Speeding Fines

[dynatech]

My license is clean and has always been. I drive to the conditions of the road (weather, potential hazards etc) using the brain I was blessed with and our natural ability to detect such things, not staring at the dashboard as we are being instructed to by the powers that be. I slow down when I know I am close to a camera, or where one is likely to be hidden. Sometimes I drive under the speed limit, sometimes quite a way over it. On motorways, for example, the 70mph speed limit was set in the mid-60's when a decent family had drum brakes and a top speed of circa 85mph. I can travel in my immaculate 15 year old BMW at 120mph probably safer than my 40 year old classics at 70mph in terms of stopping distance, braking efficiency, tyres and mechanical stress, yet speed limits are regressing not progressing. Also, I wouldn't travel at 120 mph on a motorway in rush hour traffic nor would I do 60 on 40mph dual carriageway - but I would on a clear night when the roads are quiet.

My father was a traffic cop for over 20 years circa 1970-1993, and I quite agree with his opinion that speed camera's are solely a money-making venture in order to persecute the motorist. He dealt with all aspects of traffic policing, including accident assessment and the aftermath of accidents such as scraping people up off the floor and telling relatives so he sees this from all angles. When he gave someone a speeding ticket there was more often than not a good reason for this - not just a straying over the speed limit but other factors such as bad driving!
Getting three points for doing 35mph on a clear road is madness, as is attending a brain-washing course. Speed camera's are creating bad drivers, generations will wrongly assume that the advised limit is what they should be driving at and paying more attention to the speedometer than reading the road ahead and judging for themselves how fast they should proceed.
The so-called "safety cameras" in my area are always situated in safe places with the emphasis on snaring as many motorists as possible and never in so-called accident hotspots. Anyone who believes the bullshit about safety and better driving is naive - if that was the case then they would concern themselves with advanced driving techniques, how to handle a blow-out etc. And get this, EVERY POLICEMAN I speak to echoes what I am saying here. Do you know better than them too? They also say that they are deliberately recruiting young easily-led people to do all the jobs the old-school recruit (i.e. one with a half-working brain) won't do, people who can be easily manipulated.

[strictlybroadband]

dynatech wrote:

> My father was a traffic cop for over 20 years circa 1970-1993,
> and I quite agree with his opinion that speed camera's are
> solely a money-making venture in order to persecute the
> motorist.

Ah the poor motorist, being persecuted yet again.

Ever think about the 10 people who are killed by motorists every day? Aren't they persecuted?

[Robches]

>Ah the poor motorist, being persecuted yet again.

>Ever think about the 10 people who are killed by motorists every day? Aren't they persecuted?

That comment might make some sense if speed cameras were effective in reducing accidents. However, since our roads have been blitzed with these things, the accident rate, which had been falling for decades, has started going up. Most camera boxes are empty, and even working cameras can only measure speed, not bad driving. Traffic cops, who were experienced officers who could use their judgment, have been replaced by cameras which have no judgment. Anyway, if you're happy with that, fair enough. You're going to love living in Britain in the next few years, when we'll all be bagged, tagged, fingerprinted and indexed for the pleasure of our lords and masters.

[Bob Singleton]

Robches wrote:

> That comment might make some sense if speed cameras were
> effective in reducing accidents. However, since our roads have
> been blitzed with these things, the accident rate, which had
> been falling for decades, has started going up.

[SNIP]


The overall casualty rate per hundred million vehicle kilometres is actually falling NOT rising. The very slight increase in road accidents is down to an increase in the number of cars on the road.

What other PATHETIC excuses are some of you going to come up with to justify speeding?

The faster you drive, the more likely you will kill someone if involved in an accident. There is NO justification whatsoever for driving faster than the speed limit. If you don't speed you won't get caught, simple as that.

Shame that simple argument doesn't manage to permeate the equally simple brains of some of you here!

[Phil mCc]

Accidents are caused by bad driving, simple as that speed might make a difference to the overal outcome but only slightly. As faster re-action and evasive action by good drivers saves lives.
"My father was a traffic cop for over 20 years circa 1970-1993" He was'nt in the Manchester area was he, I might of ran into him.
Anyway this is worse read up and brace yourself for some rants,,,


Phil McC

[Robches]

>What other PATHETIC excuses are some of you going to come up with to justify speeding?

None, since that is not what I was doing.

>There is NO justification whatsoever for driving faster than the speed limit.

Be sure to remind the ambulance driver taking you to hospital won't you?

>Shame that simple argument doesn't manage to permeate the equally simple brains of some of you here!

I think you are the simpleton old cock.

[Officer Dibble]

"What other PATHETIC excuses are some of you going to come up with to justify speeding?"

I like it... That's not an excuse, just a statement of fact. My point being that what we like we tend to partake of - whether it is good for us or not. For many people having a cigi, having a pint (or ten) having a Burger King Double Whopper with extra cheese or nailing a 911 Turbo past a convoy boring bastards on the A1 is one of the things that give us a rush - an adrenaline or endorphin burst that makes life in these wanky PC, chav infested, Isles almost tolerable.

Of course it would be much safer and more socially responsible to drive everywhere at 20 MPH in a Nissan Micra (in the manner of a woman on her way to Asda). But it would also be seriously boring to any geezer who may still have a trace of red blood in his veins - so I say, fuck that. Risky or not, I don?t care. Geezers aren?t meant be emasculated, socially responsible, ninnies. Geezers are mean to be geezers. A Cavalier attitude to safety is an integral part of being a geezer (or a chap) and has been since time immemorial ? and I make no apology for that.



Officer Dibble

[planeterotica]

Phil mCc wrote:

> Accidents are caused by bad driving, simple as that speed might
> make a difference to the overal outcome but only slightly. As
> faster re-action and evasive action by good drivers saves
> lives.
> "My father was a traffic cop for over 20 years circa 1970-1993"
> He was'nt in the Manchester area was he, I might of ran into
> him.
> Anyway this is worse read up and brace yourself for some
> rants,,,
>
>
> Phil McC
>
>
planeterotica wrote.

Clicking the above link and reading it through now explains why the Goverment are so keen to introduce variable speed limits on our moterways, doing a round trip on the M25 you could clock up enough points to lose your brief in a few hours, and they claim that introducing variable speed limits actually speeds up the flow of traffic but i suspect its all about collecting more revenue for the Goverment!sad!

[strictlybroadband]

Officer Dibble wrote:

> Of course it would be much safer and more socially responsible
> to drive everywhere at 20 MPH in a Nissan Micra (in the manner
> of a woman on her way to Asda). But it would also be seriously
> boring to any geezer who may still have a trace of red blood in
> his veins - so I say, fuck that. Risky or not, I don?t care.

It's natural for blokes to feel like that. Driving fast is so much fun that it's hard to admit how fucking dangerous it is. I've had five separate speeding convictions, resulting in a total of 15 points (not all simultaneous so I never lost my license). When I was in my 20s I raced all over London, drove like I was a racing driver, and loved every minute. I was lucky enough not to kill or hurt anyone.

A close friend of mine wasn't so lucky; she lost both her parents to some twat driving like I used to, on the same day. That's pretty harsh. Much harsher than getting a fine and some points. Every day, several families lose loved ones to speeding drivers.

Roads and cars can be made safer, but you can't stop blokes acting like wankers. Hence speed cameras.

[mart]

dynatech said "And get this, EVERY POLICEMAN I speak to echoes what I am saying here."
So why should we believe you?
I could quote every Commisioner of police......would you believe me?

Mart