Al Anon

Well that's my name for them, the folk who leave comments without saying who they are. I can only assume that they do that in case you start stalking their comments pages. I promise you that that isn't something I would do -- it is a pretty tedious pastime.

I don't delete anonymous comments unless I think they are either mindless or offensive to the reader rather than me, so those on Caught in the Flashlight remain, but I did want to reiterate both Anon's comments and my reply. Sorry Al Anon but I am the blogger and you are the bloggee -- I outrank you!

Anonymous said...
crap science, crap logic and crazy conspiracy theories....

Anonymous
What a load of rubbish! To see how this Telegraph article and those who support the anti-speed camera campaigns have distorted the truth see http://www.guardian.co.uk/Columnists/Column/0,,2210070,00.html.
At the end of the day if you break the speed limit you're breaking the law. End of story. (And i write as somebody who frequently DOES break the speed limit, but you won't hear me whinge if I get caught.)

Mosher
Speed cameras suck because now the police seem to rely on them as the be all and end all relating to bad driving. Speed *does* kill, sure. If you hit someone at 60mph, they're likely dead. Hit them at 5 and they might bruise.

However, driving safely at 60mph on an empty country road with a 50mph limit is still safer than driving like a twat at 30mph past a school. And speed cameras *can't* detect people driving like wankers, whereas a good old fashioned copper in a police car *can*.

If speed is so dangerous, then will someone kindly explain why the autobahns in Germany with their lack of limitation have the same number or fewer accidents each year than the 70mph limited ones in the UK?

Shooting Parrots
Ooer Anon, a raw nerve touched there then, but I wasn't aware that I was whinging about my speeding fines, the opposite in fact.

I've a lot of time for George Monbiot (you'll find a link to his blog to the right) but he is a bit of a leftie luvvie who believes that legislation can cure social ills of which speeding is one.

The issue is that speed cameras take no account of driving conditions, time of day, weight of traffic etc. They are robotic.

Mosher is right As I said in the post, cameras can't catch the tail-gating tossers, the middle lane motorway hoggers or those who are just crap drivers. But we did when we had proper traffic police who exercised judgement as well applying the letter of the law.

Perhaps the jury is out on whether the cameras work, or maybe a verdict of 'they work' has been returned, but there is no doubt that they penalise good drivers as well as the bad. And that isn't whinging either.