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British motorists will be monitored by a wave of new digital average speed cameras from next year, after successful trials in London.
Current average speed cameras work using cables, meaning that speed is simply measured between two cameras. The new digital technology can link up to 50 cameras, allowing them to monitor areas up to 15 miles apart using the number plate recognition technology already in use. It is expected to approved by the Home Office in January 2009, with installation beginn...Read the full article

What a suprise. The fines will also increase to cover lost funds in foreign banks. UK motorists need to start reacting NOW.

"Emigrate Now" would be the best piece of advice to offer the British or even EU motorist at the moment.

Speeding is quoted as being responsible for less than 5% of accidents, a more credible third is for not being observant.

On the road between Kilmarnock and Ayr there has been some serious accidents, including the death of a policeman responding in the middle of the night to an incident in a local town, caused because someone decided to cross the dual carriageway.   I asked my MP why these crossings weren't closed as they have been in other accident black spots in Ayrshire, which have been 100% effective.   His answer was that Traffic Scotland didn't want to close them!

So even when there's a simple solution to making the road safe, the authorities don't wish to act.   Speeding wasn't what caused the deaths, but rather inaction by those responsible for a dangerous road.

As a side note, this area is covered by SPECs cameras, which covers all access roads around the town of Ayr.   Unfortunately these cameras didn't prevent the policeman's death but, people avoid going shopping there now.   So it actually hurts the retailers in Ayr! 

 What is wrong with this country? This is likely to cause more accidents as drivers will be more concerned with what speed they are doing than actually concentrating on the road. Utter madness!

Is it just me, or is this getting beyond a joke? There is a simple answer to the matter of excess speed; all new cars have Scania Opticruise, with its settings adjusted by a gps device which knows what the speed limit is (like my tomtom does). We'll then need to borrow the not-on-a-racetrack technology from a skyline, of course... Don't know what opticruise is? Well, it's a different take cruise control. You set your speed (just like with normal cruise control) but then have to keep driving as usual. What it does is prevent you from exceeding the speed you set it to, whilst allowing you to drive conventionally and react to your surroundings - it doesn't switch itself off just because you pressed the brakes or similar. Problem solved, with technology which has been around for ages. If the police are serious about this average speed malarky, they would be spending their money much more wisely by getting something like this satnav-opticruise sorted out, instead of annoying us with more cameras. But even then, they'd still be annoying us.

I'm afraid Russ13b missed the point- how much revenue would his scheme provide? I think that it will come with this system but that we will have to pay for it unless something gets done!

 I am worried that road pricing APNR cameras (I cannot believe that the tag/ beacon system they're talking about is at all practical) will be linked into this system and it will go nationwide and be absolutely horrendous!
 

 
 

russ13b:

Is it just me, or is this getting beyond a joke? There is a simple answer to the matter of excess speed; all new cars have Scania Opticruise, with its settings adjusted by a gps device which knows what the speed limit is (like my tomtom does). We'll then need to borrow the not-on-a-racetrack technology from a skyline, of course... Don't know what opticruise is? Well, it's a different take cruise control. You set your speed (just like with normal cruise control) but then have to keep driving as usual. What it does is prevent you from exceeding the speed you set it to, whilst allowing you to drive conventionally and react to your surroundings - it doesn't switch itself off just because you pressed the brakes or similar. Problem solved, with technology which has been around for ages. If the police are serious about this average speed malarky, they would be spending their money much more wisely by getting something like this satnav-opticruise sorted out, instead of annoying us with more cameras. But even then, they'd still be annoying us.

 

If that's the future of motoring I'm selling the car and using a push bike instead.

If anyone is interested in actually doing something about this then have a look at the facebook group:-

 

Specs 3 - New Networked Speed Cameras

 

and sign the no 10 e-petition! 

 

I can tell you exactly what these camera's are about !

It's all about the goverment knowing where you are, the camera's will pick up your registration number and track where ever you go.

 I know this sounds a little paranoid but say for example they are tracking a known criminal,they can see exactly where he has been and where he is going.

This country is getting more like Russia and China everyday,big brother always watching you...

nmmg2:

If anyone is interested in actually doing something about this then have a look at the facebook group:-

 

Specs 3 - New Networked Speed Cameras

 

and sign the no 10 e-petition! 

Will happily do that but do you think it will make any difference or do you think we will get a smarmy web cast of Gordon Brown telling us that he has noted the objection but..........

Vote them out at the next election, that way we may have a chance of stopping this madness. 

In my life so far, i have been assaulted once, had several attempted breaks ins to my home, my car has been broken into at least 10 times. On each occasion I have reported the crime to the police and not once have any of the crimes been solved nor have I ever had any update from the police as to the progress of the investigations into crimes committed against me.

In my life so far I have had 4 or 5 speeding tickets and on each occasion I have paid the fine, taken the points and accepted the criticism and rudeness of traffic policemen as they treated me like some form of lower life form.

For the rest of my life I will treat the police and especially the traffic police as my enemy, because my only exposure to them is when they either fail to solve crimes committed against me or when they book me for going a little too fast on the motorway. I do not know anyone who thinks that differently about the police - go figure.

So making the speed cameras all nicely networked is simply going to exacerbate this for me and I suspect most of the country, until the entire legal system is simply considered to be  - THE ENEMY