In article , Gazz wrote:
This tirade shows how little you actually know about the subject.
And i don't care, it's not something i will ever volunteer to do, i'd
rather have the job of unblocking public bogs with my bare hands than
stand at the side of the road with a speed gun causing hassle for
others, at least the first job i'd be doing a job that benefits the
general public.
Stopping, or at least detering, motorists driving at excessive speeds
though villages does benefit the public in that village.
You see, what is the use of a letter or ticket a few days after the
event, you didnt hurt anyone at the time, and probably didn't realise
you were over the limit, it's like having a fuel gauge that only tells
you you've run out of fuel 3 days after you've come to a stop at the
side of the road,
That is one arguement, another is that it doesn't do any harm to point out
to the motorist that they were well above the speed limit and should pay
more attention. Wheni say "well above" - I mean it. When we started the
car had to be doing 40mph in a 30mph limit before we reported it.
Yes i know your supposed to keep track of the ever changing speed limits,
as well as your actual speed, navigate around a strange area, avoid the
**** on his phone who's late and his journey is obviously more important
than anyone else's, watch what other vehicles are doing and anticipate
their moves, watch out for bikers hiding in your blind spots, shout at
the brats to stop arguing, But sometimes you creep over the limit, or
miss a speed change sign when on a road that 'should' have the national
limit on it, everyone has done it, and 9 times out of ten we are just
keeping up with the other traffic.
and, in those circumstances, Speedwatch can't even take note of your speed.
Which is why those signs that flash up your speed are a hell of a lot
better i think, they alert you to the limit and if your over it, in real
time, there and then, so you can take action,
many don't bother - or as I have seen, try and get the posted speed as high
as they can!
i'd even go as far as saying i'd support a set up where there is one of
those speed indicator signs followed say half a mile or so later by a
hidden speed camera, at least you can't say you didn't know you were
over the limit then, and the only reason you get a ticket is because you
deliberately ignored the limit.
Sometimes Speedwatch works with a police patrol round the next corner.
There has been the driver who speeds by, waving two finger at the
Speedwatch group, to find he is stopped for real.
And as for the 'reason' for the community speed watch crap being to see
if the road has a speeding problem or not, what a load of twaddle,
surely it's cheaper to put one of those speed recorder strips on the road
for a few weeks, you know, the 3 rubber hoses clipped to the road, and
attached to a metal box chained to a lamp post, that will tell them how
many vehicles use the road, in which direction and their speeds... 24
hours a day, 7 days a week for as long as it's in place, and it will all
be reliably recorded with no human input to screw up the results.
I've never heard of Speedwatch being used for that reason. In our case it
was only after such a device showed excessive speed that Speedwatch was set
up/
No need to 'train' anyone, lend them expensive equipment, do H&S
assessments, fanny about getting people to volunteer to stand by the road
for hours at a time doing the modern equivalent of train spotting,
AFAIK, train spotters record every engine, Speedwatch only pick out the
ones who offend. Sorry, but 60+mph in a built up area with children &
pedestrians about is NOT reasonalable behaviour. And I suppose I should
say that I was once (over 40 years ago) caught driving at an excessive
speed. (£7 fine)
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