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Bob
23rd August 2004, 23:27
Hampshire and Isle of Wight police advise the number of people killed in motorcycle crashes has fallen by half since last year. The "dramatic" fall has been put down to an increase in patrols on known accident hotspots and the launch of a region-wide safety campaign.

Bikesafe co-ordinator Pc Mick Gear said: "There has been a remarkable drop in the number of motorcyclists that have been killed on roads across the two counties so far this year and we are pleased that our efforts appear to be working.

"What we mustn't do now is become complacent. Nine people have still died in motorcycle collisions this year and that is nine too many."

The main thing I notice here? Police patrols, not cameras, have been introduced. Co-incidence? I don’t think so. Add this to the recent announcement by the people that put speed cameras in place that the accident hot-spots are just moving away from where they place the cameras and it would appear to point towards a simple conclusion.

moko
25th August 2004, 03:09
Maybe all the bad riders are already dead.
And,once again,as long as there are idiots getting done doing 130 in 40 limits(and being caught on camers)I`m all for speed cameras.O.K. so with a bit of sense on an open road a bit of speed isn`t so bad but there`s a stretch of road near me that bikers come from far and wide to race on(thanks to jerks like Superbike magazine)and one local hero boasts of getting 160 out of his R1(this is a twisty B-road),a Ducati hit a lamp-post at 100 killing the rider GOING THROUGH A VILLAGE and I`ve had to avoid something going so fast I couldn`t even tell you what it was on my side of the road.Anything that gets morons like that off of the road is fine by me.the really sad bit is that these heroes meet up on Plymouth Hoe and I`d say the average age is late-30`s to mid-40`s.I can accept youthful exhuberance as some kind of excuse for excessive speeding and showing off to tourists,we`ve all gone through that phase no doubt, but these guys are just pathetic.

Bob
25th August 2004, 06:09
I don't object to speed cameras full stop... but I do object to them being used almost exclusively to combat problems on the road.

I think siting cameras in places like roads where there is an entrance to a school for example (something that cannot currently be done, as the regulations state there has to have been a number of accidents at the site in the last three years - I think it is eight) is a great idea. Forces drivers to slow down right where speed is the issue.

But cameras do not cover the whole picture (no pun intended). They reduce speed... for the length of the camera range. They don't monitor bad driving, they don't monitor road conditions (50mph speed limit in the dry is one thing, try doing it in torrential rain or worse snow? Death wish on wheels). They don't monitor idiots using their mobile phones in one hand while trying to open a sandwich in the other. We need the police patrols for the above.

But our nannying government loves to be able to quote figures that show how wonderful they are... and it is much, much easier to put a camera in place and then say "Look, aren't we clever? Since we put the camera there, there have been no accidents"... that'll be because they've moved further up the road where the camera isn't catching them.

And of course the cameras generate lots of lovely revenue for HM Gov't.

I want to see a return of real, genuine police patrols - preferably police bikes. A scary amount of forces have gotten rid of their bike patrols, which have to be the most efficient way of getting to a scene quickly if nothing else.

Real police bikers understand what is happening - and real police can use a touch of discretion... and they can also come down on you like a ton of bricks if necessary. And I've seen them pull someone over before now and give them a lecture that was also aimed at improving that person's riding.

I'd like to see a camera do that.

Sorry, gone on a bit, but this is something I'm quite passionate about. Use cameras where they can be a genuinely preventative measure and I'm all for them - but there are times I think they can be dangerous (I have an example on the way home from work - camera monitors the lane I am in, there is a lane that joins up just as you get into camera range... but doesn't have a camera on the approach. So you are trapped at a maximum "not getting fined" speed, but the other lane? They can come hammering up to you and move over without looking, but you can't accellerate out of trouble or you get an £80 fine slapped on you.)

A mixture of intelligently positioned cameras and good old fashioned traffic patrols are needed - that way speed and bad driving can both be monitored and make the roads a safer place for us all.

(And so endeth the sermon... :innocent: )

Gasman
26th August 2004, 22:16
Personally, I just like to stay alive, and for my wife and children to do the same. As much as I love biking, and understand the thrill of speed, I get pissed off with morons who think they have the right to put me (whether in car or on bike) and my family at risk. Where do they get off?
The classic was the case in the States, where 4 guys on sport bikes were involved in a serious crash on a corner, killing one and demolishing three of the bikes (not to mention scaring the living shit out of a car driver). The 'leader' of the ride carried on not knowing what he's caused.....his three pals were all learners, and 2 of them were unlicenced! Such a brave guy eh! Soon he'll be thinking about it from behind bars apparently. All for the thrill of speed.

OK, so plenty of us have got by for years without a serious off, and have often had fun on quiet roads. But hey, anyone noticed that it's bloody hard to find a truly quiet road these days? You never know what's waiting around the corner. It might be a few demerit points and a fine, or a broken spine, or the grim reaper.