Speed camera's ...........

[pcn1]

Sorry to get off topic here, and I don't normaly do this but I just passed a police speed check vehicle not 50 yards past a fixed speed camera in the middle of Slough. Now rush hour around here means you can't get out of 2nd gear and the school children are walking faster than you can drive, so what the F**k is that all about
How much man power / cost is the tax payer getting screwed for this ? I bet they don't get one speeder all morning, and Slough is not a low crime area so they should be used catching real criminals.
When the law abiding tax paying classes loss faith in the police then they really have lost the plot.
Sorry again, I'm off for a hot chocolate from the vending machine to calm down

[henry-f]

I think the Police are doing a magnificent job & I won`t hear a bad word said against them. Two particular favourites of mine are setting up speed traps in areas with misleading or non existent posted speed limits then prosecuting on the basis of street lamp separation.

The other is speed checking cars that have driven legally through villages and are starting to accelerate, possibly up a hill in open countryside in sight of the de-limit sign.

Keep up the good work fellows & a merry christmas to you and all your families.

Henry

[james s]

Got done last week 35 mph on a huge wide road with nobody around on either the road or pavemnets

I've certainly learnt my lesson. Thanks to the police for saving me from myself. I was clearly heading towards a life of violent crime

[Globulator]

From another thread:

jasandjules said:

The law says

It is not acceptable that the state through its agents should lure its citizens into committing an act forbidden by law then prosecuting them for it

The yardstick is

Did the police do no more than present the defendant with an unexceptional opportunity to commit a crime? If so, then no entrapment occurs as the crime was not committed artificially, but each case can turn on its facts. Bear in mind S78 (PACE) can allow the court to discount/exclude evidence obtained by entrapment.

There are many things that need to be proved before you can be convicted, but this looks like an additional argument for some cases..
Plus if you take it to court (even if you lose) the SCP does not get the money

[housemaster]

In my experience the Police detest the Camera Van's with a passion just like the rest of us. I was having a few beers with a couple of friends at the weekend both of who are Police officers, one of them very senior, and they share the same frustrations. They are not run by the Police and the Police see nothing of the fines they generate, which simply fill the local councils bank accounts. They simply, and in their views understandably, create ill feeling with the general public. They are not discerning, have no form of leeway or pragmatism and are there simply to raise money with 'safety' used purely as a cover. They are positioned on roads where most people speed a little, though that should not be seen as danger spots as most of them aren’t, and are set very close to the limit with only a couple of MPH over usually resulting in a fine.

You have got to love the UK, or so I was brought up to believe....

Edited by housemaster on Wednesday 13th December 12:53

[finchy]

My pal recently got done for 36 in 30, however it was
2am on a Tuesday morning as he works nights. He was the only car on the road
and was puled by an unmarked volvo.

Quote plod, "its 30 for a reason" good old Eseex Traffic Police, you can always count on them for using common sense

[Globulator]

housemaster said:

They are positioned on roads where most people speed a little, though that should not be seen as danger spots as most of them aren’t, and are set very close to the limit with only a couple of MPH over usually resulting in a fine.

They HAVE to be placed on safe roads or they fail the APCO tests:

www.safespeed.org.uk/rules.html

That's why they'll never been seen (e.g) directly outside a school entrance, but a few hundred yards up the road.

[CaptainSlow]

Where abouts in Slough was it?

[drcarrera]

I was once pulled by the police for "driving too fast", but wasn't prosecuted because I wasn't speeding! I'd been driving along a wide but faily bendy B-Road, good conditions, well within the (unrestricted) speed limit. The cops pulled me over when they'd caught me up as I'd slowed to 30 on entering a village.
The guys comment was "you were driving too fast - I could hardly keep up with you!"
I was so close to replying "I'm driving a Porsche, you're in an Astra, what the f**k do you expect!", but bit my lip and promised to drive even more carefully in future...

[runner911]

As a recently retired Sector Commander in the Police having served for 36 years, I can confirm the comments from Globulator as above , in that "Safety Camera " vans are detested by most serving Police Officers ( traffic patrol officers not included ).
I used to spend much time and effort in trying to get the Public "on board" in support of what I was attempting to achieve in fighting burglary/drugs/assualts and Policing in general etc. etc. only to see great annoyance when people were "winged " by speed vans.The vans effectively "criminalise" normally law abiding citizens.
The problem is that there can be no discretion exercised in whether or not a driver is to be prosecuted . In addition the "threshold " at which the cameras are activated varies from Force to Force.ACPO guidelines used to say 10 % plus 2 MPH so that anything over 35 MPH in a 30 MPH limit in some areas leads to prosecution. One Force I know raises this to 41 MPH or over for 30MPH limits.
Despite government statistics I remain to be convinced that speed camera vans are effective in reducing death/serious injury road traffic accidents on Britains roads.
The partnerships have to be self financing . What is not used locally goes straight to the exchequer.
In my view speed camera vans achieve little other than to raise revenue and aggravate the general public.

[Murray993]

No doubt that that reducing speed helps saves lives. However what else can Plod do well apart from sitting in a van, pressing a button when someone drives past. My gripe is not so much with the cameras or speed traps but the fact it is the only thing plod seem to do well so they go well over the top, and it seems to be just about all they are ever seen doing.

[Brett928S2]

Hi

Recently...I was pulled by a VERY young copper (around 18 I figure)...he said "why did you overtake that old man ? I realise you didnt break the speed limit of 30"

I said ..because he was driving at 15 mph ( I had followed him at that speed for over a mile)...and WHY did you pull ME and not him ???..He said.... because your Porsche could have been used in a robbery...so I said.....and after this robbery....I obey the speed limit ???

I then said...can police officers be prosecuted for wasting police time , if reported to their Inspector ???

He just didnt know what to say...his mouth opened and closed a couple of times like a goldfish....

I THEN SAID OK TO LEAVE ?....he just nodded ... lol

All the best Brett

[997gt3]

So did you catch the old biddy up again and have to re-overtake him

[jamesson]

This doesn't have anything to do with Porsche. There's a separate forum for threads about the police.

[D_G]

If speed kills then everyone on Concorde or the space shuttle would be toast, it's inappropriate speed which is dangerous. Unfortunately its the overeager traffic cops massaging their egos and figures which leads to these stupid convictions.
36MPH past a crowded school entrance deserves punishment, the same speed on a deserted road with good visability certainly does not.
Unfortunately common sense seems to be deminishing in the country by the day....

[ED965]

jamesson said:

This doesn't have anything to do with Porsche. There's a separate forum for threads about the police.

So, are you one?

just got done myself 80 in a 70, nothing on motorway, glad i got done could have done myself some serious damage. Basically traffic wardens with fancy camera's
This speed tax levy is realy starting to feck me right off, typical Blair Britain

[Globulator]

D_G said:

36MPH past a crowded school entrance deserves punishment, the same speed on a deserted road with good visability certainly does not.
Unfortunately common sense seems to be deminishing in the country by the day....

It is dangerous and does happen occasionally too. Most people slow down for school entrances, which means that APCO rules forbid the siting of a camera there:

www.safespeed.org.uk/rules.html

A nice clear dual carraigeway where it is safe to exceed the speed limit however results in most people exceeding the speed limit. APCO rules then permit the camera to be put there because most people are exceeding the speed limit.

QED, the money comes in. APCO is about making money, regardless of cost. It's a bit like the planes for put Specs cameras on the 40-foot drain, whene people skid off the road into the drain (canal) and drown. The safe fix is to put ARMCO up there. The Money fix is to install speed cameras, people will still die, but money will be made: www.fenlandtoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=3939&ArticleID=1505575

[AL666]

D_G said:

If speed kills then everyone on Concorde or the space shuttle would be toast, it's inappropriate speed which is dangerous.

*cough* challenger space shuttle */cough*

[spokey]

runner911 said:

As a recently retired Sector Commander in the Police having served for 36 years, I can confirm the comments from Globulator as above , in that "Safety Camera " vans are detested by most serving Police Officers ( traffic patrol officers not included ).

Actually, the only traffic cops I know all hate scameras as well. They would all far rather be out nicking genuine dangerous drivers and giving people a flea in their ear, rather than a spot fine. However, they are (as everybody is under Neue Arbeit) targeted on "solving crimes" and giving someone a ticket for speeding counts as "solving a crime". Giving someone a bollocking and encouraging them to drive more safely does not.

[spokey]

Globulator said:

It's a bit like the planes for put Specs cameras on the 40-foot drain, whene people skid off the road into the drain (canal) and drown. The safe fix is to put ARMCO up there. The Money fix is to install speed cameras, people will still die, but money will be made

Saw this in my local paper, shown as a triumph and a victory for our safety.

I just cannot believe how people have swallowed the "Speed Kills" bolloques. I blame Dumbed Down Britain, I do...