Important: I’ve been contacted by someone who knows about 5 people who were done for exactly 42 MPH. One of the investigations that will be carried out is the equipment accuracy. Please could everyone let me know the basic information about their NIPS, which direction, speed, and date / time, and if the "speed awareness course" was offered / taken. This data alone might raise questions.

This story is now appearing in news items around the world!

http://www.tipsfromthetlist.com/27060.html

http://www.nationalpost.com/related/topics/traffic+camera+make+year+raises/3247849/story.html

http://www.nationalpost.com/related/topics/traffic+camera+make+year+raises+drivers/3248371/story.html

Complaints are still coming in about the camera but I repeat, every single support email counts, if you want the best chance of challenging this, PLEASE tell everyone you know about it and get them to email info@dorsetspeed.org.uk .

Still no news on the FOI requests. You’d think that the DSCP, if it had any integrity or belief in what it was doing, would be pleased to publish the data that led it to the conclusion that this camera is necessary, after all, according to the DSCP, it was us, the community, that wanted it and this is the only reason! But it’s having to be extracted from them by FOI request and seems to be taking a while.

Back to the subject of what the DSCP should be doing - while working on some road safety projects for the Bournemouth Council (which by the way they simply abandoned without warning, explanation, or communication!), I took about 10 minutes of video, at 2 locations, on the A35 dual carriageway (not far from the greed on green), and on the Wessex Way (location of the famous ridiculous 40 limit “trial”). I was horrified (but not that surprised) to see about 1 bad / dangerous driving event every minute. Have the DSCP ever raised a fine for driving too close, driving erratically, driving aggressively, bad use of sliproads, etc, the things that actually cause accidents? I don’t think so, but I will make another FOI request about this.

You can see this video here: http://www.belchamber.net/movie.wmv

The fact that driving standards are so poor and dangerous driving events happen so frequently (and dangerous speed IS one of them) is the ROOT CAUSE of accidents.

What this video reveals is that for every accident, there must be many, many bad driving events and near misses. THIS is what the DSCP should be looking at. NOT setting up operations like greed on green, and sitting in vans catching people doing speeds which are obviously completely within the natural safe speed of the road. As demonstrated, the opportunities to detect / educate / prosecute bad driving are overwhelming, but seem to be being ignored by the very organisation that is meant to be doing it. Yes, I’m sure the DSCP occasionally catches a DANGEROUS speeder, and no one has any problem with that at all. But the rest of what is achieved is not good at all.

And the councils, in order to try to deliver casualty reductions because the government told them to, are just reducing limits, because it’s the only thing they can think of to do, in total ignorance of the bad driving problem. James Duncan was surprised by the video when I showed it to him. And this was the guy behind the 40 limit on the Wessex Way (and at huge cost to council tax payers by the way)!! Despite the fact that his office was a stone’s throw from the road, he had never actually simply gone to it and watched what was happening!! Incredible. This clearly shows the lack of competence of those in the councils who are setting these ridiculous limits and managing the roads and staff at a higher level.

Neither do they understand that reducing limits is having no effect on the dangerous speeders for whom slowing for cameras is second nature, and that most limits are ignored anyway by the majority of drivers because almost EVERYONE believes now that limits and enforcements are purely for raising cash (the DSCP have done the best job they possibly could have to help with this belief).

What a mess!

It really is so blindingly obvious what needs to be done to make massive road safety and efficiency improvements. This is what DorsetSpeed and the growing numbers of supporters want.

Cheers, Ian