Sick of Speeding Cars!

[jefmcg]

I'm always confused why speed cameras are hi-viz? I'd disguise them all, so drivers had no idea where they were. Can you imagine how much money that would make or how it would slow the maniacs down.

They used to dull grey, and then (back in the early aughts) there was a campaign in the tabloid press that this was somehow unfair to motorists. I could never get my head around the argument, but the government accepted it and they were all wrapped in yellow.

I remember some wag writing to a paper and saying that anyone caught by one should also get "driving without due care and attention" as well, because you'd have to be blind not to seem them.

 

[mjr]

They used to dull grey, and then (back in the early aughts) there was a campaign in the tabloid press that this was somehow unfair to motorists. I could never get my head around the argument, but the government accepted it and they were all wrapped in yellow.

You mean it wasn't an official astroturf campaign to get them painted in what's turned out to be blue/yellow dazzle camo?

For comparison, here's how the Austrians paint theirs to hide them:

According to wikipedia, the yellow requirement was dropped in 2007, but the recent (approved 2014) small d-cam I saw this week still has a mostly-yellow top section on a blue pole.

ETA image source

 

[crazyjoe101]

I like the average speed cameras, they are a right PITA for people who want to speed.

 

[oldwheels]

I drive regularly between Aberdeen and Perth. This road is littered with speed cameras including average speed ones. Since this introduction I think traffic flows much better as speed of all traffic is steady without the bam pots constantly pushing to overtake. I still wonder about the cycle time trials on this road tho’ I have only seen them early on Sunday mornings when traffic is generally lighter anyway. Where I live the street has 20 mph signs up.I think drivers misread these to mean 50 mph but just upside down.

 

[Tizme]

You got good eyesight. I seldom drive close enough to read a reg number.

I was stopped at traffic lights when I read the sticker.

 

[jarlrmai]

In 2013 2.2 million cars were sold and 3.3 million bikes, I would imagine a lot of cars are driven by cyclist.

Do these figures include an age breakdown of the intended user, I would hazard a guess that a lot for those bikes are ridden by children and a fair few of the ones sold for adults are currently taking up room in a shed and gathering dust.

 

[screenman]

Do these figures include an age breakdown of the intended user, I would hazard a guess that a lot for those bikes are ridden by children and a fair few of the ones sold for adults are currently taking up room in a shed and gathering dust.

Not a clue, but I know everyone of my cycling buddies drive a car or two.

 

[jarlrmai]

You should let the office of national statistics know so they can adjust accordingly.

 

[cougie uk]

We live on a main road in a 30mph zone but everyone ignores it. So I made a video about it.

The video is rubbish and I'm not sure how reliable those lamp post speed traps are but I counted 33 cars out of 50 in 12 minutes speeding.

Anyone else have the same bother near them? Police aren't very interested in the problem which is a shame.


View: https://youtu.be/nLWUvLuYhRA

Very late to the thread but I just came across a Speederbot account on Twitter.
It sources the average speed of mobile phones in an area that you set, and then will tweet every time a phone is detected going faster than the speed you select.

Might help your case as it'll show if speeding is an issue on that road ?

 

[ClichéGuevara]

I'm always confused why speed cameras are hi-viz? I'd disguise them all, so drivers had no idea where they were. Can you imagine how much money that would make or how it would slow the maniacs down.

I get confused by them advertising where the cameras are going to be in operation, but then prosecuting drivers that warn other drivers that there's a speed camera ahead.

If the goal is to reduce the traffic speed, what's the difference?

 

[mjr]

I get confused by them advertising where the cameras are going to be in operation, but then prosecuting drivers that warn other drivers that there's a speed camera ahead.

If the goal is to reduce the traffic speed, what's the difference?

Is the goal to reduce traffic speed to the limit everywhere ( in which case don't advertise them) or at a few hotspots?

 

[ClichéGuevara]

Is the goal to reduce traffic speed to the limit everywhere ( in which case don't advertise them) or at a few hotspots?

Looking at where they put them around here, it's simply to make money, as they're not in accident hotspots.

One regular spot is just a few 100m from a national speed dual carriageway, with no turn offs before it and the next set of lights best part of 100 miles away. They put the van on a slip road, meaning along with the distraction, it's probably far more of a danger than having nothing at all. Most of the accidents have been on the opposite carriageway, which has a sharp bend on a flyover, that often has standing traffic, and I've never seen a camera in that direction.

 

[mjr]

Looking at where they put them around here, it's simply to make money, as they're not in accident hotspots.

If motorists obey the law, it raises no money.

 

[ClichéGuevara]

If motorists obey the law, it raises no money.

Very true, but it doesn't make the claim that they're 'safety cameras' any less dishonest.

The shift to the cameras also means that they miss an awful lot that a Policeman pulling you over would pick up on, plus they can't cope with changes in conditions, and would see 70mph on black ice or in fog as acceptable.

They rely to a fair extent on people believing they're performing a social function.

 

[Time Waster]

The genius who came up with the idea to put speed camera signs up everywhere needs to be knighted. There's so many dotted around and often nowhere near cameras that the people who are likely to speed ignore them. So when there is a camera, fixed or mobile unit, they are possibly more likely to get caught.

We live on a road that has houses on one side of the road as it leads ivy the village. There's a slow road out of the village until after the train station and a road that Ts into it. From that point a lot of drivers floor it until there's a line of parked cars and it's slow again. Then they speed up past our house before more parked cars then the open road. All cars end up 30 to 40mph with some looking like 60mph between slow sections. It got changed from 30mph to 20mph last year. Nobody sticks to 20mph.

Earlier this year they put one chicane in going out, further out from our house. At times it has looked like the car without right of way not stopping. However our van with right of way caused a hesitation and emergency stop. If we were cycling there he v wouldn't have I'm certain.

During consultation stage we told them the single chicane would not do much. We said the only thing to slow cars would be speed bumps. Only the fear of damaging their speeding car would keep people to under the limit and only if there's a few along the road, proven right there.

My partner got worried by the speeding cars, bear in mind it's almost 100% of cars, so parked our old, big seat on the road. It basically created another chicane and slow spot. If every long run stretch had the odd car parked on the road it would slow traffic. It certainly did that by our house. Only trouble is we scrapped it a few weekends ago as we didn't use it and there's a water leak that meant we didn't like to drive it.

Councils know where their speeding problem areas are but budgets mean they don't want to spend to provide a working solution when a very cheap option will allow them to say they listened and responded to local concerns. Plus I suspect cars are king and they don't want to pee off the motorists. Can't slow them down.

As to the late night boy racers drag racing... well does anyone know how to build a homemade stinger?