Mick's Tumblelog

http://www.themercury.com.au/article/2011/08/18/254071_tasmania-news.html

Ok, so let me get something straight up front. I’m not immune to going over the speed limit at times and in my younger days could easily have been labelled a hoon but…

Aren’t we going a little overboard nowadays with all this negative public opinion about speed cameras? I mean at the end of the day a speeding car is more likely to kill someone than a car going at the recommended speed limit? And a speeding car is more likely to be involved in a car accident than one that isn’t? Right? Well a few ABS stats seem to vindicate that statement anyway… yes, these stats are pretty old now but I don’t think it would be wrong to suggest that they are still pretty valid.

So why do we allow radio stations to advertise where the speed cameras are? And now we are putting it on facebook !! So I can look it up WHILE I AM DRIVING !?!? Seriously !?!?!

When I was a tad younger and living in Melbourne I used to listen to the commercial radio stations on my way to work. Often I would be told “hey, be careful, there’s a speed camera on such and such highway between such and such roads”. My response? Speed (often excessively) along the said highway until I came to that point, slow down and then speed back up again. At no point did alerting me to a speed camera curb my driving habits – age and maturity have had a slightly more positive effect. Slightly… I discussed this with many of my colleagues and friends at the time and almost everyone admitted that they consciously or subconsciously did exactly the same thing.

So did advertising the whereabouts of a speed camera have any impact on speeding? No. Except at the exact location of the speed camera.

Are speed cameras used as revenue raising avenues? No doubt at all. But if no-one broke the limit then they wouldn’t raise a penny. To all you whingers out there that quote this ridiculously obvious fact, the answer is pretty simple “don’t speed and it won’t cost you any money”. Speed, get caught, pay the fine, shut the f#$% up.

Rant over…

Ciao