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Pressure mounts on county over A127 average speed cameras (From Southend Standard)
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Pressure mounts on county over A127 average speed cameras
12:50am Saturday 4th April 2009
COUNCIL chiefs are still refusing to say if the average speed cameras on the A127 are working.
Drivers were told the cameras were due to start working on January 15, but were shocked when Essex county councillor Norman Hume revealed no drivers had been caught because the cameras were not working.
Despite repeated calls from the Echo, the council has refused to say why the cameras aren’t working and when they are likely to be.
A written question from the Echo asked when the cameras would be switched on and what was wrong with the cameras?
But spokesman Scott Wilson refused to answer, saying: “I am afraid I will have to refer you to our current statement on this.”
The statement avoided the questions and restated everything said when the controversy arose.
Speed Check Services, which manufactures the ca-meras has stated there is nothing wrong with them.
Meanwhile, motorists are simply frustrated they have no idea what’s going on.
Brian Houssart, 75, of Glenwood Avenue, South-end, is a retired taxi driver.
He said: “Most taxi drivers I’ve spoken to think the cameras are a load of rubbish, but my wife and I live where motorcyclists used to rev-up as they left the town on the A127.
“That was between 2am 4am and it used to wake us up. Since the 50mph limit started, that’s stopped.”
Terry Giffin, 51, of Nor-sey View Drive, Billericay, added: “The county council should say if the cameras are working or not.”
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Your Say Your Southend
bob7, says...
8:36am Sat 4 Apr 09
evilc, essex says...
8:59am Sat 4 Apr 09
bob7 wrote:Of course it really matters if they are working.
Does it matter if they are working or not. Unfortunately they are there and the speed limit is 50 going down to 40. Simple stick to the limit and you won't get caught.
WE the tax payers have paid 7 million quid for this system if it is like many idea's a quick gimmick fix dream't up by a road planner who visited a one day exhibition/road show and decided it was a good idea then he and his bosses need getting the sack.
IT IS OUR BLOODY MONEY THEY ARE SPENDING!!
And WE need the answers to questions which are simple:
'Are they working'
If not why not?
It would have been cheaper to employ 2 Police vehicles to do the same job PLUS these camera's will need servicing and maintenance plus they have a shelf life of only a few years OR until the next gimmick is seen by a planner at a away day exhibition/show.
Simple as a rate payer answer the question:
'ARE THEY WORKING'
It is worth seeking legal advice as to if we the tax payers are entitled to know the answer, it does not compromise any security.
APR, Thundersley says...
10:19am Sat 4 Apr 09
Or is this just another example of the "secrecy" culture ? where nobody in authority will say anything in public ?
I expect they think it makes them seem more important than they actually are.
thelonewhinger, benfleet says...
4:17pm Sat 4 Apr 09
Could we have been conned into a few empty yellow boxes on stilts?
Ah! but it doesn't matter does it? say the the Bob7's because everybody is plodding along at 50 terrified of getting a fine....
ShipShape, Basildonk says...
4:33pm Sat 4 Apr 09
Nah....
Colleen G, says...
5:08pm Sat 4 Apr 09
Let me explain: If it wasnt for divs like you, these cameras wouldnt be neccesary in the first place. the money saved, on divs like you, could be better spent on feeding the poor, or repairing potholes. Anything but wasted on divs like you! I do hope you *get it* now.
Failing that, when you get caught, shut up and cough up!
English and Proud, Southend says...
7:04pm Sat 4 Apr 09
As Colleen G says its only the idiots that like speeding that have caused the limit to go right down and the cameras to be installed.
I think the sooner they start catching these idiots the better.
Maybe the money made on the camera could be spent on making the roads better.
ShipShape, Basildonk says...
8:22pm Sat 4 Apr 09
Colleen G wrote:What the hell are you on about, people are complaining about a system that has had tax-payers money spent on it.
It's a shame the majority of us have to suffer because of the particularly dense few who think speeding is a *right*! You could hit most of them over the head with a big yellow speed camera, and they STILL wouldnt *get it*!
Let me explain: If it wasnt for divs like you, these cameras wouldnt be neccesary in the first place. the money saved, on divs like you, could be better spent on feeding the poor, or repairing potholes. Anything but wasted on divs like you! I do hope you *get it* now.
Failing that, when you get caught, shut up and cough up!
They want to know if it is working or not, just as they would expect a new sewerage system to work.
Finally, why do you insist on using insulting names? What is your particular problem?
Perhaps an explain your almost hysterical condemnation of anyone who dares criticise either the purpose, servicability or costs of these cameras.
Please try to reply without resorting to personal insults.
andrewzela, says...
9:33pm Sat 4 Apr 09
bob7, says...
11:30pm Sat 4 Apr 09
thelonewhinger wrote:I am opposed to cameras anywhere as I too am a tax payer. As some others have said, if people obeyed the speed limits in the first place they would not have been needed. I have been up and down that road 8 times in the last two days visiting the hospital. Not once have I needed to break the speed limit and I caught up with those who think speed limits don't apply to them at various traffic lights. In 24 years of driving I have never had a speeding ticket, it's called self control which is something that seems to be lacking nowadays. If you can't concentrate long enough to drive according to the highway code then maybe you should give up your licence. It's like many things where it is a minority that spoil things for the majority. By the way the real idiots are the ones that do not understand the meaning of the word average and still brake hard for the cameras!
Is nobody concerned (except EvilC) that having been duped into having these things installed, that they do the job? Could we have been conned into a few empty yellow boxes on stilts? Ah! but it doesn't matter does it? say the the Bob7's because everybody is plodding along at 50 terrified of getting a fine....
EnglishPatriot, Essex/Kent says...
9:33am Sun 5 Apr 09
Colleen G wrote:Oh for heaven's sake. When will you people realise that these cameras are there to boost police coffers. I forget which year it was, 2005 or 6 but at one point Essex had the highest number of road deaths AND the highest number of speed cameras in the country. I take it you are not a driver? If you were, you would realise that more people speed up again after slowing down for speed cameras and they do NOT stop dangerous drivers. Idiots are idiots anywhere in the world and the presence of cameras at certain points won't stop them being idiots. They'll just go and be an idiot somewhere else. Personally, those signs that light up and tell you what speed you're doing are FAR more effective, as they act as a reminder and work on your CONSCIENCE. Speed cameras, to most people, are symbols of state surveillance, authority and they are more importantly, cash cows.
It's a shame the majority of us have to suffer because of the particularly dense few who think speeding is a *right*! You could hit most of them over the head with a big yellow speed camera, and they STILL wouldnt *get it*!
Let me explain: If it wasnt for divs like you, these cameras wouldnt be neccesary in the first place. the money saved, on divs like you, could be better spent on feeding the poor, or repairing potholes. Anything but wasted on divs like you! I do hope you *get it* now.
Failing that, when you get caught, shut up and cough up!
And we all know that speed cameras are selective.
Certain 'tag-on' members of our community will NOT be prosecuted because the police can't trace them - because they have multiple identities.
Wake up!
charlie croker, Canvey Island says...
11:33am Sun 5 Apr 09
Or we should all contact OUR County councillors, remind them they work for US! and that we will remember their aid towards public accountability (or not) at the next elections!
Cockle, Southend says...
4:03pm Sun 5 Apr 09
charlie croker wrote:If only we could Charlie, if only we could.
Then the Echo should make a request under the freedom of information act 2000.
Or we should all contact OUR County councillors, remind them they work for US! and that we will remember their aid towards public accountability (or not) at the next elections!
You see, the 160,000 of us who live to the East of the Borough boundary don't have any County councillors and therefore have no chance of holding them to public accountability for what they wish to impose on us! We have no influence on whether they can be re-elected or not.
Having said that we've got plenty on our plate sorting out our own three-ring circus full of clowns at the moment!
siddymint, Belfairs says...
6:37am Mon 6 Apr 09
Also the number of us who live outside Essex reach complain to your Councillor and make them take action.
andyh, Rayleigh says...
10:53am Mon 6 Apr 09
ps Any ideas what the extra cameras on the gantries are for? ANPRS ought to able to get a feed from the main camera and CCTV monitoring should only need one not two.
ST 1, says...
1:41pm Mon 6 Apr 09
andyh wrote:If the extra cameras you refer to are white cylindrical units, and I have seen these mounted on some of the new yellow speed camera posts, then they are likely to be ANPR cameras. These have spread lilke a rash over the Essex road network, and have been in place for a number of years now.
They still appeared to be working on the stretch nearest Southend this morning (or, at least, an "O'Connor Utilities" van was by first one set of control boxes and then the other). ps Any ideas what the extra cameras on the gantries are for? ANPRS ought to able to get a feed from the main camera and CCTV monitoring should only need one not two.
They are situated along most main roads, such as the A127, and also surround most major towns by covering approach roads and town centres. Even Festival Leisure Park is covered by ANPR.
If you use your car to travel anywhere in Essex, it is very likely that the police will have a record of at least part of your journey.
It is actually impossible for me to drive the 12 miles from home to work without passing at least one of these cameras.
the.transporter, Rayleigh says...
3:42pm Mon 6 Apr 09
If you say you have never gone over the limit then either your lying, you dont go out or you never look at the speedo!!!
For the actual few that reckless drive well over the limit where ever they can - thanks its your fault!
Now register your cars and see how long you survive....
Least the suns out now,
Bill Richards, canvey Island says...
3:59pm Mon 6 Apr 09
Ivanna Goodhump, says...
5:03pm Mon 6 Apr 09
iability of these cameras, out come the same old keyboard warriors who can only justify the cameras use with insults.
Lets hope they or someone in their family doesn't get hit/injured by an uninsured/drugged up/drunk/unlicensed driver that a camera would never detect but a well trained traffic officer would have.
And don't start harping on about ANPR being the great panacea - as is becoming apparent in London, it only detects whether the car is insured, not whether the person actually driving is insured to drive it. Immigrants have already sussed this and the criminal fraternity aren't far behind.
£7m would have gone along way to expanding/equipping the traffic dept within Essex Police but who says Councils and logic go together.
the.transporter, Rayleigh says...
5:32pm Mon 6 Apr 09
Anyway I am with you on the drunk driver thing, my daughther was a victim of a drunk driver and sustained life changing injuries due to that driver, estimated speed on impact 30-40mph, speed on that section of road - 40mph. He was caught due to the fact he rammed into an existing RTC that my daughter was helping at because it was close to our house.
Camera lovers justify that one...
Biker One, Basildon says...
7:38pm Mon 6 Apr 09
As far as safety is concerned, I was travelling towards Southend on the 127 a couple of weeks back on my bike. I came upon a car driver hogging the outside lane doing only 40mph. I waited for 'her' to move over to the nearside lane and she just sat there. I had to make the decision to pass her on the inside or just sit there with a queue forming behind me. I undertook her, and so did a stream of car drivers following me!!
What we need is proper police. The cost of these cameras and their maintenance could go towards a couple of fully kitted out traffic cars to effectively enforce the roads, and not do it by stealth/revenue biased methods!
the.transporter, Rayleigh says...
8:06pm Mon 6 Apr 09
The proper police is the best idea, I followed a police van up the A13 a few months ago travelling above the posted limit, the ironic thing is it probably did more for road safety that all the cameras we passed.
More police on the roads please....
Biker One, Basildon says...
8:22pm Mon 6 Apr 09
It's time to get rid of these bleeding cameras and return to proper policing!!
Colleen G, says...
4:57am Tue 7 Apr 09
Bill Richards wrote:Anyone who gets caught speeding must be a right idiot anyway. Going by the idiots here in support of speeding/breaking the law, the cap fits! They've had enough warning and should be treated with the contempt they deserve. 6 points and £50 per MPH they are caught over the top, that'll soon rattle them when they have to choose between paying a fine or drowning their sorrows in cheap cider.
get a proper Sat anv and it tells you where the camera's are. Anyone who gets caught who has a sat nav or camera detector must be a right idiot. Those that haven't got a satnav or detector then I suggest you get one and dont keep conttributing to lining the councillors pockets
Most of us are immune to any sort of camera, we just behave ourselves and so have nothing to fear. I'm all for these obvious, self confessed plonkers being put under even more surveillance as they obviously need watching.
westcliff willi, says...
7:22am Tue 7 Apr 09
soose80, shoeburyness says...
10:50am Tue 7 Apr 09
the.transporter, Rayleigh says...
8:07pm Tue 7 Apr 09
so many holes in the road I had to drive slowly, cheaper than any of the camera's, ideal for slowing the school-boy racers with the chopped suspension...
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fletch12107, southchurch says...
6:08am Sat 4 Apr 09
ffic lights every hundred yards,Traffic police,and Lollipop people at the above mentioned traffic lights. I am sure that Ronnies daughter would still be with the show if only the Southend experts had been called in because no traffic would be moving.