Average speed cameras coming for all motorways

14. @ tech89

Daily Mail reader?

13. @ tech89

"I doubt the speed cameras are brought in for people's safety. Look at Germany and its Autobahn, They have speed limits of up to 200 mph on most parts with 70 in others and yet accidents are not a common place there."

According to the German Federal Highway Research Institute, they have over 300,000 traffic accidents a year, around 34,000 result in serious injury and more than 5,000 people are killed. And while you may be able to do 200mph on the autobahn, there is an advisory speed limit of 80mph. Also, if you are in an accident, and have exceeded the advisory limit, you may still be liable for costs, even if it is not your fault.

That being said, I think "some" speed cameras are a positive thing, but most are just money generators for local government (any party) who don't use the money in the right way.

12. What's wrong with the earth getting warmer?

1) Either it will get nice and warm in Britain which will be nice compared to rain and cold.

2) Or it will get colder and snowier and that can't be a bad thing either, I like snow.

3) Plus the Capital city will flood and the redistribution of power and focus will finally shift away from London, Woo!

The only bad thing is, Governments are going to be pressured by the green people and this will end up in green taxes :( not good.

The UK can't be doing too much damage, most of our manufacturing is now done abroad, blame China and Taiwan for CO2 emissions instead.

To implement limiters (upto 70mph)in cars could have bad consequences on the motorway. The last thing a driver wants is a sudden drop in speed or acceleration caused by the limiter on the motorway with a vehicle behind him/her.

Why the heck should I listen to the Government when they don't do the right thing. The town that got flooded up north could have been saved from flooding if the river was dredged for the £100,00 it would of cost. Instead the Environmental Agency said it would of cost too much (in 2004 this is). 5 years later and £100 million worth of damage is caused when a fraction of that number would of saved this disaster from happening.

Why is the government not looking after it's own waterways, never mind Global Warming if we can't look after our own infrastructure then we deserve to suffer the consequences of Gloabl Warming.

Plus limiters are impractical to put in every car and the cost would be too much. Money don't grow on trees.

There is not enough openness with the data on Gloabl Warming and trends, etc. We do not fully understand all of the factors involved and how if one changes, how it might affect the other. I think it's a bit premature to start making forecasts for the next 50 years or so when we struggle to forecast the next season.

So it is getting warmer, but is it getting warmer back up to it's original temperature a while back or have reached par and now going above it?

Global Warming it more to do with money than CO2 levels. Some countries are demanding lots of money, some companies are making a fortune from green technology and fuelling the speculation at the same time to make more money.

11. @ agentcool

While I take your point about diminishing returns, the unfortunate fact is that there's direct, peer reviewed empirical evidence of extra CO2 increasing the greenhouse effect, which you can access via links from here: http://www.skepticalscience.com/saturated-co2-effect.htm

With respect to your research efforts, I'd rather trust the rigour of the scientific peer review process than the assurances of amateurs.

10. We have had the average speed cameras on the A77 in Scotland for a number of years and they have reduced speed and accidents on the road.

You do not get all the slowing and speeding up as one post stated. Everyone here now know that it is a speed check over the distance not in passing the camera. If you do not average the speed you get a ticket.

They are an effective tool but I am totally against this slanting of the need to install them as environment friendly equipment.

It appears that if it is green then the Government will use this to either tax you or restrict your liberties.

By all means fight your corner but insist in the truth. Get the DfT to be honest that they are out to take more penalty revenue out of the motorist yet again. Failing that VOTE THE LOT OUT

9. Any visible speed camera is a hazard, the morons among us will slam their brakes on when they see it, whether it's an average one or not. They haven't a clue what 'average' means anyway, like some of then think they must slow (from 120) to 45 at every GATSO.

In any case, motorways are relatively safe. Dual carriageways with right turns are the places where speeding controls are needed, this is where most of the speeding-related prangs happen.

8. Isn't the Earth now, on average, much warmer than it ever has been in the past? Therefore, something must have happened. And also, even if we were wrong about CO2 and global warming, all our attempts at saving would be great for the future when we would need to conserve resources anyway, and it's not like trying to stop producing as much CO2 would harm us! All it is costing us is a little bit of time, but mostly money.

7. nicolasmerritt: "Is it also a myth that putting on extra layers of insulation will make you warmer?

We have added gigatonnes of extra insulation to the earth's atmosphere, in the form of CO2.

Can you please explain why this extra CO2 should suddenly stop having an extra insulating effect?"

If you covered a window so the room was pitch black there's no way you could make it any darker. The same thing applies to all forms of radiation insulation. It's called a logarithmic effect. You simply cannot create energy by trapping or blocking it in a fixed location. The only way you could hold more solar energy in the Earth's atmosphere would be by substantially increasing its density. Composition is almost entirely irrelevant, especially when the wavelengths of solar energy 'trapped' by the likes of carbon dioxide and water vapour have been completely saturated as is the case when CO2 reaches approximately 250ppm in Earth's atmosphere.

I have been researching climate for years and can assure you that anthopogenic global warming is a myth. There are so many physical laws (not least, the Laws of Thermodynamics) that must be broken or twisted for it to work that it is simply an impossibility.

6. @ "nicholasmerrit": Well said.

@ "openwound": Yes, the Earth has been changing for millions of years and relatively speaking we have only been here for a blink of an eye, but your eyes are clearly still shut if you cant accept the fact we have contributed a huge deal to the current warming affect of the Earth. I have read many research papers on the matter, and the arguments for your logic, despite it being generally true to a point, do not in ANY way disprove the fact that the current rate of global warming IS man made.

Back to the subject of the matter. I think its rediculous having average speed cameras on all motorways. Perhaps activate it during rush hour to keep it moving like they do on the M25, but not when its not necessary. I think the motorways work pretty well except for Bank holidays and when theres road works - maybe thats the problem, make sure road works are manned 24/7 til theyre completed. that will save more money in stop start traffic polution and delays than implementing average speed cameras throughout the country and without upsetting the vast amount of the driving public.

5. @ openwound

Argument from incredulity.

Is it also a myth that putting on extra layers of insulation will make you warmer?

We have added gigatonnes of extra insulation to the earth's atmosphere, in the form of CO2.

Can you please explain why this extra CO2 should suddenly stop having an extra insulating effect?

4. I meant about fitting limiters etc... i'd rather not have a car.

3. what the biggest load of rubbish I'v eever heard.

2. Who pays for all these cameras and limiters fitted to vehicles?

The state does not have any money to spare and the people of the state are themselves struggling with job losses and higher costs on fuel, other tax increases and higher food costs.

All very well blaring the mantra 'save the planet' but most of us don't the cash to spare on green matters for a while yet to come.

I doubt the speed cameras are brought in for people's safety. Look at Germany and its Autobahn, They have speed limits of up to 200 mph on most parts with 70 in others and yet accidents are not a common place there.

Most peoples driving standards are more than acceptable, except for new drivers and elderly drivers. But then new drivers are exactly that, new, and they need to drive to gain experience, elderly drivers tend to drive slowly and forget the rules of the road.

However most drivers of all age groups I have noticed don't use there indicators when they're supposed to so no one can really blame any particular 'group' as we're all as bad as each other at times.

Bit hard to speed on congested motorways.

As for Global Warming, it's natural and quite frankly we should be spending money to adapt to the future conditions not trying to prevent something that's going to happen anyway.

Besides, a different natural disaster could arise in the future and screw us all anyway.

1. Ah the myth of anthropogenic global warming gets everywhere, doesn't it? You've got to laugh. The earth has had a changing climate for 4.5 billion years and the fact that something has caused a warming in the last 60 means that "we" did it. We have been on the planet for a blink of an eye, and measuring the climate for a mere smidgen of that time, and yet it is "definite" that we caused the recent warming.

That's not to say that I don't agree with across the board speed limiting - about time someone did something about the appalling standards of driving.