Every day the government and its police force and judicial system use insane laws to turn most normal hard working people into criminals overnight. Their totting up system and the cold machine-like way in which they issue fines and penalty points without hardly any margin for human error is placing many people; mostly those who drive for a living, into the position of suffering enormous stress daily for the three years that the points remain active. There are thousands losing their jobs.
Many, such as service engineers having no other skills are forced into unemployment and during the time they are banned are losing these skills. Upon trying to re-enter their trade they are penalised once again for having active points on their licenses which drive up the employer's insurance premiums.
Many more are forced into the black economy in order to pay bills and support their families and as a consequence drive illegally.

The courts are unsympathetic at every turn making any kind of appeal useless, unless of course you happen to be "one of the boys".
The fact that you may be an experienced driver going over the limit for a few hundred yards on a deserted road which is not in a built up area and decelerating to boot doesn't make the slightest bit of difference; "you're done!" adding yet more £millions to the "piggy bank".

The police, the government and the judges are fast gaining the disrespect of the people of Britain who are ever increasingly hammered by laws that cater for the real criminals and penalise the ordinary folk in the name of stealth taxes and revenues.

We are constantly told that the police are stretched to their limit and yet £millions are being spent on sophisticated camera equipment and many many police officers are utilised for the collection of photographic evidence to extort money from people for what amount to minor incidents that have no effect on the safety of anyone.

Try phoning the police to report a burglar in your house and you will be told that they are busy; yes! busy sitting by the side of the road hiding behind some trees or road signs waiting for someone who is going to lose concentration for a hundred yards or so and go 2 miles per hour over the limit! There's no money in catching crooks and far too much paperwork! Small time petty crime to keep the figures looking reasonable, transport and fleecing the general public; now that's where the money is!

I am British. I was born here. I have worked my tripe out from the age of 15yrs old, paid my taxes and supported the establishment we live in but I now have no confidence in either the government, the police or the judicial system in this country and I believe many many more hard working law abiding people feel the same.
There are no political parties out there who I would ever want to vote for these days and I've always been a labour supporter in the past.
I believe that this country is moving rapidly towards anarchy and civil war and is it surprising?
We are being nannied and dictated to at every turn and increasingly penalised financially and personally by new laws which are nothing short of lunatic and supported and upheld by people like Richard Brunstrom, the chief constable who's ideas on drugs make me shudder and who publicly calls a lady an "idiot" because she made a couple of minor motoring mistakes. You can read about this character on the links at the bottom of the page and also visit his blog to take in all the drivel!

If the government was really interested in road safety and wanted to change things then it would be so simple. But they don't and use safety as an excuse for gathering money! It's nothing short of robbery!

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With today's technology the answer is staring us in the face.

((((( BLACK BOX SATELLITE CONTROL )))))

The recent talk by the government with regards to using black box and satellite technology in all vehicles to charge for the use of busy roads at peak times would give the solution to speeding, wherein all vehicles be fitted at the manufacturing stage with speed governors which could be operated via satellite for a road's particular speed, thereby saving a fortune on the policing of the roads by officers and the use of cameras and other speed trap devices. Existing vehicles could be fitted with these devices using the money that has already been taken; sorry "stolen" in a lot of cases in fines. (This little piece of legislation could be fast tracked through parliament couldn't it?)
But I'm being silly now aren't I? The government would never spend a penny to save a pound in the pockets of the people because there would be no revenue. In other words, the government would never be prepared to give up the stealth taxes they've created via the transport system in this country; get out of that one Mr Prime Minister!!!!

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DESTRUCTION
There has been news recently of speed cameras being blown up, burned and destroyed. About bloody time as well, I hear you scream? The times I've almost seen accidents because drivers have had to virtually SLAM ON because they've almost missed one is broaching on uncountable.

Some of these things are in the most ridiculous places. Some are in areas where the speed limit changes down over a short distance before the camera and takes one unawares; obviously put there not to be a deterrent but as another MONEY MAKER! They seem to be on the increase as well in areas that are not built up and have no street lighting such as out in the countryside etc.

I'm all for safety on the road and as an experience driver for many years I believe that most people are sensible when it comes to driving safely. People aren't stupid and realise that speeding puts not only themselves and their passengers at risk but other road users, be they other drivers or pedestrians.

Let's be honest here; who are the people most likely to drive at speeds and in such a manner as to endanger lives? Of course; the criminals, car thieves, joy riders etc, who don't give a toss and who have probably stolen the car anyway, and do you think they give a toss about being snapped by a speed camera? Do they hell!

I believe that if speed limits were abolished altogether most people would still drive as they do now; sensibly. This unbelievable expenditure for Gatso cameras is ludicrous and would be far better spent fitting speed reminders along sections of road that run through built up areas etc; like the ones on the A55 in Wales.

I think what is more important is education. Teaching and reminding people that vehicles are dangerous weapons and can kill. Teaching people through harsh punishments, that it is just not worth it to drive dangerously at break neck speeds can only be achieved by actually dishing out very very harsh penalties to those who are excessively flaunting the law, not slyly catching the average motorist who just happens to go a couple of miles an hour over the limit or who's speedo may not be calibrated as spot on. Most people will only put their hand in the fire once, realising that it's very painful to get burned.

Again, with Gatso's it's about revenue; just another way to boost the coffers of the government who happen to be in power at any given time. But it seems it's going to be very expensive if folk keep blowing them up or setting them on fire. The people won't be very happy at increased taxation of one form or another to fund the replacement of something that is hated by the majority.

CAMERA BALLING?
Noticed as well as burned out and blown up cameras that there are a lot that look as though they have been hit with paint from a paint ball gun; could this be the latest craze??

PROPER MARKINGS
If these cameras are to stay then the least councils can do is have the back of each and every one of them clearly marked with the actual speed they trigger at and keep road signs and speed signs clearly visible by ensuring that obstructions such as trees and hedges are kept cut back. How many have you seen where the speed limit has changed and the sign is hidden behind some overgrown trees that the council fails to maintain further on up the road?

A HAIR'S BREADTH FROM A BAN
A common story these days. A man drives for a living and was involved in a freak accident. No one was hurt thank goodness but vehicles were damaged. He managed to steer his vehicle away from other traffic but collided with one car. The police said that because of the circumstances it would be a straight forward insurance job and the man would probably hear no more about it from the police. The woman who's car he collided with had other ideas though and being a part of the current compensation culture wanted her pound of flesh. He was summonsed to court and the summons was worded in such a way as to make it impossible to plead not guilty, despite the mitigating evidence. The man was given a heavy fine and had 6 points put on his license, which had been spotless for years.

He recently was caught doing slightly over the limit in a 30mph area and received a Notice of Intended Prosecution followed by a court summons unless he agreed to pay £60 fine and have a further 3 points on his license. The maximum fine imposed by the court if he chose to contest the prosecution could be £1000 fine and up to 6 points, which would take him to 12 points and a ban. I.e.. No job, no income.

What choice does this man have? Answer: None! and the courts know this. It's easy money and nothing more than another stealth tax. This government and its judicial system and its police are nothing more than cold merciless heartless machines. There is no room any more for human error in our society!

This man must now spend his working days on a knife edge, constantly sacrificing his attention on the road to watch his speedometer should it rise just slightly above the speed limit. The fact is he is now more of a danger on the road. His stress levels will do nothing for his reactions and his powers of observation will be greatly reduced because of his need to keep his eyes pinned on that speedo.

He is having to live through this day in and day out for the 3 years that the points remain on his license. His health will suffer because of the stress and the constant fear of losing his livelihood and all for the sake of the tax man's money pot and the satisfaction of the many chief constables who have an illogical fixation on speed.

This man is in his fifties and should he lose his job for the 12 months he has no license he would also lose some of his skills. He would then at his age and being unemployed find it almost impossible to find work and more than likely end up on the scrap heap. He would become a burden on the state and his life would not be worth living, and all for what amounts to a few hundred quid in the government's piggy bank!

The government spends a lot of money on advertising the safety aspect of speeding and rightly so, but there's speeding like a fucking lunatic, probably in a stolen car and there's the normal human being whose attention is diverted momentarily going slightly over the limit on a deserted road away from a built up area. The law on speeding and the revenue raised from it are nothing short of corruption and highway robbery to boot!

In this country there are 2 laws. One for them and one for us!

NO RESPECT LEFT IN THIS COUNTRY
It is estimated that in the UK there is a CCTV camera for every 12 people. We are constantly under surveillance which is fine for catching the real crooks in our society, but with the ever increasing technological advances in vehicle surveillance it is becoming more and more stressful when driving. It seems there is a general fear of breaking laws that a lot of people are ignorant of and when prosecuted for any crime, as far as the courts are concerned "ignorance is no excuse".

But what if you happen to "know" someone, or you are "one of the boys", then it's all a different story isn't it? In my opinion the system is bent, the police are bent, the government are bent and the whole judicial system is bent. The sooner people realise this the sooner we can tackle the problem head on!
It wouldn't be so bad if margins of error were increased and there was an attitude of tolerance and understanding in the fact that we are all human and occasionally make a mistake here and there, and the fact that maybe the people who make, implement and uphold the laws are human also and err from time to time would help to make the general public more tolerant of their mistakes. But it's not like that! There is no tolerance at all from the police, the courts, the traffic wardens, the government and its politicians etc and that being the case they should not expect any form of sympathy for being cold-hearted and machine like in their actions.
People like these in positions of authority should live by the rules they set and uphold but they don't! Their hypocrisy makes me sick!

IT'S NOT ALL ABOUT MONEY EITHER!
The government are forever whining on about too many vehicles on the road and not enough money to build more or bigger road networks and so within the framework of the current draconian methods of money and points based penalties that hit ordinary working folk is the added bonus to the government of driving people off the roads via bans. The points system affects insurance premiums as well with many people reaching a point were it becomes too expensive to have a vehicle on the road.........To be continued.