At long last! People are starting to listen to the arguments I have been making for years now.
I'm not just a lone voice. The Tories at the conference have said they will get rid of cameras (for the full SP read the Reuters story below).
I've done SKY News and lots of radio on this fantastic decision.
In a nutshell - for all you disbelievers out there - speed cameras are about raising cash NOT about road safety.
FACT: According to the Government's own figures, less than 5% of accidents are down to speed
FACT: Most accidents take place at a junction within a mile of your home.
The secret data will put an end to the camera partnerships lies once and for all.
Now let's vote Conservatives and get these lying, double crossing, war mongering, inept tossers who have bankrupted the country out of office!
Captain Gatso
The Motorists Friend
How Reuters told the world:
The Conservatives declared war on the rapid spread of speed cameras on Tuesday, saying there were better ways to keep the roads safe.
"It's time to put a stop to Labour's cash cow camera culture," Conservative transport spokeswoman Theresa Villiers told the party's annual conference.
"Electing a Conservative government would signal the end of the relentless expansion of fixed speed cameras. It's time to say 'enough is enough'," she said.
Fixed speed cameras on British roads had almost trebled during Labour's 12 years in power, but the fines they generated blinded Labour to the merits of better ways of keeping the roads safe, such as education, vehicle-activated signs or traffic police, she said.
Predicting that fixed speed cameras had reached their "high watermark" in the country, she said a Conservative government would not fund any new fixed speed cameras.
"If local authorities want new cameras they'll have to prove nothing else works better and they'll have to find the money themselves," Villiers said.
She said the Conservatives would publish information, now secret, on each speed camera's record on safety and on fines, so local communities could judge whether a camera should stay or go.
Showing posts with label speeding law. Show all posts
Showing posts with label speeding law. Show all posts
Tuesday, 6 October 2009
Friday, 21 November 2008
Speeding laws need a new direction
There's a really good article in today's Daily Telegraph.
I like this bit:
However, ministers should be aware that these reforms will not restore the reputation of our speeding laws. The purpose of such law should be to improve the safety of our roads.
Instead, it is widely perceived as a cynical revenue earner, particularly in the bailiwicks of our more zealous chief constables.
End result? The law is no longer respected (and confidence in the police has suffered as a result).
How else can one explain the fact that an estimated 40 per cent of the nation's motorists - about 12 million Britons - have penalty points on their licences?
Only when road traffic laws are once again perceived to be about road safety, not a thinly disguised tax on the motorist, will drivers start respecting them again.
The rest is here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2008/11/21/dl2101.xml
With this government it's not so much about the carrot and stick approach to dealing with speeding drivers (and we can include members of the cabinet here) but more of a stick and stick approach.
My idea was that while the government punishes and takes away, why don't they give back? Look at how drivers can win back points on their licence instead of them hating speed cameras because they take away livelihoods.
Extending speed cameras is just policing by Robocop. You don't catch bad drivers, drink drivers or unlicensed drivers.
To reassure people that we aren't being taxed simply because we drive the government has to think again about what it can do.
People are taught to drive for their conditions and surroundings. Excessive speed in dangerous situations in just crazy and those drivers should be penalised.
But the government is clamping down on drivers with DECADES of accident-free motoring behind them. Are they really danger drivers who deserve to be banned from the road?
I think not but common sense has sadly been lacking from this argument since Labour came to power.
CG
http://captaingatso.net/
I like this bit:
However, ministers should be aware that these reforms will not restore the reputation of our speeding laws. The purpose of such law should be to improve the safety of our roads.
Instead, it is widely perceived as a cynical revenue earner, particularly in the bailiwicks of our more zealous chief constables.
End result? The law is no longer respected (and confidence in the police has suffered as a result).
How else can one explain the fact that an estimated 40 per cent of the nation's motorists - about 12 million Britons - have penalty points on their licences?
Only when road traffic laws are once again perceived to be about road safety, not a thinly disguised tax on the motorist, will drivers start respecting them again.
The rest is here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2008/11/21/dl2101.xml
With this government it's not so much about the carrot and stick approach to dealing with speeding drivers (and we can include members of the cabinet here) but more of a stick and stick approach.
My idea was that while the government punishes and takes away, why don't they give back? Look at how drivers can win back points on their licence instead of them hating speed cameras because they take away livelihoods.
Extending speed cameras is just policing by Robocop. You don't catch bad drivers, drink drivers or unlicensed drivers.
To reassure people that we aren't being taxed simply because we drive the government has to think again about what it can do.
People are taught to drive for their conditions and surroundings. Excessive speed in dangerous situations in just crazy and those drivers should be penalised.
But the government is clamping down on drivers with DECADES of accident-free motoring behind them. Are they really danger drivers who deserve to be banned from the road?
I think not but common sense has sadly been lacking from this argument since Labour came to power.
CG
http://captaingatso.net/
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