'
Bridge 4; 'Had enough of paying through the nose?'
Bridge 5; 'Concentrate on the real issues!'
Bridge 6; '1m UNINSURED drivers on UK roads'
Bridge 7 'Cameras don't catch them'
Bridge 8 'Or Drunks. Or Dangerous Drivers'
Bridge 9 'Seen many Traffic Police recently?'
Bridge 10 'Thought not'
Bridge 11 'Plenty of cameras though aren't there?'
Bridge 12 'Still feel safer????'
Bridge 13 'More TrafPol Less Speed Cameras'
Bridge 14 'No we're not extremists; just normal people sick of being persecuted'
This would require some financial resources though... but may make the dailies??
Agree with KITT that doing it in sports cars would make it easy for the Lentillers to marginalise us rapidly and effectively.... look at all the rich kids moaning...
ed
If there are 10-14 bridges, then maybe we could do a little 'driver reducation' with short high impact messages on banners
eg
Bridge 1; '£700m in Speeding Fines Since 98'
Bridge 2; 'Yet Deaths on UK roads rising'
Bridge 3; 'Doesn't add up does it?'
Bridge 4; 'Had enough of paying through the nose?'
Bridge 5; 'Concentrate on the real issues!'
Bridge 6; '1m UNINSURED drivers on UK roads'
Bridge 7 'Cameras don't catch them'
Bridge 8 'Or Drunks. Or Dangerous Drivers'
Bridge 9 'Seen many Traffic Police recently?'
Bridge 10 'Thought not'
Bridge 11 'Plenty of cameras though aren't there?'
Bridge 12 'Still feel safer????'
Bridge 13 'More TrafPol Less Speed Cameras'
Bridge 14 'No we're not extremists; just normal people sick of being persecuted'
This would require some financial resources though... but may make the dailies??
Agree with KITT that doing it in sports cars would make it easy for the Lentillers to marginalise us rapidly and effectively.... look at all the rich kids moaning...
ed
forever_driving said:
If you're making a list of people's names, put mine down too and contact me when needed
By the way, I'm unsure if PetrolTed would be happy with this being organised through PH, might be worth asking a moderator or maybe even the man himself?
Indeed, I have raised the subject myself. Still waiting for feedback
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