Well I never!

[Suntan Sid]

Sorry If it's been covere before but I just received this in my email, it's from todays "Daily Express" apparently!

Fixed penalty fines from speed camera partnership schemes raise more than £65 million a year, according to new figures.

Including court fines collected from speeding and red light offences, total annual speeding fines stand at £87.3 million, the TaxPayers' Alliance and the Drivers' Alliance said.

The groups also said published figures showed that road casualty numbers have declined at a slower rate since speed cameras were introduced in the early 1990s compared with the rate before then.

The figures showed a total of £87,368,227 was collected in fines for speeding and red light offences caught on speed cameras in the financial period 2008-09 in the UK. This includes fines from magistrates' courts for speeding offences and neglect of traffic directions, such as lane offences, in 2008.

The total includes £65,748,850 from fixed penalties detected by cameras operated by safety camera partnerships in England and Wales.

It also includes £19,214,594 in fines from magistrates' courts for speeding offences and neglect of traffic directions in calendar year 2008 in England and Wales.

The Scottish courts in 2008-09 collected £1,641,630 for speeding offences and £763,153 came from fixed penalties detected by speed cameras in Northern Ireland.

The two organisations said it could be estimated that 1,555,244 more road casualties occurred between 1991-2007 than would have if the 1978-1990 casualty trend had continued.

TaxPayers' Alliance chief executive Matthew Elliott said: "Motorists have long suspected that speed cameras are more about raising money than keeping the roads safe.

"These findings show that the state has been squeezing a fortune out of people using these cameras, but if anything the rate of reduction in casualty numbers has slowed. The whole country should follow the example of Swindon, which has scrapped cameras altogether. People are sick of being fined under the guise of road safety."

[SamJL]

The problem is less speed camera's = more traffic police.

Now, its not that hard to slow down for a massive yellow camera at the side of the road, and if you get caught by one, then lets face it, you pretty much deserve the fine and points for not being able to see something big bright and yellow at the side of the road. However, you get police car's hiding down side streets, hiding in undercover cars and just generally being sneaky to catch you speeding! Take away the cameras and traffic police will increase. I'd rather have more camera's and less traffic police!
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2009 CBR1000RR
2004 KTM 200SX
2004 KTM 65SX

[sebastianw]

[SamJL]

[sebastianw]

[Kickstart]

Hi

Fixed cameras aren't really that big a problem (although they do seem to land up putting them at the only decent overtaking spot for ages), but mobile ones are. Once you have seen them it is too late.

Get rid of the fixed penalty system so ALL tickets have to go through court and it would naturally result in only the worst cases being pursued.

All the best

Keith
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Traxpics, track day and racing photographs - Bimota Forum - Bike performance / thrust graphs for choosing gearing

[Kwaks]

Problem is the figures never tell the whole story.

The fact that road casulty figures have declined at a slower rate since the introduction of speed cameras can be offset with a number of things including less police on the frontline, higher numbers of drivers on the road & more tendancy for inguries (real and imagined) to be claimed in our increasingly slide into a litigation culture.

Cameras in Scotland are not too bad, 1.6m raised from them, however looking at the figures from down south it seems you either have way too many cameras or way too many drivers not paying attention.
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Fallen Angel "Nae sniffing my seat now!!!!! "
www.cliqueycuntsmcc.co.uk
I AM NOT A FAST RIDER!!!!!!!!!

[SamJL]

I agree, court only is a good idea!

I would imagine most cases would not even get to court except for the more serious stuff!
____________________
2009 CBR1000RR
2004 KTM 200SX
2004 KTM 65SX

[Kwaks]

Courts can't handle the volume, and in addition it would be a double punishment for some if they had to use up holiday entitlements etc to attend.
____________________
Fallen Angel "Nae sniffing my seat now!!!!! "
www.cliqueycuntsmcc.co.uk
I AM NOT A FAST RIDER!!!!!!!!!

[Kickstart]

[Nai]

Not a fan of speeding because I have seen to many idiots driving / riding at speed that are unable to control their vehicles. I know some people can, but most cant. Imho, everyone knows the speed limit. Cameras are not hard to see. If you get done speeding most of the time its your fault. Either don't speed or look out better.

[G]

When you look in the advances in car safety - ABS on a lot more cars, better brakes, crumple zones etc (never mind some of the ultra tarty new stuff like FLIR, lane detection etc) - you'd expect accident rates to have gone down a lot more than they have.

[Kickstart]

Hi

Personal view is that the speed limits should be set at the level which it is dangerous to exceed there. Probably means doubling or tripling most speed limits. If this were the case then exceeding the limit with no other evidence would be worth a ticket (whether you were Joe Public, or a class 1 police driver, it is the absolute limit of what can be safe). Anything under that should require some other evidence for a court to decide whether it fits into driving without due care and attention / dangerous driving.

All the best

Keith
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Traxpics, track day and racing photographs - Bimota Forum - Bike performance / thrust graphs for choosing gearing

[iooi]

Just goes to show how many blind people there are driving on our roads that can't see great big yellow boxes, or tell the colour of lights when they turn red.....

Fail to pick either of these 2 and they deserve to get fined....

As to people maoning its all about raising cash.... Well if they didn't speed then it would not be a issue.

While many speed limits do seem to be strange, they are the limits.

Like any law if you you can't afford the fine, don't do the crime...
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Just because my bike was A DIVVY, does not mean i am......

[yuri2085]

[iooi]

[G]

[panrider_uk]

[smegballs]

[Kickstart]

[yuri2085]

Iooi is a tyrants wet dream.

[LeanIt]

As previously stated, in the 'good old days', you could throw yourself on the mercy of the officer hopefully he wouldn't be a complete bastard.

A fixed camera, is just that, If you don't know the road and you don't know it's there, you should be sticking more or less to the speed limit, so you can spot unexpected hazards........eg speed cameras

Mobile cameras are a different thing altogether. If there is a hazard surely there should be a fixed camera there all the time, otherwise what is the point, other than catching people out, on the odd occasion they haven't spotted you? Have the camera painted nice and bright, so even the unwary has the opportunity to slow down for the 'danger' they are about to encounter.

There has to be a decision, are cameras about safety, or revenue????
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Life is like a shit sandwich. The more bread you have, the less shit you eat.

[iooi]

[angryjonny]

[Kickstart]