High court case over ‘illegal’ speed cameras (From This Is Cheshire)
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High court case over ‘illegal’ speed cameras
2:00pm Friday 3rd February 2012 in News By Matthew Hobbs
Aitken Brotherston
A LYMM man may help thousands of drivers quash speeding convictions after he took his case to the High Court.
Aitken Brotherston, who describes speed cameras as ‘the most disastrous thing to ever happen to road safety’, is currently locked in a legal dispute over whether some speed cameras are illegal.
He and two other drivers argue that three models of camera should not be in use as they have never received Parliamentary approval.
“Speed cameras basically kill people,” said Mr Brotherston.
“If you are driving along, and most people drive very well, and all of a sudden you see a yellow box, your reaction is ‘oh my’ and you hit the brakes.
“I’m not advocating taking speed limits away but all tools can be misused and this one is. They are unreliable and inaccurate. People are not getting a fair deal.”
The retired computer engineer’s claim started in 2006 when he was caught doing 52mph in a 40mph zone in Manchester.
He denies speeding and says the recording was wrong. A Manchester Crown Court case in 2009 was lost, leading to the High Court appeal last week.
During proceedings barrister Michael Shrimpton said: “In a modern society, these technical issues are best reviewed by Parliament and it is right that Parliament should consider the types of instruments used on our roads.
“This will effect every speed measuring device, and almost every contested speeding case in England and Wales.”
Mr Brotherston intends to pursue the case even if judges reject his appeal. A decision is due this month.
He said: “Speed does not kills – dangerous driving kills.
“You can’t measure that in miles an hour.
“I’m absolutely satisfied that the policy that is being pursued it dangerous to road safety.
“What they should do is find in our favour and declare speed cameras illegal.”
Comments(13)
ghostwriter
says...
2:54pm Fri 3 Feb 12
amen.
speed cameras dont work. most people slam on for the white lines and the once clear, put their foot down again... most people know this?
getting caught by a camera doesnt slow you down, you accept the 3 points and the fine and then carry on driving exactly the same,
some speed limits are perfectly reasonable, 20mph by schools etc and built up areas, where as others are pathetic including the motorway, but i wont got there now.
they dont work in slowing people down, but they do work in generating millions in revenue which the do gooders argue is nonesense or merely a byproduct. get real.
p.s. yes i have lost someone dear to me by someone else speeding yet i am not on the slow everyone down bang wagon, im just a realist
old-codger
says...
7:07pm Fri 3 Feb 12
Karlar
says...
7:12pm Fri 3 Feb 12
Agreed "most people drive very well" but with our congested roads it only needs a few liberty taking petrolheads (we all see them everyday on the roads) to cause mayhem.
Chip Hazard
says...
10:46pm Fri 3 Feb 12
Then you are admitting to speeding. What a clown.
Slightly off topic. I saw a police sign along the lines "30 means 30". Slightly misleading as I passed by doing 20 mph.
the dr who
says...
9:21am Sat 4 Feb 12
old-codger wrote:come on as if you would get legal aid for this type of case you have got no chance, you wont get legal aid these days full stop never mind for this type of case.
This arguement about speed cameras being illegal has been to the courts before and lost. The road to the high court is a long and expensive one, I wonder if he is on legal aid leaving the tax payer to pick up the bill.
the dr who
says...
9:35am Sat 4 Feb 12
Chip Hazard wrote:Any driver who says they do not and have never been speeding is a big fat liar,
QUOTE: ...your reaction is ‘oh my’ and you hit the brakes.
Then you are admitting to speeding. What a clown.
Slightly off topic. I saw a police sign along the lines "30 means 30". Slightly misleading as I passed by doing 20 mph.
anyone driving generally goes with the flow of traffic, and yes you see people brake when they see a speed camera its a fact even if they were doing 30 or the correct speed they brake,
I don't know why people on here say it doesn't happen.
These speed cameras have nothing to do with road safety, if you see them they are just after long sweeping bends so its too late to see them, and there has never been an accident there, and yes its bad driving that causes accidents not 5 miles over the spped limit.
they bring in money bottom line, no other reason I don't know why they don't all admit it and get on with it.
X Blackrat
says...
10:06am Sat 4 Feb 12
I am prepared to agree with Mr Brotherston that speed does not kill but when things go wrong the impact speed is relative to the degree of injury. Thus the lower the speed the lesser the injury.
Reviewing data in the trial occasionally I found increases in accidents but these were statistical aberrations of limited data surveys and the overall trend was to reduce the number killed and the severity of injuries. In looking at casualty figures the KSI rates (KILLED AND SERIOUSLY INJURED) are far more relevant than restricting the data to only fatal accidents.
Pavlov, the eminent Russian scientist, described how the reactions of dogs could be conditioned with training. The speeding Driver is proving far less easy to train to conform speed limits which are set to accommodate the lowest common denominator of driver skill. Unfortunately it is not possible to set a personal speed limit at a higher speed for Mr Brotherston and if he is not prepared to conform to speed limits then perhaps he should consider the availability of public transport in his area.
exwarringtonian
says...
10:34am Tue 7 Feb 12
X Blackrat
says...
11:40am Tue 7 Feb 12
HulkHogan
says...
2:14pm Wed 8 Feb 12
What I find funny is this person has a serious issue with speed cameras and speed in general, yet states that he was not speeding. My advise to him would be get a hobby, take part in track days (no speed cameras!!) or maybe purchase a Scalextric set. You can go whizzing round all day then.
X Blackrat
says...
6:09pm Wed 8 Feb 12
old-codger
says...
6:52pm Wed 8 Feb 12
Nick Tessla says...
2:43pm Fri 3 Feb 12
Nonsense
"If you are driving along, and most people drive very well, and all of a sudden you see a yellow box, your reaction is ‘oh my’ and you hit the brakes."
Only if you're speeding, you're a bad driver - or both
"In a modern society, these technical issues are best reviewed by Parliament and it is right that Parliament should consider the types of instruments used on our roads."
No a competent authority should - MPs are not technical experts and do not have time to deal with such issues.
" He said: “Speed does not kills – dangerous driving kills.
“You can’t measure that in miles an hour. "
It is true that not not all types of bad driving are capable of being measured by instruments - but measuring speed is one way - just as not all types of indicating someone being unfit to drive can be measured by establishing whether they are over the alcohol limit.
Speeding IS bad driving.