A12 Kelvedon OverPass ! Safety Camera

[fuzzer]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=410449&in_page_id=1770&ico=Homepage&icl=TabModule&icc=NEWS&ct=5

If its not about money , why charge £60 for a fixed penalty? Why not just issue demerit points and allow for driver education? A lot of the problem is due to the fact that if someone doesnt respect a speed limit .. it will not be followed. How many times have you driven through roadworks and there hasnt been a single sod doing anything? How many times have you driven down a road in the middle of nowhere , bends and twists like nobodys business , blind corners and all sorts of obsticles and its National speed limit.

These peoples time would be better spent in a traffic car driving round all the time checking up on general driving and not just speeding. A police presense is as good as a ticket. Everyone slows down round a police car , but how often do you see one? and when you do see them , they are blatantly flaunting the rules of the road that they enforce with the iron fist themselves.

This seems a more dynamic route than the current automation and cash collection that goes on?

If as much thought was put into helping the current social problems we face in our country today , we would have a basis for a semi normal community. Speed cameras have ailienated the police from the vast majority of people who see them as no more than useless at best. But untill criminals and drug dealers start wearing a BS reflective number plate on their backs with a standard lettering format for easy identification , then its gonna be easier for 2 morons to sit in a van and pull a trigger a bunch of times.

Oh , but wait ... your thinking here we go again with the whole if your not speeding argument blah blah .. yeah yeah .

 

[glojo]

The use of terms like Scamera/Greed Cameras only go to underline this point - it can't be my fault i was driving fast its the nasty system being hard on me for breaking the law, which of course i am entitled to do etc.....

I am led to believe that 'Safety cameras' are sited at locations deemed dangerous or where a number of injuries have taken place? If this is the case and these cameras are catching in some cases hundreds of drivers per day, then I would respectfully suggest that

a) The camera is not doing the job it was installed for! (making the area safer by slowing down speeding motorsts)

b) The local authority is failing in its responsibility of care for NOT taking more appropriate methods of slowing vehicles down!

c) The location might have the wrong speed limit and a higher speed might be considered!

Regards,
John

 

[Flasheart]

Glojo

I would agree with the points you raise - all are terribly valid. Although of the motorists being caught - how many are repeat offenders at that site? not many i would imagine.

Second pint is valid and i agree that the use of speed cameras is not always ideal, that they do alienate the public, that other methods could be used.

However i would disagree that at the site of an accident black spot - which for the sake of argument let us assume a camera has been placed - that raising the speed limit along that section will make it any safer.

 

[andy_k]

I am led to believe that 'Safety cameras' are sited at locations deemed dangerous or where a number of injuries have taken place? If this is the case and these cameras are catching in some cases hundreds of drivers per day, then I would respectfully suggest that

a) The camera is not doing the job it was installed for! (making the area safer by slowing down speeding motorsts)

b) The local authority is failing in its responsibility of care for NOT taking more appropriate methods of slowing vehicles down!

c) The location might have the wrong speed limit and a higher speed might be considered!

Regards,
John

option D) that despite all their efforts to get motorists to abide by the speed limit and ensure the roads are safe for all to use, not forgetting the highway code which tells us about speed limits, the big signs at the side of the road reminding us just in case we forget and even in some cases the speed limit being painted on the road the only time some motorists will slow down to anything approaching the legal limit is when they see a speed camera.

I don't see that as the local authority failing after all they are doing pretty much all that can be expected of them it's the motorists who are letting themselves down by getting caught.

I'm old enough (just) to remember when the breathalyser was introduced and the how the attitude towards it and it's use then compared to now. It used to be considered "bad luck" if someone got caught drink driving yet nowadays drunk drivers seldom get one iota of sympathy. I wonder if the next generation of motorists will look at speeding in the same way?

I appreciate that I am going out on a limb here but anyone who gets caught by either a gatso camera or a following police car shouldn't be on the road - if they are paying so little attention to their surroundings just what are they doing? If you get caught by one of these mobile units you really don't have anyone else to blame apart from yourself.

They are not making the law they are simply upholding it in much the same way the ANPR vans are being used to take uninsured drivers off the road.

I find it really amusing that people will tell you it's impossible to keep to speed limits yet they can all suddenly manage to drive just that little bit slower when their licence is at stake.

Andy

 

[glojo]

However i would disagree that at the site of an accident black spot - which for the sake of argument let us assume a camera has been placed - that raising the speed limit along that section will make it any safer.

I think we would all welcome active, aggressive traffic calming methods at a known genuine accident black spot, hopefully no one would disagree with that? I can only speak for my own local area, and if there are a number of fatal accidents at a given location then the last thing that would be considered would be a speed camera! There are many, many options that can be introduced to reduce the speed of motorists, and the speed camera is not at the top of any list?

No one likes to be inconvenienced, and sadly it is usually a case of do what you want as long as it doesn't effect me? I note that Andy has submitted a very good post defending the siting of ALL speed cameras, but woe betide the Police if they dare set up a check point to stop cars to see if they have a valid MOT or car insurance!!!

Shall we have that as option e)?

I go along with the use of speed camera's, BUT if they are detecting high numbers of offenders (in excess of 100 per day perhaps?) then I am merely saying the reasons need to be looked at, and the problem addressed, NOT left because it is generating lots of revenue.

John

 

[jimti]

1/ speed camara = a camara to catch people speeding
2/ Safety camara = a camara to make our roads safer

the first one works, but if the second one doesn't it needs replacing with something that does

nuff said

 

[Alps]

ANYWAY back to the topic!!

Went past the kelvadon turning today and nothing there!, going back that way next weekend so will give an update, maybe its a weekday thing?

 

[Donk]

Drove past there today and did not see anything, but its possible they were hiding. Well, nothing other than nose to tail traffic in the overtaking lane, lots of lorries and an empty nearside one but thats probably best left for another thread

 

[littlenick239]

Sorry, I have not had the time to follow this post all the way through. I have however had a look on the Essex police website and it does not look as if the site at Kelvedon is in use this week.

Just to point out that I had a quick look at the legislation in regards to safety cameras, especially in regards to visibility. This is what I interpreted for the literature.

- If the van is intending to check the speed of drivers coming towards the safety site, then it can only do so within a 100 metre radius of the approved site, as this is the permitted safety camera zone.
- The van must follow guidelines on style and design.
- The operator of the hand gun must identify him self, to oncoming traffic (if passing, the van identifies the check), in this case the operator was not facing towards the traffic, so the van would then identify the check.

I also feel a safety camera is not the same as a speed check, as they are designed to reduce the speed of traffic down in the area, so you see the van and then react by reducing your speed down.

 

[Parrot of Doom]

Speed camera - not Safety camera. A camera doesn't make anything safe, it just takes pictures.