So it's official...

[directhex]

Sponsored uniforms Christ, has it really got to that point or is this scare mongering

[kalniel]

Maybe they could start by collecting fines from themselves..

The driver of a police van caught apparently texting behind the wheel has been confirmed to be a police officer.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england...shire-34968394

[Biscuit]

As if any of us were ever in any delusion that they were for any other purpose?

[peterb]

As if any of us were ever in any delusion that they were for any other purpose?

I can see the point of average speed checks where there are road works with narrow lanes, contra flow or workers in the carriageway, and they are very effective (and if you set cruise control, good for fuel economy!) but the seemingly random placed camera (other than to stop red light jumpers) do seem more about cash than road safety.

[Biscuit]

I can see the point of average speed checks where there are road works with narrow lanes, contra flow or workers in the carriageway, and they are very effective (and if you set cruise control, good for fuel economy!) but the seemingly random placed camera (other than to stop red light jumpers) do seem more about cash than road safety.

Honestly the only things I strongly disagree with is fixed cameras on a motorway and mobile cameras without any signposts. If the police want to make a few quid out of people who flaunt the safety of them self and those around them then I'll do little more than have a light grumble about the general principle of it.

Fixed position on a motorway is pants because its not usually the speed on a motorway which is the cause of an accident. Tiredness, tailgating, distractions, drugs and alcohol are all far more common. None of these things are reduced by this kind of monitoring device. The variable cameras actually do a decent job at keeping things moving when traffic gets bad though. I just wish they didn't have the tendency to randomly come on when there is nothing on the road.
With all this said, our motorways are statistically very safe in comparison to the vast majority of the rest of the world.

Mobile cameras on roads without sign posts annoy me, because surely, the underlining point of "safety" cameras is to improve safety (the clue is in the official name). Therefore, if the road isn't signposted to state its a road which has "safety" camera supervision then how exactly does the safety of the road improve when said camera isn't there (i.e. 95%+ of the time)?
Almost all the roads I have been on that have had fixed cameras that are signposted, everyone drives very carefully, too carefully in the most part (IF ITS A 40MPH CAMERA.... DRIVE AT 40.... NOT 35!!).

I don't disagree with the police making money out of a program that improves safety, as long as said program has a long term plan of dissolvance once the goal is met. What I do SERIOUSLY have an issue with is a program that relies on people breaking the rules to ensure it makes money for the program to continue.
The ultimate goal for law enforcement should always be that the cameras to not catch anyone as they are driving safely. The moment this is forgotten (which could well have been some time ago) is the moment that sector of the police separates itself from the society its meant to protect and support.

I have had this discussion before with a friend of mine who is in the police but not traffic, and despite his disagreeing with many of my positions, I'ts very hard to argue with his point about the cuts to the police. The government has made it impossible to meet the standards they set while stripping funds to achieve it... this is part of the result.

[dotdrew]

I can see the point of average speed checks where there are road works with narrow lanes, contra flow or workers in the carriageway, and they are very effective (and if you set cruise control, good for fuel economy!) but the seemingly random placed camera (other than to stop red light jumpers) do seem more about cash than road safety.

This point about the randomly placed ones being solely for money was always my assumption, but then one was put in right near my house about 10 years ago and then almost instantly disabled so I have no idea what to think really haha. It does seem to slow people down who don't know about it but the locals just go through it at 40+ on a 30mph road.

[Andy3536]

There was an article in the local paper a while ago that talked about variable speed limits being enforced on the motorway to reduce pollution in the local town...

Then there's another problem that makes these cameras downright dangerous, i get on a very busy stretch, and frequently the speed limit on the gantry signs go to 40mph. When you add in to the fact that well over half the lorries on that stretch of motorway are foreign lorries that neither get speeding tickets or obey the speed limits it makes things quite dangerous. You get traffic in the middle and outside lane trying to do 40 while lorries are steaming up the inside lane at 60.
The motorways and there speed limits just annoy the hell out of me at the moment. TBH, i did think about doing a CBT so the A roads would be a viable option for commuting. But they are certainly not in a car for me.

[kalniel]

You need one of these Andy:

[Andy3536]

You need one of these Andy:

Now that does look fun :-)

[DennyCrane]

If everyone stuck to the speed limit, they wouldn't make any money from speed cameras. This could actually just be a *really* clever way to improve road safety!

There was an experiment, dunno where but doesn't really matter, where a big group of people followed the speed limit by the book one day on the way to work and back - it caused major traffic problems, huge delays and what not.

[TeePee]

There was an experiment, dunno where but doesn't really matter, where a big group of people followed the speed limit by the book one day on the way to work and back - it caused major traffic problems, huge delays and what not.

I'm willing to bet those major traffic problems included accidents and endangered other motorists. Speed limits do not improve road safety.