No excuse, a speeding ticket after 15 years.

[ALFAitalia]

And this shows speed/safety awareness cameras are doing their job.

They are clearly not doing the job....over 200,000 people were done for speeding last year....which will be a fraction of the actual number speeding which includes the donuts I see whizzing past me in average speed camera areas and then slowing down for the next camera only to whizz off again (clearly no idea how they work or what "average" actually means!!) or those that need their eyesight tested as the cant see a big yellow camera on a pole!!! (only a small number are obscured in reality as much as people like to say otherwise). If they were doing their job they would catch next to nobody. Everyone caught by a fixed speed camera is an obvious failure of the system to slow down cars.

 

[TC350]

They are clearly not doing the job....over 200,000 people were done for speeding last year....which will be a fraction of the actual number speeding which includes the donuts I see whizzing past me in average speed camera areas and then slowing down for the next camera only to whizz off again (clearly no idea how they work or what "average" actually means!!) or those that need their eyesight tested as the cant see a big yellow camera on a pole!!! (only a small number are obscured in reality as much as people like to say otherwise). If they were doing their job they would catch next to nobody. Everyone caught by a fixed speed camera is an obvious failure of the system to slow down cars.

Without knowing how many people are driving less fast as a result of all the cameras around, we don't know whether or not they're doing their job.

Over 40million people in the UK hold driving licences, so you could argue that if only 200,000 are getting done for speeding, around 40million aren't because they're keeping their speeds down. Obviously though, it's nowhere near that number. But it's still a possibility that say 10million are driving slower rather than risk a fine and points. That would be an excellent result.

What would be an even more effective measure is to look at the history of road fatality numbers:



There's no way that these sorts of reductions can be solely attributed to people slowing down because of speed cameras, but I defy anyone to prove that it's not a contributory factor.

 

[ALFAitalia]

Mostly down to how much safer cars are today would be my guess......

 

[st13phil]

What would be an even more effective measure is to look at the history of road fatality numbers

I've seen that chart before and one of the more interesting features is that the rate of decline in road deaths effectively plateaued around 2010. It would be interesting to understand why. Maybe it's just that we've reached the limiting factor stage where any further marginal improvements will only come at ever higher cost (not just money, but diminishing utility)?

My guess is that the periods of steepest declines coincided with the adoption of engineering changes in cars that affect the likelihood of surviving in a crash - mandatory airbags, etc. - but as always raw numbers never tell the whole story and I'd like to see a broader analysis that seeks to overlay causal factors.

The thing about road fatalities is that there is always an element of randomness about them in that two crashes of similar intensity can result in very different outcomes based on such a wide range of factors including the health and age of those involved, the time before medical intervention takes place, etc., etc. Fatalities are quite obviously a very serious matter for those personally involved, but are in many ways a poor measure of the effectiveness of any particular intervention, and likely become even less relevant as a guide to whether an intervention is effective or not as the absolute numbers diminish and the inherent randomness elements become more significant.

 

[BTB 500]

My friend go caught out like that......he thought it was NSL due to no signs.....but there were lamposts...so it was 30.

As an aside I looked for lamp posts when going to the shops this morning and didn't see any. But ... the next village to ours does have lamps on some of the telegraph poles!



No idea what the legal status of these would be in respect of speed limits - there is a 30 mph sign as you go into the village, so maybe they don't count! TBH only a psycho would be doing more than about 20 mph down there anyway so it should be a bit academic.

 

[ALFAitalia]

Yep....signs trump lamp posts!!

 

[st13phil]

No idea what the legal status of these would be in respect of speed limits - there is a 30 mph sign as you go into the village, so maybe they don't count!

Not sure if there has been a change since I last looked at the regulations (probably around 8-10 years ago), but as they were then regardless of whether streetlamps are present, 30mph terminal signs must be present at the start of the limited road when entering from a road with a higher speed limit.

If there is a "system of street lighting with the lamps at regular intervals" (and the interval is no greater than an amount specified in the regulations) then there must not be 30mph repeater signs, and the limit is 30mph. If there isn't such a system of street lighting then there must be regular 30mph repeaters present for the limit to enforceable.

 

[BTB 500]

Interesting, this would presumably qualify as a 'system of street lighting' although I'm not sure how regular the lights are or how widely they're spaced. Driving through in daylight though you really don't notice them ... you just see telegraph poles (which are along every road - mains power distribution to all the properties is done this way rather than via underground cables). I don't recall repeater signs but I'll look closer next time (I've driven down this road regularly for 4 years now ).

 

[AMGeed]

Hope it’s something insanely fast.

In spite of my recent ticket, it would be rude not to

 

[Wearsthefoxhat]

Yep,
Hopefully my next car in waiting will have the newer technology

and a few 100 more bhp..eh… is a new 63 on the cards ?.

 

[HappytalkAgain]

In spite of my recent ticket, it would be rude not to

I predict an E63 in Hyacinth Red with light bright interior.

 

[AMGeed]

and a few 100 more bhp..eh… is a new 63 on the cards ?.

Checking one out at the weekend Brian

 

[Wearsthefoxhat]

I predict an E63 in Hyacinth Red with light bright interior.

Can’t go wrong with that colour combo imho…

 

[SmartAmg]

I predict an E63 in Hyacinth Red with light bright interior.

If I recall, he just missed out on one, just before the Black, one. Lovely colour combo.

 

[HappytalkAgain]

If I recall, he just missed out on one, just before the Black, one. Lovely colour combo.

I hope Rog goes for the ‘s’ with those beautiful performance seats and bright Red callipers. . Oh and don’t forget the full digital dash,

Oh, and in estate guise so I can buy it when he’s ready to change.

 

[Wearsthefoxhat]

I hope Rog goes for the ‘s’ with those beautiful performance seats and bright Red callipers. . Oh and don’t forget the full digital dash,

Oh, and in estate guise so I can buy it when he’s ready to change.

Oooh, a bit like this, but with the bucket seats and drift mode..

 

[MSG2004]

They are clearly not doing the job....over 200,000 people were done for speeding last year....which will be a fraction of the actual number speeding which includes the donuts I see whizzing past me in average speed camera areas and then slowing down for the next camera only to whizz off again (clearly no idea how they work or what "average" actually means!!) or those that need their eyesight tested as the cant see a big yellow camera on a pole!!! (only a small number are obscured in reality as much as people like to say otherwise). If they were doing their job they would catch next to nobody. Everyone caught by a fixed speed camera is an obvious failure of the system to slow down cars.

One of the main reasons the speed cames (offical name, 'safety cams') are "not doing their job" in my view is, the cams are not always clearly marked and should be marked even more clearly if the real intention of putting up these cams was 'safety.' You will always get the 20%+ morons who could not give a f re rules and putting other people's lives at risk.

 

[SmartAmg]

Unofficial name... "Cash Cams"

 

[HappytalkAgain]

Oooh, a bit like this, but with the bucket seats and drift mode..

Oooooooooh YES! (I forgot about the all important ’Night Pack’ )

 

[AMGeed]

If I recall, he just missed out on one, just before the Black, one. Lovely colour combo.

Good memory there Tony
Yes I missed out on a W212 E63S in Hyacinth/Crystal Grey when the owner changed his mind last minute. I'd already bought the train ticket to travel there as well.
I did get a good replacement with the black one but it wasn't my first choice at all.
No black one for me this time, I've had enough of that colour, but I may have to settle for a black interior if the exterior and options stack up.
There is a very nice 20 plate one in Southampton with light interior, but the exterior is black so ruled it out unfortunately.