I think they call them Police Interceptors now or something like that... very thin on the ground now.. you see more of them on telly than in real life Originally Posted by Seamaster73
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It surprises me that the latests French made smart traffic camera tech has not reached your islands.
Those are capable of detecting a bafflingly wide variety of driving offences.
Over here in Andalucia the Junta bought I dont know how many but I read this week another 50 are being installed; paid by a fraction of what the earlier ones bring in.
I appreciate you doing a very difficult job, and tbh wish there were more police on the roads. Some of the driving I see is unbelievably bad and I see it from the point of view of a car driver and motorcyclist.
Yes if teens in stolen vehicles obeyed the speed limits probably less would be killed, but even less would be killed if they didn't steal cars. And a teen driving recklessly in a stolen car he's unfamiliar with is hardly the same as someone in his own car exceeding the speed limit by a few mph.
A bit like Motorways? Sadly, despite one way traffic, there are still plenty of nasty shunts.These driving standards threads are great for unearthing the punctilious on the forum.
I have wondered; wouldn't it be better to have roads all going one way like trains so we don't have to wizz along in opposite direction within inches of each other?
No more 50 mph head-ons resulting in 100+ impacts.
Have I 'accidentally' come up with a good idea?
Well this t**t should have gone on one... too late now he's dead and took the lives of two others, one a little girl of 12. Did someone say speed doesn't kill?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-45308014
To be fair that’s a pretty poor example. Any car ramping up a motorway lane against traffic is going to end up in disaster sooner or later, even if he stays within the speed limit.
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
Reading the article, it mentions struggling with his mental health.... not an expert, but driving the wrong way on a motorway in broad daylight, looks like suicide.... the selfish bugger had already crashed earlier on too...
Thread resurrection... I've got my speed awareness course tomorrow via a Zoom meeting. After reading this thread I'm actually quite looking forward to seeing what it's about.
Caught at 59 in a 50 on a smart motorway. Pulled by a set of "average speed check' cameras which is a bit annoying, I always stick to dead on 50 on that stretch of motorway as they tell you your speed is being monitored. Sunday morning, headed to IKEA, hardly anything on the road and I never even realised I had hit the 50 zone until too late.
Not to worry, its my own fault, it's not like they don't warn you.
Did one in December - it was pretty decent TBH.
Better than points.
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
The ones on the M62 seem to be controlled by a random number generator and reduced limits rarely seem to be related to risk. On that basis, I have some sympathy for you.
Meanwhile people drive up and down the 30mph A road outside my house often at speeds that must be 60+ and no-one gives a toss.
As did I and yes it was.
R
Ignorance breeds Fear. Fear breeds Hatred. Hatred breeds Ignorance. Break the chain.
1. Wrong, not random - based on live camera monitoring.
2. You clearly give a toss, and I suspect others do. Have you done anything about it? (spoken to Police/PCC/Local Council).
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
sadly many never learn a thing from them.
i used to work with a guy with 17 points on his licence, all for speeding i think.
he avoided a ban because he needed to drive as part of his job, his boss even went to court.
i was a passanger in his van and he was wheelspinning out of junctions like a loon and speeding non stop.
Clearly, there are people who have little (if no social responsibility) and no amount of softer measures will be seen as an alternative. For some, this is a 'tribal scar' thing situation - fine but they ultimately will end up being pursued to the maximum extent of the law.
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
I did a Zoom driving awareness course about 5 months ago for running a red light. I think/hope it has curbed that habit but the guy giving the course was a highly annoying condescending b**ger.
Did mine on Zoom about 2 weeks ago. There were nine of us online and I was the only one with a) a proper internet connection b) doing it on a proper PC. The rest were doing it on phones with rubbish wifi. Two only had the top of their heads visible through the whole 3 hours! The presenter spent a lot of time trying to work around these issues.
tbh did I learn anything new... nope. My problem with speeding is unaware how fast I'm going. Clear roads, zero traffic, etc.... my speed creeps up. I have a tendency to drive to the conditions not some arbitrary figure. I've now set my tom-tom to shout at me when over 5% above the limit.
This
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...h-drivers.html
So is it safety or raising money ?
I can point you to a couple of cameras (not speed) in Camden that raise a fortune that were put there for safety purposes ostensibly. You know the miniscule sign "you can only go down this road on a Tuesday between 3 and 4 while hopping on one leg to protect wild bats" sort of sign.
B
Last edited by Brian; 3rd February 2021 at 11:27.
Probably bit of both but either is okay with me.
Well, it was a great course in the end. Very informal and very informative.
I was shocked how much knowledge I'd overwritten since passing my test, it's very easy to get complacent behind the wheel and assume you know best.
I wouldn't be falling over myself to pay 90 quid for the experience but I'm glad I've done it.
The only bad bit, it started at 7.45 this morning and I kept dreaming I'd overslept for the thing! Woke up at 3, 4, 5 and numerous times then between 5 and 7am. Its made me slightly ratty today!
^^ My experience too (for real not on-line course).
Obviously depends on the presenter and participants but good banter and well worthwhile.
did mine on Monday for very similar offence, 46 in a 40 (M4 elevated) which was utterly deserted on a lockdown sunday morning and simply cocked up!
it was a good reminder of stuff that i've long forgotten and actually left me feeling that i'm not too bad overall
The problem is that in the age of soundbites, the simple message that "Speed kills" is baloney.
Our safest roads by every measure are our fastest, motorways.
QED
Speed is not the killer, it is inappropriate speed, or simple lack of attention.
And the system doesn't allow for this.
Going 80 on an empty motorway is much safer than travelling 30 in a crowded city centre with a limit of 20.
Or, looking at it another way, if you are paying attention when travelling 30, and your braking effort prior to an unavoidable collision means impact at 10 mph, this is safer than someone travelling without attention at 20mph, who only brakes late and collides at 15mph.
What is more the safety partnership cameras do not help themselves.
I commuted for 8 years out through west Bristol to Avonmouth. Over that period, using the main 2 hills off the downs (Stoke Hill and Parry's Lane), I saw the safety camera van crouched at the bottom both those very long, wide hills about 30 times. I have never seen an accident on those roads, and crashmap.co.uk has zero fatailies there in 21 years, only 6 serious crashes.
But because they had a clear line of sight they will have booked hundreds of people.
The last leg of my journey over the Avonmouth flood plain (1.5 miles further on) included Kingsweston lane, and during that period at least 2 people died and I saw the aftermath of several accidents (crashmap itemised 11 serious crashes on that 1 road). Camera van? Never.
The camera vans have always been cash generators first, with improved safety a poor second. They are sited at points of maximum oncome, not ones where there is a high risk.
I have always paid a lot of attention to my driving (and riding). I go relatively quickly, in the right conditions, and do not when there is any doubt.
D
Couldn't agree more. I don't drive slowly, but only use speed where/when appropriate and have spent thousands on coaching/training to improve.
I actually asked the chap running the course whether he disagreed with any of the current speed limits - either up or down. Most of the limits have been the same since the 1960s and car technology has come a hell of a way since then. Though there are a lot more of them on the road now I suppose.
He said that in an ideal world urban roads would all be 30mph with traffic calming measures, that would save around a thousand lives a week. He also said (surprisingly) that he'd be more than happy to see motorways with a 100mph limit. Reason being a crash at 70 is going to have the same result as diung a ton - something like a 94% fatality rate (that might only be if a person is hit at that speed).
Not sure how the system could allow for appropriate speeds or lack of attention.
Far simpler the system we have rather than a free for all.
Excuse me for getting this back on track. But, I was offered the course,1mph, over the limit plus the usual increments. 2 things struck me, 1. The excess speed, should one need to come to a halt was a bit shocking and 2. How little the other " guests" new of basic Highway Code.
The various attendees, including myself, learnt some important things and the presenter of the 2.5 hour seminar was most engaging. Just keep away from other road users, they might not know any better, tho', clearly, they ( we) should.
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