A couple of thank yous

[stamford]

Track is the best and safest place to lose the red mist, not the road. More people should do it and the roads would be a better place.

[Enright]

Unfortunately the majority simply don't have the disposable income.
I wish I could afford to do a track day every month, but that would sap at least £1500 per, year before factoring in tyres and fuel - it's simply too much for me to entertain.
It would be great if the government had the imagination to subsidise track-days, but administrating and justifying it would be more trouble than it was worth for them.
As the roads are already so clogged they have a vested interest in either keeping people off them, or setting the prices for use so high that they simply rake in the profits from the rest. And if you’ve been caught going a couple of miles an hour too quickly – tough luck, you’re gonna pay for all the REALLY bad ones who avoid the law altogether.

One thing that bugs me is that it's all biased towards speed, as that's the most easily measurable thing.
I always respond to the “Speed Kills” tag-line with “no it doesn’t – stopping quickly does!”
That’s why these new “black boxes” that the insurance companies are introducing that you can have installed “to lower your premium by proving what a good driver you are” fill me with suspicion. How do they measure how often you fail to indicate? Do they know if you use a hands-free kit while driving around with your fog-lamps on? No – all they are concerned about is if you regularly exceed speed limits, and how long will it be before the same insurers start refusing to insure people who aren’t prepared to have Big Brother in the car with them?

[stamford]

if people continued to speed and get caught, get fined and attend these awareness courses and then have to inform their insurers of points to declare then that will soon cost them alot more than a track day. Catch 22.

Next thing they'll be camera traps outside race circuits to catch drivers going home after a good days 'release' only to still be buzzing and perhaps speed on the road out!

[Enright]

I agree with you, but the majority of people go out with the attitude that they'll take a little risk because they won't get caught (or simply don't think at all). Then they DO get caught, feel all upset about it because "the world is so unfair", and decide to either not to declare their points, or worse still, not bother to get insured. I'm not saying it's right, but you can see how these little risks escalate until you have public enemy number one on the roads.

I wouldn't be at all surprised to see plod lurking on the roads near to racetracks for a couple of other reasons too:
1) With the accelerated wear that tracks inflict on road tyres, it's not surprising if a car that arrived with legal tyres goes home at the end of the day with illegal ones.
2) We've all heard the stories of people who over-cook it on track, and then mysteriously have an accident at the first roundabout on the way home so that they can make a claim.

[peterzs]

I'd better not get into, "flash or not flash", debate, but what annoys me is that the speed traps are always on wide, open, normally going down hill etc. roads.

If they were near schools, narrow roads, middle of a village, I can see why they are there and any one going over the speed limit deserves all they get.

On our spur road into Bournemouth A338, there is a lay by, going down a steepish hill, favourite place for a radar van to sit. We join the spur road at a junction that runs alongside a flyover. Radar van sits at the end of our slip road, trouble is, to join the traffic you have to get up to 50 and then merge in. Having to check for traffic coming down the flyover, making sure there isnt a van, all adds to the fun of it. Apart from a motorcyclist that spotted the van, braked, skidded and ended up sliding across the carriageway, onto the opposite carriageway. He wont be going over the speed limit any more, but hell of a price to pay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thats without all the changing speed limits as you get nearer to the town. Spur road 70, goes to 50 by the flyover, then down to 40. All on the same dual carriageway. Dont know how the visitors keep up with it.

[Enright]

Oh there's an easy answer to that last bit Peter - they don't!
In fact even TomTom don't keep up with it.
A couple of weeks ago we visited my mate down there. It was lovely weather but the sun was right in my eyes as we entered the 40 limit that evening, so I was relying on the TomTom because I couldn't see the signs properly.
Suddenly I passed a camera, then caught sight of a roadsign shortly afterwards which confirmed the speed limit as being 40, but TomTom was still telling me it was 50.
I've been dreading a Fixed Penalty ever since.
It would be such easy money for the local council from that camera because the road seems like such an open and fast one.

[peterzs]

They have them turned off quite a bit nowadays, I have a "little helper", that tells me when they are switched on!!

Its only a recent change 6 months or so, mainly because the slip road off Richmond Hill roundabout is too short and a blind pull out into the traffic flow, thats going from Poole to Ringwood way. ie. out of Bournemouth. So bad I never use it, I drive across to the next joining junction, once stopped at the bottom you are stuck, cant see back down the road and pric*s, pushing you from behind, always accidents there.

The worse camera is at the ASDA junction on the Holes Bay road at Poole, dual carriageway 50, goes down to 30, 4 lane junction with lights.

In the middle of it all is a speed camera, red on green or something they call it. The temptation is that when it goes to orange you can be at 30, but still put your foot down to get across this great big junction. Many will say stop on orange, but with cars sticking on your bum expecting you to go through, easier said than done.

This camera has taken more money than all the other cameras in Dorset put together!!!

Hope you get away with it and it was turned off. Only time they have all been off, is when we have the party political conferences at the BIC.

[Enright]

Originally Posted by peterzs

Hope you get away with it and it was turned off.

Well it used to be that they had to serve a Notice of Intended Prosecution within 14 days, and we've JUST gone beyond that now, so...

Originally Posted by peterzs

Only time they have all been off, is when we have the party political conferences at the BIC.

Oh, I wonder why THAT was?!? Can't have MP's being hoisted by their own petard can we!
Who would pocket all the revenue then?

[peterzs]

Reckon you could be OK, I'll keep my fingers crossed.

When we had the air show in August, there were 400 parking tickets issued. I know its easy to park correctly but a lot of roads were closed off along the cliff tops. Kids moaning about walking too far etc.

We got the times wrong, doh! got down late, but there is a great big car park, on the left as you go back down a little bit of dual carriageway, towards the railway station, from the Landsdown/Christchurch Road. Only £4.00 for all day and there were still quite a few spaces left, even though we got there about an hour late.

[andy-81]

i think a lot of the police get beaten with the bad stick quite a lot with the roads they place they park the camera vans although a few of them are sometimes questionable a long straight road can be where the worst accidents can happen, e.g. you are travelling at 40 mph on a dual carriageway, you check your mirrors and miss judge a cars speed in the lane next to you, you pull out to avoid a hazard lets say a cyclist or an item of debris so you indicate and pull out then bang the car who was sppeding in the next lane has hit you.

Next thing you know is you have spun and rolled and your passenger has met there demise in the accident and the driver of the offending vehicle has killed someone.

this is the reason why they park the cameras on the straight roads if i'm right in thinking.

What people say about the speed cameras can be an over reaction, who would say the same thing if it was a traffic officer sat in the same spot and caught you at the same speed? I know i would'nt, if i was caught speeding i wouldnt be angry at the officer or camera as it would be my own fault being daft enough to break the speed limit i'm not saying that i don't speed as that would be a lie

Most if not all speed cameras have been set a several mph over any way so you have a small amount of leniancy any way the same as a traffic officer has a degree of tolerance as well i mean if it was me and you went past at 35 i would lei it go' if you went past me at 45 you would be getting a tug for it