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We're Screwed...

5K views 55 replies 24 participants last post by  marriedblonde 
#1 ·
...if they introduce this new form of speed camera...have no other details, just the photos from another forum. Mind you at least its at the perfect height for vandalism - reversing a knackered Transit into it a few times should do the job.?
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#3 ·
Thats what I thought, but its pertrudes from the barrier enough for there to be an angle mounted camera in there. I.e it takes pictures if the side of the car going past is quite enough to set it off.

Same as the curbside ones I spose, though don't know how they work either. They have them in dustbins in some countries, so would all work on the same premise.
 
#9 ·
You can call me old fashioned,but is not easier just to not speed than to go round smashing up speed cameras?

Chris.
Your crazy off the wall ideas intrigue me. I think they are a bit radical for me though [:p]
Zero points so far so must be doing something right...but I have no problem with the concept of speed cameras, just the way in which they are used and where they are put. Outside a school or on a residential street sure...on the motorway and covert? Hmm.?
 
#11 ·
You can call me old fashioned,but is not easier just to not speed than to go round smashing up speed cameras?

Chris.
Your crazy off the wall ideas intrigue me. I think they are a bit radical for me though [:p]

Zero points so far so must be doing something right...but I have no problem with the concept of speed cameras, just the way in which they are used and where they are put. Outside a school or on a residential street sure...on the motorway and covert? Hmm.
Snap on all acounts. No points as yet "runs round whole house touching all wood" and agree that in some cases that they are a very good thing, but as long as they are used sensible not hiden away behind signs, trees, bridge parapets and so on. The one in the original picture is obviously ment to be discrete and thus no real deterant your just going to spend your time looking for the thing and not concentrating on the road.

just my 2p
 
#12 ·
I thought the camera had to be highly visable hence the dayglow yellow front and back to the standard oones you see. As for the carmera seeing all the road all they need is a good wide angle lense then their laughing.

just another way to rob the general public.

Now where did I put the keys to that transit!
That piece of legislation won't last much longer. The safety partnerships have got the go ahead to reduce visability and new cameras can be hidden. Read it on pepipoo which had a link to a news story. It mentioned 'camoflaging' (sp).

This was either coming into effect in 2007 or 2008. The safety partnerships were complaining that drivers could see, react, slow down and then carry on. Therefore reducing saftey.

What this means also is they will not have to publish where their vans are going to be, neither will they have to mark their vans up (not that they do it very well down here, you get 'safety unit' in small writing above the wheel arch and then they sit on a bridge in a grey van). What caught me last time! [:$]
 
#14 ·
just another way to rob the general public.
They're not robbing you if you're breaking the law,and that is a law which should be known to everyone who holds a UK drivibg licence.

Chris.
Some laws are bad.

Dunking witches used to be within the law.

A man walking in front of your car with a red flag used to be the law.

Stupid and pointlessly low speed limits are bad law.
 
#15 ·
just another way to rob the general public.
They're not robbing you if you're breaking the law,and that is a law which should be known to everyone who holds a UK drivibg licence.

Chris.
what ever....your telling me that you NEVER EVER EVER speed or have. You can keep to the limit but that one time you just pressed it alittle to much

and get caught your not worried ????
 
#16 ·
But whether you agree with them or not,they are still the law.They are put there for a reason,not to generate a "stealth" tax,the reason being that they are supposed to make drivers slow down to a SAFE speed for any given stretch of road,with the threat of a financial penalty if they drive at a speed consdidered to be dangerous for the road.
If these "pointlessly" low speed limits go someway towards saving even one life,is it not worth giving them the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise?

Chris.
 
#17 ·
But whether you agree with them or not,they are still the law.They are put there for a reason,not to generate a "stealth" tax,the reason being that they are supposed to make drivers slow down to a SAFE speed for any given stretch of road,with the threat of a financial penalty if they drive at a speed consdidered to be dangerous for the road.
If these "pointlessly" low speed limits go someway towards saving even one life,is it not worth giving them the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise?

Chris.
No.

Because speed is not the problem and its reduction in most instances is not the answer.
 
#18 ·
just another way to rob the general public.
They're not robbing you if you're breaking the law,and that is a law which should be known to everyone who holds a UK drivibg licence.

Chris.
what ever....your telling me that you NEVER EVER EVER speed or have. You can keep to the limit but that one time you just pressed it alittle to much

and get caught your not worried ????
It's a good few years since I lost my licence for speeding,and that was on a motorbike.Within a couple of days of getting my licence back,I had a very serious accident that I very nearly didn't recover from.This was caused by me driving too fast for the conditions and the road I was on,in fact about 90MPH in a 30MPH zone.It took me nearly three years to walk again after this,and it's made me look at roads,and the way drivers act on them in a completely different way.Beacuse I'd never had even a minor accident before this,I guess I thought they always happen to other people.
I like to think I don't need to rely on any sort of electronic aids to remind me what the speed limits are,but yes I do have my Garmin switched on with the "Points of interest" database loaded whenever I travel any distance.

Chris.
 
#19 ·
But whether you agree with them or not,they are still the law.They are put there for a reason,not to generate a "stealth" tax,the reason being that they are supposed to make drivers slow down to a SAFE speed for any given stretch of road,with the threat of a financial penalty if they drive at a speed consdidered to be dangerous for the road.
If these "pointlessly" low speed limits go someway towards saving even one life,is it not worth giving them the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise?

Chris.
No.

Because speed is not the problem and its reduction in most instances is not the answer.
Ok then,it's a lack of respect for speed that is dangerous,not the speed itself.So what is the ultimate answer then?

Chris.
 
#20 ·
But whether you agree with them or not,they are still the law.They are put there for a reason,not to generate a "stealth" tax,the reason being that they are supposed to make drivers slow down to a SAFE speed for any given stretch of road,with the threat of a financial penalty if they drive at a speed consdidered to be dangerous for the road.
If these "pointlessly" low speed limits go someway towards saving even one life,is it not worth giving them the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise?

Chris.
No.

Because speed is not the problem and its reduction in most instances is not the answer.
Ok then,it's a lack of respect for speed that is dangerous,not the speed itself.So what is the ultimate answer then?

Chris.
I don't think there is any ultimate answer.

But blaming speed for everything is not the answer. At the rate we are going, we will soon be back to the man with the red flag. Driver education is probably the best course of action. Afterall if your a bad driver, if your going 40 in a 50, you can still do an awefull lot of damage. I do about 30k a year and would say that almost all accidents I see involve HGV's, they don't and can't speed so where is the logic in the speed based arguement ? Reduce their speed on motorways to 40 ?

Again, what annoys me is when they reduce a speed limit on a road. For example, a road you've been using for years and years with a 60 limit is suddenly reduced to 50 or even 40. Why ? You must have encountered this and must get frustrated about it knowing that the road was perfectly safe with its 60 limit ?

It is easy to blame everything on speed, I wouldn't be supprised if third world debt, the fall of the Roman empire and the fact that smarties no longer have letters embossed on their lid are soon said to be caused by speed.
 
#22 ·
It's easy because apart from jumping red lights (even if you got sirens behind you!!) there is no automatic way to catch a driver driving stupid, for instance too slow and all over the place which we have all witnessed on numerous occasions. No automated way of catching someone not looking at the road and texting. No easy way of catching a driver who's pulling into your lane without looking and pushing you out of the way.

My last 3 points for speeding were due to a girl texting while doing 75 with an exhaust which was bouncing up and down and suddenly found her noise up the rear of another vehicle, so decided to use the lane I was in and I wanted to get past. So did, but have 3 points and am down ?60 for it while she carried on her merry way.

Why? Because mine is easy and automated, therefore, I'm the one thats dangerous.
 
#23 ·
few years since I lost my licence for speeding,and that was on a motorbike.Within a couple of days of getting my licence back,I had a very serious accident that I very nearly didn't recover from.This was caused by me driving too fast for the conditions and the road I was on,in fact about 90MPH in a 30MPH zone.It took me nearly three years to walk again after this,and it's made me look at roads,and the way drivers act on them in a completely different way.Beacuse I'd never had even a minor accident before this,I guess I thought they always happen to other people.
I like to think I don't need to rely on any sort of electronic aids to remind me what the speed limits are,but yes I do have my Garmin switched on with the "Points of interest" database loaded whenever I travel any distance.

Chris.
You've said yourself the main reason for some accidents - travelling too fast for the conditions. I don't see how people being penalised for doing 34 in a 30 is actually making the roads any safer. Sure penalise them for 40 - 50 etc but if you think that cameras are purely there to make roads safer then you are being very naive. It's been shown in many counties that speed cameras have done nothing to reduce accidents at all. Lancashire for example has the most speed cameras yet its road death rate is on the rise - go figure.
 
#26 ·
a few years since I lost my licence for speeding,and that was on a motorbike.Within a couple of days of getting my licence back,I had a very serious accident that I very nearly didn't recover from.This was caused by me driving too fast for the conditions and the road I was on,in fact about 90MPH in a 30MPH zone.It took me nearly three years to walk again after this,and it's made me look at roads,and the way drivers act on them in a completely different way.Beacuse I'd never had even a minor accident before this,I guess I thought they always happen to other people.
They usually only happen to 'other' people as a result of such actions from certain people. When I say certain, I mean people for example that are doing 90mph in a 30mph. That is madness my friend, even if it was bone dry and deserted it would be probably be a jailable offence. Granted, you have learnt the hard way, (maybe some would say you didnt kill anyone and got off lightly??) but I don't shed a tear for your injuries as frankly your actions were mindless. Having just served a ban for speeding makes it all the worse; I would have liked to have thought that you may have learnt your lesson or at least valued your licence a little more. Instead, you are doing triple the speed limit in a built up area just days later....

It seems the few years of disability and rehabilitation gave you time to reflect and have a serious think about your actions and attitudes, but having come out the otherside, is your attitude safe driving for the sake of yourself or do you now consdier others who may or may have been on that occasion caught up innocently in you mindless driving. Points of interest warnings from Garmins are to safeguard only you and your passengers. Awareness and safe driving is to safeguard others.

Like you say, 30MPH for a reason, namely hazards like pedestrians and kids. Hence why most people agree with speed bumps and cameras outside schools. What gets the goat of the public is sneaky cameras on quiet safe road persecuting motorists that are a fraction over the limit in safe circumstances. This is the issue.

What is a bigger factor in causing accidents is bad driving, not excessive speed. 120MPH in a modern roadworthy car in an empty lane on a straight motorway IS safe. You will always have the 'what if' brigade, but freak accidents happens, its just the way it is. A modern tyre is more likely to withstand a blowout at 120MPH than the equivilent 30 years ago would have at 70MPH. Brakes are infinately better, we have complex traction systems, ABS, impact bars, airbags, and it seems to me too many people seem to think this will save them if it all goes wrong....

At 120MPH, the problem is the idiot in the Volvo 940GLE estate that will more than likely slide straight into your lane at about 60MPH to overtake someone who is doing 58MPH, all without taking the time to look in his mirrors. And it happens every day on every road. Some get away with it, some dont. But this is what we face day in day out. The guy speeding will always be the one in the wrong, not the one who didn't check his mirrors...

Bad driving IS the biggest problem we face. Speed is safe in the right circumstances. But I see terrible driving day in day out and it drives me mad. People tailgating on the motorway. Inexperienced kids driving way to fast. People cutting people up in rush hour traffic without considering the consequences their actions might have, just to get somewhere that little bit quicker. People thinking they have the right to speed, drive like a moron and cut people up becuase THEY are in a rush, and then have the right to put up a finger or brake check you when you beep the horn at them. One accident can cause hundreds/thousands of people to be held up. The fact that the majority of these accidents CAN be prevented is what gets me. The same with the fact that probably half of all fatal RTAs could probably be prevented if people took a bit more care, showed fellow motorists a little more respect and switched the brain on before getting into a car. Like a gun, the car is a dangerous weapon in the wrong hands...

What we need is realtime cameras, catching and punishing bad drivers with fines, points and if need be, driving courses. And more so, using the profits of cameras, which lets fact it are never going to be axed as they make so much money, to fund traffic cops in cars catching and pulling more people up on shocking driving with a hard line approach to dangerous and poor driving. The average standard of driving on our roads is abysmal, anyone who disagrees is a fool, yet everyone will tell you their driving is of an acceptable standard.

And i'm not saying 'my' driving is the best or taking the moral highground, but there is a reason why I have a clean licence of over 6 years and never had an accident. I have never had a radar detector, sat nav or hotspot warnings. If I dont know the road, I drive accordingly and take extra care. I never drive faster than I can see. I dont want someones death on my conscience that could have been avoided. Accidents are called accidents because they aren't supposed to happen, but in most cases do because people aren't paying enough attention, are driving in a wreckless manner or are plain driving too fast for the given conditions.

And I will call people who drive like pricks a prick. I'm not picking on Imagewerx here, he has merely become an example unfortunately. But if you think that what I say includes any of you, then it probably does, in which case can I suggest you re-evaluate how good a driver you think you are....
 
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