How would YOU stop speeding??

[5lab]

ok, i've noticed several threads arguing about speeding, and several having a go at speed cameras.. Im wondering what you guys would personally do to stop people speeding. PLEASE dont turn this into a debate about whether we should speed or not.. just imagine you'd been appointed your local anti-speeding officer or whatever, and you had to come up with a way to stop people speeding on your roads (be it advertising, education, speedcameras, traffic calming, whatever).. then try and justify it (ie cost/benefit).. im just curious if we can actually come up with a better idea than speed cameras..

[5lab]

right my thoughts (thought i would separate them from the origional post)..

i recon speed cameras are actually the best way of slowing traffic down.. i dont speed on roads where i know there to be speed cameras, and neither do most other people. I really really dont like speedbumps, because they make you slow down to waaay under the speed limit (some of the ones round here you cant take at >10mph), then accellerate away again.. it wastes petrol and harms the car and the environment. speed cameras on the other hand you can just glide past at the limit and your fine... some of the roads up here are very steep hills, and have such violent speed bumps on that you have to drop into first (on most cars, not just my POS) to get over them, wheras if the road was clear you could get up it at 30...

[Allen]

I agree with speedbumps, they are annoying... but in some places (outside schools and such) they can be necessary. If it were down to me I'd have a very strong and emotional anti-speed campaign with pictures of incidents caused by speeding (would also co-inside with drink driving) and talks from people who's lives have been destroyed by speeders.

Cameras are good as long as they ARE placed only on hotspots, not just behind trees and signs and stuff 'just' to catch people and make more money. Also, those chicane things work good to keep the speed down, but not to ridiculously slow speeds.

But saying all that, more officers on the street in cars and on bikes and walking around making a presence would have to be the ultimate deterrent (in towns obviously).

[5lab]

the thing i find with advertising is that it needs to be kept fresh and constant - it seems the government release new ads every year or so.. which probably make people think for about a week.. but after that the ad looses power, and isnt effective. i think coming up with a new ad every month or so and showing it a lot wouldnt be as cost effective as road alterations, unless they manage to change public perception to the image where speeding is wrong.. this has imo happened with drink drivers, so it may well happen with speeding eventually..

[Allen]

Yeah, there is no way near enough advertising for this at the moment. I would have a new one every month or so to remind people about the risks. We've all seen the ones about seatbelts, that one with the kids in Astra one eating a pizza, and the mother who knew her killer... her son. Hard hitting. But none about speeding?

Also, the drink driving one with the guy in the Astra (what is it about Astra drivers?), I think that would've been better if it had ended with a close up shot of the girls bike with the wheel spinning... perhaps some blood on it so you know what happened to her.

[5lab]

there have been a few about speeding - some proton doing 35 and mowing down a kiddie..

dunno if anything was meant to happen to the girl in that drinking one.. i think that was the irony.. not sure..

anyways.. dont like chicanes either.. i know a mate who had a VERY bad smash in one of them cos some plonker coming the other way lost control and slid onto the wrong side of the road at 45.. where my mate was sat waiting in his mini... fun cars but nowt in the way of frontal protection..

[Allen]

Ahh yes, the one with the dummy in the road when he gets hit by a car doing 35... forgot about that one. Don't watch TV much lately though, so wouldn't see anything.

There was a really good advert on the radio a while ago, had the sound of an accident and then it slowed down and you heard a crunch and it says things like, 'that was the sound of his head hitting the windshield' but again I think that was aimed and seatbelts.

[Allen]

Heh, how about they stop making cars that can break the speed limits? Ok, people will find ways around it, but then people who do can be severely punished for it. Also, think how much it could reduce crime... Less joyriding, less car theft, less robberies, less speeding... All coz the cars can't get away fast enough!

[Angus]

Heh, how about they stop making cars that can break the speed limits? Ok, people will find ways around it, but then people who do can be severely punished for it. Also, think how much it could reduce crime... Less joyriding, less car theft, less robberies, less speeding... All coz the cars can't get away fast enough!

there are experiments - gps thingy that "knows" the limit where you are, so stops the car going any faster.

imo, not a good idea. If you're overtaking something and you need the extra speed to clear it you're screwed.

Maybe if you had a similar system, but instead of restricting the car, it emitted an annoying noise; if you tampered with the system the you'd get a fine, points blah blah.

[5lab]

the new mini makes a 'ping' noise when you go above 75, to simply p*ss you off...

i agree with the gps point - perhaps cars could be allowed to break the speed limit for, say 10 seconds?? would do wonders for the 2nd hand car market too...

theres an ad on the radio about how teenagers dont pay attention to roads when crossing etc.. dont think it really affects much thou..

ps. big al.. i know very very well how my head sounds when hitting a windscreen. kindof a 'crunch' noise...

[Allen]

Yeah, there would need to be some sort of things like that ironed out, but lets face it, if you need to go much faster then the speed limit just to overtake, then the car you're overtaking must be doing, or is close to, the speed limit anyways... What purpose would overtaking serve then?

And 5lab, at least you survived to talk about it, my friend didn't. And that sounded horrific from where I was standing.

[Angus]

the new mini makes a 'ping' noise when you go above 75, to simply p*ss you off...

i agree with the gps point - perhaps cars could be allowed to break the speed limit for, say 10 seconds?? would do wonders for the 2nd hand car market too...

theres an ad on the radio about how teenagers dont pay attention to roads when crossing etc.. dont think it really affects much thou..

ps. big al.. i know very very well how my head sounds when hitting a windscreen. kindof a 'crunch' noise...

maybe the ping noise is to try and discourage you from going above 75mph??

just a thought.

[Allen]

LMAO!!

[malfunction]

Personally I still think cameras are the best idea - AFAIK there's no reason why you couldn't drop the limit outside schools to 20mph and enforce that with a camera. I reckon it's all about setting the limit as is sensible for the road - and not just enforcing speed either - if there's little traffic on a motorway then you can easily and safely do more than 70mph but when it's normal traffic (or even light traffic) and some tw*t is right behind you or pulls straight in front of you they should be done for dangerous driving (though obviously that raises the practical issue of how you police that - which is why the focus is on speed anway I reckon)

(BTW - IIRC - someone said in another thread a while ago that the crash barriers can't cope with speeds over 70mph so obviously if that is the case it would be better to replace them with something that could!)

[TeePee]

How I would improve road safety:

To start with I'd move cameras to accident blackspots.

I'd then start a program, whereby somone who is caught by a camera has a one-time opportunity to cancel the three points earned on his licence by attending a first aid course (paid for by the £60 fine).

I'd employ more traffic police, who are able to catch dangerous drivers (unlike speed cameras which only catch people who don't know where they are).

I'd institute better education in schools, and modify selected road systems to make them more pedestrain friendly.

I'd change the licencing, so that new drivers are limited to a certain power output (similar to motorcycles) with no direct access. An 'Advanced Test' would then be required in order to drive any vehicle.

These measures wouldn't directly stop speeding, but would improve the overall standards of driving and safety on the roads, and reduce inappropriate speeding.

[Alex]

The problem with cameras is they dont take into account the conditions. Im not saying that I think speeding is a good idea as such, but somtimes doing 85 on an empty dry motorway can be perfectly safe, whereas doing 70 on a wet motorway which is busy can be unsafe. Its the fact that they are automated that annoys me. as with police officers it is at their discretion as to what they do. Id guess that if someone was stopped for speeding, and were just given a warning, they would cut down on their speed, but without the hassle of points on your licence or a fine. An automated response from a machine is annoying, but I think a good "telling off" from a policeman will generally prove more effective.

I think speed cameras are good outside some places though, like schools especially, and accident blackspots. I quite like the idea of the SPECS camera on the M4, though I think the trigger speed should be varied depending on the conditions, so as to keep it safe rather than to stick to a certain speed.