Absolutely not ! Dreadful sort of thing .

I may be wrong but I assume that the "graffitti" is actually part of the original speeding billboard ad. A ad like that works. People who see it will remember it and just maybe slow down just a bit when thinking and having a chuckle about it in the further.

Would you imagine the Welsh Constabulary ever considering allowing an ad campaign like that. No...they rather hide behind shrubs.

Now a excessive speed warning device that really does get me to slow down is the board that suddenly flashes up as you enter a town or approaching a roundabout when you are speeding...but sadly I have noticed certain over sealous towns folk have now set it to flash every single time anything moves in the road even if standing still so once again road uses are going to be desensatises by the "gimmick" and start ignoring it.

I like the once that tell you your speed. Great for checking your speedo! Not so good if not calibrated properly as you are still reponsible for your on speed...There is one in Gateshead that says you are going thirty when my speedo indicates 36...

Jens

speed cameras -the case FOR....
 

I've read thru these posts but no-one mentions the fact that bikers speed all the time. And governments have to get money somehow, so why not off speeding bikers who give us a bad name.:thumbup1:

Are you serious????
Hands up any biker that hasn't exceeded the limited at some time.
Huh, I thought not!
In-appropiate speed is what kills and what should be punished:
but that is solely down to the indiviuals judgement.
A newly qualified rider on a motorway at 80 would be a very scary prospect.
A well seasoned traveller, used to motorways all over Europe- different matter altogether........

with you on that one old chap!!
accident rate amongst inexperienced drivers is significantly higher than others, maybe car drivers should be restricted for a time like bike riders are in the UK?

Safe riding
 

There's no need to break the law which is there for our benefit. I have never done so. Why should you? As for speed being left up to the rider, well that's just silly. Society decides that.

Planet Zog?!
 

Herbie,. What colour is the sky where you come from?!

Speed Cameras aren't really the problem in most of the arguments raised. The main issues I have are:-

a. The speed limits in the UK are incorrect. As a result I find myself riding down a road that once was a 60mph limit and is now a 50mph limit simply due to some government hair brained scheme. Now, the 60mph limit was introduced in 19-- god knows when and technology has moved on substancially since then but the speed limits haven't. It has been proven that humas automatically assess risk and adjust their speed accordingly. For example if you had a motorway with no speedlimit the majority of people would travel at around 80mph as that is how they are calibrated. Some villages in England have narrowed roads rather than introduce speed cameras and have found that road users speeds drop substancially because they identify a greater risk due to the road conditions. Ultimately speed cameras are an ineffective way of policing obsolete laws (and no, I am NOT condoning speeding in 30mph limits).

b. The big picture impact of speed cameras has resulted in far fewer traffic police being on the roads. Speed cameras cannot catch drink drivers, dangerous drivers, people on mobile phones etc. Police crash investigators still rate alcohol as one of the largest contributing factors in road accidents. The reason that we don't hear about this is that the Government like us to think that they have been victorious over the scourge that is drink driving.

c. The flawed statistics that show that speed = danger, and speed = accidents. Speed cameras have not reduced accidents even though we are told that they do. Speed in itself does not cause accidents, bad driving/riding does. It is easier to focus on speeding that trying to address driving standards in the UK and as a result that is the tack taken by the police and current Government. 100mph on an empty motorway in the middle of the day with good visibility and on a well maintained bike is not dangerous. 60mph on the same piece of road when it is dark, wet and foggy in amongst heavy traffic is suicidal. Which person is going to get caught by the speed camera?

Interesting thread. Here in LaLa Land, Vancouver that is, the average speed limit on the free-way is 100kph, and 90kph on most highways. From what i've heared, this is much slower than what most of you enjoy on the other side of the pond. The point i would like to bring up is this...speed indiference. You see, on the freeway leading out of town and into the valley, the average speed driven is about 125-130kph...much faster than the posted speed limit. The problem is the few people who insist on driving 99kph, feeling good about themselves because they are the only ones not breaking the law. This creates a clog in the arterie, so to speak, slowing down the flow and creating a dangerous situation from people trying to get around them. speed doesn't kill, speed indiference is a major problem, next to bad driving and lack of education. It's funny, actually. Whenever i cross the boarder to Seattle, as soon as i hit the USA, the speed limit jumps to the equivilent of 110kph, but everyone drives at the same average speed as in Vancouver. Makes you wonder why we have such a low speed limit in the first place!?!
...when i drive or ride amongst traffic, i don't even pay attention to the speed i'm driving, i just follow the flow of traffic, whatever speed its at.

...BTW...if your one of these people who feels so good about themselves because they refuse to speed like everyone else, FOR GODS SAKE stay in the slow lane and get out of everyone elses way before you cause an accident! :)

A few years back, in the US state of California, one of the cities decided to introduce speed cameras to generate some easy $$. The problem--the law at the time for a ticket in California was that an actual law enforcement officer had to see you make an infraction, pull you over (which was technically detaining you) write up a ticket, and the person had to sign. You weren't admitting guilt, only that you would show up to court, or take care of it via the mail, etc. Someone challenged the photo radar, and won, and hundreds upon hundreds of tickets had to be thrown out because those pictured never signed that they would show up, and no court could touch them. Of course the law has been amended since then to conveniently mail you your ticket, and it will count against you, but for a brief time the lowly citizen won against the "machine"....

Speed cameras are a deterrent and useful in so much as they are stationary and everyone knows they are there.
What I detest are those sneaky mobile units that can nab you from half a mile away ,usually just as you wind the power on as you exit from a superb corner .
Shee-ite ! Ruins your whole day .