CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Debate!
"Police claim speed cameras just a cash cow"
(8 posts)-
Posted 11 years ago #
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Chief Superintendent David O’Connor, president of Asps, said the location of cameras on motorway bridges was like “shooting fish in a barrel” because of the number of vehicles driving under them at close to or over the limit.
If the laws don't make sense, change the laws.
Positioning the camera vans on a bridge above routes such as the M9, approaching Stirling, is more likely to raise money than save lives, they argue.
How would you measure that?
There's an argument that says proper enforcement of motoring laws would result in safer (i.e. more law-abiding) driving in general - even away from speed cameras an police presence.
But, maybe, the ship has sailed on this and we've created a culture where catching people breaking motoring laws is seen as a form of injustice if no-one happens to be injured by that single instance of law-breaking?
Posted 11 years ago # -
"There's an argument that says proper enforcement of motoring laws would result in safer (i.e. more law-abiding) driving in general"
Perhaps hard to prove, but definitely worth assuming.
Wonder what the police have got against detecting law-breakers and raising money?
There was a time when the people most vociferous against speeding (especially on motorways) were the police - who had to deal with the consequences.
Ah -
Maybe I mean the traffic cops (not their desk-bound bosses).
Posted 11 years ago # -
So we shouldn't be trying to detect the law being broken in locations where it is likely to be broken? Or something.
It's not fair on burglars to catch them hopping out of windows carrying a TV. We should be doing it somewhere where they've a more sporting chance of getting away undetected?
Wonder what sort of car(s) CSupt. O'connor drives.
Posted 11 years ago # -
They're having their budget squeezed, and they're making a play to get the money from the cameras.
Like other public services, they are increasingly worried about creeping privatisation, and safety cameras are prime territory for being hived off, if they're seen as a "cash cow"
Posted 11 years ago # -
chdot "(not their desk-bound bosses)" - Mr O'Connor doesn't even seem to be in charge of a proper desk: since 2010 he has been employed full-time by of one of the police staff associations. http://uk.linkedin.com/pub/david-o-connor-qpm
And having spent most of his career in Northern area there's nothing to suggest he's ever been responsible for policing any motorway.Posted 11 years ago # -
Mmm!
Isn't the internet useful(?)!
Posted 11 years ago # -
The actual article seems a little more sophisticated than saying they don't want to enforce speed limits.
“We need to make sure that the public perception of speed cameras is not that it is all about making money,” he said.
“Of course speeding on the motorway is dangerous, but these are not accident black spots. There must be more flexibility and maybe it’s time to review safety cameras and how they’re located across Scotland.”
He also wants speeding motorists to be offered safer driving courses as an alternative to fines and points on their licences.
“We need to look at how we improve driver behaviour,” O’Connor said. “Should the emphasis not be on education as well as enforcement?”
And in that sense his argument is consistent with how cameras have always been justified - as a road safety initiative rather than a simple enforcement. It's long been known that their impact on enforcement and re-offending is weak but they are good at getting drivers to slow down on specific stretches of road.
And it's a power play - the polis feel they don't have enough control over how the cameras are used. They have a legitimate concern that if cameras are used inappropriately, they get the blame.
Posted 11 years ago #
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