Punishing the
motorist? Scott
Pattenden 5 December 2002 Sir - I have just
read a very disturbing
article about microchipped
number plates in the
motoring bulletin that
arived on my desktop this
afternoon [Microchipped
number plates join fight
against vehicle crime, 30
November 2002]. Speed kills! William
Gagent 6 December 2002 Sir
- I am a little confused
about the reaction of many
people to the number of
speed cameras on our roads
and the scheme to put chips
in number plates [Feedback,
Dec 5]. Simplistic Richard
George 9 December 2002 Sir - Mr Gagent is
wrong. Speed does not kill,
bad driving kills [Feedback,
6 Dec Couldn't agree more Richard
A Hughes 10 December 2002 Information
appearing on Electronic
Telegraph is the copyright
of Telegraph Group Limited
and must not be reproduced
in any medium without
licence. For the full
copyright statement see Copyright
curtis@teleline.es
I was shocked to discover
what I am convinced is
another method of revenue
collection as a result of
speed traps. The article
regurgitated all the
benefits against car crime,
road tax evasion and
uninsured cars yet failed to
spot what was glaringly
obvious. If the government
can monitor passing
electronic plates as they
pass fixed points all they
need do is compare distance
and time travelled calculate
the speed and gotcha!
We were informed that the
entire system could be paid
for by a one-off number
plate tax. I can't see this
government rescinding the
tax after completion of
payment for the system. I
also believe that the
Government could easily fund
it out of the massive
percentage of road and
vehicle tax that is not
spent on the roads.
Come on Telegraph and indeed
Conservative party launch a
campaign and stop this
travesty before it happens
and becomes yet another way
of punishing the motorist.
wmag100@soton.ac.uk
The common complaint centres
around the increased ability
to fine drivers for
speeding. As far as I am
aware we have a speed limit
in the UK and driving faster
than this limit is illegal,
we should use every
available means to catch and
fine motorists who drive
above the speed limit.
Richard.George@eml.ericsson.se
At five in the morning on
the M40, 85 miles per hour
is perfectly safe. At three
in the afternoon, outside my
local primary school, 20
miles per hour is dangerous.
We should be looking to stop
those people who do 40 miles
per hour on the open road,
thus causing people to
overtake and risk accidents,
while continuing at 40 miles
per hour through built up
areas putting pedestrians at
risk.
Mr Gagent's rather
simplistic attitude just
encourages the Government to
ignore the real problems
while increasing the flow of
money into their coffers.
richard.a.hughes@uk.ibm.com
All to often we are told
there are over 3,000 deaths
a year on our roads and
therefore we must cut
speeds, but how often does
anyone bother to determine
how many of those deaths are
caused by the recklessness,
thoughtlessness and sheer
stupidity of some drivers?
From those drivers who pull
out in front of oncoming
cars at roundabouts to those
who sit bumper to bumper
behind slow moving lorries
thus ensuring that anyone
trying to overtake must
overtake not one but many
vehicles, there is a whole
range of bad driving
practices that contribute
towards deaths on the road.
If the authorities are
really interested in saving
lives rather than
accumulating speeding fines
they might consider tasking
the Police service with
focusing on more than just
speeding offences.