Proof that speed cameras are just a fast road to easy profits

From: M Smith, Huddersfield.

THREE items (Yorkshire Post, May 26) must surely put paid to any notions that speed cameras have anything to do with road safety and show they are all to do with generating revenue.

The first is Chris Benfield’s article where, amongst many enlightening facts, he tells us he was caught doing 36mph in a 30 limit on an empty road at one o’clock in the morning. That should say it all about the mentality of those who regulate our lives. But then read on about the high price he paid for daring to challenge such a piece of futile pointless law enforcement.

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The second is a very coherent letter from Mr Peter Horton that broadly dismisses the spurious claims by hysterical road safety campaigners opposed to increasing motorway speed limits to 80 mph.

I also recall Brake claiming “thousands of childrens’ lives could be saved each year...” by reducing some speed limits to 20 mph. While any child’s death is one too many, official statistics showed there were significantly less that a thousand children killed in road traffic accidents each year.

The third item begins to explain as one example why money has to be extorted from motorists by any conceivable means.

I refer to the front page lead article giving us an insight into the sheer cost of employing senior law enforcement officers and more particularly getting rid of incompetent, morally corrupt or dishonest ones. The competence and judgement of those who employed them in the first place might also be worthy of investigation.

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If you add to that other areas such as extortionate penalties for overstaying a parking ticket by five minutes, not to mention the legal but iniquitous activities of private parking companies, and all on top of high fuel taxes, motorists can be forgiven for feeling persecuted as well as prosecuted.

At the last round of local elections, turnout was something like 30 per cent and the electorate were judged by some to be apathetic. Could it be the public at large are just tired of a governing structure at all levels that just doesn’t get it or is otherwise incompetent or impotent to do anything about it?

From: Reg Oliver, Lime Close, Calow, Chesterfield.

I WRITE regarding Chris Benfield’s column on his experience of speeding.

His story is no different to the other thousands of drivers who have to contend with these automated conveyor belt systems of finance generation by a private company. I state private company as that is what the police have turned into over these past years.

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Not only do they generate large amounts of finances from the speed awareness courses which they operate, but also by the TV series which they so like to show to the media, which also runs into thousands of pounds.

Chris was lucky in one respect in that he only paid £75, in Derbyshire it would have been £90, so they are extracting as much as possible from everyone on the courses and indeed these costs will rise in time as there is no control over these systems.