Are speed cameras a form of stealth tax to fund a greedy government?

Question

as a driver i was cought by a policeman with a radar gun he was yards from a national speed limit sighn with his car parked around the corner out of site fare enough i was speeding but the police were acting like some dodgey wheel clampers hiding out of site

Answer 1

It amused me to read all the holier than thou comments from the prophets above, who apparently stay within the limits at all times. Where are they whenever I am out there driving around?
I was done for speeding, my first offence in almost 40 years of accident free driving, about six months ago. I was doing 37 in a 30 area, a wide carriageway road over a railway line, ie no pedeatrians, no parked cars, no bus stops and certainly not an accident black spot area. One could argue that a road such as this should have a higher limit compared to a street where all the previous apply. But what the hell, it was a fair cop, as they say by a hidden camera. I have since discovered that this particular stretch of road is a favourite with the mobile camera team, hardly surprising considering how easy it is to exceed the limit there. But then I know lots of cameras sited locally where accidents rarely happen. The simple fact is that the motorist is an easy target for stealth taxes, as all motorists think that other motorist get everything they deserve..

Answer 2

it is piss.ing of isnt !!! There is one of those police vans (with all the camera stuff) that parks by a bus depot where i live around 500 yards from a steep hill ( the speed limit is 30) the hill is an acceleration and decceleration point therefore it is very likely that people go over the limit whilst going up or down the hill. It is claimed that the are there to stop accidents, there has never been an accident on that road as far as I can remember and at the slow speeds it would probably not be fatal anyway (air bags etc). But half a mile away there is a 60mph twisty road where a policeman died last year, but guess what ? they are never there because they will make more profit on the other road, I think this sucks, health and safety seems to be a licence to rip you off

Answer 3

Yes, it is mainly the money, it does not slow things down that much, In France they started to put them ( automatic radars ) in " Strategic" positions some years ago and they soon realised how well they payed now they are every where and it is for the money, they make over €250.000.000 a year, there is one that pulls in €160.000 a month on its own so you can see that they are not just for safety like we are told, as a result nearly 10% of French drivers drive without a licence, The machine are usually paid for within 5 months, this is taken into consideration when it is installed.

Answer 4

YES! of course, this greedy, spendthrift Government will do anything to squeeze more money out of us, so they can have more money to fund their growing bureaucracy, the war in Iraq, the ongoing saga of the millenium dome etc. etc.
Speed cameras, congestion charges and road pricing, parking restrictions and charges, and so called green taxes/ climate change levies/taxes the list goes on and on. They will never have enough, and we now have the prospect of Gordon Brown as the next Prime Minister, the only thing he has been good at, is increasing taxes.
So we can look forward to much more of the same.
The question is how much more taxation will people tolerate before they revolt against the whole extortionate system.

Answer 5

Sometimes its justified and sometimes its a source of revenue, and sometimes speed traps are like checkpoints, excuses to look for other violations like expired plates, registration, license, warrants, unsafe cars, etc. I got a warning only for 54 in a 30-zone (a deserted 4-lane divided highway on Sunday afternoon), as did the other 5 or 6 cars that happened to come by - everyone was speeding. The cop jumped into the middle of the road to signal me to stop, I was going 54, and it was a gentle stop - that's how straight the road was.

I do wish citizens could give cops tickets for speeding constantly and doing some of the things I've seen them do.

Answer 6

Well, duh!!!

It is also an excuse to have less police on the road, stopping those who are driving illegally - for example, no tax, no insurance, no MOT - and no license!

If I were nabbed by a policeman, then fair cop. But I have a problem with getting fined by post for something when I am not aware I was going over the speed limit anyway. My husband got stopped taking me to hospital to have my son - we got a police escort! If it was a camera, points no questions asked!

Answer 7

yes,its part of the usual money grabbing stuff,like crime prevention, if you have a bald tyre you can get nicked and get points and fined.But in real terms you havent actualy done anything, if its not burst and caused you to run into something, if its still up and not flat you have done nothing wrong, you are getting done because you might do something not because you did,cameras cant see if you are under pressur from a boss to meet a deadline, there are many reasons for going a bit over the top.cameras have no place in a free country.

Answer 8

Why do have to speed ? As somebody else said if you don't want to fined then DO NOT SPEED.

The police are doing a service to the society we live in.

CAN YOU COMPREHEND THE EFFECTS OF SPEEDING. WHAT IF CRASH INTO SOMEBODY AND KILL SOMEBODY AND YOURSELF STAY ALIVE. WILL YOU BE ABLE TO FACE YOURSELF AND THE REALITY OF SPEEDING?

Do not criticise the Police. Let them do their job and keep al of us safe.

Answer 9

Yeah,,sad isnt it. Also those knealt down in the back of a van hiding behind all sorts of things,,, I find it very irritating, especially when they could be doing what we pay them to do & catch proper criminals,,,,but maybe thats not as easy as generating ££££££££ & a bit more energy has to be used ......

Does pi** you off......but then again if we didnt speed, we wouldnt get caught,,,problem is they change the speed stretches so much you never know what the limit is anyway ......

Answer 10

Another stealthy way for Gordon Brown to 'create' jobs in the public sector that create nothing of value for the country.