FUNERALS of good friends figure prominently on my diary of "must attend" engagements. Usually the sequel is merely sadness at losing yet another pal but a recent one brought anger and resentment, too. It also offered yet another example of how one law in particular is dedicated to wringing cash from motorists.
Before anyone dismisses this as another rant against traffic restrictions, hear me out. I can give you three examples of where, in my opinion, the law was at best unjust, at worst an ass.
The first two concern me. Travelling to a funeral in Rainford, near St Helens, I went via Hindley, one of a number of routes I could have taken. This one cost me £60 and three penalty points on my licence as I passed a speed camera on an unfamiliar stretch of road at 43mph. My travelling companion was 81. We were discussing our recently departed mate. Neither of us was looking for cameras or signs.
Funerals are particularly unlucky for me, not to mention the deceased! Last year, travelling to Morecambe to bury another close friend, I passed a camera doing 37mph. Again £60 and three points. I thought both times of going to court to explain that my mind wasn't focused on yellow boxes (speed cameras) but abandoned the idea. It would have been pointless anyway.
The third example concerns another old friend, well into his 70s, who returned from a holiday abroad where his blood pressure tablets had run out. He was heading for the doctor's surgery for an urgent repeat prescription when he triggered a yellow box, artfully placed on a downhill stretch where the average motorist would be speeding up a bit anyway. He received a Notice of Intended Prosecution, quoting a speed of 37mph and demanding £60.
He declined the invitation, and wrote to explain what had happened, believing he had a reasonable case. After four letters he had no choice but to appear before their worships. The chairman was sympathetic but explained that because magistrates were in the grip of the system, she had to fine him £60 and endorse his licence with three points.
Fuming at what he considered an injustice, this victim launched a one-man crusade. Persistent digging from the relevant agencies, which took much time and effort, revealed that over three years, there had been only two minor accidents in the area in question, exposing as an exaggeration the argument that the yellow box was positioned in a "blackspot".
My pal is now totally persuaded, as indeed are most drivers, me included, that speed cameras are a diabolically ingenious device to raise money from a source already paying huge sums in fuel tax, insurance and road tax.
Worse still, he believes decent citizens are being alienated from the police. To work effectively, laws must be fairly enforced. Speed cameras do not do this. They trap everyone going over 30mph for whatever reason and zap them with a £60 fine and three points. As George Orwell wrote so prophetically: Big Brother is watching you.
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