Speed Cameras: Should cameras be used to catch speeding motorists?

[Aaryanna]

[COLOR=SeaGreen]Recently an online friend of mine was in a car accident. The person who hit their car not only ran a red light, but the police estimated that they were going around 50 mph in a 35 mph zone. My friend ended up with a broken leg and a concussion from the accident and I have to wonder if they hadn?t been speeding if he would have been hurt as much.

Even though I do not drive, as I am not old enough I find myself wondering if installing speed camera?s would help to reduce the problem with people speeding. I know that speed cameras were first introduced in Germany in the late 1980s and are now common throughout Europe, Australia and parts of North America, although many states in the USA still do not have them and France has only recently begun to introduce them in the past couple of years. What I don?t know is if it has actually made a difference or not. I?ve found information saying it has helped and then more information saying it hasn?t.

Based on what I have read I am inclined to believe that it would help since speeding causes accidents because it reduces the amount of time a driver has to react to changing road conditions and the actions of other drivers. I also understand that how fast you are going can change how serious the injuries are from the accident. I?m sure that hitting another car at say 20 mph is bound to do a lot less damage than say 40 mph.

I also think they would be a good idea since what I read indicated that most of them are programmed to get your information only if you are going more than 10 mph over the stated speed limit. I can understand that people may be running late or want to save time, but can you honestly say there is a valid reason to speed and risk killing someone?

Anyway, what do all of you think? Are you all for it and if so why are you for it? And if you are against the idea, again why? [/COLOR]

[Retribution]

[size=1]I haven't read any of the stats, but I would assume that cameras would help the situation out quite a bit. They have them installed here in Washington (DC), and no one wants a ticket, so you just don't speed. However, the speeding problem isn't really solved on the highways and interstates, as there's no practical way to set up cameras for long-term usage.

I know that everyone speeds here -- I was driving on the Beltway the other day, and the posted limit was 55 MPH. I was barely keeping up going 65 MPH, and many others were easily pushing 75, and they weren't the ones that I considered dangerous. I definitely think that we shouldn't speed, but I also think they should raise the speed limits. It's ridiculous to expect people to drive 55 MPH when you could drive at 65 MPH safely.[/size]

[Horendithas]

[quote name='Aaryanna][COLOR=SeaGreen']Recently an online friend of mine was in a car accident. [/COLOR][/quote][COLOR=Sienna]I assume you are referring to Darren? After seeing the damage done to the car I am convinced that if the other driver had been going slower Darren would not have been hurt, or at least not as bad as he was. Well even if you aren?t referring to the accident he was in, I completely agree. Especially in area?s where there are public schools.

I?ve seen a few studies done on the effectiveness of using speed cameras in a city and although all of them seemed to show no change in the amount of accidents. They did show that the lower speeds ended up in less fatalities and serious injuries. So for that reason alone I think it would be worth having them installed.

I agree with Retribution about the highways and interstates though. Other than problem areas, like the one last year in Utah where the truck driver went to fast around a corner while carrying dynamite. Yeah that was interesting, blowing up the road. Anyway, other than places where accidents are an issue I think it won?t really help on the highways or freeways.

The only way you are going to effective control highway and freeway speeding is using something to keep the car from going over a certain speed. Which I?m sure most people would object to. [/COLOR]

[Raiyuu]

[FONT=Trebuchet MS]It's actually a fairly large pet peeve of mine - people that complain about speed cameras, that is. I keep on hearing the same old arguments: "the government's just using them to line their pockets," "they're all placed uber-sneakily to try and catch you out". The government here in the UK has had to bow to voter pressure and make all their speed cameras fluorescent orange and reflective, and place them in easily visible locations.

Basically, people can complain as much as they like. The fact is, in my eyes, that [b]they shouldn't have been speeding.[/b] Hiding behind ostensibly righteous indignation at their ill-treatment by the government doesn't change the fact that speeders are breaking the law and need to be curbed [b]somehow.[/b][/FONT]

[Kei]

[color=darkblue][size=1]Recently, here in Dayton, there was a special news report about how school buses are running red lights and speeding through intersections and such, as of which was caught on the speed cameras throughout the city. Without them, it's highly likely that no one would have voiced a concern about school bus drivers being so reckless.

Since people are concerned about being ticketed (as has already been said), they will likely not speed (which they shouldn't be in the first place). So for those reasons, among others, I'm glad of them. Sure, there are people who will ignore them and continue doing what they're doing, but the ensuing fines and court costs are their problem.[/color][/size]

[Corey]

[size=1]Slower speeds in car accidents is not a determination of how badly people are hurt.
Consider that crashing into something in a vehicle going five miles an hour is, roughly, equivalent to pedaling your bike into a brick wall at top speed.

Recently here in Milwaukee, a man drove his car off of a bridge and into the ground thirty-five feet below. He wasn't harmed. He was also drunk, and fell asleep behind the wheel. When you're asleep, you're calm and loose (not endorsing drinking and driving).
If you want to get out of an accident without serious injuries, stay loose. A loose body had alot more give then a tensioned body. If you want an example, flex your right bicep as hard as you can, then try and pull the muscle. Then try and pull it while you're not flexing.

Now on the topic of speed cameras, I doubt it would help. People would just learn where the cameras are and not speed there. It would only reduce accidents and violations in certain areas.[/size]

[Raiyuu]

[FONT=Trebuchet MS][quote name='Corey][FONT=Verdana][SIZE=1]Slower speeds in car accidents is not a determination of how badly people are hurt.[/SIZE'][/FONT][/quote]It's not purely a case of 'lower speeds = less serious injuries', although that is the angle the British government are pushing. We keep getting adverts about how hitting a child at forty miles an hour is X percent more likely to kill her than at thirty.

It's also about stopping distances. Speed limits are put in place for a reason; on a bendy country road with lots of blind corners, you have less time to react and therefore you should be driving more slowly, to minimise your stopping distance when you [b]do[/b] round the hairpin and find a deer in the middle of the road. On the motorway you can see trouble coming from a lot further off, so it's not as much of a problem that your stopping distance is a hundred metres instead of twenty.[/FONT]

[SunfallE]

[COLOR=RoyalBlue]I think we should have speed cameras, people complain that they are unfair and such but as Raiyuu put it: [quote name='Raiyuu][FONT=Trebuchet MS]Basically, people can complain as much as they like. The fact is, in my eyes, that [b]they shouldn't have been speeding.[/b] Hiding behind ostensibly righteous indignation at their ill-treatment by the government doesn't change the fact that speeders are breaking the law and need to be curbed [b]somehow.[/b'][/FONT][/quote]It?s like a five year old throwing a temper tantrum over being caught breaking the law.

The biggest problem with excessive speeding is that people are making the assumption that they will still have the same amount of time to respond to a change in road conditions that they had at say 25 mph vs 5 to 25 mph faster. It just doesn?t work. You not only have less time to respond but it takes even longer to stop and more space to evade a potential accident.

In all the time I worked as a Truck Driver I never saw anything that convinced me that speed was not a factor in contributing to accidents. Take the one indifference was responding too. The Semi Truck that went around a dangerous curve too quickly and wrecked. I?ve driven that section of the highway and it was sheer stupidity on their part that they went around it too quickly. Fortunately the explosion killed no one, though if other motorists had not risked their lives and pulled the truck driver free of his truck he would have died. The explosion pretty much destroyed the entire Semi other than a tiny bit of engine, front bumper and a few tires, along with the road and train tracks running along side the road.

Although I think the cameras would be useful, especially in area?s where there are public schools, I think the biggest problem is a lack of education when it comes to teaching people to drive. I don?t know how it is in other countries, but the driver?s Ed in the USA is in my opinion severely lacking. Most people don?t even realize what they are not being taught. Myself included until I decided to get a commercial license so I could drive a Semi Truck. There is no comparison between the two. Getting a commercial license is far more intensive and requires you to learn a whole lot more.

There?s a lot of information out there related to Semi Trucks and other vehicles that if it was included in the training people got when they get their license, it would help people make better choices when they are out on the road. For example:

Semi Trucks use air brakes instead of hydraulic brakes like most cars have. Hydraulic brakes work instantly but air brakes have a slight delay known as brake lag. Basically it takes a moment for the air pressure to build enough to get the brakes working. So at 55 miles an hour that means a Semi Truck will travel an additional 32 feet before the brakes start working. Something to think about when you pull in front of one.

So though I am for the speed cameras I think they are just a partial solution to a much bigger problem. [/COLOR]

[Heaven's Cloud]

Here are a few tidbits of information I picked up while my local government discussed installing both stop light and speed cameras in my county.

[quote]A local poll concluded that people would be more cautious while driving through areas monitored by traffic cameras.

There has not been a study that proves speed and stop light cameras prevent more traffic violations than law enforcement monitoring alone.

The cost of maintenance and subsequent court time incurred by traffic cameras frequently outweighs the revenue they create.

Extending the interval of a yellow light three seconds has been proven to greatly reduce the number traffic violations due to running red lights.

Despite the vast number of road extensions, road additions, a large population flux, and a vast shift of where people live, no organization has seriously monitored the traffic patterns in my county. This is usually a very typical finding when a legislator introduces the idea of speed and/or traffic cameras to their area. [/quote]

I have two big problems with traffic cameras in general. First, I think that installing a speed camera in an area where traffic patterns haven?t been monitored and studied for at least 5 years is foolish. For example, there is a four lane road not far from me that has a set speed limit of 30 miles an hour. The area is not densely populated nor do houses or businesses sit close to the road. So why is the speed limit only 30 miles an hour? Why would my local government allow such a low speed limit in conditions optimal for much swifter driving? Are they just after our hard earned money? No. No one has taken the time to determine whether or not the speed limit is appropriate, when they widened the roads fourteen years ago (expecting an influx of population that never came) the construction workers just moved the signs to the far left or right of the road.

My next gripe stems from more of a civil liberties view point. As Americans we have the right to face our accuser in a court of law. How can you face a video camera? What if the time lapse on the camera if off or your car was recorded in error as another? There is no one in court that you can dispute your charge with.

[SunfallE]

[COLOR=RoyalBlue][quote name='Heaven's Cloud']I have two big problems with traffic cameras in general. First, I think that installing a speed camera in an area where traffic patterns haven?t been monitored and studied for at least 5 years is foolish.[/quote]I agree. Part of the problem with the argument here in Utah over areas they are considering installing cameras is that there hasn?t been any studies done on the area?s where they want the cameras. A lot of people are under the mistaken idea that installing the cameras will simply solve the problem when in fact there are other solutions they are over looking.

There?s a road close to where my father lives that?s has a serious problem with speeding and after quite a bit of arguing they finally installed a roundabout which in my opinion was far more effective at forcing people to slow down instead of speeding recklessly along the road. I think that for this area cameras would have been a waste of money.

At the same time there?s another road two blocks from where he lives that is the main road through the area and even though there is a cross guard for the elementary school it has a repeat history of people driving as fast as 45 mph though the area regardless of the fact that they have flashing lights installed that are running when the kids are being let out or coming to school. There?s also a park right next to the school so there are lots of people and kids about pretty much all day long.

The area isn?t idea for a roundabout so personally I think a speed camera is a good idea. At least for that area, there are other areas next to schools that have similar problems. [/COLOR]

[Wolf2gto]

I think that yea it would help to get people to slow down but, I don?t like the idea of cities video taping your every move in the streets.. I suppose it wouldn't be so bad as long as they don?t get carried away

only put them in popular intersections and things like that