Angry Populace Burning British Surveillance Cameras

Do surveillance or road camera's give the security or protection close to what they are supposed to provide?

I think not. An armed robbery occurred near me just before Christmas, and there's one of the big, thick council remote controlled cam's roughly 25 feet from the shop! You would assume they would point this thing mostly at the terrace of shops (roughly 10 shops side by side), but whenever I go past it's usually oggling people walking in the opposite direction!

As it obviously was this time, probably the only time it's installation could have been warranted to date!

cheers for the answer, is the money from cameras traceable i.e. can the public found out how much money was made from a camera in their area and how and where this money was distributed. with fines like this i always think of the administration and how much cash is wasted just moving from pillar to post. there is literally millions and millions being made from cameras that wasnt there before as well as the cash already being payed into this system how did the system cope before speed cameras where there

reply to post by justyc


I was going to say "this is not new at all???" because there has been threads on it before. Apparently the big change though is they are putting more effort into destroying all of these cameras. I say good for them, and I hope your government gets the message.

burn em all!

I don't really agree with the thread title, I mean it's not like village mobs brandishing fiery torches are wandering the streets at night looking for these cameras ... and the folks that are burning them down have only themselves to blame for getting a speeding ticket in the first place.

As you approach these cameras there's a GREAT BIG SIGN with a camera on it with the wording "SPEED CAMERA AHEAD" ... if your eyesight's so bad you can't even see the sign you shouldn't be driving in the first place. And then you've got the camera itself ... a great big thing on a pole at the side of the road ... and if you're on a flat road you can see it hundreds of yards away.

Get a ticket ? Blame yourself. It's not like you don't know there's a Gatso coming up.

For me, it isn't the cameras that are the problem. It's road signs themselves plus all the other "street furniture" that's been piling up over the years. Between my house & my friend's, a 5 minute journey, maybe a mile at most, there's over 60 road signs ... doesn't bother me cos I know the road ... but in unfamiliar locales it's hugely confusing, trying to read all the signs and concentrate on the road at the same time. They probably cause more accidents than speeding drivers.

Time they looked at that I think instead of folks a few miles over the speed limit.

You only have to look at photos taken of streets in the 1950's to realise how unsightly our urban areas have become.

335 signs in 8 mile stretch




[edit on 30/12/07 by Niall197]

[edit on 30/12/07 by Niall197]

[edit on 30/12/07 by Niall197]

reply to post by loam


glad i dont have to drive anymore-----have been given 2 speeding tickets-----1 in 1969 ? and the other in 2002 ? after 40 years of having to drive----it all depends here in north america on the attitude of the police officer towards you---i drove as fast as seemed safely appropriate between both tickets 20 klicks above speed limit both on the open high way with no one else around me usually--cant understand the strictness--if you drive safely according to weather conditions and traffic impeading your speed so you cannot drive fast safely what is the problem with going a hair over when you have the road to yourself?why do they sell cars that can exceed 160klicks with no effort and then expect you to never do such speeds?

reply to post by yahn goodey


I have noticed in America some cars "electronically" restrict the "top speed" in cars now. I noticed this when looking at buying a new Volkswagen.

reply to post by Rockpuck


so you've been a very bad boy/girl? if you ever upset your computer enough to shut you down ?as you see from my last name--i have never done that but i know for a fact that our newer car can blow the doors off of older supposedly more muscular cars/drivers that wanted to make a safety hazard out of themselves as we tried to and did escape their obnoxious presence.

reply to post by yahn goodey


sorry shouldn't have said that--some decided to race after these encounters so i slowed way down below the speed limit--boring the nuts to death to be clear of them works also.

Revenue raiser

I can understand the neccessity for safety cameras to be placed in selective areas, where safety is a critical factor to protect the public from over zealous motorists exceeding posted speed restrictions.
However, in many instances these cameras seem to be strategically located for the sole purpose of gaining more revenue.

In certain cases those motorists who offend could be offered an alternative to the usual prosecution.

Naughty, naughty...

yes they are put there to collect revenue but if you dont want to give the government your money DONT SPEED!!!

would people be simpathetic if a group representing burglars moaned about the police using fingerprint evidence to catch them?? lol

reply to post by Rockpuck



Obviously people are starting to see their place as sovereigns and not sheeple. I think the governments forget about the Boston Tea Party and think they are capable of quelling another. Except this time the revenues are coming from cameras not tea.

EXCELLENT!! It's about time the Brits lashed back against their evil police state!!!

I would certainly be in this group if I lived in the U.K.

I would surely nuke speed cams if they started popping up here too.

Originally posted by Niall197
As you approach these cameras there's a GREAT BIG SIGN with a camera on it with the wording "SPEED CAMERA AHEAD" ... if your eyesight's so bad you can't even see the sign you shouldn't be driving in the first place. And then you've got the camera itself ... a great big thing on a pole at the side of the road ... and if you're on a flat road you can see it hundreds of yards away.

Not the case in Australia, at least. Just the other day I had to catch a taxi into Melbourne with about 50 minutes to get to the train station, and luckily the cabbie knew where all the speed cameras were! They were hidden on the far sides of bridges, nestled under ledges, disguised on the top of tall poles, and stuffed behind trees. This is all on the open highway, no residential streets at all so it's not like there were children playing on the side of the read, and with no warning signs whatsoever.
They are pure revenue making machines, and they do a damn fine job.

Originally posted by stumason
Now, had they been sticking to the limit in the first place, there would be no need to "jam on the brakes", ergo, there would be no accidents from people back ending each other due to trying to avoid the camera's.

Of course but we all now people are never going to stick to the speed limit and if they did, theyre would be no use for speed cameras.

Here's a mad idea - Why not obey the speed limit?

Having lost someone close to me because of a speeding loon I see these cameras as a necessary evil.

I have been driving here in the UK for over a year now and you guys have a serious attitude problem when it comes to driving. I am regulary tail-gated and flashed at when I am not moving with the appropriate amount of haste and lack of patience. And that is even though I am driving at the limit.

Passed on blind corners by idiots in a rush and then catching up with them at the next set of traffic lights. My wife and I have christened them "one-car w***ers" to celebrate their total lack of commen sense and courtesy while driving and the dangerous driving they will do just to be one car ahead in the line of traffic.

What is your freakin' rush?!?!

Late to work? Get up earlier!
Late to an appointment? Leave the house ten minutes earlier!
Feeling stressed because you have to drive below the limit? Do some Tai Chi, Yoga or something because if the speeding doesn't kill you now the popped blood vessel in 10 years will get you.

Is it worth your life to speed?


Of course it has nothing to do with being anywhere on time, people are on a blood-pressure high with a short fuse. Maybe we should be talking about why that is instead of whinging about the law, which is there for our safety, being enforced.

I believe in speed cameras they are a necessity while humans continue no regard for the safety of their fellow man. They catch people who dont care and therefore have no right to be on the road in the first place.

In Australia we have a 40 klm limit around schools during the beginning and ending times of school days. It is an absolute disgrace to watch how many drivers refuse to obey the speed limit and continue to put children at risk.

I feel the people who claim they are only revenue raisers are the reason that they exist. If people did not speed then it would become uneconomical to install and maintain these cameras.

Personally I also believe that there should be no warning given to the drivers . This way we can eliminate all the idiots quicker.

Originally posted by johnnyrobbo
I believe in speed cameras they are a necessity while humans continue no regard for the safety of their fellow man. They catch people who dont care and therefore have no right to be on the road in the first place.

In Australia we have a 40 klm limit around schools during the beginning and ending times of school days. It is an absolute disgrace to watch how many drivers refuse to obey the speed limit and continue to put children at risk.

I feel the people who claim they are only revenue raisers are the reason that they exist. If people did not speed then it would become uneconomical to install and maintain these cameras.

Personally I also believe that there should be no warning given to the drivers . This way we can eliminate all the idiots quicker.

You sir are a prime example of how propaganda works. You show me the figures of children being killed outside schools in Australia BEFORE the 40kmh speed limit was introduced. You will find (amazingly) that the figures are VERY low. Even MORE amazing is the fact since the inception of this stupid 40kmh school zone limit, there has been fatalities outside schools.
What this shows is ACCIDENTS HAPPEN! but the sickening part about that is the Govt using "we care for kids" (regardless of the actual figures) to make HUGE amounts of money.

I've had this argument on other sites, and really cant be stuffed getting the facts and figures - take my word for it, camera's are Govt revenue raising machines, nothing more. Keep believing the Govt propaganda ....

reply to post by Burginthorn


Ok wellyou show me a better way to get rid of the irresponsible people who put their desires before peoples safety. I say again they cannot raise revenue if people take more notice of the speed limit fullstop. I've been caught speeding twice by cameras that dont move pretty stupid eh. Well I deserved it because I was stupid. You do the crime you do the time. It taught me to slow down or I would loose my right to drive. Oh by the way it has nothing to do with propaganda its called logical thought and caring for your fellow man and expecting the same back at me.

Do you self righteous "follow the speed limit" posters ever read these posts before commenting? Did you see this link that someone posted on the first page? It is all about CASH and nothing more and this link proves it.

www.speedcam.co.uk...

Get off the high horse of slowing down.... When you go from 60 mhp to 40 mph in less distance that it takes to slow from 60 to 40 and a speed camera is right on the other side of the 40 mph sign then that camera needs to be destroyed and shoved up the politicians a$$...

Destroy them all and be done with it.

IMO ALL speed cameras are nothing more than revenue collectors.

I say all, and I mean all speed cameras!!

Why? I here you ask.

One plain simple fact that some of you are not going to like to read.

The simple fact is this..Speed does not kill, accidents do.

To give an emergency service phrase, an RTA (road traffic accident) is exactly what it implies, an accident.

If someone was doing 20mph or 70mph and someone else became unavoidable to hit, then it is an accident. the speed is irrelevant as the two people involved (the driver and the other party) were destined to hit anyway.
Would the accident have occured if speed was reduced, maybe, maybe not. We will never know. If the limit was 70mph and you were doing 65mph (as was the other driver also) and you had an accident, then it was most definitely not speed that was the cause, The speed you were both doing at that exact moment took you to a point of destiny that was unavoidable. It was meant to be.

The point of speed restrictions is to get you to slow down and obey any enforced laws. It will never prevent accidents from happening.

There are, and have been, many accidents that have been fatal where speed was not an issue. I knew someone who was killed by a lorry. This person was on her pushbike at some traffic lights waiting for the green, a lorry was to her right.

The lights changed and both parties moved off. Th pushbike rider could not see any indicators on the lorry, the lorry turned left and you can imagine what happened next.

For whatever reason, the lorry driver failed to see the cyclist and the cyclist failed to see any indication of the lorries intent.

As some have stated already, it is the attitude and aggresive behaviour of other drivers that are the main cause of accidents, the next cause being the layout and design of the roads themselves. There are two particular stretches of road that I am very familiar with that multiple people have been killed on for may years. And it's all blamed on speed.

Both of these locations have had many attempts at slowing the traffic, yet deaths still occur in these exact same areas. One of these areas is a major dual carriageway pedestrian crossing right outside a hospital. I wonder how many people rushing (either in a car, on a pushbike or as a pedestrian) to the hospital to see a dying loved one have been killed or been the cause of death of another...