SAFETY LAST

Everyone does it, you are tootling along quite nicely in your car, minding your own business, then suddenly you are confronted by one of those yellow perils, a speed entrapment camera. That’s when instinct kicks in and without thinking you automatically put your foot on the brake irrespective of whether you are driving within the speed limit, or not, you also take your eyes off the road and look at your speedo. No checking mirrors, no looking around for potential dangers such as kids, cyclists or pedestrians, while you are passing those white marker lines on the road your main focus is on your speedo to make sure you do not stray above the limit.

Considering the above scenario is the reaction of 99.9% of all drivers, how come the authorities who place these money making contraptions here, there, and everywhere willy-nilly, have the audacity to call them “Safety cameras”? Safety is the last thing they have anything to do with, and that is a point just proven and reported in the press recently.

It seems that a so called ‘safety camera’, put up on the M11 in Essex, is responsible for a number of accidents. Since this camera was installed the number of accidents has risen by a quarter and casualties by half on the south bound section of the M11 where it reduces from three lanes to two and the speed limit drops from 70mph to 50mph.

The problem with these entrapment cameras is that they only catch people who may have strayed over the limit, not those who are driving recklessly or without any care or consideration for other road users.

Since first being introduced these cameras have multiplied in numbers no end. In many cases wide clear and generally safe roads have had their speed limits cut to speeds that are well below the capability of the road and speed trap cameras installed. If that is not a money making scheme then Richard Brunsom of the Welsh traffic Taliban is a kind and considerate copper who doesn’t hate all drivers!

If the authorities really wanted to make our roads safer rather than just seeing motorists as cash cows, then they would work to make many junctions safer and less confusing. They would remove many of the traffic slowing obstacles which in reality are just hazards, and they would set realistic speed limits that are appropriate. This would mean a limit of 80mph on our motorways and many other roads and dual carriageways having their limits put back to their original speed limits. This would ensure the traffic is free flowing and there would be less frustration among drivers, which in turn would improve their safety. Driving would also feel far less oppressive, but of course, that would mean spending the money raised from road taxes rather than collecting it from drivers who sadly are an increasing section of society being abused by this Government.