Are "speed cameras" a good or bad thing?

Answer 1

i think it all depends on where they are put!
outside schools,shopping centres,parks,playfields etc they are a good idea, they make people aware of their speed in residential areas. A roads and motorways I think them ones are there purely for making money, there isnt anyone in greater danger on them type of roads as there was if there wasnt any in my personnal view.

Answer 2

In principle they are a good thing, but they've simply been hijacked by politicians to raise money. There have been cases on the M25 where the speed limit has been lowered to 50mph to trigger the cameras, just to catch motorists who don't slow down from 70mph on a clear motorway where there's no justification for lowering the speed limit. The cameras are only supposed to be used to ease the traffic flow during periods of congestion!!

It's a popular myth that only speed causes accidents - indeed a number of people who've replied have used that argument. That simply isn't true, however what speed does is greatly increase the severity of an accident and significantly increase the likelyhood of fatalities.

According to recent government figures, speed was responsible for @ 15% of all accidents, however included in those figures were "inappropriate" speed and not just breaking the posted speed limit of the road. If you only look at the total number of accidents where the people involved are breaking the posted speed limit, the figure is more like 5%, although the number of deaths caused by speeding motorists is somewhere @ 28%.

Most speed related accidents are actually caused by people going too fast for the road conditions, such as in fog or when it's icy - speed cameras will never pick that up because the people involved aren't breaking any speed limits.

If cameras are really there purely for road safety - why are there three times the number of speed cameras on statistically the 10 safest roads in the UK, compared to the 10 most dangerous? Surely it should be the other way around...

Answer 3

It is very easy to speed up to, through and away from a speed camera.

Yes i said through, they are not set at the limit they are several miles an hour above that limit, so in effect they are useless except for anything apart from creating revenue.

If we really want to stop people speeding, we must increase the punishments for getting caught, its a sad thing about society but the thought that you could spread a small child across the carriageway doesn't seem to be a deterent enough... increased fines and bans are the only effective way i think.

I think speed bumps at schools are far more effective than a cameras.

I do drive and i know how easy it is to creep over the speed limit, im not perfect but i don't speed in built up areas, i will admit i think the motorway limit should be increased to 80mph too.

Safe journey home everyone.

Answer 4

BAD. The majority of drivers spend more than half their time checking their speed when going through a camera. And here's a point, they save lives do they? Road deaths dropped every year for 12 years before the introduction of speed camera's, since their introduction they have levelled out at around 3500 per year!!

The major problem we have is that speed limits set are NOT appropiate for many situations they are set to. Not far away from where I live there is a 3 lane carriageway with a speed limit of 30MPH. It isn't accessible by pedestrians, the lanes are reasonably wide, yet some fool set a 30MPH speed limit for it. To do 30 on this road you are more dangerous to other road users than a drunk geezer doing 130 on it!! To add insult to insult there is a turning off this road, a small country lane with a NATIONAL SPEED LIMIT set!! If abiding by the law is dangerous what fool will comply?

Answer 5

Bad,

The case for them has been totally overstated and their real purpose is not to make the roads safer but to generate revenue and make people think the government is being tough on road safety. Speed cameras are an overly simplisitc solution to a complicated problem and as such do not achieve what people think they will, especially as the case for them is partly based on an inaccurate premise. The premise that a significant proportion of accidents are caused by people driving over the posted limit, which quite simply isn't the case.

Edit: Lee makes the point beautifully!

Answer 6

speed cameras are a good thing but the network should be increased to full coverage on all roads, and perhaps a little more tolerence for people that are 1 mile over the limit and greater punishments to those that flagrantly speed or drive negligently - if big brother is going to watch he should watch everywhere, this would also mean there would always be a factual record of any and all accidents to show who the negligent party was if any, also it would mean criminals in getaway cars could be monitored and caught faster! - only those breaking the law need fear active monitoring

Answer 7

Bad because they only slow cars down where they are, as soon as you've gone past them most people just speed up again until the next one.
Also they are dangerous as people driving too fast slam their brakes on when they get near and can cause accidents.

they are supposed to be in accident black spots - apparently there has to be 4 accidents in the same place to get a camera but the ones near us are in money making positions eg. at the bottom of hills and on curves on A roads.

Answer 8

some speed cameras are good especially in accident blackspots as these ones are or have reduced accidents by about half or someplaces more but the other speed cameras are bad. these cameras are just pocketing money for the goverment to get fat and rich off.do you think richard hammond should of had 1 on the test track?lol

Answer 9

It's a grate thing, but as usual for the average person that tries to do the right speed and the speed limit alters far to often and we are suppose to watch signs, instead of the roads, its a night mare.As usual the majority pays for the few bad apple's.

Answer 10

They are a bad thing. Because of the number of speed cameras, the police patrol less meaning that dangerous or careless driving that doesn't involve speed is much less likely to be punished.

What we need to reduce accidents are more traffic cops who can do more that just catch people speeding.

Answer 11

In North Wales the 30mph signs are moved as to facilitate one of the mobile speed cameras, coming out of the restriction. I personally think this is not cricket. But cameras entering a restriction like school area yes they are ok.