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Monday 25 July 2005

A speedcam that works! [Shedir]

The notorious A77 road in Scotland got a new innovation recently. Aggregate speed cameras, idea being there's 12 cameras and it takes the average of your speed through all 12.
If you're average is over the max for that stretch, bang a ticket.
I've driven that road a fair few times, but when we went last week what a pleasure. I coasted about 5/10mph below the limit and enjoyed the drive.
All the folks around me were a bit quicker, but there's usually speed demons aplenty on the road. I only mind seeing 3 and they were in big fuckoff motors. So it's only to be expected for folk like that to speed.
I really quite prefer the idea of the cameras noting how quick you are between each of them, making it harder to break the limit both at the point where the camera is and between them.
So, what to you think of this sort of idea? Another example of Scotland leading the way, or a total dead duck?

8 comments:

  1. I know at least one clan member that wont like this. He has some whizzo GPS gadget attached to the dashboard of his SUV (poster boy for environmental ills by all accounts :-) which beeps when a speed camera is nearby, escalating in tone the closer you get. Presumably so he can do 160 past the school, playground and pensioner day centre before having slow in front of the camera :-)

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  2. They've had these in France for ages. Not a bad idea if you can cruise at the right speed, and it'll help stop tailgaters too. People will use the overtaking lane to, um, overtake, like they do in France, instead of just sitting there.

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  3. Wiltshire has gone mad on speedcams in past few months. Mainly mobile vans and motorbike. Think there will be a real backlash in 12-18 months time when people start losing licences. I go thru them every major trip nowadays and at least once a week on the 15mins work journey. Real trouble is it's bloody hard to not creap over limits even when you try and comply - you spend the whole time looking at the speedo and not looking at the road!
    These jouney timing cameras may be better than ther above spot check - at least gives some flexibility and are a great way to control entire length of a journey between 2 towns that have dangerous A roads (eg Swindon/Oxford and Swindon/marlborough - had a few near death expriences with head on traffic on these roads in past few years)
    One other thought - most dangerous thing on a motorway (other than hard shoulder) is swapping lanes. Now M4 is policed to 70, I spend whole time ducking and diving lanes to overtake whereas before I just cruised with the fast lane flow at 85mph. Is that safer?

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  4. They have another nice trick in France - when you use a toll motorway, it fines you if your average speed from toll start to toll end is over the limit.

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  5. Having recently been stopped by a member of Kent's finest motorcycle constabulary at *110mph* and being let off, can I just remind onshore clannies of the following (believe me, as told by the cop and etched in my brain)....
    Anything over 80ish more than 3 points possibly 6
    Discretionary ban under magistrates consideration >90mph
    Compulsory ban unless exceptional circumstances >96mph (not 100)
    If you get caught the total no-no is "there was this bloke up ahead going faster" (said by almost all stopee's)
    Speed cops have egos and love to use their occasional discretion to let people off. The only way to do this (worked in my case) is stand up straight and say (when they tell you the speed they clocked you at) "If you say so then it was officer. Its my fault and I'm sure people give you a bunch of excuses but I'm not going to do that. I accept responsibility for my actions. No excuses, it's my fault"
    Repeat that for ten minutes offering zero and I mean ZERO bullshit or excuses at all (I think I chucked in "Clean license for 17 years" in about minute 8 immediately followed by "But it's my fault, no excuses". If you're very lucky and they are in a good mood and the spirit of electricdeath is with you, you might be let off.

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  6. Or you could just not speed? Seems to be the solution most overlooked in this blog so far...

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  7. As someone who has had:
    1) more points than most people have had hot dinners ( I had a ZZR1100 bike for 10 years remember ) and;
    2) For eleven months had 11 points - this is seriously not funny.
    I can recommend these to you with confidence
    1) Road Angel - programmed with the location of all GATSO's - works using GPS - its excellent! (This is the thing Lurks is on about above)
    2) Flashguard speeding insurance - I go for the deluxe version £75 a year will pay me up to £12000 travel expenses if I get banned for speeding.
    Now --- put that foot down!

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  8. When I drove in the UK, which was admittedly only for a few years, I used to travel at no less than 90MPH on the A3 / M25 / M2 etc (which was as fast as my car would go). In 20012002 I was regularly making the trip from the south up to the wirral using a company car, often travelling at >100MPH. I was never flashed, never stopped.
    Here in Victoria Australia, they have zero tolerance for travelling even a few KMH over the speed limit. It's crap. Everyone drives whacking great V8s and you can only drive at 100KMH.

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