Realistbear Posted August 5, 2008 Share Posted August 5, 2008 (edited) http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/main.j.../mnspeed105.xml Speeding fines up by 400 per cent By David Millward, Transport Editor Last Updated: 12:01am BST 05/08/2008 Motorists are paying four times more in speeding fines than when Labour came to power, according to figures obtained by the Tories. They show that drivers are now paying £200 a minute to the public purse, prompting the Tories to accuse the Government of treating them as " cash cows." In 1997, when Labour came to power, there were 712,753 speeding tickets issued as a result of motorists being caught by camera and police patrols. By 2006, according to figures released by the Home Office in a Commons written reply, this had soared to 1,773,412. As you sit back and ponder the last 11 years under New Labour and the last year under the man who made the "miracle" happen through HPI you realise what a nightmare it has all been. Edited August 5, 2008 by Realistbear Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
234SALE Posted August 5, 2008 Share Posted August 5, 2008 He'll probably increase the number of points before you can losses your liecense.. If you really want to save lives,, Increase the number of points per offence, not just bump the fine up. What a wally... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justice Posted August 5, 2008 Share Posted August 5, 2008 Do they have speeding fines for helicopters because thats the prefured methord of travle for many of our MP's and this is why nothing is being spent on roads and aircraft fuel is taxed lower then petrol. Time our MP's were held accountable i thinks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
insidetrack Posted August 5, 2008 Share Posted August 5, 2008 Gordo doesn't have a driving license. Nuff said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkkandrew Posted August 5, 2008 Share Posted August 5, 2008 (edited) But all of this is completely pointless anyway. Let me tell you what recently happened to me. My father occasionaly gets post for my old UK address forwarded on. He opens it, throws away the junk and about once a year there is something important that he keeps for me. The last one came as quite a shock. A warrent issued for my arrest for non payment of a fine! Understandably, 8.30am sharp, UK time, I phoned the Court. It transpired that this was a parking ticket for a car I knew nothing about and certainly would have trouble parking in Yeovil whilst living in Bangkok. The fines officer said not to worry. There was nothing he could do about reversing the original 'offence', but the only course of action would be to visit the house given as my address and if the occupants knew nothing of me, the fine would be 'written off'. A number of issues arise: 1. Apparently, one can register a car in someone else's name with impunity; 2. Fines accumulated by 'ghost cars' are not collected; 3. Collection officers are somewhat blase about writing off fines in any case. Maybe that's why they are increasing the fine amount - to make up for the shortfall from the uncollected ones! Edit: Two typos. Edited August 5, 2008 by bkkandrew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken_ichikawa Posted August 5, 2008 Share Posted August 5, 2008 1. Apparently, one can register a car in someone else's name with impunity;2. Fines accumulated by 'ghost cars' are not collected; 3. Collection officers are somewhat blase about writing off fines in any case. Maybe that's why they are increasing the fine amount - to make up for the shortfall from the uncollected ones! Edit: Two typos. Yup , if you intercept the post man he'll often hand it to you instead of walking to your door and pushing it in, infact my bikes have been registered to multiple people , the DVLA kept spelling my name wrong , I was once John Staples , even though my name is nothing like that , the V5Cs went out to every house on the street etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fluffy666 Posted August 5, 2008 Share Posted August 5, 2008 He'll probably increase the number of points before you can losses your liecense..If you really want to save lives,, Increase the number of points per offence, not just bump the fine up. What a wally... Not really.. links between speed limit enforcement and road deaths are tenuous to say the least. After all, speed cameras by definition need straight bits of road with decent visiability; they don't work on the most dangerous stretches of road. And, of course, doing 83mph on an empty motorway in good driving conditions is apparently dangerous.. but tailgating at 70mph on a crowded motorway in freezing fog whilst eating a sandwitch and making a phone call is far less likely to get you fined. Basically, it's a classic case of management-by-numbers; define certain speeds as safe or unsafe without much in the way of research, fine people for exceeding them and then mangle the stastitics to claim success. And the fines make it self-funding.. no one involved has any interest in coming out and saying that it's not working. Speed cameras can be a part of road safety - if massively advertised, since the idea is to slow people down instead of fining them; but trained officers in marked and unmarked cars can do much better, as well as being able to catch unlicensed/registered/insured drivers who are far more likely to have accidents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonard Hatred Posted August 5, 2008 Share Posted August 5, 2008 Don't like speeding fines? Then that suggests that either: Your speedometer is faulty Your brakes are faulty Your eyesight is bad enough to miss the fluorescent yellow camera Your eyesight is bad enough to miss the foot-wide reflective signs marking the limit. Sorry. I know it's not what you want to here, but I opted out of speeding fines years ago by not speeding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FernandoMorientes Posted August 5, 2008 Share Posted August 5, 2008 Which is completely irrelevant because it's not necessarily the speeding that is dangerous it's the speeding location and driving style that is. The fact is this is not an enforcement of safety by the government it is simply a way to raise funds easily, the motorist is an easy target. Day in day out I see BMW & 4x4 (as an example) flouting safety and speeding rules, the ignorance and complacency of the driver an infuriating sight, but our silly government erects stealth speed traps and encourages the Police to conduct the same procedures. Clearly this is purely about money nothing to do with safety and yet again the general public suffers at the hands of Stalin, how the stupid British public have been conned. Don't like speeding fines? Then that suggests that either:Your speedometer is faulty Your brakes are faulty Your eyesight is bad enough to miss the fluorescent yellow camera Your eyesight is bad enough to miss the foot-wide reflective signs marking the limit. Sorry. I know it's not what you want to here, but I opted out of speeding fines years ago by not speeding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Now or never Posted August 5, 2008 Share Posted August 5, 2008 Don't like speeding fines? Then that suggests that either:Your speedometer is faulty Your brakes are faulty Your eyesight is bad enough to miss the fluorescent yellow camera Your eyesight is bad enough to miss the foot-wide reflective signs marking the limit. Sorry. I know it's not what you want to here, but I opted out of speeding fines years ago by not speeding. Totally agree with this post. What I dont understand is why so much effort is concentrated on speed rather than using the same kind of technology to track a regular pattern of uninsured, unlicensed, untaxed vehicles/drivers; thinking about it, maybe I do understand as the only people who would benefit from such a system would be the law abiding driver! Even the criminal driver pays taxes in the form of fuel, so we need to keep them on the road I suppose, dont we Gordon? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rain'ard Posted August 5, 2008 Share Posted August 5, 2008 Don't like speeding fines? Then that suggests that either:Your speedometer is faulty Your brakes are faulty Your eyesight is bad enough to miss the fluorescent yellow camera Your eyesight is bad enough to miss the foot-wide reflective signs marking the limit. Sorry. I know it's not what you want to here, but I opted out of speeding fines years ago by not speeding. Maybe that is why they keep going up. It seems that nobody has any respect for speed limits. Like you I do my best to keep under so the size of the fine is becoming irrelevent I think Two grand for no TV licence is a bit the top, so I keep light footed on the accelerator wilst watching television Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blankster Posted August 5, 2008 Share Posted August 5, 2008 (edited) I don't understand all this hoo-haa about speeding fines and speed cameras. If people obey the law, i.e., the speed limits, they don't end up paying any fines. I've been driving over 30 years, including HGV, and I've never been caught, basically because I don't break the limits - I wouln't claim I've never inadvertantly exceeded a limit during those 30 years but I don't make a habit of it. Some people see speeding fines as a kind of taxation. Well, if they do, what better way to get back at Gordon than making sure they obey the speed limits!!! Maybe this is a good bit of reverse psychology. If people are made to think that the government want people to speed in order to generate tax income, that in itself might deter people from speeding! Edited August 5, 2008 by blankster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fluffy666 Posted August 5, 2008 Share Posted August 5, 2008 Don't like speeding fines? Then that suggests that either:Your speedometer is faulty Your brakes are faulty Your eyesight is bad enough to miss the fluorescent yellow camera Your eyesight is bad enough to miss the foot-wide reflective signs marking the limit. Sorry. I know it's not what you want to here, but I opted out of speeding fines years ago by not speeding. You were concentrating on the road ahead and not your speedo? As long as you are not trying to argue that speed cameras are effective tools for road safety, you points are valid, I suppose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Injin Posted August 5, 2008 Share Posted August 5, 2008 Don't like speeding fines? Then that suggests that either:Your speedometer is faulty Your brakes are faulty Your eyesight is bad enough to miss the fluorescent yellow camera Your eyesight is bad enough to miss the foot-wide reflective signs marking the limit. Sorry. I know it's not what you want to here, but I opted out of speeding fines years ago by not speeding. "If you do as your slaveowner says, you won't get beaten." Stealing is wrong. Coercion is wrong. By all means prosecute those who injury others through reckless driving, but do not endorse the criminalisation of the innocent via fines for non events like going 5 miles an hour over an arbitary and pointless limit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FernandoMorientes Posted August 5, 2008 Share Posted August 5, 2008 'basically because I don't break the limits - I wouln't claim I've never inadvertantly exceeded a limit during those 30 years but I don't make a habit of it.' We should rename this thread 'the contradiction thread' If anyone here is saying they NEVER break the speed limit then I would go as far as to say they are talking out of their backside (respectfully of course) I don't understand all this hoo-haa about speeding fines and speed cameras. If people obey the law, i.e., the speed limits, they don't end up paying any fines. I've been driving over 30 years, including HGV, and I've never been caught, basically because I don't break the limits - I wouln't claim I've never inadvertantly exceeded a limit during those 30 years but I don't make a habit of it.Some people see speeding fines as a kind of taxation. Well, if they do, what better way to get back at Gordon than making sure they obey the speed limits!!! Maybe this is a good bit of reverse psychology. If people are made to think that the government want people to speed in order to generate tax income, that in itself might deter people from speeding! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bug16 Posted August 5, 2008 Share Posted August 5, 2008 'basically because I don't break the limits - I wouln't claim I've never inadvertantly exceeded a limit during those 30 years but I don't make a habit of it.'We should rename this thread 'the contradiction thread' If anyone here is saying they NEVER break the speed limit then I would go as far as to say they are talking out of their backside (respectfully of course) Near where my dad lives in Chester there's a stretch of 30MPH road (Lache Lane) that after about 10pm all your uninsured boy races goes pelting down at 60+mph. The Police did nothing. When the public kept complaining the Police sat on the road at 3pm catching people doing 3 MPH over the speed limit as they drive down the roads slope. Now who's more likely to kill somebody due to speeding? Like everything with the Police nowadays it's all about hitting easy targets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
interestrateripoff Posted August 5, 2008 Share Posted August 5, 2008 Another tax rising measure the problem is the people are skint and are starting to get restless and fed up with paying out. The MEWing effect which meant people didn't care about paying overinflated fines is over, once the economy turns south ripping people off becomes that much harder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thread Killer Posted August 5, 2008 Share Posted August 5, 2008 Sorry. I know it's not what you want to here, but I opted out of speeding fines years ago by not speeding. That makes you a coward in my book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Bear Posted August 5, 2008 Share Posted August 5, 2008 I just got a bl**dy £120 fine for (unknowingly) 'driving in a bus lane' the other week, when I was nobly crawling for two traffic-heaving hours to a garden party at an elderly aunt's care home. £60 if I pay up soon like a good, obedient little citizen. Grrrr!!!! Rage!!! Anger!!! (as they used to say in the Beano). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Stromba Posted August 5, 2008 Share Posted August 5, 2008 (edited) http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,2143663,00.html Common sense at last. Stange how its always Germany and the Netherlands that start these 'common sense' policies. "The many rules strip us of the most important thing: the ability to be considerate. We're losing our capacity for socially responsible behavior," says Dutch traffic guru Hans Monderman, one of the project's co-founders. "The greater the number of prescriptions, the more people's sense of personal responsibility dwindles." How true. People think they are safe if they do 69 mph on a motorway, but unsafe if they do 71 mph, yet the difference is meanigless. Edited August 5, 2008 by King Stromba Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheresitgone Posted August 5, 2008 Share Posted August 5, 2008 (edited) I just got a bl**dy £120 fine for (unknowingly) 'driving in a bus lane' the other week, when I was nobly crawling for two traffic-heaving hours to a garden party at an elderly aunt's care home. £60 if I pay up soon like a good, obedient little citizen. Grrrr!!!! Rage!!! Anger!!! (as they used to say in the Beano). What I'd like to know is how this has all come about. Ok, if you used to do something wrong like that, you might have just got stopped and told not to do it again. Nowadays, it is like living in a dictatorship. Mr Blair's vision of creating Utopia for the masses certainly has lost its rosy tint. Edited August 5, 2008 by wheresitgone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bug16 Posted August 5, 2008 Share Posted August 5, 2008 Common sense at last. Stange how its always Germany and the Netherlands that start these 'common sense' policies. The German system is great imo. Ok, they hide the cameras but all you get are about £20 fines and no points unless you're doing something like 150mph in a 30. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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