In article , Simon
Gardner wrote:
I do. I think humanity should and I certainly do have a
fundamental objection to policing by robot - which is what
this amounts to.

As was pointed out in a newspaper last week, if you are caught
shoplifting and have no record then you'll almost certainly be
let off with a caution. Why no similar allowance for motorists -
because making money is the aim IMO

IMO there would be a lot less resentment of speed cameras if (a)
technology was employed to adjust the tolerance depending on
weather, time and traffic flow - remember that the speed limit
will be up to 9mph less than what is judged to be safe by
traffic engineers; (b) the penalty was 1, 2 or 3 points
depending on the amount by which you exceeded the limit; and (c)
your record was taken into account: e.g. first offence [within x
years]: no fine, one point.

Beyond this we ultimately need to have variable speed limits
that are set according to what is safe at any particular time.
The more we go for fixed penalties that take no account of
conditions, the more we remove from drivers any conception that
they should adjust their speed to what is appropriate. We used
to get this when I was a BCO: "how little can I do to comply"
was more often asked than "what would be the right thing to do
here"

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