|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
Do Drivers Still Not Understand Average Speed Cameras?
Article by: robert
Date: 12 Dec 2010
 Last week saw the controversy over the installation of average speed cameras hotting up with the announcement that more than 6,500 drivers have been caught speeding since the roll-out of cameras on the M4 in south east Wales.
BBC News Wales has reported that the segment of the M4 in question is currently undergoing a major reconstruction project, and the safety of the construction workers was the reason used to install the average speed cameras in the specific areas where roadworks are taking place.
The cameras in question are programmed to detect when motorists exceed the 50mph speed limit and aim to not only protect the road construction workers, but to help control the flow of traffic, especially during rush hour, by keeping it moving at a slow and steady pace.
Elizabeth Box, a representative from the RAC foundation, stated that with 43 million vehicles having traversed that stretch of roadway since the cameras were installed in September of 2009 (a number that translates to approximately 110,000 vehicles a day), it's a wonder that only 6,500 drivers have been caught speeding given the amount of traffic in that particular area. She claims that these numbers prove that the cameras are doing their intended job and slowing down speeding drivers on the targeted stretches.
Opponents of the installation of average speed cameras state that the cameras consistently create bottlenecks in which vehicles are encouraged to travel at dangerously close distances to each other and state that while the slower speeds may indeed help with the flow of traffic during peak rush hours, that 50mph during the slower times of the day is an unnecessary precaution. They also claim that the insistence on using the speed cameras is related more directly to a desire for increased revenues from speeding penalties than from a desire for the safety of the workers or the motorists.
For those still unfamiliar with average speed cameras (and it seems there are still quite a few), unlike regular speed cameras which can be tricked by a motorist slowing down briefly when passing them, these new cameras can be positioned any distance apart and there is no flash to warn when they have been caught, so the first knowledge of what has happened is receiving the penalty in the post.
While the average speed cameras were installed in order to ensure the safety of the road construction crews, the current plan is for the average speed cameras to be replaced by a variable speed limit, similar to that on the M25, once the construction is complete. Since the cameras have been installed, average speeds have dropped to 49.4mph, though there have been intermittently higher speeds recorded, some as high as 95mph.
It's worth noting that the PocketGPSWorld.com speed camera database is accurate within a week of any cameras being moved around the UK motorway network. Databases for camera positions from even the best known companies can be out by at least 12 months!
| Comments
|
 Posted by JimmyTheHand on Mon Dec 13, 2010 8:23 am |
 |
People don't understand the mathematical term "average" ;)
J. |
|
| Posted by spook51 on Mon Dec 13, 2010 11:54 am |
|
So 6,500 out of 43 million - 2010 must be a slow news year in Wales.
|
|
| Posted by Craig8944 on Mon Dec 13, 2010 1:31 pm |
|
Reckon this will be an excuse to put these things up whenever there is roadworks about! 
|
|
| Posted by Andy_P on Mon Dec 13, 2010 3:07 pm |
|
| JimmyTheHand Wrote: | | People don't understand the mathematical term "average" ;) |
Which one!? 
There were at least three different 'averages' around when I was at school - the mean, the mode and the median.
With all the politicians' lies, damned lies and statistics, there's probably even more now!
"Settling in nicely" ;-) |
|
| Posted by SQUARE2024 on Mon Dec 13, 2010 3:36 pm |
|
Time and time again when I am on the M25 cruise control locked in @ 50mph going through the roadworks I am overtaken as if I am going backwards,People just cannot understand the concept of what an average speed camera is,or they think does not apply to them
Square2024
TomTom 520
Christmas Draw 2010 Grand Final Winner Garmin Nuvi 1490TV |
|
| Posted by spook51 on Mon Dec 13, 2010 7:15 pm |
|
| SQUARE2024 Wrote: | | Time and time again when I am on the M25 cruise control locked in @ 50mph going through the roadworks I am overtaken as if I am going backwards,People just cannot understand the concept of what an average speed camera is,or they think does not apply to them |
Could that be because your cruise control at 50mph is relative to your car's speedo and the passing motorists are checking their speed against their SatNavs (as I do through Specs zones)? Just a thought.
|
|
| Posted by BigPerk on Mon Dec 13, 2010 8:51 pm |
|
Indeed so - I use Cruise Control 'geared' to my satnav, and my speedo shows about 56/57mph. Saves a good few minutes on a long stretch.
so I bet I was one of those people who passed you, SQUARE2024, like a bat out of hell! 
David
(Navigon 70 Live, Nuvi 360) |
|
| Posted by DennisN on Mon Dec 13, 2010 10:07 pm |
|
| Quote: | | BBC News Wales has reported that the segment of the M4 in question is currently undergoing a major reconstruction project, and the safety of the construction workers was the reason used to install the average speed cameras in the specific areas where roadworks are taking place. |
Interesting is that last time (last several times) I drove through that area, the roadworks were almost non-existent and completed - I guess they are simply leaving the average cameras there to generate revenue until such time as they get the variable speed cameras operating.
Dennis
If it tastes good - it's fattening.
Two of them are obesiting!! |
|
| Posted by Guivre46 on Mon Dec 13, 2010 10:49 pm |
|
Those 6,500 drivers must have paid huge fines to fund that lot?
Mike R [aka Wyvern46]
Go 530T - unsupported
Go550 Live [not renewed]
Kia In-dash Tomtom |
|
|
| Click here to view more comments... |
|
 |
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
