Why do people complain about speed cameras?

Question

There seems to be a bit of a macho culture when it comes to moaning about, or even destroying, speed cameras. Surely people are missing the point. The cameras are only enforcing the law. If you think you can travel safely at higher speeds then why not petition government to raise the maximum speed limits? Most of these limits are decades old and probably should be updated. Instead most people choose to focus there anger on an inanimate object. Why?

FAO: Gotcha.

But sir, this is exactly what I am taking about. You are complaining about the devices rather than the laws. The cameras only enforce the law. Why don't you try to change the law rather than moan about the device used to enforce it??

Answer 1

95% of drivers break the speed limit and believe they are 'safe' drivers.
They will all moan about Speed Cameras because it slows them down.
Most people don't see going 10-15 miles an hour over a speed limit as breaking the law.
"Its not a real crime?" they say, "why don't the police go and catch real criminals and leave the poor motorists alone?"

Just because someone hasn't had any motoring convictions or speeding fines, doesn't mean that they are safe.

Remember the advert with the little girl killed by a speeding car?

For built up areas --
At 40 she would probably be killed.
At 30 (the speed limit) she would probably survive.
At 25, YOU WOULD HAVE STOPPED!

Answer 2

The fact that it is an inanimate object makes it worse. If u get pulled over by a cop, u can talk to them, be reasonable and u can be let off. Speed cameras don't catch those who are speeding, they catch those who don't know they r speeding. I am a guy, and i have done some stupid things in my younger days, and one of them is speeding. I never got caught for it tho, coz when u are speeding, you are actively looking for the cameras / have radar detection etc.

Cameras are referred to as revenue raising machines because they generate money with very little work on behalf of the police. They say that cameras are to save lives. how does hiding a camera behind a bush and surprising people as they drive past unawares save lives.

If cameras were preceded by warnings people would just slow down for the camera yes, and will speed up again after, but they would have slowed down for the section where the camera is.

You said that the camera's are only enforcing the law. Are they? Or are they assuming we will all will break the law, and are waiting for us to make a mistake?

Answer 3

If it became socially unacceptable to speed, as happened with drink driving and is now happening with using a mobile while driving then maybe more people would observe the speed limits. Of course, if all those people who speed and complain about cameras stopped speeding the revenue from them would drop to a point where the cameras simply cease to make money. The fixed speed cameras have only one use, to catch people speeding at a certain place. How many times have you seen somebody brake hard before a camera and then accelerate away from it? In my opinion the new generation of cameras fitted to patrol cars are of far more use, they automatically check the registration number against current tax, insurance and soon M.O.T databases.

Answer 4

On our local TV news programme recently there was an article about a mock camera which had been put up. An official from the Road Safety Partnership said that it should be taken down because it might cause a driver to brake hard and cause an accident. Does this argument not apply to a driver braking for a real camera?

Answer 5

people only moan about them as they catch people road speed laws are there for a reason and therefore if you break the law you should be punished if you drive like a resonable human the cameras will never flash basicaly it is just another thing for us all to moan about people should just take responsability if you don t like the fines don t speed nad speed humps do not work what if you are on a moterbike and can go straight through them there was a lad killed near where i live a few years ago due to this

Answer 6

Firstly, i'd like to put a couple of the answers you've recieved to this question straight before I get on to answering the question properly. Speed camera are NOT tax collection devices!! Simon Cowell (X-Factor) contributes more money to the treasurey in in-come tax than is collected from speed cameras.

Now as for hating speed cameras again this is not entierly accurate either. What I as a driver dis-like are the excuses used for deploying speed cameras.
1. They force drivers to slow down, therefore cutting accidents. Wrong. they force drivers to RAPIDLY slow down as they approach a speed camera, INCREASING the likely hood of a crash. I my self have nearly gone into the back of a car on more than one occaision when the driver slammed on the breaks incase he was speeding.
2. Cameras are the best way to control speed.
Wrong. The best way to ensure drivers aren't speeding, at least on residential streets is speed humps, they force you to control your speed on an entire length of road not just a 20 meter stretch.

Answer 7

People complain about the cameras because we are living in a society where people are increasingly taking less responsibility for their own actions. Complaining about speed cameras is just one symptom of this ever increasing malaise....like it was the cameras fault they were speeding..! If we had a problem say with a water supply that killed over 3000 people a year there would be public up roar and a demand for action. Over 3000 people are killed on the roads every year, excess speed being a major factor, yet to these people who complain about speed cameras they whinge that 'innocent motorists are being targeted'. Your not innocent if you are breaking the law. PS I got 6 points on my licence because I was speeding and broke the law. I don't whinge about it, I broke the law, was caught and punished. My own fault!

Answer 8

the key problem with speed cameras is that people see them as tax collection tools...people are less aware of petitions(they take longer and do not guarantee change) and therefore resort to direct action which would feel more satisfying(notion of rebellion) anyhow we have to respect the law because its there for a reason, and sometimes the camera may catch you for being a few mph faster and that's 'unfair'... but the groaning is just part of the hate culture towards certain things... everyone assumes that everyone hate them, so they moan and everyone agrees.

Answer 9

I would not have a problem with them if a third party wasn't involved in the process. You see, these cameras are installed under contract of a third party which stipulates that the money collected from violations be split normally 60/40. These cameras are NOT controlled by the local police as many believe.

Answer 10

hi...being an ex employee of the company based in kidderminster that make speed cameras, then i can tell you...they 'are' money generating machines for the councils etc., plus 'they' are actually 'illegal'.
why do i say this...it is because when they are built they 'do not' calibrate them properly...they 'do not' re-calibrate them legally after one year of use (this laid down in the home office document-signifies they must be speed tested a 'minimum' of 100 times, and they are actually tested 4-6 times)...and when the so called safety cameras had broken down for over a week on the M5, an email was received in the office from the camera patnership stating 'when are they going to be fixed as they are not generating any funds'.
i think this shows they are purely another form of taxation, they are illegal...and then you ask why people moan or take to destroy these 'so called' safety cameras?