Anger at M4 cameras

There has been an angry reaction to yesterday’s announcement of a speed camera clampdown on the M4.

A spokesman for the Association of British Drivers said the move to put mobile cameras between junction 14 and 18 of the M4 was “taxation without representation”.

The trigger speed for prosecution has also been dropped from 85mph to 79mph.

“Camera partnerships are locally based organisations,” said ABD spokesman Nigel Humphries. “So if they catch too many local people on local roads, they lose the support of their constituents. A motorway is one great big gravy train for them, full of people who don’t live in their area, who they can rip off without fear of any local political fallout.”

The main thrust of the anger has been directed at the fact that the Safety Camera partnership claimed the introduction of tighter speed controls will improve safety. Motorways are known to be the safest type of road to travel on and the majority of accidents on motorways are caused by inattention of drivers rather than speed.

“This pattern of lying about the true causes of accidents to justify cameras is well established, and that’s why road deaths are increasing in Britain,” continued Humphries. “Camera partnerships have got a built-in financial incentive to indulge themselves in pointless speed enforcement to the detriment of safe, attentive driving, and that’s why they should be abolished immediately.”

The anger wasn’t restricted to the ABD, with users of motorcyclenews.com venting their frustration with the move on our Have Your Say forums.

Below is a small selection of the anger expressed on our boards:

“Since when have safety cameras been able to stop tail gaiting or improve lane discipline or more importantly lack of rear/side observation?” – sjtscott

“The justification is one of safety, and our motorways are the safest roads in the country (and possibly Europe). Surely a contradiction somewhere?” – David W

“These motorway speed cameras are a joke. Perhaps instead of going for the easy to see fix they should look at pulling over bad drivers. The ones that wont be caught on a speed camera, like people driving drunk, reading the paper, tailgating or doing 40mph on a motorway in the middle lane.” – Rashton

“There is no justification for cameras on motorways, speeding is not the primary problem on motorways, tailgating is.” – bigshiny