My commute into London from Petts Wood is becoming impossible and I’m thinking of chucking the whole biking into work thing.
Been caught once for 36mph and then for 41mph and the second one I don’t believe I was doing but can’t be sure.
Trouble is I’m still on a learner plate.
I know this might be controversial but I just don’t feel safe if I can’t accelerate out of trouble and then it’s so easy to go over, even on my 125.
They’ve put new cameras in on my route and sometimes it feels like it’s a journey with cameras every 20 yards, an exaggeration but that is how it makes you feel.
I’ve noticed that loads of other bikers on the route are going much slower now so watch out folks I think that there is some sort of campaign going on.
Totally and utterly fed up at this point…girlfriend just told me about the second one. She spoke to the police and they said the first would be a speed awareness course and the second 3 points and a fine but I’m worried they may have got me another time.
I’ve been riding in for months being careful and now all this…aaaagggghhhh!!!
I would be interested to find out who exactly sits on the board of these camera companies, and who in government they have links to. It’s just against all common reason that we need these cameras instead of officers.
I’d read that some authorities were doing away with them as they were seen just as revenue makers and not helping safety, can’t see that happening in London though.
I’m so cheesed off I’m sitting here contemplating going on the train more and I hate trains. I really need to be able to drive my car on holidays and weekends etc and I just can’t afford to lose my licence.
It’s been said above, but like the rest of us you’ve got to keep your speed down (around cameras, at least ).
Not being rude, but maybe you can try to make a positive out of this and really work on improving your observation. You’ll get a sense of satisfaction out of it, feel more in control of your environment, and maybe you won’t get into so many dangerous situations - the ones you say above that you feel the need to accelerate out of.
Are you taking some training to pass your test? Maybe think about doing it. It doesn’t just help you get your L plates off; it also improves your riding in general.
Perhaps you should change your route to one without cameras if you can’t slow down for them. Cameras may be revenue generators, I may not agree with many of their placements, but I dutifully slow down for them if I am going a touch fast.
One of my main gripes with cameras, is that there is no arguing or discussion about the offence, you are banged to rights. Quite often, if you are stopped by an officer of the law, you can discuss the misdemeanor and just get told off, lesson learnt, but with no points or fine.
You COULD take a page from John Adams, John Hancock and the rest and speak out against that kind of tyranny.
The UK is the WORST big brother society in the civilized world…wall to wall CCTV…wall to wall video and still photography on your motorways…you have GIVEN your civil liberties away without so much as a whimper or complaint.
Freedom isn’t always free…sometimes you have to fight for it.
It makes my skin crawl just THINKING about living in that kind of environment…not knowing who is filming me…and when…and WHY?! Who is looking at the film? And why? What business is it of theirs to film innocent passers by every day? To pry into the private lives of citizens with their intrusive, voyuer-istic cameras?
I know some of you will not agree but no problem with observation, it’s just that there are so many cameras on my route and increasing that any lapse in concentration or evasive action can result in a flash. Don’t tell me that even the best observer doesn’t go over the limit when a camera is present, just some get away with and others don’t.
I’ve been driving for 25 years and last year was the first time I’d ever got a ticket and that was on a dual carriageway at 06:00 in the morning and the sign from 70 to 50 was obscured.
Having driven as a sales rep for many years and cycled in many towns I have learnt to hone my observation skills to a high level just to stay safe. It is only here in London that I have had this problem with cameras
As I said before I may ditch the commute as it has become ridiculously tense, saw a motorcyclist knocked off again yesterday on the Old Kent Road. I see accidents or near misses most days Think somebody somewhere is trying to tell me something.
Be tolerant of somebody elses misfortune folks as tomorrow it could be you.
Previous post explains the issue of new cameras and incident awareness.
Riding the route everyday is immaterial.
Not applicable to me in this instance but many have suffered more because of familiarity of a journey rather than lack of knowledge, have you heard of the phenomenon where people drive or ride a route and don’t actually remember completing sections of it. A recognised problem and widely experienced.
“have you heard of the phenomenon where people drive or ride a route and don’t actually remember completing sections of it”
yeah but not of a person on a bike! although maybe in the states where all their roads are straight
i’ve been riding my route nearly 4 years and (touch wood) haven’t picked up a speeding ticket. the fact speed cameras are painted bright yellow helps me out.
in fact i haven’t had any endorsements in nearly 4 years. for me it’s simple really:
unfamiliar route = watch out for hazards and speed cameras.
familiar route = use knowledge of roads/location of speed cameras/potential hazard areas to your advantage
4.2 MILLION cameras…1 for every 14 “citizens” (or is it subjects? Is there a distinction?) Leave the privacy of your home only to be caught on camera 300 times a day, on average?!
I’ve spent alot of time in the UK…I used to come over once a quarter for 3 weeks at a stretch for business. My youngest sister in law lived in Notts for 4 years…we visited her a couple of times too.
I’ve been wanting to come over again to meet the LB’ers…hire a bike for a ride up to the Peaks District…but just haven’t managed to pull it off yet. shrug
I suppose this could be classed as another culture thing.
We have the Camera’s which are not going away (rightly or wrongly) and the US has the sort of firearms crime that makes me shudder - and believe me I see way more than most.
It is one of those things where as a resident of this country I can’t understand why citizens can or need to have access to horrific firepower when it’s all down to a bit of paper written well over two hundred years ago when there was no proper Police or Army.
Yet, I have had this discussion many times and the Americans who I have discussed this with (not all in favour but mostly) have thought this to be perfectly acceptable.
The same could be said for our CCTV etc etc, many of us do find it acceptable and can see the benefits but many other countries look upon us with astonishment.
As for Speed Camera’s. Well, if there is a horrible nasty accident blackspot, then I can understand this but the use of Speed Camera’s in my opinion only is way too much and there should me more Traffic Police on the road.
I agree about the need for more traffic police, but in my experience, they dont put speed cameras in black spots. Where I grew up there is a hideous road where people often get killed/have accidents. There was a fatal accident where a kid went off the road and hit a tree. 2 weeks later a speed camera went up AFTER THE JUNCTION LEADING ONTO THE ROAD THAT IS A KNOWN BLACKSPOT. They also dropped the speed limit on this road from 40-30 and poorly signed it, and LEFT THE 40 LIMIT ON THE KNOWN BLACKSPOT.
There are too many cameras on perfectly safe straight pieces of road for no apparrent reason, just look at the M4 from junction 1 to the A406.
Its a revenue generator and you know it. Its not acceptable.
Personally i would like more transparency in the manner in which councils erect cameras, maybe even public consultation documents and clear evidence that it is a blackspot. Not this sneaky stick up a camera and lower the speedlimit overnight policy that seems to dog the uk. Its stupid and ridiculous.
And where is the money going? WHERE? It aint on the roads making them safer, and it aint on traffic police.
At very least they should remove the three points for speed camera offences, and impose a 1-2year ban if you are caught more than 4 times (= 12 points). keep the points where the speed can be confirmed by a human police officer.
But what do i know i’m just a road user not a thief.
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