As you know from other threads I do not agree with speed cameras but a visit to www.astucia.co.uk really does get you in the big brother state. All you speeders out there give yourself nightmares.
This company makes intelligent road studs which in the main appear a damn good idea for many of the examples they give. Yet what they do not say on the website is they are developing a road stud which looks like any other, yet can measure speed, contains a camera, and can communicate via radio to the "road authorities" ie police.
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Interesting.......will go and have a look
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I am in the process of suggesting, through semi-official chanels, that speeding be de-criminalised.
The final straw came when a JP of 25 years standing was forced to resign from the bench for going through a speed trap too fast.
Speeding is treated in law in the same way as, for example, shoplifting. Yet it is a fair assumption that, if we are honest, practically every driver exceeds a speed, however marginally and for however short a time, every time they venture on the road.
In the course of a year all but a handful of motorists must exceed at some time.
That means that, technically, thirty million citizens commit criminal acts each year, seventy five percent of the adult population. A system which makes criminals of three quarters of the population needs serious revision.
Something in the region of three million motorists are fined for the offence each year, around one in ten of all drivers. The drain on the economy in fines, prosecution costs, court costs, time off work to appear, etc. must far outweigh the fines imposed.
I believe that the emphasis should be shifted to "real" offences, such as careless driving, dangerous driving, driving without due care and attention, badly maintained vehicles, etc.. That would have a real impact on safety.
It is far too easy for the authorities to put in a machine and send out millions of fine demands, rather than putting police on the roads to take out those drivers who put the lives and health of others at risk. The really dangerous drivers do not feature proportionately in the speeding fine figures as they either make sure that they are within the limit going past cameras or else the vehicle is not traceable to them.
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No, no, no. Speeding is NOT a criminal offence in the same way as shoplifting. Do you get a criminal record for doing it? No. Do you go to gaol for doing it? No. What you get is a fine and points on your licence. They can't even hold you on remand unless there's some reason other than speeding.
If you can be shown to have been driving dangerously etc. that's when things get interesting. Holding a driving licence is a privilege, just like owning a hand gun licence or any other kind of licence. Behave badly and they'll take it away. Kill or injure someone or damage property while practising the licensed activity and thats when the regular criminal law cuts in.
Why is it motorists feel so persecuted by this? It's simple. Drive carefully and obey the rules. They are put there to protect you as far as possible from your own shortcomings as a road user and those of others.
Chris
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Brian,
Sorry to take issue but Speeding is not (yet) a Criminal Offence dealt with in the same way as Shoplifiting is dealt with. Yes a record is held centrally for the three years that the points remain on your licence. A speeding offence is not a "Recordable Offence" i.e. where you have your fingerprints taken and you are given a Criminal Record Office number which remains with you for life; unless of course the offence is connected with a criminal offence such as nicking a car or killing somebody (death by dangerous/careless driving). Whilst agreeing in general with you, statisically excess speed is a factor in every accident. Whilst mindless, distrectionless enforcement is nothing but a way of raising cash there must be some punative consequence for speeding or are you advocating that one can be fined for speeding within a 30 mph zone but that fine if not paid there is no means to enforce payment by imprisonment or (more popular these days) by the execution of "distress" warrants by courts ??. The answer is obvious if you exceed the speed limit you risk being fined (or interfacing with the scenery) - its certainly a case if you can't do the time don't do the crime.
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Seems to me Gwyn that every time the subject of Speeding is mentioned there are one or two paranoid people out there who think the boys in blue have a personal vendetta.
Dont forget the DNA ample for the recordable offence.
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Gwyn Parry wrote:
> statisically excess speed is a factor in every accident.
Two separate studies, by the Transport Research Laboratory (report 323 Broughton et al ) and the AA Foundation for Road Safety Research (Carsten et al) report that the % of urban accidents where speed is the cause is 6% and 4% respectively. If you include all accidents where speed is one of the contributory factors then both reports increase the number to around 22%. Clearly not every accidents.
The most significant cause of accidents is inappropriate driver behaviour. Selection of speed is one aspect of such behaviour, of course, but such accidents have been included in the 22% figures above.
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