"A good day for motorists". BBC idiots.

[jochta]

"Oxfordshire County Council vote ditches speed cameras"

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-ox ... e-10711786

I was shocked to hear this reported on the BBC Oxford regional news at 10:25pm last night (sadly not available on iPlayer for some reason) as "A good day for motorists". What? So they can break the law with impunity? That's good is it?

Not a good day for cyclists, pedestrians and the residents of many Oxfordshire villages I would wager.

John

[stoobs]

I wonder if that's a good thing or a bad thing for Clarkson and his family?

[[XAP]Bob]

We need the headline "A good day for murderers"

[bensonboo]

Swindon (possibly Wiltshire) ditched theirs last year, the roads are just as safe, indeed, the threat and presence of officers with speed guns at various places is possibly better than having drivers slow down past the fixed camera then speed back up.

[[XAP]Bob]

Swindon (possibly Wiltshire) ditched theirs last year, the roads are just as safe, indeed, the threat and presence of officers with speed guns at various places is possibly better than having drivers slow down past the fixed camera then speed back up.

Just as safe?

Not what i heard this morning. I heard that the number (no mention of severity) of accidents hadn't changed. Well, surely they should have fallen...

If they're not detrimental to safety then they look like an excellent way of funding more traffic officers...

[AlbionLass]

Isn't there a daanger that bemoaning the scrapping of speed cameras just confirms the suspicions of the more vocal elements of the motoring fraternity that all cyclists are militantly anti-motorist?

[EdinburghFixed]

Swindon (possibly Wiltshire) ditched theirs last year, the roads are just as safe, indeed, the threat and presence of officers with speed guns at various places is possibly better than having drivers slow down past the fixed camera then speed back up.

Also (while I agree that fixed camera sites that come up on your satnav are completely stupid), the article actually says "enforcement at mobile sites will cease "with immediate effect". ".

Still, in the long term I can only see this as a positive effect. The door is now open for researchers to compare the number and severity of accidents before and after camera enforcement - just as the London motorbike in bus lane experiment ended up with some surprising results about crashes (something like 40% more motorcyclists hit in conflicting turning movements, although I couldn't tell you off the top of my head if the study is sound).

[Guy951]

Isn't there a daanger that bemoaning the scrapping of speed cameras just confirms the suspicions of the more vocal elements of the motoring fraternity that all cyclists are militantly anti-motorist?

Possibly. But it will definately reinforce their view that we are anti-speeding.

[kwackers]

Just as safe?

Not what i heard this morning. I heard that the number (no mention of severity) of accidents hadn't changed. Well, surely they should have fallen...

If they're not detrimental to safety then they look like an excellent way of funding more traffic officers...

Being somewhat cynical, I suspect they're falling out of favour because by now the majority of motorists have figured out what they are. Those that can't be bothered actually looking are probably now simply relying on sat navs.
As a consequence they're no longer self funding - or at least the old ones aren't.

[EdinburghFixed]

Isn't there a daanger that bemoaning the scrapping of speed cameras just confirms the suspicions of the more vocal elements of the motoring fraternity that all cyclists are militantly anti-motorist?

Does cutting down on underage drinking make you militantly anti-child?

I prefer to think of support for speed enforcement as being anti-criminal. Nobody campaigns for higher speed limits, they just think they (and only they) should be immune to the law.

[bensonboo]

Swindon (possibly Wiltshire) ditched theirs last year, the roads are just as safe, indeed, the threat and presence of officers with speed guns at various places is possibly better than having drivers slow down past the fixed camera then speed back up.

Just as safe?

Not what i heard this morning. I heard that the number (no mention of severity) of accidents hadn't changed. Well, surely they should have fallen...

If they're not detrimental to safety then they look like an excellent way of funding more traffic officers...

Just as safe = number of accidents hadn't changed. As safe doesn't mean a fall in accidents.

Anyway, it's not only the accidents that have an effect on locals. We live in Swindon and my eldest daughter needs to cross quite a busy road to and from school, when we had 2 fairly close cameras on the road she crosses drivers would slow down past the camera then speed up past all the possible crossing points. Now that we have occassional officers lurking with guns in the same vicinity drivers are forced to either obay the limit or risk the penalties. Regardless of whether there have been less accidents (perhaps, perhaps not, I don't know), my daughter feels safer crossing the road and that's really all I care about.

[[XAP]Bob]

Swindon (possibly Wiltshire) ditched theirs last year, the roads are just as safe, indeed, the threat and presence of officers with speed guns at various places is possibly better than having drivers slow down past the fixed camera then speed back up.

Just as safe?

Not what i heard this morning. I heard that the number (no mention of severity) of accidents hadn't changed. Well, surely they should have fallen...

If they're not detrimental to safety then they look like an excellent way of funding more traffic officers...

Just as safe = number of accidents hadn't changed. As safe doesn't mean a fall in accidents.

Anyway, it's not only the accidents that have an effect on locals. We live in Swindon and my eldest daughter needs to cross quite a busy road to and from school, when we had 2 fairly close cameras on the road she crosses drivers would slow down past the camera then speed up past all the possible crossing points. Now that we have occassional officers lurking with guns in the same vicinity drivers are forced to either obay the limit or risk the penalties. Regardless of whether there have been less accidents (perhaps, perhaps not, I don't know), my daughter feels safer crossing the road and that's really all I care about.

No just as safe implies that all the accidents were identical.
It's safer to have 20 minor scrapes than 1 head on collision at 70mph each, but by count accidents the one collision is safer...

It's not hard to avoid paying money for speed cameras, simply obey the speed limit. I have one (expired) sp30 on my license, That's my fault, not the fault of the camera, or the police, or the council... If I had stayed within the posted speed limit then I'd have arrived at my destination sooner, and richer.

If they are the acclaimed cash cow then it's be nice to see that windfall go directly to further (not necessarily speed related) traffic policing.

[NUKe]

If they are replaced with proper policing of the roads then its probably a good thing for cyclists , as they'll be out and about and they'll be able to pick up lots of other misdemeanors, as well as speeding . like driving too close to cyclists. Abusive behavour, dangerous parking. unfortunaltely the likelhood is they won't bother, but we can live in hope.

[kwackers]

Static cameras have had their day. Mourning their passing is misguided.

They still have uses - anywhere a spot reduction is required, but technology rendered them impotent as law enforcement devices years ago.

More mobile and speed averaging cameras definitely, but more importantly - more police patrols

[bensonboo]

No just as safe implies that all the accidents were identical.
It's safer to have 20 minor scrapes than 1 head on collision at 70mph each, but by count accidents the one collision is safer...

Well if you want to be a pedant, just as safe implies that the injuries are identical regardless of accidents, as in each driver / pedestrian was just as safe, but everyone has their own take.