Nasty sneaky fcukers
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No surprise that more and more technology is being deployed by councils and police forces, it is the same all over. And it is all about road safety eh!
I would like to see transparent, ongoing data that shows the effect on accidents that the cameras have in each area. If they’re effective in that sense, fair enough. If not, they should be removed, because we as taxpayers are funding these devices.
Well, at least they’re not new cameras, they’re just making existing ones more efficient.
Quicker fines means better cash flow 
There are no fixed cameras here in Dumfries & Galloway, but there is a mobile camera van, which is often deployed on the A75, which has a lot of HGV traffic going to and from the Irish ferry at Cairnryan. This creates lorry convoys resulting in tailbacks, and there are limited clear straight sections where it is safe to overtake. The ‘safety camera’ van is invariably parked on one of these clear sections where people can safely speed up to overtake, and not in the places where overtaking would be hazardous. I am therefore very sceptical about the ‘safety’ justification.
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No need to worry, it’s only a matter of time before speed cameras are unecessary, we won’t be able to break speed limits anyway. 
Unless you’re on a push bike 
Round here we have a traffic cop on a bike who seems to like 30 mph limits as he’s had 2 mates of mine doing 32. Now I’m no crash investigator but I doubt doing 32 rather than 30 is going to make much if any difference in an accident as the impact speed would be more dependent on the drivers level of observation, reaction times and how hard they brake. Just a cash cow
Makes you wonder where this is going. I’m sure that drivers in Wales must be at their wits end in the 20 mph zones. Driving a couple of mph over 20 is so easy and if enforced for fines will raise god knows how much ? Not sure how the public in the other areas of the UK will react if the 20 mph zones are rolled out there.
We have a 20 mph zone on the road that I live and it is ignored by most if not all drivers.
If they put them in accident hotspots then they’re likely show a reduction in accidents. Also, if they didn’t put them in those locations they’d also likely see a reduction, due to mean revertion.
What does that mean? Well, if you take a sample of random events then there is some kind of ‘average’ that is most likely to occur. So if you start by picking an ‘above average’ sample (e.g. of accidents) then when you do another sample some time later that most likely average value is less, and voilà! It’s a great way of claiming credit for something that was likely to happen anyway.
I’m not claiming they’re aren’t places where speed camera will have a genuine effect, just pointing out that a reduction in accidents after installation isn’t, a priori, proof they work.
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I wonder what the real stopping distance is in a modern car with good rubber at 20mph. It feels like you could stop in a car length, would make it difficult for a pedestrian to throw themselves on your bonnet. 
Mind you the driver has probably nodded off so wouldn’t notice.
Cyclists way more dangerous, stopping distance to infinity and beyond.
I can see that a by product of this 20 mph fiasco will be more lycra clad entitled cyclists being killed under/overtaking at junctions so it’s not all bad news 