Letter sent to my MP
Discussion
Dear Mr MP
I am writing to you as a high mileage driver, an enthusiastic member of the Association of British Drivers and a member of the Shropshire public having a great concern about road safety issues.
You will be aware that the county has recently had thrust upon it a so called Safety Camera Partnership that is threatening to swamp our previously pleasant Shropshire roads with many fixed and mobile speed cameras. You will also be aware of the furore and resentment their activities and public statements have created in your area amongst the ordinary, law-abiding population. Unfortunately this is being directed towards the police even though West Mercia Constabulary only has a marginal involvement in the Partnership. Never before do I recall so many letters being published by the Shropshire Star on one subject and it is clear that the police force’s good reputation is being deeply undermined. This situation will only become worse as more mobile units begin to hit our rural community.
Published statements from Mr McAvoy of the Partnership along the lines of “leniency and flexibility for drivers is a thing of the past” do not help this situation at all! Unlike Mr McAvoy’s team, real traffic police use their discretion and intelligence when policing our roads and, when it comes to speed, focus more upon excessive and inappropriate speed rather than minor transgressions. Unlike the euphemistically named “safety cameras” traffic police tackle all types of bad or unsafe driving. To the Safety Camera Partnership it is of no consequence if people drive dangerously, incompetently or in a drunken state as long as they do so beneath the speed limit. This grossly unbalanced road safety strategy is scandalous and is particularly galling to those amongst us who take our driving seriously and have taken steps to develop our driving skills further than the minimal level prescribed by the driving test.
I can assure you I would feel much safer and happier being driven at 70mph along a single carriageway A-road by an experienced driver maintaining a high level of concentration rather than at 45-50mph by somebody demonstrating a potentially fatal lack of observation, anticipation and planning. Yet the latter do not get penalised!
Unfortunately there is a politically correct but misguided stance that blindly considers speed cameras to be a good thing. Twisted statistics initially fooled the Shropshire Star into being supportive but now, having become more knowledgeable about the debate and witnessing the overwhelming adverse reaction from Shropshire people, demonstrate a more middle ground and critical viewpoint. In a recent poll carried out by the Shropshire Star 76% of people expressed their opinion that speed cameras were not the answer!
Don Foster (Shadow Secretary for Transport) has recently stated his concern about the reduction in traffic police on the roads during the last two to three years. This reduction is often as a result of local authorities incredibly naïve view that speed cameras are a panacea and can now doing the “policing”. This demonstrates their deep lack of comprehension of driving and experience of the dangerous driving of people beneath speed limits!
They are influenced by the Department for Transport’s claim that accidents have decreased by up to 35% near camera sites. However, we all know what you can do with statistics, and sure enough the DfT’s statistics fail to mention the many camera sites where accidents remain unchanged or have actually increased! This is undoubtedly to avoid loss of face and because the government values the self-funding nature of speed cameras while being seen to have a road safety strategy.
Speed cameras are not the answer since excessive speed accounts only for approximately 7% of road traffic accidents (see www.abd.org.uk, speed section).
The common causes of accidents which speed cameras do not address are……
Failure to judge another person’s path or speed
Carelessness
Inattention
Following too close
Failure to look, see or observe
Fatigue
Alcohol impairment
I hope you might have the courage to look beyond the Department for Transport’s stage-managed statistics relating to speed and look into the real causes of accidents rather than automatically lend your support to this Brunstrom-like policy that will undoubtedly be discredited in future years.
RegMolehusband
I am writing to you as a high mileage driver, an enthusiastic member of the Association of British Drivers and a member of the Shropshire public having a great concern about road safety issues.
You will be aware that the county has recently had thrust upon it a so called Safety Camera Partnership that is threatening to swamp our previously pleasant Shropshire roads with many fixed and mobile speed cameras. You will also be aware of the furore and resentment their activities and public statements have created in your area amongst the ordinary, law-abiding population. Unfortunately this is being directed towards the police even though West Mercia Constabulary only has a marginal involvement in the Partnership. Never before do I recall so many letters being published by the Shropshire Star on one subject and it is clear that the police force’s good reputation is being deeply undermined. This situation will only become worse as more mobile units begin to hit our rural community.
Published statements from Mr McAvoy of the Partnership along the lines of “leniency and flexibility for drivers is a thing of the past” do not help this situation at all! Unlike Mr McAvoy’s team, real traffic police use their discretion and intelligence when policing our roads and, when it comes to speed, focus more upon excessive and inappropriate speed rather than minor transgressions. Unlike the euphemistically named “safety cameras” traffic police tackle all types of bad or unsafe driving. To the Safety Camera Partnership it is of no consequence if people drive dangerously, incompetently or in a drunken state as long as they do so beneath the speed limit. This grossly unbalanced road safety strategy is scandalous and is particularly galling to those amongst us who take our driving seriously and have taken steps to develop our driving skills further than the minimal level prescribed by the driving test.
I can assure you I would feel much safer and happier being driven at 70mph along a single carriageway A-road by an experienced driver maintaining a high level of concentration rather than at 45-50mph by somebody demonstrating a potentially fatal lack of observation, anticipation and planning. Yet the latter do not get penalised!
Unfortunately there is a politically correct but misguided stance that blindly considers speed cameras to be a good thing. Twisted statistics initially fooled the Shropshire Star into being supportive but now, having become more knowledgeable about the debate and witnessing the overwhelming adverse reaction from Shropshire people, demonstrate a more middle ground and critical viewpoint. In a recent poll carried out by the Shropshire Star 76% of people expressed their opinion that speed cameras were not the answer!
Don Foster (Shadow Secretary for Transport) has recently stated his concern about the reduction in traffic police on the roads during the last two to three years. This reduction is often as a result of local authorities incredibly naïve view that speed cameras are a panacea and can now doing the “policing”. This demonstrates their deep lack of comprehension of driving and experience of the dangerous driving of people beneath speed limits!
They are influenced by the Department for Transport’s claim that accidents have decreased by up to 35% near camera sites. However, we all know what you can do with statistics, and sure enough the DfT’s statistics fail to mention the many camera sites where accidents remain unchanged or have actually increased! This is undoubtedly to avoid loss of face and because the government values the self-funding nature of speed cameras while being seen to have a road safety strategy.
Speed cameras are not the answer since excessive speed accounts only for approximately 7% of road traffic accidents (see www.abd.org.uk, speed section).
The common causes of accidents which speed cameras do not address are……
Failure to judge another person’s path or speed
Carelessness
Inattention
Following too close
Failure to look, see or observe
Fatigue
Alcohol impairment
I hope you might have the courage to look beyond the Department for Transport’s stage-managed statistics relating to speed and look into the real causes of accidents rather than automatically lend your support to this Brunstrom-like policy that will undoubtedly be discredited in future years.
RegMolehusband
My MP must be sick and tired of my tirade by now but I'll keep at it.
The whole camera theory is utter bollox as it presumes that the driver will crash and therefor enforces lower speeds to cater for this 'inevitable' crash to reduce death or injury. Thing is if the driver was trained properly his 'inevitable' crash would be less of a certainty.
It's kinda like selling aircraft without wings, because if they did they would take off and because you got your licence in a packet of frosties you would crash.
Or like modern medicine, never mind the cause, treat the symptom.........ah now I geddit, if you cure the cause there are no more symptoms for people to buy snake oil for.
The whole thing stinks
The whole camera theory is utter bollox as it presumes that the driver will crash and therefor enforces lower speeds to cater for this 'inevitable' crash to reduce death or injury. Thing is if the driver was trained properly his 'inevitable' crash would be less of a certainty.
It's kinda like selling aircraft without wings, because if they did they would take off and because you got your licence in a packet of frosties you would crash.
Or like modern medicine, never mind the cause, treat the symptom.........ah now I geddit, if you cure the cause there are no more symptoms for people to buy snake oil for.
The whole thing stinks
how do I contact my mp his name is jeff hoon and like mr blair spends more time abroad than at home so how can you get him to understand any problem you may have ?.especilly when you read in the papers he is a yes man or a possible no brainer it could be worse I suppose we may have got prescot I rest my case
www.faxyourMP.com
Fantastic service.
Edited to add Pi55 - Jeff Hoon is a great one! You want an MP that hates cars or whatever because it's these that need to feel the growing resentment towards their policies!
Get writing!
>> Edited by _Al_ on Friday 29th August 15:00
Fantastic service.
Edited to add Pi55 - Jeff Hoon is a great one! You want an MP that hates cars or whatever because it's these that need to feel the growing resentment towards their policies!
Get writing!
>> Edited by _Al_ on Friday 29th August 15:00
pi55edoffnow said:
how do I contact my mp his name is jeff hoon and like mr blair spends more time abroad than at home so how can you get him to understand any problem you may have ?.especilly when you read in the papers he is a yes man or a possible no brainer it could be worse I suppose we may have got prescot I rest my case
www.faxyourmp.com
If you type in your postcode it will tell you who your MP is. And you can send them a fax directly, too.
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