Road pricing in the UK

[nikbj68]

quote:Originally posted by cobham cobraHi Nik,
   So Trevor L wasn't joking when he reffered to you as "Young Nik".

   Absolutely not! Here`s me...only last year!
   
   
   Even worse news that new (s)cameras could appear where "a few people might have complained about speeding" rather than simply at accident blackspots, my personal favourite justification for siting of a speedcam due to road deaths was at a part of the M4 near Swindon, the deaths having resulted from persons jumping off a bridge! And as Richard Hammond proved....speed kills!

[TLegate]

And who can blame those people for jumping off the bridge (oldstyle Labour supporters obviously)
   
   Stop deceiving these gullible folk Nik - you know that snap was taken two years ago... (Radio 1?? - it rings a bell...)

[terry3000me]

It was just the other day I tuned-in to Radio 1, breakfast time, Noel Edmunds had just taken over from Tony Blackburn. Well perhaps it was a few weeks ago.....
   
   Just noticed this a UK only thread, how topical are we?
   
   I dont have a problem with speed camera's. One life saved is what its all about.
   
   Some tax's are fair. I'll always vote for indirect taxes, ie you pay for item because you want it and therefore pay a tax. I'll stop there.
   
   Terry

[cobham cobra]

Hi Terry,
   
   Yes it is a UK thread because at the moment it is mainly a UK problem - I don't think our forum has topic rules does it ?
   
   Sadly I think scameras have very little to do with road safety and saving lives.
   
   The claimed speed / accident relationship based on average speeds is based on poor data.
   Only five per cent of injury crashes involve any vehicle exceeding speed limits, including crashes caused by rogue drivers, nutters racing on the highway, reckless drivers, stolen cars, emergency services drivers and drunk drivers.
   Northumberland has few if any cameras but the death and injury rates are within average levels. North Wales has a very strong policy on speeding but their numbers are no better for it.
   Vehicle activated signs are more effective than speed cameras at reducing vehicle speeds in dangerous locations.
   We earned ourselves the safest roads in the world long before we had speed cameras, but since we've had speed cameras we have been losing our world lead.
   Road deaths are not falling as expected.
   Road crash hospitalisations haven't fallen for a decade according to the British Medical Journal.
   If it weren't for a sustained reduction in pedestrian activity, the road safety results would be considerably worse.
   The Statistics Commission has warned Department for Transport that their 'serious injury' statistics are not a reliable series - and that's the only category showing an improvement.
   
   At best it's a tax, at worst it's a govenment cash machine simple at that.[:)]
   
   Cheers - John.

[nikbj68]

quote:Originally posted by cobham cobra...North Wales has a very strong policy on speeding but their numbers are no better for it...Cheers - John.
   

   I live in Brunstrom`s back yard(so to speak[:I])and there isn`t a single fixed camera on the whole of Anglesey, in fact I think the entire A55 to Chester is clear at the moment. There is a fair deployment of Radar & 'Arrive Alive' vans, but that`s it. The policy on speeding here seems to be that wherever there have been a couple of accidents(whatever the cause), the speed limit is reduced by a notch or 2, i.e 60 becomes 40, 40-30, 30-20.
   Incidentally, our local council have just issued a vote of 'no confidence' in R.B, along with several other councils, but that`s a subject for another forum, I think.