Scamera van in Target underpass A40
Discussion
I've just passed a Scamera van set up under the Target roundabout A40 (eastbound) on the hard shoulder, just after the limit changes from 70 to 50. It's causing the usual emergency braking lock-ups, etc, with long black tyre marks leading down to the van.
Is it really worth risking an RTA just to collect this stealth tax?
Is it really worth risking an RTA just to collect this stealth tax?
onedsla said:
Is it really worth risking an RTA just to collect this stealth tax?
No
no doubt the usual, should be paying attention, not speeding not their fault if drivers are not paying attention claptrap will be spouted. Unfourtunatly somebody is going to die because of this scam, and that will just be more fodder for the scamera partnerships.
tonyrec said:
Im sorry but im obviously missing the point here. 
Im not a fan of Talivans but if people are skidding and causing mayhem then im sure that its not the fault of the Talivan.
A poor driver always blames something else to justify his/her thumb up ar*e driving.
Very true, but not much comfort to the poor sod who will one day be killed because of somebodies "his/her thumb up ar*e driving"
...and if the camera was not there in the first place then people would not be panic brakeing and there probably wouldnt be any accidents in the first place ....
Just coz one or two accidents MAY have happened on the stretch of road may just mean that too many drunken
wits have been out. But lets just chuck a camera there and everything will be alright
.... Just coz one or two accidents MAY have happened on the stretch of road may just mean that too many drunken
wits have been out. But lets just chuck a camera there and everything will be alright tonyrec said:
Im sorry but im obviously missing the point here.
Im not a fan of Talivans but if people are skidding and causing mayhem then im sure that its not the fault of the Talivan.
A poor driver always blames something else to justify his/her thumb up ar*e driving.
For whatever reason, it's a distraction which is causing unobservent drivers to panic and it could lead to quite innocent safe drivers being involved in an accident. Whoever is to blame, it is unacceptable and the cause of the problem should be removed.
The problem is the average driving standard in the UK falls well below that of the Police class one driver. The authorities did nothing to consider the impact of Gatso's and scamera vans on driver behaviour when they decided to deploy them. What goes through peoples mind is "instant ticket" hence the panic braking. Whereas the presence of a marked Police car doesn't always mean instant ticket. There always the chance of a word in your ear. The presence of a marked car usually has a calming effect on driver behaviour IMHO. We won't see an improvement in road safety until the authorities realise PC Gatso isn't the answer.
>> Edited by Godfrey H on Thursday 28th August 07:56
>> Edited by Godfrey H on Thursday 28th August 07:56
roy c said:
Whoever is to blame, it is unacceptable and the cause of the problem should be removed.
Exactly.......get everyone to slow down!
So to put it another way, i park my Fully marked Traffic car at the side of the road (not causing obstruction)or even park on an EPOP. I see people braking all the time on the approach to me, if one of those caused an Accident would it again be my fault?
I think not.
.....the cause is that same old problem, Drivers not paying proper attention to the road ahead.
>> Edited by tonyrec on Thursday 28th August 12:24
The Dictionary said:
Cause:
1. That which produces or effects a result; that from which anything proceeds, and without which it would not exist.
I think from that definition, it's quite clear that the 'cause' of any accidents resulting from panic braking would be the speed van.
Remove the excess speed and the braking would still occur since it's panic braking and the speed the driver is travelling at at the time is irrelevant, since they brake regardless.
Remove the speed van and the braking would not occur. Ergo, it is the cause.
Now perhaps it's not to blame, but I think it's very difficult to argue it isn't the cause.
tonyrec said:
Whoever is to blame, it is unacceptable and the cause of the problem should be removed.
Exactly.......get everyone to slow down!
So to put it another way, i park my Fully marked Traffic car at the side of the road (not causing obstruction)or even park on an EPOP. I see people braking all the time on the approach to me, if one of those caused an Accident would it again be my fault?
I think not.
.....the cause is that same old problem, Drivers not paying proper attention to the road ahead.
>> Edited by tonyrec on Thursday 28th August 12:24
I agree about driver's not paying attention. But what can we do about it? This must be the biggest contributor to road injuries/collisions out there.
tonyrec said:
I agree about driver's not paying attention. But what can we do about it? This must be the biggest contributor to road injuries/collisions out there.
I beleive that Education is the answer over Prosecution......how we do that...hmmmmmmmm.
Get more police officers out in marked cars! If we could cut down the paper work as well that would be grand.
If this is the van that was under the flyover just after the polish war memorial roundabout on the london bound A40 last week, then one thing that has been missed is that the van is sited under an underpass which is in a dip in the road so it is not visible to cars until they are about 100 metres from the van this causes the late braking !! Safety or a racket ??
It was there again today, I don't see that siting the van at this location has anything to do with safety, it is purely there to generate income as it is only about 500m before a static Gatso(at the B&Q), is in a dip so not very visible. Infact both the van and the static Gatso are more likely to cause accidents than reduce them. One thing I did notice though was the guy in the van drivers seat was having a nice snooze !!!!! when I passed. It would far better if the government invested in the more traffic police and made the driving test harder and more focused on high speed driving/car control etc.
I have to disagree on the grounds that unless you have witnessed it from the enforcement point of view and on that particular road in question...your point of view is in noway accurate.
We have a major problem with road deaths on the A40 as well as our fair share ofknock for knock Damage onlys which incidently take up a lot of our valuable time and cause miles of tailbacks for the everyday commuter.These are all down to driver error..ie, not paying proper attention to whats in front. How else do you explain the number of Collisions at no more than 20mph on a straight road?
However, speed is a factor and is near to the top of the list
The way forward is through driver education but to be honest if they cant stick to the speed limit when they know that theres a good chance that a Talivan, or other speed enforcement will be there,then im afraid that they get all they deserve and more.
We have a major problem with road deaths on the A40 as well as our fair share ofknock for knock Damage onlys which incidently take up a lot of our valuable time and cause miles of tailbacks for the everyday commuter.These are all down to driver error..ie, not paying proper attention to whats in front. How else do you explain the number of Collisions at no more than 20mph on a straight road?
However, speed is a factor and is near to the top of the list
The way forward is through driver education but to be honest if they cant stick to the speed limit when they know that theres a good chance that a Talivan, or other speed enforcement will be there,then im afraid that they get all they deserve and more.
I think you have kind of hit on something(no pun intended) i.e. drivers paying attention and that speed is a part of it. What I am trying to say is it would be far better to have more of you guys cruising around in marked cars which causes people to 'wake up' check there speed etc. rather than just fining anyone who goes over the limit, we all do that police included. I think the fact that these cameras fine you regardless of the situation causes people to panic and brake hard to avoid the cost, whereas a marked car has a more calming affect.
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