On 27/07/2010 13:53, Graeme wrote:

That normally applies far more to urban areas where the difference between 30
and 40 can be literally life or death. How many speed cameras do you see in
30mph limit areas? Very few because they won't raise enough revenue. It is
that level of cynicism that has brought them into disrepute.

On the contrary, there are a number in Bradford metropolitan area that
specifically force people to do 30 mph on roads where their speed would
naturally drift upwards to the detriment of road safety.

For instance, on the B6144 Whetley Hill, there's a camera at the steep
point on the hill where if you leave the car in 3rd gear without braking
the speed tends to drift up to about 37 mph or so. So putting a camera
there forces people to slow down to 30 mph at a point where there are
always a lot of pedestrians around (because it's a densely-populated
residential area with a number of shops at the bottom of the hill).

To me the logic of this camera is impeccable in road safety terms.

Another example in Bradford is on the A657 Leeds Road coming into
Shipley from the east. Here, there is a long downhill stretch where
your speed would naturally tend to drift upwards if you don't brake or
change down. A succession of cameras forces motorists to watch their speed.

Again, I can't fault the logic in road safety terms of locating those
cameras there.

There are other examples in the Bradford area where a camera enforces a
speed limit of 40 or 50 mph, and again at each location the logic in
road safety terms is excellent.

And Bradford also uses illuminating speed limit signs at points where
people might naturally drive a bit quicker than the speed limit, but
where there is a less severe road safety issue.

So they're using "horses for courses", enforcement cameras at the more
dangerous points and illuminating speed limit signs in less dangerous
locations. They wouldn't do this if they were aiming to generate
revenue, rather than enhance road safety.
--
Jeremy Double {real address, include nospam}
Rail and transport photos at
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jmdoubl...7603834894248/