Individuals Fight Back Against UK Speed Camera Use

Posted by Christina Parker Jones in August 4th, 2009
Published in Cars
by Jon Dean

If you live in the UK, you’re probably one of the people caught up in the issue of speed cameras. I hate to generalise on this, but its probably the truth. These cameras are alleged to protect people, although they are most commonly known as a revenue generator for local authorities and government. The measurable results of their benefits are less than desirable, and in fact, aren’t known. The police allege that as they are producing more tickets for offenders, then they have increased safety. However, this is not necessarily the case as the correlation between speeding and accidents is not fully known. Its understandable that individuals take hidden speeding cameras as invasion of their privacy.

UK Speed Cameras & Deployment

If we compare the objective of using speeding cameras, and the results, then it is easy to consider that their is a big difference in the actual results. The stated aim was to reduce traffic accidents and improve safety, the results are revenue generation for the authorities. is it time for a referendum? Whilst the intention is admirable, a review of the system and the implementation of speed cameras would be useful for everyone concerned.

Speed Cameras sole intention is to capture the car details, i.e. the registration details, and the speed of the vehicle. With these two bits of information, you can be charged for speeding. The deployment of mobile speed cameras is precarious. Specifically cameras aren’t deployed for your benefit, they are deployed so that they can catch you speeding. The choice of location is generally used so that the police can argue that they were in plain site – however, you and I both probably know different.

Following the media you will soon realise that the general consensus is that speed cameras o not do what they are supposed to do, which was improve safety and reduce accidents. The result is that the public are incensed with the belief that speed cameras primary function is to raise revenue, argued and portrayed as indirect taxation.

Motorists – Stand Up And Fight

A number of groups and individuals have set out to change the rules of the land and are legally fighting the use of the UK speed camera. While they do so, there are others who are working to stop the use of the cameras by simply taking them apart, blowing them up or otherwise stopping them from working. While illegal to do, these individuals are determined to find a way to stop people from falling victim to the cameras and they plan to continue to damage the cameras until they are finally removed in total from the streets of the UK.

Why are so many people upset and angered by the use of the UK speed camera? There are many reasons for this but in particular, they do not like the fact that such harsh actions are taken on them for just driving a few miles over the posted speed limit. As many would say, just driving a few miles over the limit will cost them a huge fine and three points on their license. They are treated no better than a criminal in these cases.

These individuals do not want to break the law. They also do believe in the importance of using existing road traffic laws. Many of these groups even believe that the use of the UK speed camera in areas where there are children and more pedestrians is acceptable but they believe the use of these cameras in locations where there are no pedestrians is uncalled for and is against the goal of uses for these cameras. In areas such as on the motorway or on major trunk roads where there is no risk of injuring a pedestrian or child, they believe the cameras should be removed. Some even believe that some areas there is a need for more cameras such as in built up and urban areas.

The bottom line of why many do not believe the use of UK speed cameras is effective is their inability to reduce accidents and to improve the safety of roadways in the country. There is no evidence, in most areas, that the number of casualties and deaths on the roads in the UK have dropped since the use of the UK speed camera was first needed. They do believe that the cameras are used mainly to increase revenue rather than to improve safety. Some are setting out to make a statement in a way that could be legally worrisome for themselves in the hopes of making that statement loud enough to be heard by those who can improve the situation.

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How To Avoid Speeding Fines – Everything You Need To Know

Posted by Christina Parker Jones in July 30th, 2009
Published in Cars
by Maximus McKinley

For most people, speeding is not something that they consciously think about doing. Usually it just happens when you are in a hurry, listening to the radio, or in a stressed out mood. Of course most of the time a bobby isn’t going to care what your reasoning is for speeding along. If you are speeding, there’s a good chance you’ll end up with speeding fines, and no one likes having to pay out money for speeding. There are some things that you can do though to avoid getting these speeding fines in the first place. Most of these things are actually pretty easy as well. Want to make sure you keep points off your license and that you avoid pricey fines in the future? Well, here are some of the top tips out there that will help you to avoid getting a fine for speeding.

Tip #1 – Focus Focus Focus! Seriously, don’t be distracted and keep your eyes on the road. Avoid common distractions like getting to involved in a conversation with your passenger, or eating your lunch whilst driving. If you need to talk to someone, try talking to yourself!

Tip #2 – Stay Alert – its all to easy to start to snooze and for your head to start nodding. Keep your eyes open, make sure the car isn’t too warm for you, and even open the windows as the fresh air helps many people stay alert.

Tip #3 – Allow Plenty of Time for Travel – Make sure that you allow plenty of time for travel. When you are behind and you need to be somewhere quickly, you are more likely to start speeding, and before you know it you end up with a big fine. Start out a few minutes early for your destination and relax. If you are a minute late it probably won’t be the end of the world. Just leaving about 10 minutes early to account for any delays will make you drive slower and you’ll be able to miss out on the speeding fines.

Tip #4 – Keep a Cool Head – There is absolutely no benefit to you, or your fellow drivers, if you are hot headed. The more agitated and aggressive you become, the more likely you’ll break a speed limit, or worse, be involved in an accident.

Tip #5 – Slowly does it now – Its an obvious fact that the faster you go, the longer your stopping distance. If you actively think about this, then you’ll be able to bring your speed down with out actually thinking about it. With awareness, comes great driving ability.

Tip #6 – Think About the Consequences – Thinking about the consequences of speeding can be helpful as well. Many people simply speed along without thinking about anything else. However, the consequences of speeding can be bad. Not only can you end up with speeding fines, but you could crash your vehicle, or even worse hit someone and harm or kill them. This is a high price to pay for going a bit faster.

Tip #7 – Is there really a Need for Speed? – Driving fast and avoiding speeding tickets do not go together. Breaking the speeding limits on public roads and dangerous and costly, and financially costly too. If you really need to get it out of your system, then consider a track day where the limits aren’t there.

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