Out of Touch or Vote For Me?

I agree Photo Radar should be a part of policing and I for one do not see it as a cash grab, its policing and ticketing speeders. In pretty well all situatons speeding does not gain you the time that you expect, but that does not register with those drivers.  Another area I would like to see more of is roadside checks.  

Photo radar was a cash grab, pure and simple. Speed must be excessive or combined with inexperience and /or inattention.

Speed limits are ridiculously low in relation to modern cars. Speed should be keeping up with the speed of traffic.

Oh and if you want to drive the speed limit please stay out of the fast lane !!

That is all.

Anyone who calls any ticketing a cash grab has a very low IQ. What is a jail sentence for murder, a time grab? Fines are a deterrent for behaviour deemed unacceptable and the most effective way to adjust said behaviour is by adversely affecting ones pocketbook. Many European countries base fines on income, ergo the more you make, the more you have to lose, keeping the affect consistent across wage bands. I spent a lot of years in Alberta, with photo radar, and saw both my own behaviours and a lot of other people's adapted as the costs rose. Apparantly here the police were not as creative in it's use, as in Alberta, but, that too can be remedied. Police in Edmonton, in the early90's said that a multinova camera could pay for itself in three days. The more the merrier.

That comment tells me you have a heavy foot as with my years of driving I have never found speed was an advantage to make up time, although many will argue that point but baring someone hitting me I will arrive at my destination in one piece and thats good for me and my family....

I had already made my views known to the moderator of this forum.  Some of us are capable of speeding while still driving intelligently. I believe - perhaps I delude myself  - I am one.  I have over a million miles of driving experience and I maintain my automobile in very good and safe condition.  Although, if there were more speed/radar traps, I would likely be one of the ones caught.  But in the end, many serious accidents would be avoided and I would gladly accept the risk of being penalized if it would lessen the number of fatalities and other serious injuries.  I would not consider any action to penalize all speeders as any "cash grab".  That, to me, would be the argument of many drivers that risk getting caught and fined.  And, I would add, they are likely the irresponsible drivers who cause these accidents because of this lack of police presence, their careless driving and/or their raging hormones!  The bottom line:  I, for one, would support anything that would increase the policing of drivers and I would accept - no doubt begrudingly - my share of speeding tickets if it meant reducing the number of senseless traffic accidents.

According to the BC Government's own review of Malahat safety, 89% of collisions were caused by something other than speed.  Why photo radar keeps coming up I don't know.

For me, I'm more likely to pay attention to my speed where the limit is posted at 30 or 40kph.  At 50 and above, I generally "go with the flow" being sure to leave plenty of space in front of, to the side and behind my vehicle. 

This space management is much more easily accomplished when you can go with the flow of traffic.  It's easier to keep pace with a gap in traffic, enabling you to create a pocket of safety around your vehicle. 

Lately I've been doing an experiment and trying to keep to the posted speed limit.  My increased fixation on absolute travel speed seems to be distracting me from the traffic around me.  Despite "speeding", I'm generally a calm, focussed driver, alert to what's going on around me.  Fixating on absolute speed increases tension and anxiety and I notice that I am more prone to error. 

Even with photo radar, thousands upon thousands of drivers continue to speed.  It's no the magic bullet that slows every one down to nary a tick over the posted limit.  The speed differential is still a factor, and I'd rather not be sharing the road with drivers who are constantly fixated on their speedometer worrying about the next ticket in the mail.

Yes the cars of today will go faster, and perhaps the stop better, when properly maintained, but, for BC drivers, bald tires and poorly maintained vehicles are a way of life. BC roadways are for the mostpart unchanged in decades, largely undivided, with poor shoulders, old pavement, and plenty of transient road and weather conditions. Speed limits are set for the majority, not the odd Sebastian Vettel amongst us. I am amazed how many of us feel the law is for others, not them! Yet we still see ridiculous carnage on our highways. The faster you go the less time you have to react and the more damage potential you can create. Our highways are busier than ever, more dangerous than ever, and the speed limit is there to protect all. Speed kills! Thou shall not kill, ergo, thou shall not speed!

There is no subsitute for the effectiveness of a traffic enforcement stop performed by a constable doing their duty. A well trained, experienced police officer brings far more to the side of the road than mere comparison of a posted speed limit with a measurement of speed by a machine. Almost every week one reads of the admirable results of police traffic services activity & the involvement in the arrest of an alleged criminal by an alert constable. In my opinion, no amount of photo radar vans parked on the road side can replace this kind of law enforcement.

Tax dollars are scarce. This election is about that fact. For my money I would far sooner see any extra policing technology dollars put towards the continued upgrade of communications systems. It would mean that no matter where enforcement activity takes place an officer is never without the ability to instantly access all necessary information & call for assistance if needed. Today's technology could give that support to those standing on the thin blue line protecting the rest of us. No doubt there are many other examples of where current techhnology could be employed. Let's not squander our limited resources on photo radar - a failed 20th century approach to road safety.

I totally agree with mylittledaddy's comments.  Electronic monitoring of speed, traffic signal violations et al. will never replace policing with real police officers.  The mere presence of police on the roads would curb much more than keeping traffic violations down.  There seems to be a dearth of police cars on B.C. roads, especially in the bigger cities compared with other cities such as Toronto.  Further, and I believe more importantly, I strongly disagree with the legal precept that has crept into B.C. over the years:  the presumption at law that the owner of an offending vehicle is also the driver (I speak of traffic cameras and photo radar).  This is a typical example of expedience trumping the law.  That may be ok in Napoleonic countries such as France where we are guilty until proven innocent.  That is, it should not be up to the registered owner to prove he/she was not driving.  It should be up to the Crown to prove that the owner is the driver.  Another reason for policing with real police officers when the offenders can be identified immediately, in person and when that person was "found committing" the offense.

I don't believe photo radar tickets assign points to the registered owner, it's just a fine. 

Begs the question - if that's an effective method of enforcement, why do traffic stops where a ticket is issued to the driver come with penalty points and potentially penalty point premiums?  Perhaps it's the government's way of saying "we're not sure if it's actually you or not, so we're just looking for a cash settlement instead"

Years ago, in Alberta, where there are no front plates, I had a fleet of company vehicles. It was firly easy from the rear view photos to determine who was driving, but as the registered owner it was also my responsibility to know who I loaned or assigned these vehicles to. I kept records. It is really not an issue, especially with front plates.

Stopping distances are just one of many aspects of defensive driving and collision avoidance.

Is there a date on that chart?  A simple Honda Civic will take 130 feet to stop from 60MPH, not 180 as shown on that chart.  A three-quarter ton, loaded pickup truck will do it in 150. 

Damn right they do! As mentioned earlier, in Alberta in the 90s I had a fleet of vehicles and techs driving them. Mail in Alberta was never as quick as BC and in one day, I got several speeding tickets, three for one tech alone. John tried to convince me that these were in the companies interest, as he was responding faster, and that I should pay the tickets for him. I in fact did (I wanted nothing outstanding), but over a half dozen payroll deductions he felt the brunt of his actions. John never again had a photo radar ticket in one of my vehicles! People's behaviours can be positively modified when their pocketbooks are negatively affected!

As there are no points associated with photo radar tickets, does the accumulation of multiple tickets on one car affect licencing, insurance, etc...?

So unless the driver comes forward and claims responsibility, ICBC and the government are only collecting cash settlements from the vehicle owner? 

Best to just ignore the fact there are cameras, drive in a safe manner for the current traffic and road conditions and pay the tickets.  A few hundred in traffic fines (with no points, no premium hikes, no impoundment risk) sounds much better than an increased crash risk.

Speed cameras are riddled with accuracy and reliability problems, the companies operating them are known for making backroom deals with politicians and in many cases crash and injury rates don't improve.  Thousands of safe drivers receive speed camera tickets every year, the vast majority of whom will not be involved in a serious collision over their lifetime. 

Bring back speed cameras here and I promise you I will drive at 10Kph under the limit.  I don't trust the cameras and I sure as heck don't trust the cash-strapped governments and private corporations running them.