http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/9046512.No_Excuse__no_difference_/

 

 

Just a few additional points:

 

1. No excuses is not all bad. It’s better than just speed cameras and it’s good to detect uninsured / untaxed etc. vehicles. Indeed, if you don’t break a law you don’t have to pay a fine / go on a course. But Dorset Road Safe tells us their primary concern is saving life, so it is therefore right that they should be measured against this objective, and historically Dorset has been one of the worst performing counties in casualty reduction and no excuses really hasn’t made any difference.
2. Contrary to what everyone thinks, I am not necessarily against speed cameras, only the way in which they have become to be used to make money. Used properly, and developed to detect a wider range of dangerous driving, they could have a positive effect on road safety
3. There is clearly a massive financial motivation for Dorset to get people on the driver courses, Dorset’s course costs are amongst the highest and way above what they could possibly cost to run. While so much profit is being made from them, there simply can not be any credibility in the DRS claim about only saving life. It would be so easy to remove this criticism, publish the cost of provision and charge no more than this.
4. “Dorset Road Safe declines to comment further” – what a pathetic response, very worrying and indicative that there is in fact no defence to the observation that “no excuse” has indeed made “no difference”
5. “no excuse” is not only failing to reduce casualties, it is failing to improve compliance with the law. All I’ve ever seen of “no excuse” is a few irritating, condescending signs. It is not therefore even effectively enforcing the law, as can be seen if you observe any traffic anywhere for a few minutes.
6. The Dorset authorities have somehow managed between them to come up with a decision to shut down the Holes Bay Road camera to save money!!! I need say no more about the competence of those making road safety decisions in Dorset. I say again, we need the departments involved to work together, combine resources, and focus on achieving the best possible, consistent, end effects, instead of just ticking their own boxes in ignorance of what actually results. There simply is not anyone in control ensuring that it all works, no single point of contact to resolve issues, etc. Just a bunch of disjointed self interested departments keen to pass the buck and remote from common sense, no wonder we have such unacceptable accident counts and congestion in Dorset.