The solution to ineffective speed cameras in the ACT is...

Garfield said :

Surely the public would receive more benefit from there being more police on the roads rather than more fixed locations covered by speed cameras.

Yes but it is more cost effective to install a speed camera. A camera will generate much more revenue than a police officer. Also, cameras don’t take sickies or holidays or require office space.

Every single time I near a speed camera, this is what I see. Cars speeding, then brakes on, slow down, past camera and speed up again. Mmm makes me think, why do we tell drivers where the camera is? Hidden cameras is probably the best option to deter speeding as drivers probably won’t take the risk if they don’t know where the cameras are. Or point to point cameras or even better as they control the average speed between two points, sometimes of great distance.

FHW said :

The solution to ineffective speed cameras in the ACT is…

To ask ourselves what they are for. Is it to save lives/accidents? Then simply add a distance checker to calculate if any two cars are travelling closer than three seconds apart.

Many accidents are initiated by things such as sudden slowing down or erratic driving. People will always have their odd moment: the sneeze, the spider on the steering wheel, the sudden jolt of remembering that we’ve left the iron on. People don’t drive perfectly, because they are human. But what turns these trivial moments into an accident? The person behind who is unable to count to three seconds and keep their distance.

It is easy: you watch a car pass a landmark (lamppost, bridge or sign) and count “one elephant two elephant three elephant”. If you pass that landmark before “three elephant” you are too close. Students learn about three seconds distance in their Road Ready but they unfortunately copy what they see on the road.

Sadly it’s not to save lives. Speed cameras are judged on their effectiveness by how much money they pull in. If they are not presenting a good return on investment, they are relocated. It’s also why red light cameras are never installed at smaller intersections. They are installed at major intersections because statistically, more cars will run the red if there’s high volume traffic. The most effective deterrent and method of catching people speeding are radar guns and unmarked vehicles who catch a speeder in the act. Unfortunately there’s nowhere near enough of either to make any real difference.

There’s also an odd mentality I see that is almost exclusively Canberran – a strange obsession with being the first off when the light turns green. I see it all the time here but I have rarely if ever seen it in other cities – people changing lanes at the last minute when approaching a red light to ensure that they are not stopped behind someone at the light. It’s really strange.

OP it is a bit more complex than that. What is, shock horror ineffective are fixed cameras, so the medicine is more mobile cameras that can be set-up anywhere.

Cannot wait to see them more in the suburban streets where idiots fly through what are mostly 50km/h streets like they are racing at Bathurst.

bryansworld said :

FHW said :

The solution to ineffective speed cameras in the ACT is…

To ask ourselves what they are for. Is it to save lives/accidents? Then simply add a distance checker to calculate if any two cars are travelling closer than three seconds apart.

Many accidents are initiated by things such as sudden slowing down or erratic driving. People will always have their odd moment: the sneeze, the spider on the steering wheel, the sudden jolt of remembering that we’ve left the iron on. People don’t drive perfectly, because they are human. But what turns these trivial moments into an accident? The person behind who is unable to count to three seconds and keep their distance.

It is easy: you watch a car pass a landmark (lamppost, bridge or sign) and count “one elephant two elephant three elephant”. If you pass that landmark before “three elephant” you are too close. Students learn about three seconds distance in their Road Ready but they unfortunately copy what they see on the road.

I try to do this. But then someone almost always takes the gap that I’ve left! Grrrrrrrrrrrr.

It could be worse, they could try and take one of your elephants.

FHW said :

The solution to ineffective speed cameras in the ACT is…

To ask ourselves what they are for. Is it to save lives/accidents? Then simply add a distance checker to calculate if any two cars are travelling closer than three seconds apart.

Many accidents are initiated by things such as sudden slowing down or erratic driving. People will always have their odd moment: the sneeze, the spider on the steering wheel, the sudden jolt of remembering that we’ve left the iron on. People don’t drive perfectly, because they are human. But what turns these trivial moments into an accident? The person behind who is unable to count to three seconds and keep their distance.

It is easy: you watch a car pass a landmark (lamppost, bridge or sign) and count “one elephant two elephant three elephant”. If you pass that landmark before “three elephant” you are too close. Students learn about three seconds distance in their Road Ready but they unfortunately copy what they see on the road.

I try to do this. But then someone almost always takes the gap that I’ve left! Grrrrrrrrrrrr.

Garfield said :

What about all the accidents that occur at speeds below the limit? Speed cameras will have no effect there, or if they do they will increase the number of accidents as people slow down even further to ensure they don’t get booked. What about instances of dangerous driving that don’t involve speeding? You know those drivers aggressively weaving in and out of lanes and sitting right up behind other vehicles in the hope that it will force them to drive faster or get out of the way. Surely the public would receive more benefit from there being more police on the roads rather than more fixed locations covered by speed cameras.

Absolutely – driver behaviour is a lot more complex than: fines = lesson learned = less accidents and deaths. I clearly remember a few years ago we had ZERO fatal accidents in a year in the ACT. So did everyone just take a break from speeding for 12 months??

The solution to ineffective speed cameras in the ACT is…

To ask ourselves what they are for. Is it to save lives/accidents? Then simply add a distance checker to calculate if any two cars are travelling closer than three seconds apart.

Many accidents are initiated by things such as sudden slowing down or erratic driving. People will always have their odd moment: the sneeze, the spider on the steering wheel, the sudden jolt of remembering that we’ve left the iron on. People don’t drive perfectly, because they are human. But what turns these trivial moments into an accident? The person behind who is unable to count to three seconds and keep their distance.

It is easy: you watch a car pass a landmark (lamppost, bridge or sign) and count “one elephant two elephant three elephant”. If you pass that landmark before “three elephant” you are too close. Students learn about three seconds distance in their Road Ready but they unfortunately copy what they see on the road.

I got some instant karma for posting this quick rant – pulled over by the police, for the first time in my life, for checking my phone while stopped at the lights. It’s uncanny…

What about all the accidents that occur at speeds below the limit? Speed cameras will have no effect there, or if they do they will increase the number of accidents as people slow down even further to ensure they don’t get booked. What about instances of dangerous driving that don’t involve speeding? You know those drivers aggressively weaving in and out of lanes and sitting right up behind other vehicles in the hope that it will force them to drive faster or get out of the way. Surely the public would receive more benefit from there being more police on the roads rather than more fixed locations covered by speed cameras.

There’s a fixed camera near the BP roundabout, in the 80km/h section of the Federal Highway just before you hit the 100km/h part that fits this bill nicely. I drive past it nearly every day, and I witness 1 of 3 things happen:

People who obey the speed limit ignore it. People who are speeding slow down to 80km/h as they pass it, and then accelerate again. And my favourite, some people slow down to 70km/h or even 60km/h as they pass it. In literally hundreds of times passing this camera, I have never seen it go off. What makes this particular camera even more idiotic is that it is situated *right before* you get to the roundabout, so most vehicles have begun slowing down anyway. I’ve heard these things cost $10K initially and then further costs to maintain. Strikes me that this is probably money that could be better spent elsewhere.

If you don’t want to pay the man, don’t speed or run red lights. Plain and simple.

It’s just revenue raising.