I think I detect a slight amount of resentment towards the boys in blue, sparked off by Dave’s mention of his warrant card. On the grounds that if you find a spot you might as well pick it, here goes. If I get banned from the bb, tough. First, I should say that, some years ago, I spent a couple of years working with the police (as a consultant, not an officer), and I have a great deal of respect for them. They’re a bloody good bunch of blokes who do a very difficult job, particularly in the case of the ones who work on the front line dealing with yobs. They have to put up with a huge amount of abuse and their job is not made easier by daft reports from the likes of McPherson, documentation screw-ups by the CPS, bleeding-heart liberal judges who give vicious criminals 3 months and the European court of human rights that wants to let all the prisoners out.
But somewhere along the line the police have lost the respect of a large proportion of the public – even the law-abiding middle class. The first problem is obviously the fact that they are seemingly reluctant to investigate many types of crime nowadays. There’s no point in elaborating on this because we’ve all read about cases in the papers, and possibly even experienced it ourselves.
The other problem, which is the point of this ramble, is the situation with regard to motoring offences. This is the most likely reason people have contact with the police nowadays, and it’s usually speeding. And we all know that the main reason the police are keen on Gatso cameras is because they’re profitable – and there’s no point in anyone claiming different. The trouble is that the police rely on the cooperation of “members of the public” to do their job, and if they alienate large parts of the community their job will become impossible.
A few months ago, a Gatso was put up in the town where I live. As you approach the town, on an unrestricted road you pass the 30 sign just before a slight bend. It’s still unbuilt-up at this point and I assume that the original reason for putting the 30 limit there was to allow cars to slow down (from about 50 or 60) to 30 by the time they reach the town itself. I say this because there is absolutely no point in a 30 limit at the point where the sign is placed. So you can imagine where the Gatso was placed – just round the bend, a few yards behind the restriction sign. This camera has been a brilliant money spinner. I know several people who have been caught. So they’re fined and have 3 points on their licence for basically nothing. The only reason it didn’t catch me was that I noticed it when driving out of the 30 limit and made a mental note.
In the middle of town there is a fairly dangerous blind bend. This is in the 30 limit, but nobody in their right mind would exceed about 20, because there’s a school nearby and a pedestrian crossing. Last year I was walking towards this bend at about 4pm. A couple of young girls (about 8 years old) were crossing at the pedestrian crossing (the lights were against them) when an XR2 came round the corner. It’s difficult to say exactly how fast it was going. The engine was screaming and I’d guess it was in second gear. It was certainly doing more than 30 mph, probably 40. The girls started running and the first girl made it. The car hit the second girl and she was thrown into the air and back onto the pavement. The driver (who, as you might have guessed, was a young man) seemed more concerned with the damage done to the bonnet of his car. When I pointed out he was breaking the limit he became abusive.
Was there a speed camera on this dangerous bend? No. It wouldn’t make much money, because you have to be a complete moron to exceed the limit here. However, if you were exceeding the limit you would deserve the fine and the points. Was the driver prosecuted? No. Was any action taken against him at all? No. For all I know he’s probably sued the girl for damage to his car – and won.
But somewhere along the line the police have lost the respect of a large proportion of the public – even the law-abiding middle class. The first problem is obviously the fact that they are seemingly reluctant to investigate many types of crime nowadays. There’s no point in elaborating on this because we’ve all read about cases in the papers, and possibly even experienced it ourselves.
The other problem, which is the point of this ramble, is the situation with regard to motoring offences. This is the most likely reason people have contact with the police nowadays, and it’s usually speeding. And we all know that the main reason the police are keen on Gatso cameras is because they’re profitable – and there’s no point in anyone claiming different. The trouble is that the police rely on the cooperation of “members of the public” to do their job, and if they alienate large parts of the community their job will become impossible.
A few months ago, a Gatso was put up in the town where I live. As you approach the town, on an unrestricted road you pass the 30 sign just before a slight bend. It’s still unbuilt-up at this point and I assume that the original reason for putting the 30 limit there was to allow cars to slow down (from about 50 or 60) to 30 by the time they reach the town itself. I say this because there is absolutely no point in a 30 limit at the point where the sign is placed. So you can imagine where the Gatso was placed – just round the bend, a few yards behind the restriction sign. This camera has been a brilliant money spinner. I know several people who have been caught. So they’re fined and have 3 points on their licence for basically nothing. The only reason it didn’t catch me was that I noticed it when driving out of the 30 limit and made a mental note.
In the middle of town there is a fairly dangerous blind bend. This is in the 30 limit, but nobody in their right mind would exceed about 20, because there’s a school nearby and a pedestrian crossing. Last year I was walking towards this bend at about 4pm. A couple of young girls (about 8 years old) were crossing at the pedestrian crossing (the lights were against them) when an XR2 came round the corner. It’s difficult to say exactly how fast it was going. The engine was screaming and I’d guess it was in second gear. It was certainly doing more than 30 mph, probably 40. The girls started running and the first girl made it. The car hit the second girl and she was thrown into the air and back onto the pavement. The driver (who, as you might have guessed, was a young man) seemed more concerned with the damage done to the bonnet of his car. When I pointed out he was breaking the limit he became abusive.
Was there a speed camera on this dangerous bend? No. It wouldn’t make much money, because you have to be a complete moron to exceed the limit here. However, if you were exceeding the limit you would deserve the fine and the points. Was the driver prosecuted? No. Was any action taken against him at all? No. For all I know he’s probably sued the girl for damage to his car – and won.
