Tories slam Labour over 'cash cow' speeding fines
New Tory figures show speeding fines are up 400 per cent since Labour came to power
ACCORDING TO an article in today's Daily Telegraph, Britain's road users are paying four times more in speeding fines than when Labour came to power.
According to the Conservative party the statistics show that in 2006 1,773,412 were issued, netting the Government almost £200 per minute in revenue. The Tories claim only 712,753 fines were issued in their last year in power.
With the cost of a Fixed Penalty Notice having risen from £40 to £60 in 2000, this has meant that the cash raised increased from £28.5 million to £106.4 million.
David Ruffley, the shadow police reform minister said: "Coupled with an increase in the basic speeding fine, this means speeding tickets are now raising over £100 million a year for the Government.
"Ministers need to tell us what they are doing with this £100 million a year taken from motorists. Is Labour using speeding tickets just to raise revenue rather than making our roads safer?"
The DfT defended the use of cameras: "Safety cameras are there to save lives, not make money."
Discuss this story
I am sick and tired of hearing the same bullshit from DFT "safety cameras are there to save lives, not make money" How can they argue with the above figures. Where is the evidence that the cameras are saving lives. And if they are not about generating revenue, why do they insist on hiding "safety" camera vans on bridges above motorways. On my day to day ride I see several cameras that are obscured by signs or vegetation - obvious attempts to hide the cameras! This says to me that they want people to speed through their little traps - and so have topay a fine. Some councils are thinking of scrapping their speed cameras - why? BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT MAKING ENOUGH MONEY! FFS who do the DFT think they are kidding!
Posted: 05/08/2008 at 11:52
I have heard that nearly all speed cameras are illegal as threy should have parlimentary approval for each installation, evidently one can challenge a camera speeding fine by asking for the government approval for the installation. Has anyone else heard this? Speeding fines make money, thats the fact. If the goverment wanted safer riders/driver they would educate them to be so. But where is the money in that? Speed cameras teach us to be better evaders of the law, not better riders. Perhaps like me you may have found yourself riding less safely due to the presence of a camera...
Posted: 05/08/2008 at 12:24
I'm a great fan of "If you do the crime then do the time" (or pay the fine as the case may be) I will not admit to being the perfect legal rider by any stretch of the imagination. Having said that, the goverment is/should be accountable for how it spends public money (regardless of how it is raised)
So come on Mr Darling, what are you doing with over £100m of public money? I would expect that is all being ploughed back into making our highways a safer place to navigate.
Posted: 05/08/2008 at 12:51
I'd like to know if the Tories are planning to promise to remove all the cameras that are gathering all this lovely money. Because despite their electorial hand-wringing in this article, I can bet you they won't do it.
Posted: 05/08/2008 at 13:49
in the grand scheme of things how much is 100 million, ill tell you then fuck all but i admit that there should be visibility on where it goes
Posted: 05/08/2008 at 16:58
I might be unpopular for this but I actually agree with fixed high visibity GATSO cameras placed where there are accident blackspots. If you get done by a visible GATSO then perhaps a "due care and attention" should go with it. However, hidden mobiles on motorway bridges and radar traps behind bushes or in the dark should be unnecessary if major blackspots are clearly indicated with a bright yellow GATSO. However average speed traps are darn right dangerous. In or on any modern vehicle it is near impossible to stick to say 50mph average unless you either constantly (rather than the correct occosional glance) watch the speedo at a point where you should be watching the road... mind you doean't matter on the bike with no front plate. Ones I like though are the solar powered speed reedout signs, usually placed where there is a reduction in speed limit from 60 to 30, showing you your speed and smiley or sad face which I must admit I do tend to take note of and slow down if I haven't already. By the way, my last ticket was earnt by me for doing 76 in a 60 at 1.00 in the morning approx 50 miles north of Inverness on the A9 by 2 officers in a van hidden in a driveway with a radar gun when the traffic flow was certainly less than 1 vehicle a minute and probably less than 20 per hour. I don't call that worthwhile use of taxpayers money and almost certainly more to do with Plod at play, probably with some form of sweepstake or competition back at the station. Cheers
Posted: 05/08/2008 at 19:57
Nice bike peteq welcome to VD Large red please
Posted: 05/08/2008 at 20:06
The link below is to an excellent article (albeit biased as it's written by safe speed), which highlights the dangers of measuring and enforcing "compliant" driving, rather than encouraging risk-management. This skill is being eroded by people's ill-informed view that by driving at the speed limit, they are driving well / safely. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/main.jhtml?xml=/motoring/2007/06/23/nosplit/mfspeed23.xml
Posted: 05/08/2008 at 21:46
Thanx manxgirl. I'm not wishing to go off topic, but... I live down the road from Red Dog Motorcycles and they recommended the bike for my daily commute to London which was fine till I got taken out by a bendy bus on Elephant and Castle r/about, would they use the barrage of cameras on hand to uphold my innocence and the bus drivers deliberate intent to kill/maim? Would they f*&k. "Insufficient evidence to procced" said mr plod, but he was at least kind enough to caution me as I lay in hospital with my leg pointing the wrong way. It was though a "pleasant" surprise after some weeks in hospital to find a communication from the eagle eyed Westiminster council boys who'd snapped me astride my bike just up the road (in a marked box mind!) checking my A-Z the day before the prang, "stopped on a clearway? that'll be 120 notes please" 60 if I pay up quick (expired of course) despite my protestations I was forced to pay up. "Whilst we apreciate..." they said, ahhh how warm that made me feel, its nice to be appreciated, "however we appreciate the cash more." In essence was their reply! My personal experience. Cameras for our saftey - bollox! Serving a useful purpose on our roads - double bollox Filling the coffers of "piggy piggy's" black hole of incompetence absobloodylutely no question. I'll drink to that!
Posted: 05/08/2008 at 21:55
A speed camera near us on the A5 has recently been replaced after it was knocked down by a car. This camera was obviously correctly positioned at an accident black spot Wonder who paid for the replacement
Posted: 05/08/2008 at 21:56
How did they prove you were stopped, could you not argue you always ride like that ???? Hope you are now fit and well.
Posted: 05/08/2008 at 22:03
Mick. They kept the camera on me for quite a while, obviously got bored with watching people mugging/stabbing each other... Do I sound bitter? I have a limp and with all the metalwork in me leg I forsee becoming one of those old gits sitting in my chair in the winter saying "arrr we've got rain a comming there goes me leg!" I can still change gear, thats the important bit...
Posted: 05/08/2008 at 22:13
Re the getting bored with the mugging and stabbing, that was my point about the 2 coppers with the radar gun. They were probably the only coppers allocated to the station up there so it would have been safe for all the murderers and muggers that night to do what they want. We'll never get an ideal world but on this subject, mine would be GATSOs clearly marked and only where they should be, average cameras banned, radar banned and traffic cops sorting out bad driving only. Other cops sorting proper crime rather than the easiest to get numbers up. Hope your leg improves with time. My mates did after having metalwork but took him a good 18 months and probably longer. Cheers
Posted: 05/08/2008 at 22:47
Re the getting bored with the mugging and stabbing, that was my point about the 2 coppers with the radar gun. They were probably the only coppers allocated to the station up there so it would have been safe for all the murderers and muggers that night to do what they want. We'll never get an ideal world but on this subject, mine would be GATSOs clearly marked and only where they should be, average cameras banned, radar banned and traffic cops sorting out bad driving only. Other cops sorting proper crime rather than the easiest to get numbers up. Hope your leg improves with time. My mates did after having metalwork but took him a good 18 months and probably longer. Cheers
Of course an area that has less than 20 cars per hour is bound to beriddled with murderers and rapists
I should think they were bored with a lack of rapes, and probably resorted to speed checks to keep themselves busy..after all its what the taxpayers pay them to do... Oh and just for good measure while I am relaxing in Mexico.SPEEDING does not count as a recordable crime, nor does it count as a detection, nor do they get a bonus, nor do they actually have anything better to do...check the force stats for the number of fatal RTIs against the number of murders then come back if you really think they should somehow be investigating non existant crimes.......PS any murders and rapes that do occur wil be investigated by CID Adios amigos
Posted: 06/08/2008 at 00:33
I should think they were bored with a lack of rapes, and probably resorted to speed checks to keep themselves busy..after all its what the taxpayers pay them to do... Oh and just for good measure while I am relaxing in Mexico.SPEEDING does not count as a recordable crime, nor does it count as a detection, nor do they get a bonus, nor do they actually have anything better to do...check the force stats for the number of fatal RTIs against the number of murders then come back if you really think they should somehow be investigating non existant crimes.......PS any murders and rapes that do occur wil be investigated by CID Adios amigos
If we need less police in an area because it has less crime, then we could sack some of the officers as they are obviously surplus's to need then.
Fining millions of people but stealth, craftiness and sheer money rape, isnt going to stop someone speeding or getting into a car drunk, in the same way your not going to stop a serial killer by introducing the death sentence.
Posted: 06/08/2008 at 07:29
Gedge you are a helmet. Anytime the police are mentioned, in you come to support them regardless of the circumstances. Why can't you realise that the way that motorists in this country are treated is not popular and that on this occasion the police have hardly any respect from the public. Perhaps if the officers were bored they could have been out on a little foot patrol looking for burglars, car thieves etc instead of trying to top up the coffers with more speeding fines?
Posted: 06/08/2008 at 09:05
I always say you should be looking at the road ahead not at your speedo, as it only takes a second for some twat to walk out infront of you, so glance down then up bang more so in built up areas very pedestrians. Speed cameras now make people constantly aware of there speed by making them constantly looking at the speedo rather than the road ahead. Also peeps new to a area who did't know a speed camera is there slam on there brakes causing drivers behind to brake also I wonder how many accidents have happend like that, ok sure there should be a safe distance behind but if they looking out for piggy cameraa also and their glancing at their speedo then the visable distance to a motor viechale is dramatically reduced "distracted". Yes I do think they are a cash revenue simple as that. And yes I do think the police should be just going for bugulars, car / bike vandals, thieves / muggers, rapists etc rather than sitting is a feckign van trying to catch people. Wouldn't even mind if they do spot checks at hallage companies on lorries and vans for bold tyres, but it seems sitting in mobile piggy van is easy money. Feck them.
Posted: 06/08/2008 at 09:11
Gedge Come on over to Borough/London Bridge (where I was "caught" on camera and fined 120 for sitting on my bike for 5 mins) for an evening and clock the muggings etc. Over 100 vehicles in 1 minute on average and the assault rate is not far behind, really. In my appeal I did say that I felt it was safer to stop and check directions rather than trying to read road names whilst negotiating the perils of London traffic, again they "appreciated" my point, which makes me feel good inside. Please be assured by someone who daily experiences the trials and joys of living/working in this sprawling metropolis, the authorities are there to exploit us, that is those of us who have had the luck to attain to a decent income, after all I must be a complete toss£r if I can afford a car, bike and a mortgage. Let me give you another personal experience, I'm full of it (no, really). I had a classic BMW car that had enjoyed almost as many years as myself of cherished pampering, taken and smashed up by joy riders, actually caught in the act by the boys in blue. After taking up much of my time in statements etc I was told NFA no further action, the investigating officer actually said, no budget/resources, in effect no money in it. It was actually heartbreaking to see the vehicle in the scrapyard, sniff! One month later, a week after paying out a grand for insurance i was pulled by mr erstwhile bobby while driving my M5 Beemer (see, told you I was a toss£r!) "arresting you for driving w/o insurance" was his opening gambit, somewhat shocked I called the Ins co to discover "sorry sir, admin error" and cover was issued straight away. Didn't stop mr erstwhile from doing me though, "that'll be 6 points and 300 pounds if you'd be so kind" despite the specialist lawyer (another 300!) and my protestations. The beak said I should be thankfull I got the minimum penalty. Ever tried to hire a car with an IN10 conviction? Not all points are equal! So I really do know why cameras and traffic cops are there, been there, been done. I'm not bitter, just a bit twisted...
Posted: 06/08/2008 at 13:37
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