Following an undercover sting in which reporters discussed speed enforcement equipment and tactics with an ex-police officer and former camera partnership manager, it now appears that:
- Safety is a veneer offering perfunctory excuses for a revenue raising system.
- Enforcement sites are selected to catch businessmen in the morning and school run mums in the afternoon.
- Equipment operators do not always have the training that the law requires but fines are processed anyway.
- Enforcement generates 'bucketfuls' of cash that swamp courts administering the fines.
- The government now prefer an arm's length relationship where camera operators take all the flak while the Treasury takes all the money.
ABD Chairman Brian Gregory comments: "This report in
The Mail on Sunday alleges that the serious concerns motorists have had were right all along."
"If so, this is nothing but greedy empire building using greed cameras. Safety and justice are out of the window, replaced by business plans."
"Road users have been victimised but road safety is the real victim; the number of people killed on our roads has virtually stalled since the start of officialdom's obsession with speed. This scandalous red herring revenue-raiser approach must now be abolished. Our country must see a return to proven road safety principles, and soon. Speed enforcement is now as socially acceptable as drink driving. Heads must roll."
The Association of British Drivers is run on a voluntary basis to lobby for the beleaguered British motorist:
- "Reclaiming the roads for the people who pay for them"
- "Demanding proper roads (and railways) in exchange for paying one seventh of all taxes"
- "Debunking the nonsense you hear about the environmental impact of the car"
- "Promoting effective road safety instead of the criminalisation of safe driving"
For more information about the ABD visit
www.abd.org.uk.
www.abd.org.uk - 19 Oct 2006
