[Deleted for flaming. Commenter suspended.]

[Deleted and poster suspended for flaming]

From: http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/409af98/kaneshiro/factskaneshiro.html#speedlimits

"In 1987, the U.S. Congress amended a 1974 law limiting the National Maximum Speed Limit to 55 mph by allowing states to raise the speed limit to 65 on rural interstates. Most states chose to do so and, predictably, death tolls on those roads went up by over 30 percent in 1989."

On the psychology of speeding and anti-social behaviour.

http://www.psychologymatters.org/roadrage.html

A comment what your car says about you.

http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/auto/20021204a.asp

Effects of Speed Cameras on Fatalities: From an EDU site and not a motorist’s lobby group.

http://www.hunews.huji.ac.il/articles.asp?cat=6&artID=617

From the Australian Bureau of Statistics:

Improved enforcement technology

”Enforcement technology, such as speed cameras, has made a major impact since being introduced in the late 1980s, first in Victoria and later in most other jurisdictions. Other innovations include laser based speed measuring devices and red light cameras.”

http://www.abs.gov.au/Ausstats/abs@.nsf/dc057c1016e548b4ca256c470025ff88/9afd4e13d7da281fca2569de0028b40c!OpenDocument

Rebuttal of an article by Dr Alan Buckingham, in which Dr Buckingham claimed that speed is not a problem.

http://www.cis.org.au/policy/summer03-04/polsumm0304-8.htm

“Scientific basis for the strategic directions of the safety camera program in Victoria”

http://www.monash.edu.au/muarc/reports/muarc202.html

England & Scotland Speed Camera News

http://www.policespeedcameras.info/uk_news.html#m-way

"Motorist Pauline Caley, 42, said: "The speedcams make things more dangerous, not safer. You have to slow down really quickly from 70mph to 40mph and motorists slam on their brakes at the last moment.""

(Comment – if motorists had been driving at the speed limit all along they would not have ‘needed’ to slow down suddenly – which really begs that speed limits be enforced over the entire length of that road)

Hamlet,

Interesting sources but:

Raising of the speed limit in the USA from 55mph to 65mph resulted in a drop in the road toll. “Of course, from 1974 to 1983, the fatality rate dropped from 3.5 to 2.6 (deaths/million vehicle miles), and today, after the increase of limits to 65 in 1987, and the increase in ACTUAL speeds everywhere, the fatality rate is 1.7. Half of what it was in 1974!”
http://www.ibiblio.org/rdu/lyingwsc.html

I suppose the next link is supposed to say something about me but unfortunately you have it all wrong, as usual. I own a BMW M3R for the simple reason that I love to compete in performance events and have always done so. As I got older I could afford a better car but once I found the current car in 1995 I have not felt the need to change because as far as I am concerned it meets every performance requirement I have. I actually driver a Subaru as my daily commuter…

Effects of speed cameras – 33% is simply a lie. - 2002 was worse than 1998. The long established fatality rate reduction has almost stalled (6.81% pa average from 1978 to 1993, and 0.42% pa from 1999 to 2001.(figures from the Department for Transport (DFT).

From the Australian Bureau of Statistics: Sure – from 2001. try 2006 http://www.abs.gov.au/Ausstats/abs@.nsf/46d1bc47ac9d0c7bca256c470025ff87/4A814725D2E88920CA2570DE0019B47F?opendocument The reduction in deaths on our roads has all but stalled.

Dr Alan Buckingham – In another article from the same site they seem to support his findings. http://www.cis.org.au/Exechigh/Eh2003/EH16003.htm

Monash is largely government funded and their research reflects the fact that they need to support the government to keep the funding.

Did you actually read the rest of the article? They reduce the speed limit to 50 causing an increase in crashes

Speed Camera Revenue Raising
The Police and RTA state that Speed Kills and that is the reason for all the Speed Cameras.
Well, lets look at the situation.
A motorist goes through a Speed Camera and gets zapped for 20k over the limit and will get an infringement in a few weeks time.
However after the Motorist goes through the Speed Camera Location he is allowed to proceed on his or her trip to their destination.
If the Motorist then has a crash and causes injury or death or a serious accident, Who is to blame?
The RTA and the Police will say, the Motorist!
Hey hang on, the RTA and the Police allowed that motorist to continue driving after commiting a Traffic Offence.
The RTA and Police are equally to blame because they allowed the accident or injury to happen.
Lets face the facts.
More Police Cars on the road to pull up speeding motorist and fine them on the spot or take their licence from them or in the worst case, they could maybe take the car off the road.
Anyone who believes that the Revenue Raised is going to prevent accidents and save lives must still think that the Earth is Flat.
If you do get a Speed Fine and you believe you are not Guilty then take the matter to Court and make them prove beyond reasonable doubt that you in fact were exceeding the speed limit.
Paying your speed fine without a fight is the same as giving your wallet to a robber without a fight.
Thats it!

I appreciate your argument silver77, but let’s consider it a bit further;

I would argue that there are nowhere near enough speed cameras around.

For most drivers, it comes down to the perceived risk. The risk of being busted for speeding is generally very small, except on certain well-regulated roads, so there is a strong inclination for many to speed.

It is physically impossible to have police everywhere, focussing on speed. So unmanned devices are definitely the way to go. I reckon there should be vastly more of them. And of course we cannot escape there being a lag time between being caught out by a camera and being compelled to pay up.

There are a number of associated issues;

For one, speed limits have to be much more clearly and frequently signed, so that there can be no doubt about what speed zone you are in.

I have mentioned many other associated issues in numerous posts under ‘Putting the brakes on the road toll’. http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=2877. I would love to hear your comments on anything mentioned there.

Speed camera revenue should be put directly into multiplying the number of cameras and speed signage. I would also like to see a much higher presence of police on our roads, but mostly in unmarked cars, so that in the eyes of drivers any reasonably new car could potentially be a police vehicle. If those measures were taken, we would very soon have the speed factor under control.