Speed cameras - good or bad?

[idontsignin]

speed cameras are a waste of time. people will slow down when they reach them and then speed up when they go by them, everyone does it including me.

[thereisnoothertroy]

idontsignin typed:

'Speed cameras are a waste of time. people slow down when they reach them, then speed up when they go by them, everyone does it.'

Then how exactly does he explain the large numbers of speeding prosecutions/fines/points? Countless speeders DON'T slow down, only a percentage.

[lollygaggle]

Speed cameras are excellent at highlighting those drivers with little to no attention span. Many motorists enter a 'bubble' or 'tunnel' very soon after getting behind the wheel, they consequently see very little outside of that.

What then transpires is that speed enforcement per se is blamed when these drivers 'miss' the big yellow box on the thick steel pole raise 9ft above the ground, or the white van with camera signs on the side.

Forget the cameras - PEOPLE are 100% to blame for it all.

[HJW018]

Nothing is better than a real cop.

[lollygaggle]

But a 'real cop' cannot always be at any given location - speed cameras don't need refreshments or the use of a lavatory. They are not prone to racism, bias or being bad tempered, producing verifiable photographic evidence standing stoic in every type of weather.

The only reason people don't like speed cameras is because they do exactly what it says on the tin - 'go past me too fast and I'll take a picture of you doing it'.

[lollygaggle]

I am sure Kwik-Fit Fitters would disagree.

[lollygaggle]

When a 'real traffic cop' makes an arrest, they are off the road for the rest of the shift, paperwork, processing, PNC etc. Speed cameras don't enjoy such a hiatus, they are out there in all weathers, no sick days, no wee-wee or lunch breaks. A traffic officer can stop @ 4 per hour, a speed camera checks 'em all, mobile cameras operated by civilians even do both directions!