Speed Cameras Killed This Man

[Don]

bbc web site said:

Suicide trucker feared job loss Mr Lee worked for a Northamptonshire haulage firm A truck driver committed suicide because he was unnecessarily worried about losing his licence, an inquest has heard. Kevin Lee, 38, from Northamptonshire, hanged himself from a bridge over the A52 in Derbyshire in September 2003. An inquest in Derby heard that he believed a roadside camera had caught him speeding - and the extra points would lead to a driving ban. Inquiries later showed he had actually not been caught speeding. 'Model employee' It was also revealed by police that he only had three points on his licence instead of nine, because the other points had been removed. Mr Lee, a father of four from Ringstead near Kettering, drove a lorry for a Northamptonshire-based haulage firm. The Derby coroner Michael Bird ruled that his death was a suicide. Tony Franklin of E Truckin said: "Kevin was a model employee and he was liked by all the employees and customers - driving was his life. "We were devastated to hear the news and still can't believe it is true."

OK. So this poor bloke was

a) Not up to speed on traffic law with respect to his points for totting up

b) Probably a bit unhinged

But this is symptomatic of a climate of fear being created by these damn things.

Poor chap


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/derbyshire/3508471.stm

>>> Edited by Don on Saturday 21st February 18:16

[Dan]

Wondered how long it would take for something like this to happen, and I wonder how many other similar situations have had a similar cause.

Speeding on it's own is a victimless crime, and while I don't condone the removal of speedlimits, intellegent inforcement is the key, not dumb financially motivated machines.

[kylie]

Poor fella, my friend is a travelling sales rep and unfortunately has had a few speeding fines, which have a totalled 95 demerit points. If she gets one more fine she loses her licience for three months, hence no job, she would be stuffed. If I lose my licience I just get on the bicycle or bus and my job still there, but for some people they totally rely ob their car eh!

[deltaf]

"Saving lives in a flash" is the proud proclamation of one of the scamera partnerships.....really? Howd the speed camera save this guys life then?

[rude girl]

I need my licence for work too, so I tend to keep the speed down and save it for track days.

Not being holier-than-thou, just pragmatic. Have to look at the risks and decide whether the outcomes are worth it.

Poor bloke. If only he'd felt he could talk to someone.

[Avocet]

I think this is probably more widespread than we imagine. OK, this is an extreme example but how many other suicides might have had this kind of fear (justified or not) as a contributory factor? I for one can certainly say that for me, driving is more stressful than it was 10 years ago and that over-zealous speed enforecement is a contributory factor.

[ZR1427]

I do pity the poor bloke and think there is more than meets the eye here ,but i cant help thinking this was a bit of an extreme reaction and surely even someone with limited inteligence can tote up how many points they have on their licence.

Am i being unreasonable here

[cortinaman]

ZR1427 said:

surely even someone with limited inteligence can tote up how many points they have on their licence.

i dont see why,most of the drivers with limited intelegence cant even figure out proper lane discipline i would have thought that counting to 12 is probably something these people would aspire too.

[nonegreen]

cortinaman said:

ZR1427 said: surely even someone with limited inteligence can tote up how many points they have on their licence. i dont see why,most of the drivers with limited intelegence cant even figure out proper lane discipline i would have thought that counting to 12 is probably something these people would aspire too.

There are 10 kinds of people in this world. Those who understand binary and those who don't.

[cortinaman]

as kryten said - "0011001110001101000111000111100101"

[V6GTO]

Cortinaman...next time you get on a 222 to Uxbridge let me know coz I'd like to buy you a pint and swing the lead a little.

[cortinaman]

will do mate,i must admit that the last time i went on the old 222 was about 10yrs ago though....and that was just down to the packet boat.

i'll give you a shout next time im up that way (as i live in essex now) but if you end up coming to sunny southend i'll buy you one!!

>> Edited by cortinaman on Saturday 21st February 23:49

[WildCat]

cortinaman said:

ZR1427 said: surely even someone with limited inteligence can tote up how many points they have on their licence. i dont see why,most of the drivers with limited intelegence cant even figure out proper lane discipline i would have thought that counting to 12 is probably something these people would aspire too.

Not that surprising!

Trouble is - too many people do not even look at the HC or any driving manual once they have passed their test! mentioned on another thread that my cousin (posts as "Speeder? if only!!) on another couple of forums) lives in Lancs, and has been trying to establish what effect Lancs' zero tolerance policy is having on the locals! So far, he has found that a lot admit to staring at their speedo until they have passed the scams, that too many do not appear to know the HC at all, and confess to never giving it a glance, do not know how long any points would remain on their licences, nor even, in a quite a few cases, how many they need before a ban! Howver, a great many admit to feeling a great fear when driving along 2 roads in Blackpool - which have scams less than 1km apart. You could lose your licence in less than 5 minutes if you drive along it at 32-33mph - given the apparently low trig limit here!


Feel very sorry for that poor man's family! Especially if this was the sole reason for his severe depression? Pity he did not seek advice.

[Bodo]

Propagandistic material out now.

[cortinaman]

is that an artists interpretation of what the drivers of wales will do to brunstrom after the first day of the revolution??

>> Edited by cortinaman on Sunday 22 February 00:46

[nonegreen]

Bodo said:

Propagandistic material out now.

Good this can be interpreted both ways the murderdeathkillcameras are clearly stateing their purpose, lets be positive

[McNab]

Remarkable support for banning speed cameras triggered off by this. Poll in Kettering Telegraph shows 80% in favour.

www.ketteringtoday.co.uk/front.aspx

[nonegreen]

84% now

[TonyOut]

90% now!!

[nighthawkEP3]

I won't surprise me if the scamera partnership use his death as part of their statistics, after all it his death was on a stretch of road wasn't it