The Negative Influence Of Speed Cameras
Introduction
There are over 5844 speed cameras in the United Kingdom and 2500 of them being mobile speed cameras, given that there are 245,000 miles of road in the country that means that every 40 miles of road has a speed camera on it on average. That is a staggering number of speed cameras on the roads, but are they really needed? [JohnHenry.net] The first speed camera was conceptualised in 1905 when a patent for “time recording camera for trapping motorists” [Wikipedia]. But it wasn’t until 1958 when Maurice Gatsonide’s Company produced the Gatsometer, the invention was originally created to record the speed of a race car around a track but by 1960 the cameras were already being sold to law enforcement. The first Gatso cameras worked on …show more content…
This paper gives a very detailed look into the public perception of speed cameras and how in different countries e.g. the UK and the USA see speed cameras very differently such as in USA people complain that speed cameras are placed in the most lucrative spots so that the camera can make the most money. Whereas in the UK people are most concerned with the rising fines that have come in the previous years. As this paper is very long it has a very large amount of quantitative and also qualitative data as …show more content…
“One study in the UK has shown that other forms of speed control, such as speed bumps and speed indicator signs are much more effective at reducing accidents.” [Cameras] Whilst another study shows that “no significant difference was observed in the Personal Injury Accident rate for sites with and without cameras” [Thenewspaper.com]. These 2 studies show that not only have speed cameras been a nuisance to motorists but that they have been actually harmful to them as they have been known to create accidents. This is especially the case with older models of the Gatso camera as it often flashed and disorientated anyone travelling in the opposite direction to when it flashed a motorist. A study in the USA has shown that speed cameras are placed in locations not where they would prevent the most accidents but in places where they would earn the most money from catching speed limit breakers, equally some local governments have been known to shorten the length of time amber lights show on traffic lights from 3.8s to 1.7s catching more people not being able to stop in time and therefore making more money. [Cameras and
There are over 5844 speed cameras in the United Kingdom and 2500 of them being mobile speed cameras, given that there are 245,000 miles of road in the country that means that every 40 miles of road has a speed camera on it on average. That is a staggering number of speed cameras on the roads, but are they really needed? [JohnHenry.net] The first speed camera was conceptualised in 1905 when a patent for “time recording camera for trapping motorists” [Wikipedia]. But it wasn’t until 1958 when Maurice Gatsonide’s Company produced the Gatsometer, the invention was originally created to record the speed of a race car around a track but by 1960 the cameras were already being sold to law enforcement. The first Gatso cameras worked on …show more content…
This paper gives a very detailed look into the public perception of speed cameras and how in different countries e.g. the UK and the USA see speed cameras very differently such as in USA people complain that speed cameras are placed in the most lucrative spots so that the camera can make the most money. Whereas in the UK people are most concerned with the rising fines that have come in the previous years. As this paper is very long it has a very large amount of quantitative and also qualitative data as …show more content…
“One study in the UK has shown that other forms of speed control, such as speed bumps and speed indicator signs are much more effective at reducing accidents.” [Cameras] Whilst another study shows that “no significant difference was observed in the Personal Injury Accident rate for sites with and without cameras” [Thenewspaper.com]. These 2 studies show that not only have speed cameras been a nuisance to motorists but that they have been actually harmful to them as they have been known to create accidents. This is especially the case with older models of the Gatso camera as it often flashed and disorientated anyone travelling in the opposite direction to when it flashed a motorist. A study in the USA has shown that speed cameras are placed in locations not where they would prevent the most accidents but in places where they would earn the most money from catching speed limit breakers, equally some local governments have been known to shorten the length of time amber lights show on traffic lights from 3.8s to 1.7s catching more people not being able to stop in time and therefore making more money. [Cameras and