Gatso's useful or not?

[GrasB]

Problem is the view of most people is the crime is to get caught speeding not to speed. This means when there are lots of cameras people get distracted by the speedo & stop looking around them. The result is they're sticking to the speed limit but aren't being nearly as observant as they are normally, let alone as observant as they should be.

 

[Chrisz]

Problem is the view of most people is the crime is to get caught speeding not to speed. This means when there are lots of cameras people get distracted by the speedo & stop looking around them. The result is they're sticking to the speed limit but aren't being nearly as observant as they are normally, let alone as observant as they should be.

So what? As long as they're not speeding everything's fine!

 

[Sheffield_Tiger]

As long as they're not speeding everything's fine!

Actually, that really sums up what is wrong with the obsession with speed.

Driver "A" has an accident. Victim "B" claims against "A" and the crux of the argument is "A wasn't speeding"

I could kill someone in my car at 5mph, but the speed might be taken into account and I might be seen to have been driving "carefully". "slowly" and "carefully" doesn't always mean the same thing.

 

[garyrjb]

If you're cycling down a hill in a 30mph limit and your cycle comp tells you you're doing 33mph, are you going to slow down ? Or are you going to feel chuffed at you achievement and try and go faster?

I would be looking to see what was slowing me down!!!

 

[hackbike 666]

If you're cycling down a hill in a 30mph limit and your cycle comp tells you you're doing 33mph, are you going to slow down ? Or are you going to feel chuffed at you achievement and try and go faster?

I would be looking to see what was slowing me down!!!

Slightly different circumstances to a car methinx.

 

[marinyork]

Don't see the fuss, can think of very few roads where there are any number of speed cameras. Some whole counties have none/very few.

 

[Chrisz]

Slightly different circumstances to a car methinx.

So it should be one rule for cars and a different one for cyclists then? Like traffic lights?

 

[ufkacbln]

Lets for one minute accept that a momentary glance (all that should be needed) is dangerous.........

Why are we allowing unnecessary and dangerous distractions such as air conditioning controls, stereos, satnavs and their ilk in the dashboard?

..and of course mobile phones should simply be blocked.

 

[BentMikey]

So it should be one rule for cars and a different one for cyclists then?

You might like to rethink that comment, as it is in fact one rule for cars and a different one for bikes. The speed limit on most public highways doesn't apply to bikes, putting the moral side of the debate aside. It's only in places with specific bye-laws that cyclists can be done for speeding, such as the Royal Parks.

 

[hackbike 666]

Cyclist aren't actually done for speeding though?

Isn't it worded cycling dangerously or something like that?
(What BM said)

So it should be one rule for cars and a different one for cyclists then? Like traffic lights?

There isn't a different rule for traffic lights unless you mean the one made up by cyclists.You are more probable to get stopped for jumping the lights instead of going slightly over the limit.

 

[GrasB]

Lets for one minute accept that a momentary glance (all that should be needed) is dangerous.........

Why are we allowing unnecessary and dangerous distractions such as air conditioning controls, stereos, satnavs and their ilk in the dashboard?

..and of course mobile phones should simply be blocked.

I agree if, and it is an if as speed cameras are something I tend to ignore the existence of, a quick speed check is all that's required. Unfortunately all though that's all it should be a speed check & possible correction I've been driven & watched drivers become fixated on their speedo for a good 5 to 10 seconds. I've also had drivers bomb passed me well above the speed limit only to do a virtual emergency stop, forcing me to brake aggressively, then trickle through a speed camera well below the posted limit. I've had people 'randomly' jam their brakes on on the A14 every time they see one of the speed cameras (not that that'll do much good as they're average speed not instantaneous).

The problem, as I said before, is in the minds of most people the crime is getting caught speeding not the act of speeding & this is what causes the distraction, people are too busy trying not to get caught rather than driving at the speed limit & just making sure they've not slipped up.

 

[hackbike 666]

Lets for one minute accept that a momentary glance (all that should be needed) is dangerous.........

Why are we allowing unnecessary and dangerous distractions such as air conditioning controls, stereos, satnavs and their ilk in the dashboard?

..and of course mobile phones should simply be blocked binned.

I've altered that for you.

 

[Bromptonaut]

Staffordshire, in the area between Leek and Stoke, I find myself distracted from the road by the sheer prevalence of speed cameras. I do honestly feel like accidentally creeping up a couple of mph would be safer that driving wth one eye constantly on the speedo

That road would be better with a consistent limit and fewer changes. The fact that the limit is up and down like a fiddler's elbow is one of the factors in it's being dangerous and therefore festooned with cameras.

 

[snailracer]

My information is that Gatsos are sited at places which have a history of serious accidents. The Gatso sites near where I live certainly meet that criteria.

I appreciate them primarily because their presence warns me that I am approaching a dodgy stretch of road, the fact that they also enforce the speed limit is of secondary concern to me, even when I am driving.

 

[Bromptonaut]

My information is that Gatsos are sited at places which have a history of serious accidents. The Gatso sites near where I live certainly meet that criteria.

I appreciate them primarily because their presence warns me that I am approaching a dodgy stretch of road, the fact that they also enforce the speed limit is of secondary concern to me, even when I am driving.

Generally true here in Northants. Several examples on the A426 Bedford Rd and particularly the one on the A43 by the Blisworth turn.