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News:
28th June, 2009:
"Speed on Green" at Holes Bay - A new speed trap which will catch thousands with no benefit
to road safety
16th June, 2009:
DSCP raising cash with no relevance to road safety yet again
- Upton Road, Poole
22nd May, 2009:
Another ridiculous DSCP mobile camera operation
- Shore Road, Sandbanks
16th June, 2009:
13th Feb, 2009:
Where has the Dorset Safety Camera Partnership gone?
I've not seen any of the mobile vans around for ages - and there certainly
don't seem to be any new cameras going up. Has public disgust at these pointless
and damaging organisations and their activities finally resulted in success? It's
looking good!
Next, we need some more proper policing of the roads to target the actual real problems
(driving standards have become much worse while the total reliance on speed cameras
has been in force), and some effort by the councils to properly review speed limits
(upwards in many cases) and promote efficient use of the roads.
24th September, 2008:
Road surveys in Bournemouth
Update - A reponse from Rick Clayton, Project Manager, South East Transport Study,
and my response
21st September, 2008:
Road surveys in Bournemouth
9th August 2008:
DSCP mobile vans have been much less frequently seen around Poole in the
last few months, perhaps a result of the widespread realisation that this is all
about collecting cash and the reducing respect for these activities. Sadly, seen
again today at one of their most profitable positions, possibly cashing in on summer
visitors unaware of this particular trap.
Mobile van near the Ryvita factory, Poole
5th August 2008:
"Just as with fines for over-filled wheelie bins, the Government has a perverse
preference for stealth taxes that punish and criminalise ordinarily law-abiding
citizens, rather than being open and collecting revenue in a simple and transparent
manner.
It is worrying, too, that prosecutions for dangerous driving and for driving while
drunk or on drugs have fallen, surely two areas where the Government should really
be focussing."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2008/08/05/dl0504.xml
4th December 2007: Statistics distorted to attempt to show speed policy is working
4th December 2007: Anger as fines from speed cameras soar (Telegraph News item)
16th Nov 2007: The Dorset "Safety" camera partnership doing what they do best: clocking up the cash where a limit has been set totally unrealistically low for the road type.
2nd Aug 2007: Dorset Way temporary speed limits
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A road accident resulting in people being killed or seriously injured must
be one of the worst things that can happen.
This is exactly why road policy and enforcement should treat safety
as the most critical aim, and secondarily, to promote efficient traffic flow. It
should ensure that the maximum effort should be targeted at the most important problems,
and not at operations which are likely to target safe driving and be interpreted as only a way to make easy money.
It should be the responsibility of those empowered with this duty, to do the best
job they can possibly do to achieve this.
Sadly, it is the belief of many, that road safety methods and enforcements at
the moment are badly misguided. While large numbers of safe motorists are penalised
for driving at a speed which absolutely no one would consider is dangerous, the
problem speeders who are practiced at avoiding detection, and the large proportion
of other drivers who demonstrate many of the multitude of other driving problems,
continue with little likelihood of detection and education or penalty, and the daily
list of closed roads due to accidents mentioned on local radio stations seems to
continue growing.
Most of us are familiar with the idea of government and councils getting things
badly wrong, but this is much more serious, and as individuals, we can do nothing
about it.
It is the aim of this site, to focus public attention on this issue, and hopefully
eventually
to collectively challenge, and maybe even change, the way in which this critical activity is
carried out. Speed limits and enforcements are a vital part of road safety, but
must be set realistically, applied proportionately, with other types of enforcement, and in a way which generates general respect and
support, and therefore, ultimately, improving safety and efficiency.
The situation is getting worse, and will continue to deteriorate, unless something
is done. To do nothing is no longer an option. It is truly extraordinary and very
sad that the "authorities" seem to be attempting to provoke outrage by alienating
large numbers of the public against road safety efforts, while doing little relevant
to improving road safety and efficiency.
We now need a system which achieves real accident rate reductions combined
with traffic flow improvements, rather than one which is simply very good at generating
a huge quantity of motoring
convictions. The likely difference in accident rates,
serious accidents, and road deaths, resulting from what is being done now, and what
should be being done, doesn't bear thinking about.
You can now make a difference, by supporting the efforts of DorsetSpeed.
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