Personally, I think its a load of rubbish that enforcing speed limits is turning drivers in the uk into a bunch of zombie like bad drivers - they were bad already, it's just that now a lot of them are racking up points for speeding too, which hopefully will take some of them off the roads for a bit.
And, I'm sorry, but if you can't drive and check your speedo to ensure you're within the posted limits without feeling safe, then you probably shouldn't be driving at all. Think about it, it's really not that difficult.
Road deaths, as pointed out above, have remained pretty static over the last 10 years, but that's against a tremendous rise in the number of cars and journeys made over the same period. Who can say whether the number of cameras and camera vans has contributed to helping that stay down or not? It's probably more to do with the way cars protect their occupants better in all honesty.
But, I'm not sure why speed limit enforcement is looked upon so unfavourably on here, and is there any evidence at all that if all speed cameras were suddenly turned off, roads would become safer places as the moronic drivers we've all quoted seeing recently suddenly become better drivers? It's not going to happen is it.
For those arguing that we need to focus on other things apart from speed, the following might be of interest. I attended the 2007 Roads Policing Conference this year, and believe me when I say that there is a strong move from the Police Force traffic units, until recently in decline, to move away from the unhealthy focus on speed and more towards tackling bad driving and criminal use of the roads. They will of course remain committed to tackling the roads biggest cause of deaths and serious injuries - Drink and Drug driving.
You should also see a move towards tackling the problem of young (under 27) drivers killing themselves, and others, with alarming regularity, some of that due to outright speeding, and some due to innapropriate speed, inexperience and the aforementioned drink and drugs problem. The Home Office and the Police are working on ways to tackle this as we speak, but there is a move towards more funding for the traditional traffic units, supported by chief constables.
I drive 40,000 miles a year in the uk and europe, and witness everyday the most terrible driving, admittedly not all of it above the speed limits. Aggressive tailgating, undertaking, sudden lane changing, drivers distracted by kids/partner/changing cds/texting/reading maps, road rage, selfish driving, and people just generally thinking they have the god given right to get where they want, at whatever speed they want, and damn the rest of us and god help you if you get in my way type attitude.
I know speed cameras don't tackle much of the above, but they are a good way of getting at some of them, and maybe, just maybe, having an impact on the rest of their driving. More traffic units are a preferable solution, but we only want to pay so much tax to fund them, and the limited numbers can't be everywhere.
Education is part of it, but please, no more posts saying you wouldn't have been 'caught speeding if it hadn't have been for x or y idiot getting in my way', or my 'powerful car creeps over the limit so easily, and now I'm criminalised' as quite simply YOU are in control of the car, or at least should be, and nobody else is responsible so don't try and kid yourself otherwise.
If speed cameras mean one less knock on the door to tell a relative that they'll never see their loved one again, or fewer roads are closed for hours as body parts are searched for and remains extracted from mangled cars, then that can only be a good thing. You may feel perfectly safe driving at 90 on a motorway, but if you have a crash, or get caught up in one caused by the 'other morons' the facts are that you'll be in a considerably worse position than if you'd been doing 70.
Yes, statistically, Motorways are our safest roads, but the vast majority of speed cameras and vans are not on Motorways, despite what you may read in other posts, and are in fact placed on A and country roads, which claim many many lives each year through people failing to negotiate a corner or performing ill advised overtakes etc etc.
Driving a car is a huge responsibility, and part of that responsibility is sticking to posted speed limits, or lower if conditions demand it.
Enthusiast drivers may be up to that task, but a lot of other people seem to struggle with it, hence the need for speed enforcement. I've seen pictures from static cameras on the A14, where cars have triggered the camera which was set to 79mph. It was so foggy, the car couldn't even be seen, and the worrying thing was there were more than 20 occurences during the day...
Finally, if you don't want the stress of looking for speed cameras, then stay within the limit - it's easy!
