I have a problem not just with the cameras (they're fine, they just catch drivers who are truly not looking where they are going), but with the obsession about speed. Speed has become the totem for road safety - it is pretty much the only message that is put out - obey the speed limit and everything will be fine. The "safety partnerships" regularly spout on about targeting a section of road and "making it safe".
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This is my view exactly too. I don't have a personal problem with the cameras as I don't "want" to speed, but I do have an issue with "speed" being mistaken for road safety. Driving at 69mph through average speed cameras while drunk, on bald tyres, and in fog isn't safe - but people think it is as they're driving within the limit. I tried getting somebody to take part in advanced driving lessons once - they declined as "there's no point, you only need to drive within the limit and you're safe". That person also constantly uses a hands free phone while driving - because it's legal.
Dropping speed limits "for safety" also misses the point as well as increasing the risk of missing a sign, which in turn raises the fear of cameras. 10 years ago driving was easy as the speed limits were, in general, as per the highway code. 30mph in residential areas, 60mph on single carriageway and 70mph on dual. Now, thanks to different councils treating roads "for safety" a length of country road can have limits fluctuating constantly between 30, 40, 50 and 60mph.
I've caught myself quite a few times on a long country road wondering whether I've missed a sign and whether the limit is still the 40 I think I'm in, or back up at 60. The other way around, when I am sure I'm in a 60 and there are no signs to say otherwise, I have a constant nagging fear that I'm actually in a 30/40/50 and the signs are either overgrown or stolen for scrap metal. Seeing a camera ahead then adds to the worry. The road conditions and style mean it should be a 60, but if a local council have decided "30 for safety" and chucked a camera in, how can I tell? (Yes, I know "look at the signs" but if they've been stolen along with the drain covers overnight, then I'm up for a fine. I'm generally pretty good at reading the signs and road as I pride myself in my clean licence).
I know that was a ramble (phone rang a few times) but I can understand why people have such a fear of cameras as a whole. Each time I go for a long journey, such as Cornwall to see the relatives, I do spend the next couple of weeks worrying that I triggered a camera in an area where I'd mis-read the speed limit signs.
I also have a worry about the apparent over-reliance we have in this country of relying on cameras and not people. Speed cameras don't prevent the crime of speeding. If you were mown down by a high speed driver would you gain any satisfaction that they'll get a slapped wrist in a couple of weeks time? CCTV doesn't prevent the crime of burglary; and seeing recordings of a hooded shadow walking away with my goods wouldn't make me feel any better.