That speed camera van is exactly where it should be outside the school not on a bypass

I completely agree with camera vans being parked outside schools etc. in built up areas. What annoys me is seeing a van parked up in an emergency layby on an open dual carriageway on a nice day. Yes the same applies that you shouldn't be speeding, but doing 80mph on a dual carriageway is safer than doing 40mph outside a school. Plus if there is a genuine emergency that layby is partially blocked by the van. Local to me this actually caused a serious accident not too long ago.

The two closest regularly used revenue vans to me are 1: hiding behind a sign on a long straight bypass with excellent sight lines 2: in a 30 limit where the council (part of the road safety partnership) have let the hedge grow over the speed limit sign.

If they were designed for safety and as a speeding deterrent rather than for generating revenue then the police shouldn't threaten to charge / arrest people for letting people know where they are.

What I don’t understand is that you completely contradicted yourself Owen. You said if you’ve seen the van, you’re too late. So why does the visibility of the van make any difference?

I got caught buy a guy with a hand held speed gun hiding behind a bush in the middle of nowhere 😳

A burglar and someone going iver the speed limit is two totally different category! A burglar is someone who is intentionally causing harm / distress to someone else's property. Going 5mph over the limit isn't the bloody same is it, deny it being a cash cow all you like, ut that's exactly what it is when it's put in totally unnecessary locations

I live in Devon so this is directly relevant to me. I get the use of vans near schools in and at the edge of towns, but the South Wales police use camera vans on the M4 as cash generators and always have. And above all they DONT CATCH BAD DRIVERS !

The way you're presenting it and the theory are great and I'm all for them when used correctly. The problem is from my experience they are only used correctly very rarely. The vast majority I see are in places as far after a blind bend/brow/whatever as possible - usually as out of sight as possible and blatantly trying to catch people out. The statistics back this up (around here at least) because they are almost never around accident black spots and when they were turned off a few years back nothing changed safety wise - same crashes, same injury rate - but less people got caught out. The irritating thing is then watching cars speed on roads near the shops, schools and so on where there hasn't been a camera van in years. If they are so good at their job then kindly explain how anyone is caught by them? If you genuinely want the traffic to slow down it should not only be as visable as possible but there should be a warning that its there so anyone who may have been straying over the limit has a chance to correct that. If the reason for being there is allegedly safety then it could easily be argued that anyone giving warning is not hindering but rather helping. By definition every single person caught by one of these means it has failed in its sole (declared) purpose. By the way I got caught speeding when I had not long passed my test about 30 years ago. I took my points and never did it again (clean license since) but no one is perfect and its a constant worry that you might inadvertantly go over by a few mph - even when its perfectly safe - and get a fine, points, increased incurance and all the rest. Now if one turned up outside our school with a big sign a hundred yards each way saying "if you speed you're getting nicked" it might be helpful. Sitting in the layby surrounded by signs, trucks and about half a mile after a rise where the road goes from a national to a 40 (it never used to change there and there never used to be a camera van there, either) might well catch more people but since the accident rate on that road is zero in the last 10 years its hard to see why they keep turning up.

Comparing speeders to burglars? Really? Also completely ignores the fact that in many cases speed limits are well below the actual safe speed to trave in good conditionsl, many roads that were previously NSL are now 50 or 40, speed limits are constantly being reduced. He mentions improvements in car safety and then thinks that the human being the same is some sort of rebuttal when it does nothing to disprove the fact that stopping distances are greatly reduced and crash survival rates are far higher. Overall a very poor video and I doubt it will improve the public"s opinion of speed enforcement in any way.

But if the presence of a speed van being there is effective because the aim is to slow motorists down then surely the police only have a bee in their bonnet about people flashing to warn other motorists because it means the van can’t catch them. Which again brings back the argument it is for money in part

I see a lot of angry drivers when I stick to the speed limit

They are by definition cash cows, if they were there to truly make the road safer, they would be there 24/7 365, but they inevitably just catch someone on their way to work or on the school run one day a year, and for the other 364 days a year people could do 100mph through there and no action would be taken.

Is there any evidence that they improve road safety? I mean real evidence peer reviewed, I'd very much like to see it.

I have only ever received one speeding notice and went on a speed awareness course, I was "caught" on the A64, a dual carriageway, late on a Sunday evening, with a handful of cars on the road, the section of road I was on was perfectly straight and level for quite some distance, a "safety" van was on a bridge, 60% obscured by the concrete barrier up there, I was found to be doing 80mph in a 70mph zone, this is the sort of thing I disagree with, but I have no problem with them in built-up areas as this video highlights.

The point of "if you can't see it maybe it's an observation issue" I understand and agree with, but if the van can see up to 1000m away, that point surely isn't relevant? Also a video about community speedwatches and operation crackdown would be good to see!

"Will you flash a burglar when police are comming" - No But I will flash when a burglar is giving speeding tickets :D

Definitely cash cows. I saw one yesterday in Belsay in Northumberland. It was parked on a side road, monitoring the main road through the village.

I don’t think it’s wrong to warn drivers of speed cameras. The whole point is to get people to obey the speed limit and how that is achieved shouldn’t matter. I doubt the police would object if while driving you happened to see someone speeding and flashed your lights to slow them down when no speed camera was present so why should it matter if there is a speed camera.

Cash Cows my vote from what I see

I love the air quotes from this officer, to me that imply they disregard the feed back and send the wrong signal to people watching. I am sure there is a great justification for this camera, but the one on he M4 at Bristol is not protecting children’s safety or actually anyones, it is just a tax gathering machine.

Last tip, USE WAZE. 😂

Cash cow for certain! I drive a regular route every day and see them about - in the most ridiculous places whereby they bag a lot of people. 99% in rural areas!

Cash cows 100%. Got caught by one going 2mph over the limit as I was slowing down, it was situated just at the end of a dual carriageway on a perfectly clear and straight stretch of road without any junctions where the limit changed from 70 to 60. The camera van was doing its absolute best to hide amongst the bushes and trees. I imagine they cashed in a bit on that day, probably whooping and punching the air as they got me, wonder if they get a bonus? There is just one van in my town, it waits at the bottom of a hill just at the very point the limit changes from 30 to 40 clearly hoping the combination of those two factors gets them some hits. No schools, no crossings & straight road again. I am not interested in this guy trying to excuse himself, I think he and his chums are lowlife scum.

This is good camera placement. Most of them are at the bottom of a hill or on a long straight road on a sunny day. They always seem to try and catch people leaving a 30 to a 60 or from a 60 to a 30.

easy to slow vehicles down if your that worried about people speeding… speed humps and traffic calming… how is fining someone slowing them down exactly?

You wouldn’t flash a burglar because the police don’t arrest burglars they just give out a “I sorry your a victim of crime and a reference number for the insurance “

I live in a tiny village with a playpark next to the road but obscured by a 2metre fence. It's 30mph (reduced to 20mph during covid). Vehicles don't slow from the 60mph outside the village. Police aren't interested because there isn't a high volume of traffic. "financially not viable to post officers for such a small number of offences".

I've asked this question of my recent neighbourhood police team. We also get told speed vans are place in accident hotspots or speed hotspots. I see a van parked by my house where only 1 accident has happened in the 17 years I've lived here. My road however, theres a bend before entering it with a zebra crossing. I myself have nearly been knocked over when I was crossing. It was clear as I stepped on the crossing, then a car went straight through at speed. There's been 4 accidents at that crossing caused by people speeding round the bend and having to slam on brakes but running out of road and hitting the car in front. Each time police have attended the bump. So the police are aware. Explain how a speed van isn't parked on my road where there's more risk to pedestrians.

In Australia, it's all about revenue. Never seen one in a school zone. Just on 80+kph roads.

Cash cows 100% especially with how a lot of them position themselves. You won’t make anyone think the police is nothing more than a business out for money when the only crimes you ever investigate = revenue, the rest you don’t give a shite about!

Driving 'is' a right. It's paid for by our taxes on fuel and the vehicle itself every year. The taxes our government takes from the UK motorist is enormous. Do you honestly think roads were built just out of kindness? No, they're there to facilitate the government making money, so please, let's not pretend otherwise.

They are absolutely 100% cash cows, there were 4 cameras placed on top of the hayes bypass a312, a dual carriageway, and the van is hidden to the side away from the sight of the dual carriageway users. Surely speeding on a dual carriageway is less serious than speeding next to a school, so why didn’t they use those 4 cameras and place them next to 4 different schools to make them all safer rather than all on a dual carriageway???

Recovered any stolen cars lately? Caught any burglars? Got uninsured drivers off the road permanently? Dangerous vehicles off the road? No that’s too much effort, much easier to catch someone doing a few mph above the limit.

Must be different in wales then, they’re never outside schools hospitals or anywhere they’re needed. always hidden behind bushes or Round bends where it drops from say 50 to 40mph. If you believe they’re for speed enforcement you are crazy. It’s all about money that’s all they’ve ever been about!

IF THE GOVERNMENT & POLICE WERE ALL ABOUT SAFETY THEN WHY IS IT WE DO NOT GET A REMINDER FOR OUR MOT BUT GET ONE FOR OUR ROAD TAX - OBVIOUSLY AS WE ALL KNOW ITS 100% ABOUT MONEY !

This is a great video and the traffic cop is open and honest as usual. He’s right, camera vans are so flipping obvious you just can’t miss them.

Whilst I understand most of it but I don't understand how alerting other drivers is illegal. What good is a £100 fine if a child still gets knocked down? Also why are they mostly on dual carriageways and not in 30 zones? I don't know of any in my area that are positioned in 30s or near schools. Especially purposely placed on way to race tracks, car shows etc. always on the dual carriageway nearby but not in the 30mph zones

I’ve had a near miss twice because of people slamming their breaks when they see one of those vans, they’re a greater hazard then people on the motor way going 10 over

With a school, hospital and semi obscured bus stop the safest method would be traffic calming measures like either speed humps or a raised road surface. Long term it would be a much better use of tax revenue than sporadically placing a camera van.

I was done doing 33 in a 30mph zone, the camera was set up in a very rural area where there were no houses or people, and on a very long road that you would have thought was a 40mph zone, so in my opinion it was simply there as a cash cow, it is a parasitical system we live in IMO, those who don't produce have to fund themselves by those that do.

Flashing a car is not obstruction, it’s only an offence if you can prove the car you flashed was speeding at the time you flashed them which would be very hard to prove

In Denmark they’re nothing but cash cows. Unmarked vans hiding behind bushes and putting the cameras out to the road.

Superintendent Adam Thomson is North Yorkshire Police’s Neighbourhood Policing Commander for York and Selby said new smaller camera vans were now in use by the force, with cameras which covered the front, rear and sides. Supt Thomson said the aim of these vans was to reduce the number of deaths on the roads, and ensure motorists drive more safely. He said: "As well as catching people who blatantly flout motoring laws such driving at excess speed, the equipment is also able to identify drivers using hand-held mobile phones and other common offences like failing to wear seatbelts."

Having been done speeding on a certain 20mph road which not even a year ago was 30mph. As with alot of roads in London khan has decreased speed limits in many areas of London needlessly. However my point is the untold amount of people including police marked and unmarked NOT blue lighting I've witnessed in the dozens speeding on this road. Rule for one not the rest. I've sent dadhcam footage in regards to this clearly stating my speed being 20 and the officers gapping me at a high rate which is a clear indication of speed. So how do people respect the police in these situations when they ignore it themselves?

They're ruining driving in London by reducing speed limits for no reason.

What about having police wrote on the van and a civilian in it? Surely that’s impersonating a police officer? If they are there to save lives , stick them outside schools and built up areas not on a duel carriageway.

a relative of mine got attacked late at night(11.30) two thugs attempting to steal his catalytic converter off his car, he went out side to confront them and was met with both thugs attempting to harm him with iron bars and a rip saw. called the police.... nothing ... didn't even come out. ten days later they returned at 2 am again attempting to remove the catalytic converter... this time more aggressive and trying even harder to attacked my relative... unable to achieve this they smashed his windscreen and house windows threatening to return and burn his house to the ground.... again the police called and nothing.... yet these vans sit on dual carriage ways and motorways. my relative and his family are living in fear these thugs returning. not one police officer has been to see them

It's funny how he compared burglar to driver who drives over the speed limit. Burglar comes, steal your money and probably vandalise your property, meaning that he stole 500 but it'll cost you 1000, EXACTLY what police do, you pay fine + insurance goes up etc. While drivers who just drive a little over the speed limit (not talking doing 70 in 30) means they will get home faster, spend more time with their family, so your kids will less likely to grow up as a glue sniffer, also less stress as you're not stuck on the road for very long. So in this situation flashing lights to drivers is flashing to people to be careful of burglar, and the burglar is the police.

A fixed speed camera will permanently deter speeding at that location. A mobile van will not, as no one knows it’s there. You’ve just shown that as soon as a vehicle rounds the corner, you’ve got them; wouldn’t it be more fair to do a secondary check, now the van is in sight, as likely the vehicle has slowed. Therefore its argument as a speed deterrent is invalid and it’s pure purpose is as a “trap” to generate revenue. Driver education goes a lot further to controlling speeding, where as instant catch-and-fine from a faceless operator in a van only portrays the police in a negative light. If for cost reasons it’s not viable to place a fixed camera, why not place a couple of temporary signs (while in operation) a few hundred meters either side saying “mobile speed enforcement deployed ahead”. Watch how safely everyone drives then, and if they don’t, they deserve to be caught or educated. What you say at the end I agree with, drivers did sign up to the rules, but as you well know 95% of the driving public are a thick as pig shite (where driving without due care is more of a problem than speed) and need constant herding like sheep with brain damage. Just a thought, but won’t be taken on board I understand.

I would love a reply as intelligent discussions improve everyone's understanding, especially from the channel itself. Only 13% of total collisions were caused by speed in 2020. Even fatal collisions it only rises to 27% were speeding. So the vast majority of collisions and a very large majority of fatal collisions are not caused by speed. Even those stats say they were speeding not that it was the primary cause. Shot his own point really. "Most accidents we go too are from driver error" so not speed then. The fact that with better driver training emergency vehicles are allowed to drive much faster also points to speed not being the issue. The issue is people driving faster than their skill level allows for. Some of the driving you see on the roads is atrocious, but that isn't targeted. The vast majority of car crashes don't result in any punishment, unless they were speeding or doing something else that's extreme. It shouldn't matter even if your doing 10mph and bump into my rear bumper because you were too close, not paying attention or whatever, you should face punishment. Even if that punishment is a day doing extra driving training, and if by the end of that day your driving isn't up to standard you have to come back till it is. The vast majority of people speeding do not crash, just think about the amount of cars that do 80+ on the motorway everyday compared to the amount that crash on that same day. Its the wrong approach, I'm not saying it shouldn't be used at all, use it in 20 zones near schools. But it shouldn't be the main approach and focus. The fact that the main punishment is monetary and goes to treasury muddies the water further, all that money should go back into road issues, thats the problem people have, not because your using it for parties. It because the argument is its for road safety but as the officer said most of the money isn't used for road safety, I think he missed the point on that one. The speed awareness course again has no focus on driver training or improving driver skill, its just more of this is why you shouldn't speed. It should be about improving peoples driving skill level because that affects all issues on the road. As I said at the beginning why target the issue that only causes 13% of collisions so heavily and instead use that massive amount of resources and money targeting the cause of 87% of car accidents, most of which is poor driver skill. I hope you see this, I really wish we could have a live discussion about this as it is an issue close to my heart and I think it would be an educational discussion.

Great video, however 80% of the time I see speed cameras they are hiding with their tripod with no van in sight.

Its blatantly obvious its a cash cow, otherwise killing somebody by dangerous driving would mean life not 5 or6 years.

If it was not a cash cow it would not be illegal to tell people to slow down before the camera.

So, Motorcyclists, if you see the van and you're too fast, weave across the road to make it harder for them to get a fix as you slow down. On a dual carriage way, if you can, hide beside a larger vehicle and keep it between you and the camera van. Also the farther out, the wider the laser beam is and then if more than one vehicle in the frame it is then harder to be certain the recorded speed is yours.

If I ever do find myself going over the limit it’s normally due to being harassed by the vehicle behind. I drive a small EV I find people just do t want to be behind me. I had truck yesterday less than a metre away in a 30 zone I felt pressured into going faster.

Never see these in london. More likely to see an officer with a speed gun

I'm not someone who tends to speed so if I got caught out by a van then it'd be my responsibility, but when you do see the vans parked in snidy places, then I'd beg to differ that reason the van is there is to slow people down. On the A525 in gwynfryn North Wales the vans park behind a bunch of trees on the boundary between a 40 and 60, on a straight road for about 3/4s of a mile and 1 house opposite where it parks, who it's protecting I'm not sure. Then the village where I live which has had a few fatalities since the 3 years I've lived here, on weekends motorbikes and cars drive through at ridiculous speeds and there's no speed camera or van as a deterant.

The amount of people in the comments trying to justify speeding is shocking. Speed limits aren’t in place for no reason and nobody is above the law unless there is a massive emergency you need to attend to.

Some years go, I seem to remember, a fixed camera on the M1 caught 1000’s of drivers speeding through roadworks.. generating 100s of 1000s of pounds in fines.. it was hailed as a success by the police..At the time the AA said what’s the point of this camera as it’s not making the road safer, if it’s caught all those drivers speeding through the roadworks.. far better to do something else to reduce the risk.. same as almost all the vans I see.. like the one parked in a lay-by on the Bournemouth ring road at 10pm In the dark, no pedestrians, nothing open, not many cars.. or the one at the end of a 30mph zone, catching drivers that have gone through the village, past the schools,shops etc..obviously nothing more than a cash machine.. disgraceful

Plod lying right there, up in the North East where I live they do hide the vans on blind bends, hill summits and laybys. And just for clarity I have never had a speeding fine in 39 years of driving cars, HGV's and riding motorbikes.

These are cash cows end of lol

Cash Cows. There’s been a 40mph limit on a street in my town for many many years. Had plenty of signs up ahead of it. But now… they’ve reduced the speed limit to 30mph, took all the signs down and just put one up either side of the camera about only 20 metres away. I only saw it recently and slammed my breaks on. So I was always doing the correct speed but now I may be a criminal for SPEEDING. Why didn’t they put large interim signs up informing the public of the speed change coming and when it was in force. SCAM

I also want to argue the point that many of these vans cause people to suddenly brake when they are going slightly over the speed limit. Because people are made to feel so anxious about a fine or even a ban! Especially as a new driver this can be very daunting if you are only 1-3 mph over the speed limit.

They do hide behind bushes. I got done for overtaking vehicles and the van was behind a Bush in a well known area. As I was overtaking I should have fought it but I felt it was more hassle than its worth as if I won they would be out to get me

Good video! Always interesting to learn how these sort of things operate as a member of the general public.

Improve road saftety by getting poor and dangerous drivers of our roads. Complain to the judges and courts about letting people of for driving offences to easily. But there again its easier just to fine them, again it's about cash. You can sit and spout all you like, but they should be renamed as cash converters.

I've always appreciated how in the UK the cameras are highly visible and permanent ones have signs telling drivers about it, thus actually slowing people down at that point and its totally on the driver for being caught speeding where as here in Adelaide the police actively hide cameras and mobile cameras to actively catch people speeding to send them a fine rather than preventing speeding at the moment..... Its hard not to see that as just flat out revenue raising when they can make the cameras obvious and slow folk down with out having to fine them

2 days ago, i seen police staff on top of a dual carriageway and he was driving a black Astra and he was pointing a camera up the carriageway. This has nothing to do with getting the public to slow down, it is there purely to make money. The placement of the camera was not at an incident blackspot. It's just disgusting and morally wrong

Does the windows have to be open for the camera to be operating? Or can they operate through the closed tinted windows ? Just found you on KZfaq, just subscribed 🤙🏼

Can a Camera Van park illegally & still catch motorists speeding? I've seen them parked in bus stops which surely is illegal & any evidence gathered cannot be used 🤔

Cash cows 100%, there’s one near me that always sits at the bottom of a hill around a blind bend on a dual carriageway, it’s such a hill that if you actually let off the accelerator and let the car coast by itself you’ll reach 75-80mph, so you literally have to brake to avoid speeding which in my opinion, braking on a dual carriageway so you don’t exceed by a few mph is far more dangerous than not braking at all.

Here in the Highlands of Scotland camera vans are usually on straight safe-to-pass sections of the road where brief speeding is the safest way to pass as indeed all good drivers know. Easy money.

I came upto one of these vans parked on a duel carriageway bridge on my motorcycle. Not going to disclose the speed I was doing. Came round the corner and saw the van - instantly slowed down so was going the limit as I went past. I shat myself for 2 weeks haha - didn’t get a ticket. I didn’t see what way the camera was pointing because it all happened so fast. My thought was that because I was approaching it and obviously have no front numberplate I could possibly be immune to the camera van in that direction. My question is that how would you enforce this situation? How can you use a secondary camera for the numberplate? I would say in court that the second picture of my numberplate which was not taken by the speed measuring device is not my vehicle. And you would have no way to prove that it was.

Are average speed cameras better for controlling speed? Nice video.

Do the vans have the same tolerance as a usual speed camera IE 10%+2mph? Or do they just get you for going anything over. Always wondered

Very informative, thank you.

Parking 40 feet from a national speed limit sign taking photos of people leaving a 30mph into a 60mph is what I would call entrapment or obtaining money on a technicality. Now if it was coming into a 30 from a 60 then that's acceptable and more of a danger .

Cash cow sell it how you want. There may be some places where there set up after concerns from locals but I have seen these deliberately parked on blind corners etc. This is dangerous because people's reaction is to hit the brakes regardless of what they're speed is.

Rubbish cash cows nothing more..

so its designed for safety ..... then why is it mobile ??, no seriously ... why is it mobile, if there is an accident blackspot then the council should install a hard wired speed camera and not wastes £60,000 - £90,000 on a van, those vans are cash cows, nothing more, nothing less

only the HATER`S who have been nicked for speeding will give this vid the thumbs down. period.

I got caught on a ring road, on a fly-over where the speed goes from 40 to 50. The van parks just over a hill about 100 metre before the 50 sign. I was caught doing 46. I’ve never known an accident at that location in the 10 years I’ve been commuting that way.

Wether they are cash cows or not, it doesn’t alter the fact if people didn’t speed they wouldn’t make any money.

If you are serious about slowing traffic the answer is so simple install more cameras , keep the urban speed limit to 20 mph....we dont need sarcastic remarks about our eyesight and the visibility of camera vans just do your job ...or of course get the speed cameras to do it for you freeing you up to get on with more important matters

you can also get screens in cars that will tell you a blind spot and tell you if there's a camera up ahead

So those efforts you can use to catch criminals rather than focus on this. Schools need to teach childrens about road and when and when not to cross roads.

"you wouldn't have seen it before"😂😂😂 These moneymakers are everywhere in Denmark and have been since 2017. These are just way more simpler, the ones in Denmark are not marked with stickers, they blitz you if you're speeding, holding your phone or not wearing a seatbelt. And the lowest fine is just over 200 Euro and goes up to taking your car and license. A sad world to live in, being 1 kph over the limit could happen to everyone.

The signs that light up your speed as you approach them are approximately 25% more effective, far more versatile (being able to move them and leave in situ) and 6 times cheaper than speed cameras in general BUT DONT PRODUCE ANY REVENUE - consequently not used as often🤔🤔

Why are there covers over permanent speed cameras telling you there not in use , how’s that meant to help stop speeding, telling people that it’s not in use

Motorways are the safest roads in the UK if you go by statistics. I imagine the same is true for Autobahns. 'autobahns are still very, very dangerous'. You're repeating 'very' which is telling me you're over eager to convince us of a point, and you're not comparing them to anything and the factors regarding deaths in collisions is relative. If driving on one is compared to eating a bit of cheese, probably more dangerous, but if you're allergic to nuts and the cheese was cut on a surface that a foodstuff containing nuts was also prepared on, then I think driving on an autobahn would actually be much safer. Generally, driving could be considered dangerous, walking on a public road could be considered more dangerous, etc, so driving on an autobahn is naturally dangerous by association, not specifically because of the speeds involved, and yet again, volume of traffic vs number of incidents, motorways are actually the safest type of road to drive on, despite the highest speed limits, suggesting speed isn't the cause of danger on the roads.

Cash cows. It's illegal to warn other road users of their presence. The effect of warning is that drivers slow down, but then they don't get fined and the revenue stream dries up. The only conclusion is that the intention is not to make roads safer, but to make money.

At the end of the day you don't hate the van you hate the speed limit. If your speeding, you're speeding. The limit is 30 not 31 or 32 so whilst the police often give 10% + 2 you are committing a crime whether you like it or not. In Germany they're known to put cameras just after the sign and downhills precisely because that's where most people speed and thus speeding should be enforced. Nobody would say everyone jumps this red light why are the police stopping it here, they should be at the junction without any jumpers.

Cash cow , Never seen one on a school road or near a school , only on a A road or B road .

The whole of our town is a nightmare for speeding cars. Until all these speed camera vans focus on 20, 30 and 40 mph zones I will still consider them cash cows

To me, Its all part of driving. You have insurance, road tax, MOT & driving licence - because if you don't you're looking at some form of retribution or punishment, such as a fine, points Gaol/whatever if you don't have them. So why speed? You know what will happen if you're caught!

He has skirted round the issue, contradicting himself? He always made a point to say "its perfectly obvious and its not hiding...", but then says they do effectively hide them by putting them around blind bends. His point was "well you shouldn't speed on blind bends" but you shouldn't speed anywhere, he is just using that point to obfuscate the fact that they *are* intentionally hiding them. There was a big spiel about "its presence is enough and that's all we are after" but then why is it illegal to flash motorists to make them aware? If its purely to reduce speeding, then they should be thanking the flashing motorists since they are effectively alerting the oncoming car making it reduce its speed even sooner than the van alone... Regardless of the picture they are trying to convey, they *are* hiding them and they *are* trying to "catch people out" and generate money. I'm not commenting on if the speed traps are good or bad themselves, but the arguments put forward in this video and in bad faith because they specifically say one thing then contradict themselves with their actions.

Your argument on raising the speed limits is utter bollocks mate. A modern car can stop in a much shorter distance, FACT. It's irrelevant which numpty is driving it and how bad their reactions are. The same numpties were driving old bangers with drum brakes and no ABS, 50 years ago, ffs. The speed limits were based on OVERALL stopping distances, not just a human's reaction time.

Road safety is improved by building safe infrastructure... and drivers and the car's onboard systems are the only thing qualified to tell what is a safe speed it mostly depends on the state of the car. The speed camera is an excuse just claiming to treat the symptoms and changing bandage, while the wound is ignored... which is poorly built infrastructure and poor drivers' education.

As Wiltshire, alongside North Yorkshire, Durham and Northamptonshire had no fixed speed cameras it would be interesting to know their accident stats before and after removal.