Anyone remember the Monty Python sketch where lost explorers say "Hang on a minute, if we're lost, who's filming us?" And then they're shown greeting the camera crew. And then they repeat, "Hang on, who's filming them?" And reveal another camera crew. Well, you gotta give the Flying Circus credit for prescience. Pistonheads reports that "Angry motorists [in Lancashire] have twice torched the £24,000 speed camera, which is situated on the B5246 at Mere Bow, and last week it was pushed over. Now Lancashire Partnership for Road Safety is threatening to put up another camera to monitor the Gatso." The ire might have a little something to do with the fact that the Lancashire po-po had to rescind 545 speeding tickets for "improper calibration." Anyway, this would not be the UK's first camera-on-camera action. In fact, the most up-to-date UK speed cameras have a built-in security camera, and automatically notify the local constabulary when they're under attack. So the latest motto from The Land of Hope and Glory's glorious leaders must be "Tough on crime, tough on people inspired to commit crime by policing policies designed to raise revenues and punish otherwise law-abiding citizens, for their own good."
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RF: seems like you got out of England at about the right time. I can’t wait to get out of this place … I sure as hell don’t want to have to pay the taxes that support this kind of shit.
On Top Gear a few weeks ago they had a news story about GBP 10,000 (that’s $20,000) road signs with solar cells and wind generators to provide lighting. The kicker is that apparently they still have regular reflective road signs adjacent to the solar sign for when it is cloudy and windless.
Thank god I don’t drive here too often!
Don’t they have paint guns in the UK? I’d think that a paint pellet shot from a rifle would render the camera useless.
yankinwaoz: paint guns
Just as good would be spray paint attacks:
http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/north-east-news/todays-evening-chronicle/2008/06/14/speed-camera-vandalism-insults-the-dead-say-safety-bosses-72703-21075402/
I wonder how long this would have gone unnoticed had the vandals used black.
Curiously, this report claims a reduction in serious accidents — from six in five years to exactly zero in four years — but then reports the death of someone back in January.
And given this:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23710970/
It is easy to conclude that the speed cameras in the UK haven’t been particularly effective … since instead of taking them down, they are installing more.
““It’s all about the money, and it’s not just about the $100 fine,” said McCarey of the National Motorists Association. “It’s millions for the city and billions for insurers.””
They are getting the government they voted for. Too bad. next time think before you pull that lever.
“They are getting the government they voted for.”
Coming to a ballot box near you this fall.
It IS about the money. In Perth, Australia, there was an incident last year (or was it 2006?) where a guy stood on the side of the road with a sign that warned motorist that there was a Supernova (portable speed camera) ahead.
Within minutes half the police department came down and arrested the guy. They threw the book at him and tried to charge him with all sorts of crap. In the end, the only thing they could manage to do was charge him with obstructing traffic. A laughable charge.
A few months later the paper wrote up a congratulatory story about a clever kid who stood on the side of the road with a sign warning motorist of a Supernova ahead. Except in this case, there was no speed camera. The kid did it because he claimed he wanted the cars to slow down in front of this house.
Yet no police showed up and arrested the kid for obstructing traffic. Instead they almost gave him a medal.
I don’t know if anyone else made the connection between the two stories. I did, and came the conclusion that the police only care about their little cash machines. It has nothing to do with public safety.
Mr Brown has to go.
the story is not about governments who would like to reduce traffic accidents by settting a lot of speeding cameras. The story is about desperate governments that can not organize profitable economy with manufacturing, thus resorting to last asylum- trimming drivers under pretense of taking care of them.
In fact, the most up-to-date UK speed cameras have a built-in security camera, and automatically notify the local constabulary when they’re under attack.
Too bad the police don’t have sufficeint man power to deal with minor crimes like vandalism (of private property), theft, burglary, etc.
Add insult to injury: Progrssive Insurance is offering to install wireless monitoring devices into your car’s OBD II port. If you fall under their criteria for “safe” driving, you will be rewarded with lower rates. One of the criteria used is excessive heavy braking. I can see it now…”car rear ends another vehicle because he was trying to avoid heavy braking…” When will this wanton rape of motorists end? I, for one, think spray painting the lens of speed cameras is a good idea.
I must not have grown up yet. I read all the stuff on that picture of the new camera, and the first thing that came to my mind was whether I could set off the vibration sensor with a sling shot from off camera.