The Daily Telegraph recently reported on the fact that the speed camera was going to be making a comeback, and the war on motorists was set to continue. With the dated technology currently being used it seemed that many counties and safety partnerships were going to cut down on the use of the speed camera, but now thanks to new digital technology it won’t be long before those dropping out get back on the band wagon. At Keith Michaels we regard the offence as minor and have taken this into account with our banned driver insurance.
The Daily Telegraph say that they got in contact with 33 safety partnerships with regards to this matter and 21 have already confirmed that they will be installing the new digital speed cameras, and a further 6 are still considering what the next move will be. With the digital cameras set to be processing the images straight to a control center, it will also cut down the cost of officers having to go to the cameras manually to retrieve the images that would have been stored on the previous GATSO models etc. With Stephen Hammond, transport minister, speaking on behalf of the government saying “it is for local authorities and police to decide whether or not to use speed cameras and how they wish to operate them” you can see that the government are trying to distance themselves on any war on motorists that these cameras may help to fuse. This comes after the coalition government promised to end this said war so it seems a good plan for them as there is already an increase of speed cameras predicted to be nearly 50% in the next twelve months alone.
With the government only ever taking money from the initial speeding fine of £60 (which is set to rise buy 50% to £90 in the near future), the money from any speed awareness course, which can vary from between £70-£97, is kept by safety partnerships and police forces. The option to take a speed awareness course is only available to drivers who have been caught exceeding the speed limit by no more than ten percent or 9mph over the stated limit. This option can come in handy for drivers as they will not get the three points associated with the offence just the fine.
Whilst some say that this war on motorists is “counterproductive”, the likes of Dept. Chief Const. Suzette Davenport, top traffic police officer says “speed cameras are put in place to deter drivers from speeding and catching those who do. Drivers who are found breaking the law could be prosecuted and incur a criminal record. Using technology to make the roads safer for all drivers is an excellent example of police moving with the times”. Whichever side of the line you fall within this argument it is difficult for some to say where they sit because both arguments are fair and have good points to them, unfortunately we are one of the many that cannot agree nor disagree with either side and feel it is down to personal experience and opinion on what you feel to be right in terms of speed cameras/convictions etc.
Here at Keith Michaels we have a team of experts who deal with situations for convicted driver insurance every day and due to this they have a great deal of experience in this field and are ready to talk any time in order to help. For your quote please call today.