Speed cameras

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gedo1, Sep 15, 5:39pm
And Jazz, your posts are always intelligent and thought provoking and often enough I wonder whether they are also somewhat tongue in cheek.For example your assertive and informative posts about Euro versus Japanese vehicles.Piercing the passive I think - provoking thought about alternatives.But that's off the point re the post in this thread.We could have the Police concentrating on major crime and neglecting the rest including minor stuff like speed on roads - but the thing is the structure includes policing all offences to some degree, don't you think!

gedo1, Sep 15, 5:48pm
The quandary regarding having marked speed zones to indicate there may be a speed camera in place is counter productive if you think about it.But first that practice is already in place.Every where there is a speed limiting sign, whether for road works or the standard urban or the open road is signposted within the description of law for such things.Marked by the round sign with a number on it - there used to be a requirement that speed cameras could only be operated within well marked "speed camera zones".But that changed and there was a campaign which used the following _Speed cameras - Anywhere, Anytime"
Getting back to the counter productive thing.If speed camera areas were marked then we would all slow down in that area.Great - THAT area is safer (theoretically).But it is most likely that in unmarked areas we would speed 'cos we would know there could not be a speed camera to catch us!Hey.! I used to do exactly that back in the day when the areas had to be signposted like I described before!

pollymay, Sep 15, 6:38pm
Personally I'd say absolutely. if you crash the damage caused, the reason it happened, EVERYTHING is on you anyway. The limit makes no difference to that, it will however influence drivers to slow down which MAY make things better in the event something happens but there is no certainty in that. Hiding in bushes and pushing small tolerances isn't going to do shit, period. The speed limit is set in place as an estimate of what you can do safely, estimates can be too low and too high, there are some west coast roads I wouldn't dare try do the limit on.

Just like it's "ok" not to have a warrant (not really but besides the point). I dunno how people cannot see that a warrant has nothing at all to do with how safe the car is, how safe the car is is how safe the car is, warrant is just a check and can miss things or upkeep neglected the minute it goes out the door.

weaver2010, Sep 15, 9:01pm
There is one flaw in driving in New Zealand that has been highlighted to me once again by some overseas visitors!

That is the lack ofspeed limit signage!The UK you could expect to see a small sign on every second lampost telling you what the speed limit is the exception being the open road.

Then again demerits would make people think more about the cameras than just a small financial penalty.

smac, Sep 15, 9:29pm
I've posted this here before but I kept it as I thought it might clarify a few things for people:

Is it ALWAYS dangerous to speed! Of course not. However to follow this argument the natural thing to do would be to have all roads as ???limited speed zones??

crzyhrse, Sep 15, 9:36pm
I think the point is, smac, that the arbitrary speed limit does not fit all times of the day and night on any particular stretch of road and to enforce it so ridiculously vigorously simply distances otherwise law abiding citizens from the over zealous Police.

weaver2010, Sep 15, 11:00pm
I wonder how many of the complainers are habitual speedsters who get the financial nut kicks they are so up in arms complaining about!

The sign of a good driver is being able to use that judgement of the appropriate speed be vigilant, be safe and not get caught.Either that ir you are of the midset that thinks that those that are not getting caught are causing the problems you so detest and feel obligated to drive over the speed limit and get caught because you are to focused on that other vehicle and not where the cop car or cameras are located.

smac, Sep 16, 12:31am
Agree completely. However, while there's an infinite number of ways the enforcement could be.altered.I very much doubt any system of variable limits could be made workable.

loose.unit8, Sep 16, 12:49am
Nicely put

rpvr, Sep 16, 3:49am
So can you assure me you have NEVER done 53k in in a 50k area, NEVER done 33k through a 30k roadworks area, NEVER done 103k on the open road! Not even for an instant, before checking your speedo and slowing down! Because if you have, you have broken the law and have, by your own words, a total disregard for it.

rpvr, Sep 16, 3:54am
I would say that, in view of how rapidly modern cars accelerate, the only way to avoid the possibility of a speeding ticket would be to consistently drive 10-15kph below the posted limit, to allow for the inadvertent momentary breaching of the limit during normal driving.

gedo1, Sep 16, 4:10am
Smac.Spot on!Absolutely perfect summary about driving abilities and arbitrary laws and limits
Let's think about this.
Fact - All vehicles which are expecting to sell within the European Union (and that is basically every manufacturer in the world) must by law have a speedo which reads approximately 5% optimistic.That means when the car speedo is showing exactly 100kph the actual speed is likely to be 95kph.
Fact - For speed cameras in New Zealand there is a 20% tolerance in a 50kph zone and 10% in a 100kph zone.
Fact - A vehicle in a 50kph zone will NOT be clocked until it is doing an actual speed of 61kph.In a 100kph zone it will not be clocked until it s doing and actual speed of 111kph.
Fact - Using just the 100kph posted speed limit.If a vehicle is "caught" at 111kph that is the actual speed (the measured speed).The vehicle speedo will be showing a speed to the driver of plus the euro 5% thus the driver information available at the time will show 116kph.
Hard to argue that "I was just on the limit on my speedo Mr Plod!"

gedo1, Sep 16, 4:17am
I recently saw (again in a large newspaper) an item where the driver who got pinged for speeding claimed he definitely was not speeding and he could prove it.His proof was that all the other three passengers in his car saw the speed on his speedo at the time of the ping.Eh!Was he so much of a bad driver that his passengers spent their whole time travelling with him watching the speed he was doing!Wonder why they would do that!But wait - they all saw the cop at exactly the same time and they and all looked at the speedo instantaneously.Does he then think that he should wait until he knows his witnesses have checked his speed before he braked to slow down.TUI TUI TUI!More likely truth is he saw the cop, knew he might be speeding. hit the brakes and possible said to his passengers "There's a cop" at which point they looked at his speedo and observed the now diminished speed.The amazing thing is the newspaper prints these silly claims and expect us to believe them.Thank goodness some of us have the ability to see the truth - just like Smac has said!

gedo1, Sep 16, 4:20am
Before someone comments about my speed and tolerances post.yes, I do know they are different around schools and on long holiday weekends etc.

weaver2010, Sep 16, 4:28am
Yup exactly except school zones have only 10% tolerance (5kph) assuming 50kph.

But no excuse and on the one and only occassion I was ticketed for speeding I thought I wasin the best excuse writing possible "Doing 105kph/106kph"Turns out I was doing 11kph because the vehicle actually had a speedo error the wrong way. I did argue this but the ticket stood and to be honest not worth my time to go to court over either.

Any other vehicle I could have been doing 105kph speedo reading and got away with it being closer if not below the 100kph actual.

Just wonder how many of those paranoid about being caught have been relieved to not been ticketed or a lower reading because the speedometer accuracy is in thier favour!
Then again I bet they are the same ones who are whining because they were doing well above the posted limit and well outside the thresehold according to the needle in thei cars.

Gosh it is so hard to maintain speed and not exceed the posted limits!Those in car GPS that are so common now can be set to give an audible warning before you hit the "collection zone" no excuses really are there!

weaver2010, Sep 16, 4:30am
Sorry was writing my reply before I read this.

michael.benn, Sep 16, 4:34am
I think several of the speed limits around New Zealand need adjusting.

There's no reason why the SH1 between Hamilton and Auckland couldn't be a 120kmph limit or 110kmph limit at certain parts. Apart from the fact that we need better roads over here.

Eh.

I can say with no uncertainty that I've sped before. My speedo is also out by about 6-7kmph, so if I'm doing 50 I'm actually only doing about 43-44kmph. So I basically drive around with my speedo saying 56-57, 60, etc etc.

Also, it's kinda hard to NOT speed when you're trying to overtake someone at times on the motorway.

bigfatmat1, Sep 16, 4:34am
Read my original post the speed camera was not near a school in fact 2km from the school It was also a saturday yet they still issued tickets. Y because the camera operator was DISHONEST about his exact placement and only gave a very vague description Knowing there was a school on that road. Also being at the bottom of an over bridge with such low tolerences was just down right dirty revenue gathering tactics no other reasons.So everyone who says don't speed your speed has never crept up by 2km down a hill!

weaver2010, Sep 16, 4:41am
Classic!The one piece of road where you do not have to complete the overtake before a bend or as quickly as possible and you just advocated the place as a good excuse for speeding.

weaver2010, Sep 16, 4:44am
Did you consider requesting a copy of the Deployment Log!When I challenged a speed camera photo of one of our vehicles that was supposedly in the care of a mechanic we got sent a copy of the deployment log.If memory seves it was actually on the advice of a former well versed poster on this MB.

richardmayes, Sep 16, 5:07am
There needs to be a facepalm icon for these threads.

marte, Sep 16, 8:12am
Thats what happened to me, I paid the fine, no argument.
You MUST be aware of whats happening around you at all times.

I told a driver I would count their mistakes after they said they were a good driver.
I got to '20' in 20 seconds before they relised what I was actually counting.

marte, Sep 16, 8:19am
1 in wrong lane
2. left hand not at 10 o'cock position
3. righthand not at 2 o'clock position
4. left thumb around steering wheel
5.right thumb around steering wheel
6 .didn't look in rear vision mirror
7. Passenger with no belt on
8. left hand not at 10 o'cock position
9. righthand not at 2 o'clock position
10. left thumb around steering wheel
11.right thumb around steering wheel
12. didn't know whats around them
13 didn't check whats around them
14. didn't indicate before changing lane
15. slow lane change

etc etc etc.

net_oz, Sep 16, 8:21am
Read post #18 mate. Mine and a lot of other people gripe is you pricks that friggen whinge about being caught breaking the law by speeding. I DON'T WHINGE ABOUT IT. I pay up because i am guilty.

marte, Sep 16, 8:21am
Technabloodycalitys.
If you don't know what speed you are doing! Why are you driving!

Oh, and kids go to a school on Saturdays & Sundays too.