Dorset Road Safe – public confidence and trust at an all time low.

Over the years I have provided plenty of information to demonstrate that speed cameras are an ineffective way to solve bad driving, and that they have instead been used as a way to raise money, which appears not to be used in any kind of productive way. A couple of months ago, another piece of the puzzle emerged, that despite local and government assurances, local authorities although they should not, to prevent “financial motivation” for enforcement activities, receive the financial proceeds, are in fact doing very nicely (Dorset - £1.4million last year) out of speed cameras and other activities.

Now it has become clear there is yet another element to this whole seedy business. The legal system behind DRS (which IS a part of DRS) is perverting the process by which drivers should receive fair and reasonable justice if suspected of an offence. The whole system is focused on speed and encouragement for the driver to just “roll over and take the fine” without proper consideration of proper evidence. Simply having the case put in front of a judge will be likely to cost you an extra point and at least double the fine. Where is justice or fairness in that?

This is why for example, a community responder on the way to a cardiac arrest, caught at 37 in a 30, a professional (advanced) driver in a marked car, having had his initial letter ignored, is professionally advised to just take the fine, not to ask for proper consideration of all the facts in front of a judge, as the extra point could prevent him from being considered suitable to carry on with his important voluntary work, saving lives. Completely, utterly, totally, ridiculous and unacceptable. A perfect example of the law working AGAINST the good of the public, I suspect there are many, many more.

Anyone in any doubt about this should listen to clips from the recent Radio Solent program: http://www.dorsetspeed.org.uk/news/sog37.aspx

Also, the Echo article and reader comments: http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/8791578.Bournemouth_driver_wins_speed_camera_challenge/

There must now be a back to basics review of the entire subject of road safety, enforcement, and the procedure of processing offences, in other words everything that Dorset Road Safe is meant to be doing, and an investigation into how things have been allowed to get so bad.

And if attention can be properly returned to effective road policing (including efficiency), the financial benefit will be by reduced accident, hospital and insurance costs and reduced cost to individuals and businesses who may start to be able to get from A to B in a reasonable amount of time again, instead of into prolonging / escalating the whole totally misguided, damaging, ineffective, greedy, wasteful, speed camera centred fiasco.

Dorset Councillors, you have an outstanding opportunity to SAVE MONEY AND SAVE LIVES by shutting down Dorset Road Safe, and speed cameras, as many other councils are thank goodness, at last, starting to do. One single extra traffic cop with the right objectives and common sense would achieve more for road safety than all the speed cameras (including mobile) in Dorset.