Big Brother

[RVF500]

Catseyes are set to become speed traps after Britain's top traffic officer revealed plans to hide tiny cameras in the reflective road studs.

Richard Brunstrom, head of the Association of Chief Police Officers, says the Catseyes cameras will help trap persistent speeding motorists.

http://www.sky.com/skynews/article/0...449128,00.html

Well it comes as no surprise to find Brunstrom's name in the frame on this one. Does anyone really believe that his is about road safety? Or is it just another way of big brother making easy money out of another indirect tax? Remember the proposal of putting GPS in private cars so that movements can be recorded for 'tax purposes'? Roll on ID cards.

It's cold comfort to know that I didn't vote for this govt. I just hope the job in the US I'm in the frame for comes off. At least they have a constitution that stops some of the excesses of their govt.

[G4Z]

RVF, why doesnt that surprise me at all?

They say this is a saftery thing yet they have no concern for the people who will loose thier license and not be able to earn a living (cab drivers, ambulance drivers, people who have to travel to work but dont have any public transport).

Aside from that these things are likely to be digital and therefore wont need to be refilled or switched off, whats to stop them using the new number plate recognition tech to basicly track cars as they travel round the country?

[5cupa]

i think this statement defines his sentiment

''Mr Brunstrom says the new devices are needed to help control Britain's "lawless" roads and motorways.''


personally I haven't seen Dick Turpin recently

[Andeh13]

I say we lay him down on the road, let that slow traffic down. :[

[G4Z]

I suspect that might have the opposite effect...

[RVF500]

Interestingly the article states that the technology is in use in Malaysia. The inference being that this is a standard practice here.

Which surprises me as I have seen hardly any cats eyes here. In fact the locals need me to explain what catseyes are to them. So, last night I had to go down to Singapore on business. In the dark. Out of a trip of around 320 Km along the main North/South highway I saw approximately 8 Km of catseyes where they are on both sides and in the lane dividers. In jus tone stretch. About 2 Km where they were on the central reservation only and I recall only 2 junctions where they were in use on the entry only. Here in KL I have seen only a few hundred metres of catseyes on the Highway.

I spend a large proportion of the day on the highways around the city. Seems just another case of Brunstrom using anything in his obsession with persecuting motorists. Interestingly his North Wales constabulary had the worst clear up rate amongst burglaries when the stats were published last year. But the highest conviction rate for motorists. Criminals must love him

[YorkieBen]

What is the problem - stick to the speed limit? That is the law is it not?

[RVF500]

The problem is that 4 lapses of concentration over a 5 year period can spell the loss of your license. Don't tell me that you have never lost concentration whilst driving yorkie. It doesn't mean you are a boy racer.

At present at least you have a warning to tell you to wake up. If you choose to keep going or are unaware of your surroundings then you pay the penalty. This has nothing to do with road safety and everything to do with making money. It will not get people to slow down. Only visible deterents do that.

[Spud1]

Yes you can have lapses of concentration, we all do it, and creap up to 35 or so before we notice.

Which is why most speed cameras have a threshold, a camera in a 30mph area might not go off until 36, or higher. The point is that they are designed to allow for small lapses in concentration (in the majority of cases).

If you have nothing to hide, ie you stick to the speed limit, and don't break the law, then what is your problem? Maybe its a moral thing, with the camers 'only being there to make money'?

So what if they are? They work don;t they? Money is taken from people who break the law, and its used, well probably for more cameras but ultimately its used to help catch more criminals, make the roads safer etc

Speed limits are there for a good reason, and if you don't break them you shouldnt have a problem with cameras.

[RVF500]

I have no problem with the law. It's there for a reason. I do have a problem with the insidious and ever increasing intrusion that the authorities feel they need into the lives of ordinary people. I've lived in Switzerland and know how things work there. There are so many cameras in Zurich you'd think it was a society wedding with all the flash bulbs going off. Also the registration as you move from canton to canton. Pretty much your every movement is tracked. I found it oppressive. I was born in a free country. I'd like to keep it that way. Unfortunately that doesn't appear to be the case.

To me this is just another step into controlling the population. I've seen other places such as Singapore where the govt control is so oppressive. The place has no soul. I was pleased to return to KL where there may be less order but it's a much happier place. People aren't living with the constant awareness of big brother constantly looking over their shoulder to make sure they are behaving themselves.

[RVF500]

As it happens as far as I am aware there is no evidence to prove they do work. There is in fact evidence to suggest that cameras are responsible for accidents as drivers concentrate on them and not the road as they pass. That's human nature. Nothing to do with people who have something to hide.

Cameras don't stop reckless drivers, traffic cops do.

[windog]

"They say this is a saftery thing yet they have no concern for the people who will loose thier license and not be able to earn a living (cab drivers, ambulance drivers, people who have to travel to work but dont have any public transport)."

They all have the choice to obey the law!

If you think the law is wrong, lobby to change the law, not complain about the implementation of it!

[Romanov]

What is the problem - stick to the speed limit? That is the law is it not?

The speedlimit is not the problem - bad driving is, you're probably on your mobile driving whilst your pondering this fact.

I get disgusted by the amout of dishonest people on lots of forums who really think they stick to the speed limit - what tosh....I lose count of the amount of people doing over 70 on the M25 its at least 90% of vehicles yet when anyone posts they start ranting about sticking to the speed limit....pfft stop the hypocrites I say...

Cats eyes in the road will record your location at any point in the day its a big brother thing its all about collecting information and then abusing that by the government, very little of this information is used by the police but the government loves it

[5lab]

the origonal interview is (afaik) on the times online. he also claimed to want to put a prison above dartford tunnel to put motorists in easily. i think he's off his rocker, or its seriously misquoted

[badass]

i think this statement defines his sentiment

''Mr Brunstrom says the new devices are needed to help control Britain's "lawless" roads and motorways.''


personally I haven't seen Dick Turpin recently

Of course the roads are lawless! There's no fecking police cars there now!
Anyway you can make any domain lawless. Just make something that everyone does illegal and you can call it lawless.

If they were serious about making britains roads safer, they would spend some money on fixing and expanding them to reduce congestion,

[Rave]

I see bad driving all the time, but I almost never see anything being done about it. For the price of a couple of cameras you could put a copper in an unmarked car for a year- they could probably deal with literally thousands of inconsiderate/dangerous drivers. Hell, a copper standing by any box junction in London could probably ticket 50 people in a day and that would do loads more to keep traffic flowing and thus keep people calm.

It's cold comfort to know that I didn't vote for this govt. I just hope the job in the US I'm in the frame for comes off. At least they have a constitution that stops some of the excesses of their govt.

Ho ho ho, you wish.

PATRIOT act
www.papersplease.org

Need I go on?