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| News Story 1 | News Headlines. |
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| With the introduction... of the 'Gatso' speed camera in about 47 different countries we suspect these are going to be news for quite some time to come. As an ongoing subject... we would like to hear about the impact of Speed cameras of every sort... in different countries... how the public have responded to them... what has worked... and what hasn't. What is your opinion of them? |
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| As of April 2003... the big [and very contentious] issue on British roads is the large scale introduction of the afore mentioned, 'Gatso' speed camera. Many British Police Forces are heading down the very same road that Police Forces in other countries have tried before, without success, but will they learn from the experience of others? don't bank on it! They are planning a massive increase in the number of cameras and with the aid of a new scheme, will be able to keep a percentage of the revenue, so that they can buy even more cameras. A massive ten fold increase in fines and driving bans is on the cards in the near future. Many people are already viewing this as a cynical exercise in revenue raising, and not without some justification, it would appear that the spirit of "Dick Turpin" lives on!! | ||
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| Our assessment of the situation... would be similar to that of many commentators in the National Press, that is, these cameras should be used in places where there is a clear need to control speed, for instance, near to schools, where there is a risk to pedestrians or at known accident black spots. If the intention is to slow vehicles down [rather than raise revenue] then the cameras should be clearly marked, a successful camera placement should mean a reduction in accidents and a minimal amount of fines being handed out. In practice these cameras are often well hidden and placed in spots where the speed limits are regularly exceeded by a large number of drivers, generating a very good return, on their 'Investment'! | ||
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| Why do Chief Police officers pursue such a policy? possibly so they can produce lots of statistics to prove that they are doing something, [and it's a lot easier to set up a machine at the side off the road and let it catch lots of 'law breakers' for you, than it is to go out and actually solve crimes] showing how many drivers have been fined, is in their eyes, a 'measure of success', [but could equally be viewed as a measure of failure] and the scheme is self financing, so it does not affect their budgets. | ||
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| Any scheme such as this... is absolutely reliant on the support of the general public for whom Police officers are employed to serve. Our prediction is, they will never get wide spread support for their scheme, simply because the whole strategy is based on a simplistic lie! Their great slogan 'Speed Kills'. There is no doubt, that there is a problem with speed, but it is a far more complex problem than just drivers exceeding speed limits. | ||
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| When interviewed, Senior Police... are always careful to qualify their statements on speed: using such phrases as, 'excessive' speed or 'inappropriate' speed is a contributing factor in 30% of accidents', [a very dubious statistic, to say the least!!] These words reflect the reality of the situation, but, they are not what is being targeted, it is 'Speed' pure and simple, exceeding a speed limit!! A speed camera never 'qualifies', it is an 'idiot box' it just measures speed, it cannot take any other factors into consideration. | ||
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| Once the public starts to lose confidence... in the law then the relationship between the Police and the public starts to turn sour, it is not confined to this one area, 'it affects the whole relationship'. Police Officers, who could make an objective assessment as to the safety of a speed in particular circumstances have also gradually had their powers of discretion taken away, now often having to fill quotas, they must issue a ticket even when they don't think it is justified, what lunacy is this! | ||
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| Our conclusion is... that public support will inevitably drain away. The promise is that they will provide a better service, i.e. safer roads, [you can always get support for better services, or lower taxes,] but this means paying higher taxes through fines, major disruption to lives, and a service that to all intensive purposes appears the same. If it wasn't for the fact that these statistics were being publish, drivers would be completely unaware of any improvements in the accident rate, on the other hand they become very aware of all the new cameras because they have to 'deal with them' on a daily basis. | ||
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| We believe... that 'Accidents: Injuries: and Deaths' do not have to be directly traded for 'Fines: Bans: and Imprisonment', effective Policing means that it is quite possible [and desirable] to have low rates of both... hence our conclusion that this policy is a dismal failure!! | ||
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| The Future... | ||
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| Also, coming to a neighbourhood near you... in the not to distant future? a proposal that all vehicles have mechanical 'governors' fitted, which would physically stop any vehicle exceeding a national speed limit. Actually, not really possible, if a truck has a governor set so that it can drive at 60m.p.h. up hill while fully loaded, then it would be able to do much more than that at other times. A bad idea for so many reasons, takes away control from the driver, does not stop speeding in urban areas where most accident happen, does not deal with any other offences, is expensive, the law abiding would comply with the rules, while serious lawbreakers would simply have them disconnected. | ||
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| In Europe... many large vehicles like coaches and trucks already have much more sophistocated electronic governors fitted which do keep them to the national speed limit, but again, of all the offences that could possibly be committed, [and there are many,] this prevents just one of them, exceeding the speed limit on the fastest roads in the country. | ||
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| Satellite control of vehicles... is also being looked into, a much more sophisticated version of the mechanical governor, but using satellite navigation. Knows exactly where a vehicle is and software controls the vehicle so that it cannot exceed the speed limit for that stretch of road. Bad, for all the same reasons as before, only takes away even more control from the drivers and is much more expensive, a truly awful idea! | ||
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| Face recognition cameras... are about 5-10 years down the track, they would be able to look at the person driving the vehicle and compare them to a data-base of wanted criminals or disqualified drivers. A wonderful piece of technology, what a pity that a hat, a pair of sunglasses, some facial hair or a scarf can make it all a total waste of time! | ||
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| With the Road Supervisors scheme... the only requirement is for cameras to be able to read number plates, Police could then intercept all vehicles which had been 'flagged' on the computer, for any reason, i.e. not registered at the correct address, no road tax displayed, involved in an 'incident', suspicious behaviour, in connection with any sort of crime, possible drink driving, etc. etc. etc. | ||
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| The Backlash... | ||
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| This is how we predict the system will eventually breakdown and ultimately fail: based on experiences elsewhere. | ||
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| More of the serious offenders... will buy cars and not register them in their own names or addresses, so that they end up not paying fines at all. Meanwhile, many experienced and full time professional drivers will find themselves being disqualified and losing their jobs despite having very good driving records over many years, [by virtue of the fact, they spend so much time on the road and travel such high mileages.] | ||
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The speed cameras... themselves are easy targets and will increasingly be subjected to a campaign of destruction: including being burnt down: knocked or pulled over: locks broken or jammed: and the most likely, paint being sprayed over the lenses. |
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| Police will become increasingly unpopular... with the general 'law abiding majority' who come to view them as anything from glorified tax collectors to highway robbers! When stopping drivers they will find the level of verbal abuse getting worse and worse. | ||
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| The thousands... or millions of fines being handed out will become like cancerous cells eating away at a body, this will have a very adverse effect on the whole relationship between the Police and the Public. | ||
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| Police setting up... 'mobile units' will find that drivers will flash each other to warn of their presence. In effect, the general public [who are all in favour of safer roads] will openly conspire with each other to undo the work of their own Police Force. Once this happens it is safe to say that the Authorities have completely 'lost the plot'. | ||
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| Eventually... Police Chiefs will find themselves becoming increasingly isolated, little support from the general public, even less from their rank and file officers and finally a change in their political masters who will be more than happy to attack them and their discredited policies. | ||
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