Speed Camera Farce

[Khandro]

Isn't it time that the British public stood up to this form of fascism? http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/01/03/britains-lucrative-speed-camera-raises-much-money-medium-sized/

[EDDIE51]

Easy answer don't speed!

[ToraToraTora]

unusually I agree with Eddie, some of these cameras are indeed placed to optimise income rather than enforce safety but the bottom line is clear, you cannot get caught if you are not speeding.

[sunny-dave]

If you bother to read the link eddie, rather than just mindlessly moralising, you'll see that there are some serious issues with the temporary speed limit signage at the site in question - which the police and/or local authority have chosen to ignore as they are on a 'nice little earner'.

Many speed traps (especially the mobile vans) are deliberately sited to raise revenue at points where the speed limit is neither sensible nor obvious - this brings the whole system into disrepute.

[sunny-dave]

As an example - there is a section of dual carriageway near me which used to have a nasty bend and a blind junction at one point - for this reason the limit was an entirely sensible 50mph - and hardly anybody ever got busted, because it was the right speed for the situation. In fact you never saw any enforcement there, because it just wasn't needed.

The road has been upgraded, the bend has gone, the junction is now a big clear roundabout with great sight-lines and the dual carriageway is as straight and clear as any you could show me.

BUT ... they never revoked the 50mph limit on that section ... so now there is a revenue raising mobile van there at least once a week. It's a ****ing disgrace and a complete abuse of power.

[sunny-dave]

I would hope so DB - I normally don't like loophole chasing lawyers - but you'd think one would be on this case.

[EDDIE51]

^^ yes it would, there have been similar cases that resulted in refunds!

[douglas9401]

I had the great good fortune to be driving in Sunderland at the weekend. There were many stretches of road that I, as a stranger, assumed to be 30mph limit even though my sat-nav said 40. The only place I've seen with worse signage and more cameras is Southport.
I'm sure there are manifold examples in your green and pleasant land giving us visitors the impression that they're out to get us and our cash.

[Davemano]

The last line of the link say that the signs are clearly visible.

[sunny-dave]

"Well they would say that, wouldn't they"

I'd guess that it's clear as day on a quiet road, in bright sunshine - but damn near invisible in normal traffic (ie mayhem) on a gloomy North Circular evening.

[sunny-dave]

I've just 'walked' that route on google street view (dated Oct 2016).

The camera is very neatly sited just after the sign marking the end of the roadworks - where the queue will start to speed up as the pinch point is now past. I presume the temporary 30mph limit ends just a bit further up the road.There are repeaters on the road surface - but who's going to see them in heavy traffic which is accelerating away from the roadworks?

It's a nasty trick - tfl should be hung, drawn and quartered - it's not 'protecting the workers', by slowing approaching traffic - it's entrapping people who are now past the roadworks and think that they are back in the 40mph limit.