Caught speeding?

Firstly no i dont think speeding is a cardinal sin, nor are small plates or loud cans, they are however on the wrong side of the line and an easy target. My point is you are making a decision to speed etc, knowing full well if you get caught you'll get punished, so dont moan about it.
Why speeding? why not, driving without insurance,vandalism, burgulary or murder.
I said earlier we all know the rules, if we choose to break them and get caught then we need to accept the consequences of our actions.
Yes mindless enforcement is wrong, but how should it be resisted, breaking the rules and then trying to get out of the punishment is not resistance. complain to your council / mp if you feel (in this case) the camera is in the wrong position.
I fully agree many of the cameras are in ludicrous positions, and personally i would remove them all and get more bobys on the streets. who can apply common semse and logic to specific offences. Catching drivers without insurance / licences, drink driving etc would all be much higher up my hit list, but when i speed, if i get caught then i've no one to blame but myself, its not the polices fault or the scp's or anyone elses, its mine.
Anyway, sorry for the derail.

[cymroboi]

this is one of the reasons why the cameras are bad round our area ,
http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/nort...5578-24235721/

this only just happend on saturday a couple of miles away from where the camera van was parked up , the one hovis thinks he was cought !!!

[Red Herring]

Sorry, is that "cameras are bad" in that there are lots of them, or bad because they don't work? Nothing in this story suggests speed was an issue, although some will no doubt jump to conclusions.

Originally Posted by Red Herring

Just for the benefit of any police officers reading this perhaps you would like to define "real criminals" so they know what they should be looking for.

Well i've had my home broken into 3 times, i've had my motorcycle trashed by drunken underage chavs, i've had friends beaten badly, plus other issues where the police have not helped one bit.

Yet they find the time to get me for speeding at 2am in the morning on a empty country road when i was a danger to no one (wasnt that much over the limit either).

Back on topic i hope nothing happens to you hovis. Although i agree with others you were stupid doing those speeds theres far worse criminals out there who should feel the arm of the law but dont.

Ta

[cymroboi]

the story whith this poor bloke is he pulled out to overtake a car while an on coming car was in his path !!!!!!

Originally Posted by Red Herring

Sorry, is that "cameras are bad" in that there are lots of them, or bad because they don't work? Nothing in this story suggests speed was an issue, although some will no doubt jump to conclusions.

Originally Posted by Red Herring

Sorry, is that "cameras are bad" in that there are lots of them, or bad because they don't work? Nothing in this story suggests speed was an issue, although some will no doubt jump to conclusions.

Cameras are bad 'cos they don't work, ie: they don't contribute to overall road safety. I'm sure we can all come up with an example of where a camera has reduced accidents, but for every one that has there are ten that haven't.

Gatso's, Truvelo, etc - slow traffic down for 100 yds. Anyone who gets caught generally deserves the ticket for lack of observation rather than speeding itself.

Camera van's - slow down those who know it's often there for a short stretch of road, and catch everyone else unaware's, except those who never, never break a speed limit. I know people who have been caught by them for a minor speeding offence, even though that's the worst offence they have ever or are ever likely to commit. I even know a taxi driver in his late 60's who adheres to the limits rigidly as he needs his license to work and that's just the way he drives anyway, but has made a simple mistake with a newly imposed speed limit and got a ticket.

Helicopters - same as camera vans, just a lot more bloody expensive and IMO using a helicopter for that purpose is a massive waste of taxpayers money. In my mind it's as bad as MP's cheating on expenses.

Average Speed Camera's - WEYHEY! Finally a camera that works and slows everybody down over the full length of the stretch of road they are implemented on, and 'cos it slows everyone down the camera issues no tickets and generates no revenue, and contributes to improving road safety. I'd be pretty p'eed off if they were implemented everywhere, but not because I have to do the speed limit, but because it then becomes mindless enforcement and a big brother type issue, but implemented where there is a need along with a realistic speed limit and suddenly I'm applauding the people I pay my taxes to.

Variable speed limits - As average speed camera's with a bit of intelligent queueing theory built in that results in better traffic flow and shorter journey times for me, applause again!

All of the above - you can be 14yr old, drunk, on drugs, on a phone, in a stolen car with no MOT, whilst carrying a dead body in the passenger seat, and so long as your not speeding the camera will let you cruise on by.

Police man jumping out of a bus shelter with a speed gun, and pulling people in before writing a ticket to every speeding motorist 'cos that's what he's instructed to do - see camera vans, but at least they'll catch drunk drivers too.

Police man in any scenario, allowed to make his own judgement about the conditions and the speed - Excellent, applause again , but haven't heard or experienced that for too many years now.

And thats just the opinion of a lowly citizen, just in case any of those who I pay my taxes to are interested, or happen to be reading.....

Originally Posted by Red Herring

Ah silly me, a burglar. At the risk of derailing Hovis's thread slightly perhaps you can remind me just how many people died of burglaries last year? Yes it's a nasty crime, yes they are scum, and yes I hate the buggers, but in the grand scheme of things you can always buy another TV, camera or whatever. We're not talking about a minor oversight in a 30 limit here, we're not even talking about a moderate one, we're talking about twice the limit and that's just plain daft, even if the limit may or may not be appropriate. Personally I'm no saint but I don't have a lot of time for people who step that far outside what is socially acceptable and then moan when the police try and do something about it.

Jeez, so it is true when people say the police have no sense of humour

Originally Posted by lukemillar

Jeez, so it is true when people say the police have no sense of humour

What may seem as a joke to one person can be quite different to the person on the receiving end, especially when the joke mocks their profession (which for a policeman could be vocational, ie: they actually care about it) and they'd be a millionaire if they'd had a pound for every time they'd heard it.

I work in IT and started out working in IT support and people would say to me "oh yeah, your the guy that reboots computers for a living", whilst I smile and nod and think "tosser!".

[Red Herring]

Originally Posted by lukemillar

Jeez, so it is true when people say the police have no sense of humour

I don't think I've ever met a copper that didn't have a sense of humour, but then I've only been in the game for some twenty plus years so there's time yet. Of course there are times when it deserts them, like when you have to go round and tell someone's family they're not coming home because they've been killed on the roads. It's obviously a lot easier when they die by their own hand (known as a "Dodi" or Dead One Did It) but even then the family always look to blame someone else, perhaps that "dangerous" road, or the "poor road surface", but it's really hard when they're taken out by someone else. That's when you feel like you've let them down. You see a coppers duty is the protection of life and property, in that order. That's why they get more worked up over things that put lives in danger rather than antisocial behavior, which includes most offences under the theft act.

For the record I don't like speed cameras for all the reasons listed above by Ralph, but i do recognize they do serve a purpose by raising awareness of speed limits. In the perfect world we wouldn't need speed limits, we would all be excellent drivers capable of assessing all of the hazards and driving at an appropriate speed that would allow us to deal with them all safely. Unfortunately we're not all perfect drivers, in fact none of us are, so we have to throw in a few guidelines to help us out a bit, and 30 limits are generally in built up areas where there are loads of potential hazards. Sure there are times when you might be able to miss everything at 60mph, but are you sure you are qualified to recognize those circumstance? If you want to gamble with your life go do it on a race track, not somewhere where the stakes include someone else.

I don't think I've ever met a copper that didn't have a sense of humour, but then I've only been in the game for some twenty plus years so there's time yet. Of course there are times when it deserts them, like when you have to go round and tell someone's family they're not coming home because they've been killed on the roads. It's obviously a lot easier when they die by their own hand (known as a "Dodi" or Dead One Did It) but even then the family always look to blame someone else, perhaps that "dangerous" road, or the "poor road surface", but it's really hard when they're taken out by someone else. That's when you feel like you've let them down. You see a coppers duty is the protection of life and property, in that order. That's why they get more worked up over things that put lives in danger rather than antisocial behavior, which includes most offences under the theft act.

For the record I don't like speed cameras for all the reasons listed above by Ralph, but i do recognize they do serve a purpose by raising awareness of speed limits. In the perfect world we wouldn't need speed limits, we would all be excellent drivers capable of assessing all of the hazards and driving at an appropriate speed that would allow us to deal with them all safely. Unfortunately we're not all perfect drivers, in fact none of us are, so we have to throw in a few guidelines to help us out a bit, and 30 limits are generally in built up areas where there are loads of potential hazards. Sure there are times when you might be able to miss everything at 60mph, but are you sure you are qualified to recognize those circumstance? If you want to gamble with your life go do it on a race track, not somewhere where the stakes include someone else.

Could not have been stated better....