If its safety that matters.......................
Discussion
OK guys bit of a strange one this as its actually a call for a Gatso but I reckon most of you will support this.
To set the scene.
I drive down the A361 to Banbury every morning. It is a notorious road in the local area with lots of accidents, but equally lots of charming little villages along the route and it is a nice road to drive along when clear with lots of entertaining little sections.
One village in particular has a school for young kids right at the entrance of the village. The initial speed limit before the 30 zone through the village is 40mph, and prior to this is one of the only realistic passing places to get past slower moving trucks and tractors, as result everybody ignores this 40 limit. Into the village before the school it changes to the 30 limit, and on the side of the road is one of those flashing 30 limit signs just before the school itself. The school is set slightly back from the road with little in the way of a warning or visibility as there is a big hedge around it.
This morning two guys were charging down the A361 road and as we hit the entrance to the village there was no visible sign that they had actually slowed down from the 50-or so mph they were doing prior to entering the village, the flashing sign at the side of the road obviously served as no deterent. OK it was 7 O'clock, they probably knew that no cameras are there but I can't think of a better place for a safety camera to be sited. Imagine the scene, somebody late for work at 9 o'clock rain lashing down but comes into the village at 50 or even 40, lots of kids and mums crosing the road or walking to the school he gets it wrong and mows down a street full of kids and mothers!!
I can't think of a more obvious site for a safety camera or talivan but to date I have seen a scamera van there just once and that was parked up past the school!!
This more than anything proves to me the purpose of speed cameras is revenue generation over pedestrian and driver saftey.
Does anybody have any other examples of dangerous sections of road or road sites where safety cameras should be.
:rantmodeoff:
To set the scene.
I drive down the A361 to Banbury every morning. It is a notorious road in the local area with lots of accidents, but equally lots of charming little villages along the route and it is a nice road to drive along when clear with lots of entertaining little sections.
One village in particular has a school for young kids right at the entrance of the village. The initial speed limit before the 30 zone through the village is 40mph, and prior to this is one of the only realistic passing places to get past slower moving trucks and tractors, as result everybody ignores this 40 limit. Into the village before the school it changes to the 30 limit, and on the side of the road is one of those flashing 30 limit signs just before the school itself. The school is set slightly back from the road with little in the way of a warning or visibility as there is a big hedge around it.
This morning two guys were charging down the A361 road and as we hit the entrance to the village there was no visible sign that they had actually slowed down from the 50-or so mph they were doing prior to entering the village, the flashing sign at the side of the road obviously served as no deterent. OK it was 7 O'clock, they probably knew that no cameras are there but I can't think of a better place for a safety camera to be sited. Imagine the scene, somebody late for work at 9 o'clock rain lashing down but comes into the village at 50 or even 40, lots of kids and mums crosing the road or walking to the school he gets it wrong and mows down a street full of kids and mothers!!
I can't think of a more obvious site for a safety camera or talivan but to date I have seen a scamera van there just once and that was parked up past the school!!
This more than anything proves to me the purpose of speed cameras is revenue generation over pedestrian and driver saftey.
Does anybody have any other examples of dangerous sections of road or road sites where safety cameras should be.
:rantmodeoff:
The trouble with speed limits is they are totally inflexible and ignore weather conditions, traffic and events. I agree with tvrslag that speeding past a school during school hours especially 08:30-09:00 and 15:00-15:30 is not on. Maybe 20 or 25 would be tops at that time.
But as you said it was 07:00. And village primary schools are only open 7 hours a day, 5 days a week 32 weeks or so a year. The Gatso will be nicking people round the clock. And at 30 + 10% plus 2 mile/h is maybe still not providing protection. Look at the other thread where a little girl was killed by a car right next to a Gatso. You can be sure as hell that that car was not speeding otherwise the 'righteous' would be screaming it from the rooftops.
Zero tolerance enforcement 24/7 is entirely inappropriate for occasional periodic events. And the Gatso culture is seriously damaging safe driving practice.
Don't fall into this trap.
But as you said it was 07:00. And village primary schools are only open 7 hours a day, 5 days a week 32 weeks or so a year. The Gatso will be nicking people round the clock. And at 30 + 10% plus 2 mile/h is maybe still not providing protection. Look at the other thread where a little girl was killed by a car right next to a Gatso. You can be sure as hell that that car was not speeding otherwise the 'righteous' would be screaming it from the rooftops.
Zero tolerance enforcement 24/7 is entirely inappropriate for occasional periodic events. And the Gatso culture is seriously damaging safe driving practice.
Don't fall into this trap.
And stop calling them safety cameras ffs!!!!
They measure speed which has fruck all to do with safety!!!! AAGGGGHHHHHHHHHH
(calms)..........
The assumption that a speed camera is actually NEEDED anywhere is a pretty weak one. All it does is make the following statement: Speed limit 30, anything over=dangerous, anything under regardless of conditions=safe. A patently false and misleading statement if ever there was one.
It takes away a drivers discretion to make a judgement about whats a safe speed to travel at, but it would seem we are only to be trusted at anything under 30.... thats why cameras are a shite idea.
They measure speed which has fruck all to do with safety!!!! AAGGGGHHHHHHHHHH
(calms)..........
The assumption that a speed camera is actually NEEDED anywhere is a pretty weak one. All it does is make the following statement: Speed limit 30, anything over=dangerous, anything under regardless of conditions=safe. A patently false and misleading statement if ever there was one.
It takes away a drivers discretion to make a judgement about whats a safe speed to travel at, but it would seem we are only to be trusted at anything under 30.... thats why cameras are a shite idea.
and mows down a street full of kids and mothers!!
If there was a camera in place would it not just take pictures of the speeder mowing down a street full of kids and mothers!!......and then bill the speeder assuming he survived.
I would have thought a better idea being a zebra crossing and a good old fashioned Lollipop lady....assuming they still do them nowadays......partnered with some education on crossing roads for the kids in school ie Greencross code man.....assuming they still do them nowadays........and a....um a....can't quite remember what they are called....one of those brightly painted cars with those blue uniformed blokes in.....um..ahhh police cars, thats it.
Ive always believed that it is the job of the Police to enforce the law not inanimate objects.....although somtimes the distinction is hard to make out
sorry. >> Edited by swilly on Friday 4th April 12:22
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