I’m not quite sure why I continue to cover the UK’s anti-speeding jihad. These posts never get much attention on this side of the pond, even though The Land of Hope and Glory’s obsession with speeding (and speeding revenue) is either a hateful harbinger of what’s to come in The Land of the Free, or a simple, stark warning: DON’T GO THERE. Either way, Pistonheads reports that “yellow vultures”– so-called SPECS cameras which average speed between point A and Point B– are set to replace radar or induction loop-based speed cameras. While safety campaigners and government accountants welcome any system where speeding motorists can’t “cheat” (slow down at the camera site and then speed up again), it’s the next step in Big Brother surveillance. And I happen to agree with the Association of British Drivers, who claim that fixating on your speed, rather than maintaining overall situational awareness, leads to more accidents, not fewer. Not to mention disrupting the “natural” traffic flow, creating accidents when motorists trying to overtake slower vehicles intent on obeying the letter of the law.
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Even though I personally do try to obey the rules of the road, I am SO glad that I got out of the British Isles, having lived there with my family for 7 years up until about 16 years ago.
Yes, I also fear that the US is slowly becoming a neo-Nazi state like most of Europe. Nazi = “national socialism” (left-wing), except that the new fascism revolves around PC-think and socialism, ersatz globalism, and ersatz environmentalism-replacing-God.
Anything held by a human as their vision of highest good, is what they worship. (AKA Idolatry, in the Christian vernacular).
The STATE, the ENVIRONMENT, PC-ism, socialism/communism (virtually the same in overall intent) – all fall into this category, and Europe and the British Isles have these all in pandemic levels, as does Canada.
Interestingly the dictionary indicates “fasicsm” is “extreme right wing politics” but I think “fascism” as seen by the Nazis was just a variant on “communism”.
Besides, some people of the extreme right wing are so radical with their beliefs that they virtually “wrap around” and become like the extreme left wing. It’s simply a matter of the powerful “always” wanting to run things “their way” and labels mean little when you’re stuck in a gulag, or being persecuted because you don’t go along with the “newspeak” beliefs warned about in George Orwell’s 1984.
If they roll out tracking mobile phones to precise location as predicted in a previous post, then this system of tracking any occurrence of speeding will happen.
wow! first post invoked godwin’s law. you should be so proud.
“wow! first post invoked godwin’s law”
I’m frankly surprised you spotted that amongst the bizarre mash-up of confused half-baked political ideas.
I would just drive as fast as I wanted then pull over before the next camera for a smoke. At least that way I could enjoy driving.
Just one problem Frizzlefry – smoking is all but outlawed in the UK. You can buy them to pay the extreme tax (they’re about £5/$10 for 20 I think), but try using them as designed and you’ll get fined (used to be deportation to Oz in the old days, but I suspect most Brits would love to leave for somewhere else now-a-days).
I wonder how long these would last in the US in Rural areas?
Many of the road signs already have large caliber bullet holes in them. Every Joe Six pack who got a citation in the mail would be offering some pointed criticism with full metal jackets.
Heck even in an Urban area a nice high powered air rifle or a paintball gun could do a number on one.
menno: “I think “fascism” as seen by the Nazis was just a variant on “communism”. Besides, some people of the extreme right wing are so radical with their beliefs that they virtually “wrap around” and become like the extreme left wing. It’s simply a matter of the powerful “always” wanting to run things “their way”.
Right. Both are statist, in that they subject the individual to intrusive, extensive and severe governmental control for the sake of whatever is declared to be beneficial to the state in general.
I suppose the next step will be installing radio-controlled speed governors in cars to insure vehicles can’t exceed the posted limit for a particular stretch of road.
Interestingly the dictionary indicates “fasicsm” is “extreme right wing politics” but I think “fascism” as seen by the Nazis was just a variant on “communism”.
Heh.
I’ve said the same thing, though usually the other way around.
Right or left, what needs to be maintained is accountable government. Statist, anarchist, socialist or capitalist, as soon as accountability is lost (and you can lose it just as easily under any system!) that’s when people start to get trampled.
I don’t mind speed cameras, but I want a measure of accountability to go with them. The rubberstamp traffic court system is not that.
Re: menno–
In John Toland’s bio “Adolph Hitler” (excellent read BTW) someone quoted AH as saying “The best Nazis were ex-Communists.”
Let’s hope Atlas Shrugs over there (and here!) before it’s too late.
Aaaargh! – that stupid ‘Hitler was a Socialist’ internet meme rears its ugly head again.
Where did that come from anyway? I don’t recall seeing it until around five or six years ago, and now it’s all over the place.
Please, without taking political sides, without wishing to start an argument, just for the sake of truth, do some basic reading about socialism and about the Nazi Party and see if you still believe it.
Seriously, there’s more of a case to be made that Reagan was a Socialist than that Hitler was.