Giving up on speed cameras

With only four traffic cops in Bermuda, speed cameras are essential to get drivers to slow down. Unfortunately, the Government no longer seems to have any intention of introducing them.

In March last year, Minister of Public Safety Randy Horton announced that $100,000 had been set aside for cameras. While he gave no date for implementation, the Minister nevertheless pledged to press ahead with the project:

“The Ministry of Labour, Home Affairs and Public Safety acknowledges this item has remained on the books for several years now and efforts will continue to bring this project to fruition.

This project remains somewhat complex owing to the cross-Ministry nature of the processes involved. These processes include ticketing, production of citations, production of photographic evidence, data processing and court administration.

Consultation on this project continues and this continues to be a work in progress.”

Now, however, he appears to have given up. Friday’s Budget revealed that that $100,000 was revised down to just $7,000 for the 2005/6 financial year. The budgeted amount for 2006/7 is zero.

I'm glad to see the Government making road safety such a high priority.

Comments

[NoVote on 19.02.06 at 00:12]

Pretty comical!

Even $100k would only put about 2 of these cameras out there and go absolutely nowhere towards their maintenance and servicing.

Published cost of these types of devices in the UK is circa gbp50k each to install, I believe.

Nice to see the government focusing on the right things again.

Perhaps they could divert some of the Independence education budget to something worthwhile like this!

[32N65W on 19.02.06 at 09:59]

Small licence plates on bikes, covered in dirt and the strategically placed U shaped lock obscuring the licenceplate make speed cameras pointless. You will never get an acceptable image of a bike plate until the laws regarding how they are displayed are enforced. Even car plates are becoming more and more difficult to read, never mind photograph!

[Slowhand on 20.02.06 at 07:04]

32N65W makes a good point. There is a standard for the licence plates that is not being enforced and with all the sexy fonts that are being used, reading from afar would be difficult at best. I doubt all of them are reflective either. I see even Ewart's vanity plates are being changed.... I saw a car only last night that had a plain white plate with a last name in place of numbers (with the seemingly obligatory, and unreadable in this case, blurb underneath) but no sign of the "Bermuda is another world" moniker. Add all this to the red headlights and multicolour rear lights you see more and more often.... its no wonder we are not seeing more accidents than we are getting now. Nothing like seeing red lights heading toward you on a dark windy road.... (btdt). and whats up with the spanky clean car with the filthy dirty plate?
"Yeah, those stodgy old timers were too strict 'back in the day'.... let us hook up our rides the way that makes them look best.... bigger, faster and pretty."

[Copper on 20.02.06 at 07:52]

Having come from a place that had speed cameras, I can tell that they don't work. It's photo taxation. Period.

If you are concerned about road safety you need officers on the road.

Never once have I seen a camera pull over a drunk driver.

And again, you ticket the vehicle not the driver, so there are no demerits awarded (if we had that system) or stiffer penalities for repeat offenders.

[Lost in Flatts on 20.02.06 at 08:06]

Noting that the civil service has increased by 16% since 1998, one does have to wonder why the number of police on the roads seems to have dropped exponentially.

Out of interest, when did it become legal to have a non-comforming license plates? And who made that decision and why? I just can't imagine the debate over that:
Cons: Removes ease of identification
Will likely be more expensive to print and equip
May affect planned speed camera effectiveness
No more Bermuda logo/motto/ID on every plate (as in every US State, EU country)

Pros:
Looks kinda cool.

Decision: Great idea, definitely in the national interest of the country, lets do it!

sigh.

[Tiger Bay on 20.02.06 at 08:25]

FYI: the civil service has increased by more than 35% since 1998. Don't you feel better served?

[Bill Cook on 20.02.06 at 09:19]

TB

Does that mean turnover or actual increase ?

I am sure it does mean that the Police Service has increased by 35% ?

Which departments got increased as I would like to check this out ?

[Tiger Bay on 20.02.06 at 09:26]

Actual headcount has increased. Gov expenditure has gone up by 80% in the same timeframe. Look at the annual budgets.

[Bill Cook on 20.02.06 at 09:49]

Thanks

The police figures are not up and that is a priority that should be addressed,we are clearly understaffed and poorly utilised in my opinion.

Traffic cost in fines should make this dept self sustaining if in fact we collected the fines of course, which we now know we were not doing ie parking ticked fines of millions cancelled etc.

I am surprised that the opposition have not jumped all over those stats as they are truly alarming.

If we had an efficient civil service I could accept the surly rude attitude but we do not,generally speaking

[Larry on 20.02.06 at 09:59]

Yes speed cameras are nothing more than photo taxation, but why shouldn't drivers who speed pay more than others?

[Triforce on 20.02.06 at 12:01]

Obviously they're satisfied in the three or four flashing speedometers laced along the straight-aways on the island reducing traffic collisions. Way to go, Government.

[NoVote on 20.02.06 at 14:19]

If government can force cabbies to install GPS tracking devices, then why not have tracking devices installed in every vehicle on the Island?!!!

It would be pretty easy to work out who's driving too fast and like a complete lunatic with this technology.

And BTW - a simple tracking device need not be that expensive these days. It is now possible to utilise a mobile phone as a tracking device.

I attach an article that explains how:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/02/02/mobile-phone_tracking/

Surely it would be possible to come up with something similar for a car or a bike?

[novote on 20.02.06 at 14:20]

And for those of you that are worried about infringement of personal privacy.

If you own a cell phone, it could already be happening, and you wouldn't know it!

[SmokingGun on 20.02.06 at 14:34]

NoVote - Sorry but that idea gets no vote!!

But nice try with the come back on cell phones... ;)

[Kristen Sousa on 20.02.06 at 14:43]

Get people to slow down?

I live in England at the moment, people either slow down 'til they are out of viewing range.... or slam on their brakes as soon as they see one!

Personally, I think the 100k should go to more traffic controllers.

[Kristen Sousa on 20.02.06 at 14:47]

NoVote

I was the speeder in my household... my mother clucks happily away at just below the speed limit. And what about that buddy of mine that borrowed the car for a quick pop to town? Not good enough. Harsher driving tests, stricter penalties for offences... and more traffic controllers are needed.

[Gully on 20.02.06 at 15:00]

Speed cameras! Oh well, it would have been something else to throw rocks at.

[Triforce on 20.02.06 at 16:18]

No stats to support the argument either way, but it seems that many vehicle collisions aren't the result of speeding but simple failure to adhere to traffic laws, e.g. running red lights or stop signs, as well as incidents at intersections.

So toss the speedometers and use the funds on resources at those 'frequent accident spots' and selected intersections, whether actual officers, cameras, or something. Those violaters are just as much a danger to us as the speeders, if not moreso.

[NoVote on 20.02.06 at 21:44]

Kristen,

You will know then that in the UK the law requires that the registered keeper of the vehicle is responsible for knowing who is using a vehicle at any point in time.

This has allowed prosecutions against drivers and registered keepers, as appropriate, even when photos from speed cameras haven't shown conclusively who was actually driving.

I believe that this has been contested, but so far not successfully.

I would note that you are correct about driver behaviour in response to cameras: people do just speed up and slow down to avoid being detected by the cameras, and this can be dangerous.

The French have an interesting approach, I believe, which times cars between the auto-route toll booths to calulate average speed. Although this can't pick up specific instances of speeding, it removes some of the incentive. Not really practical here though, I know.

Think that harder driving tests and more punitive fines might be a little more effective.

I seem to remember hearing about a senior executive of Nokia being fined in Sweden (I think) a proportion of his annual income for a speeding offence. Apparently that's the law there.....and the fine was...well let's say a lot of money as this guy was pulling in tens of millions of dollars a year.

I'm sure that he could still afford the tens of thousands of dollars that he was fined, but I expect that he still got the message!

[Copper on 21.02.06 at 07:57]

I think the point, Larry, is to have safer roads, not more revenue for the government to waste of billion dollar schools where only have the kids pass.

There are stats on the use of speed cameras in Ontario. When cameras were in effect speeds dropped an average of 1 to 5 kph. Well since people were driving 110 in the slow lane and 160 in the fast lane not much happened. Oh, and accidents and road fatalities went up due to reduced police on the roads.

And statistically speed was the cause of just under 2% of all accidents. So perhaps tackling the cause of the larger percentage of accidents would be a good idea.

[Kristen Sousa on 22.02.06 at 06:32]

What about increasing the number of speed bumps? / Other traffic slowing / control devices?

When I worked in the city, our company parking facilities had speed bumps every x feet. There was NO way you could knock someone down unless you were prepared to do some damage to your car !

In fact, i'm sure I stumbled across an article somewhere about the fact that the UK is cutting back on the number of speed cameras, and using different initiatives to tackle speed. I'll try and dig it up :)

[Triforce on 22.02.06 at 09:33]

If every pedestrian crossing was a raised one that may help. Because drivers tend to ignore the sign, but they sure as hell will notice the bump in the road if they fly over it. It's also possible that Tyaisha Cox's life could have been saved by one of them.

[JKS on 22.02.06 at 21:12]

What were the circumstances around young Tyaisha's death? To my knowledge she walked out from behind the bus without looking and got hit. (?) Surely with more parental control/guidence this accident would not have occured. With a speed bump in place the driver of the car would have been going slower yes, but probably would have ended up driving over her and not just hitting her to the side. A tragedy that could and should have been avoided...

[Triforce on 23.02.06 at 17:18]

Tyaisha walked from in front of the bus, not behind. The driver of the car that struck her did not see the girl on the crossing because the bus was in her line of sight. Yes, it's moreso the fault of the placement of the crossing combined with the bus driver not advising the girl to cross until after the bus had left the stop (and the driver, and the girl herself...). So that particular situation is probably not the best one to discuss.

There was an incident some time ago where a young girl around 8-9 years old was struck by a car while on a crossing near Fat Man's/Devonshire Rec., that may be a better example to use.

[david on 06.03.06 at 06:57]

http://www.photoblockeroffer.com/special/default.aspx

Don't ket the bastards grind you down!

[Phil on 10.03.06 at 13:24]

From today's Royal Gazette:

In the last budget $100,000 was put aside to getting the speed camera programme moving said Mr. Horton who went to Washington DC with Chief Inspector Anthony Mouchette to look at a variety of options.

A further $500,000 had been approved in next year’s budget for the programme, said Mr. Horton.

$100,000 may have been put aside in the last budget, but the most recent budget makes it clear that this figure was subsequently revised to only $7,000. Why didn't Mr. Horton mention this?

And re the $500,000, is Mr. Horton referring to the 2006/7 budget (which explicitly contains zero for this), or the 2007/8 budget (which surely doesn't exist at this stage?).

I'm confused.

[observor on 10.03.06 at 14:24]

you are not alone....

[Triforce on 10.03.06 at 17:47]

Where did the money for the useless speedometers come from?

As for the larger licence plates scenario, what are they going to do now that they've allowed people to get licence plate numbers in cursive fonts and the like?

[paget on 10.03.06 at 17:59]

I like the speedometers and I think they've helped.

They give me a daily reminder of what driving under the limit feels like so I'm now aware when I start to speed.

I tried to pay attention before, but my focus would be on trying to stay up with the cars in front and I would end up going much faster than I should be on these narrow curved roads.

I think a lot of people drive a little more slowly now that those are up.

However the seatbelt/don't drink & drive sign makes me insane. Why not tell me not to smoke or do drugs as well?

Tell me about road closures and things I don't know and leave it at that.

[rob on 11.03.06 at 10:59]

The 'cursive font' license plates are illegal. People take them off when they go to TCD, they only use them because the police will do absolutley nothing about them if they see them. Stricter policing would eliminate this, or simply higher fines.

[SmokingGun on 11.03.06 at 14:08]

rob - I'm amazed at all the easy picking free cash that just floats around Bermuda. If the police were given incentives to pull people over who flagrantly break the laws and start rasing money through fines we'd have far more sensible habits in place and people to help lower crime and improve our daily lives.

[rob on 11.03.06 at 20:33]

SmokingGun,
The same can be said about the tint on car windows. Half of the cars in bermuda have illegal tint on them. As with the license plates people simply remove the tint, go to tcd (and get passed) then go straight to the tint shop to get the same illegal tint put back on. The tint is either to dark or has a reflective look to it (the tint that fades from chrome to black etc.). The police can simply check wat cars have this and pull them over, not very hard at all and they would sure get LOADS of cars. Laws are meant to be enforced so why not do it? Policing needs to step up in my mind...

[stuart J Hayward on 12.03.06 at 07:04]

SmokingGun, you are right on target. Traffic policing has taken a dive. I'm convinced this is part policy (the PLP wishing to reduce incidences of confrontation between the police and "people who look like me"), and part denial (non-recognition or non-acceptance that policing resources need to increase over-proportionately to population increase — especially when the pop density is as high as ours), IMHO.

Many Blacks of my generation (and the next) had frequent run-ins with the police over what we now view as inane laws, such as the one making it an offense to have 'gears' on a moped or goose-neck handlebars. I am aware that some in the PLP leadership (who are also of my generation) were determined to reduce that kind of pre-ordained confrontations between predominantly black youths adn the police. I wonder sometimes if our current defficiency in traffic policing is a swing too far of the pendulum...

[ben on 12.03.06 at 07:18]

and the same could be said for drug dealing at the street level. Most of us in Somerset cant believe that the police station is just around the corner from what is understood to be a million + dollar drug trade on cambridge road, and you can be sure its not grass they are selling. heroin is fast and easy to move, it even creates traffic jams when the big load comes in as it did three weeks ago.
Could it be policy that lets this continue in our community. Perhaps it is. We have at least two Cabinet Ministers that drive past it every day, oh...and of course the entire Somerset police shifts, supervisors, detectives and all.

[Slowhand on 12.03.06 at 07:37]

Stuart,

Do you really think that the Government of the day actually influences the policies of the poilice service? Or is it that they are doing it indirectly through lack of funding/less emphasis on that area?

[Raptor on 12.03.06 at 09:18]

It would be an amazing “policy” for the PLP to reduce traffic policing for any reason, but especially for racial reasons and for not understanding the need for more police with so many more vehicles on the road.

Stuart, those English policemen who patrolled the island--sometimes hiding in the bushes to catch us kids--they were constantly stopping white boys with gears, gooseneck handlebars, and for speeding. Yes, those were inane laws, but I don’t believe the harassment over those issues in particular was directed at black youth. It was across the board, although for black youth it would have had an added racial dimension.

[Slowhand on 12.03.06 at 09:34]

Raptor...

I don't see where Stuart mention "English" Policemen, but I can vouch for the fact that the police were certainly prejudice..... against us Somerset folks.... I was caught more often than most (could that perhaps be because I was on the road longer, running through ALL of the traps out there, and maybe a little because I was kinda breaking the law, even though I perceived the law inane?)

These days you can see what people consider inane laws.... why should they dictate what colour headlights you should have, or what kind of font you should have on your licence plate.

[Raptors on 12.03.06 at 09:43]

Hi Slowhand! No, Stuart didn’t mention English policemen. I should have explained more clearly that although the racial issue wasn’t there for me with English policemen, the “foreigner” issue was. And I saw them as being very rigid, very strict, and not seeing the humour to their hiding in the bushes!

I think you are absolutely right that they were out for Somerset folks. You could not win having to travel long distances—they would get you in one parish or another—and then on the way home too! And who didn’t go over 20 mph? Needed some speed just to get up little hills.

[stuart J Hayward on 12.03.06 at 11:57]

Slowhand writes:
“Do you really think that the Government of the day actually influences the policies of the poilice service? Or is it that they are doing it indirectly through lack of funding/less emphasis on that area?”

Good question. It’s one of those areas I’m not sure about. Section 62 of the Bermuda Constitution Order reserves responsibility for the police to the Governor. The Governor MAY delegate some or all of that responsibility to the Premier or a Minister. I am not sure if or ahow much of that responsibility has been delegated, and to whom. Certainly the PLP can restrain, or enable, the service through its control of the purse.

Raptor writes:
“It would be an amazing “policy” for the PLP to reduce traffic policing for any reason, but especially for racial reasons and for not understanding the need for more police with so many more vehicles on the road.”

Not so amazing if the policing effort was perceived as resulting in a disproportionate number of blacks in trouble with the law and in prison. The race issue was compounded by the local/foreign issue. Having had my own experiences with intensely colonialist “English” policemen I can understand the reasoning behind wanting to reduce confrontations, if possible. Again, I don’t know if the PLP actually has a direct influence. If they did, and if the current enforcement deficiencies is the result, it was a move that requires a quick and serious re-think

“Stuart, those English policemen who patrolled the island--sometimes hiding in the bushes to catch us kids--they were constantly stopping white boys with gears, gooseneck handlebars, and for speeding. Yes, those were inane laws, but I don’t believe the harassment over those issues in particular was directed at black youth. It was across the board, although for black youth it would have had an added racial dimension.”

The problem was then, in a racially segregated Bermuda driven by racist policies, there was a more hostile attitude from foreign and white police officers toward young blacks, and less of a likelihood that an “acceptable” community leader would speak up on our behalf if we got into trouble. That hostility triggered responses that sometimes led to more serious charges. That patronage, or lack of it, led to a race-based bias for who faced charges and who got off with a lecture. Believe me, there was enough going on to justify a response from a PLP newly in power. I suspect, however, that a) the justification had diminished by the time they got into power and b) the shift in policing (if the PLP indeed influenced it) has had unplanned-for and detrimental effects.

[Raptor on 12.03.06 at 12:40]

Hi Stuart, Thanks for your feedback. It is helpful to hear about your experiences and those of other black youth in racially segregated Bermuda. You recount more hostility from the police, and more vulnerability amongst black youth to charges vs. a warning.

How had that changed with more black police officers over time? You mentioned “the justification had diminished by the time the PLP got into power.”

I agree that policing on the roads needs a “quick and serious re-think.”

[Ethiops on 12.03.06 at 13:02]

The problem was then but, it never went away or got dealt with though. Is it still lingers and festers in the back bush waiting to exhale? Hell yeah it is.

Every cop should be in ongoing therapy.

[Slowhand on 12.03.06 at 14:07]

The problem is not with the Police officers themselves, but the system. Yes, there are those that 'enjoy' their job a little too much, but if you fix the system.... things fall into place. The same will go for Education etc.

[Ethiops on 12.03.06 at 14:26]

Slowhand you're way too kind, some are str8up assholes. You're right tho if we do fix the system things will eventually fall into place.

[Bandit on 12.03.06 at 15:45]

I remember those days but the only notorious cop I remember was a skinny black motorcycle cop who everyone refered to as "Skeleton". My brother was stopped so many times by skeleton I think they were on first name terms.

However, I honestly do not think that there was anything racist. It is quite simple. We broke the law and we got caught!

[SmokingGun on 12.03.06 at 16:31]

The simplest way to take race out of the equation is to enforce simple, practical and relevent laws. Overly tinted windows do not allow people to see through vehicles and can cause crashes - ie: the 4 truck pile up just the other day. Yellow head-lights can be mistaken for tail lights and cause problems. We have standards that are in place to allow for easier identification so therefore licence plates should all be according to the stabndard.

If you get pulled over and fined it's not because of your skin, it's because of your sin.

[2 Gear Cyrus on 13.03.06 at 10:31]

I can back up Bandit's comment since I was the speeder in question. David Small was the cop - but there were others too of course. I met David a couple of years ago by chance and renewed our 'friendship'. Quite simply, he taught me basic raod manners. We could use a few more like him today.

[Two Cents on 13.03.06 at 10:46]

I mentioned SOME of these points on another thread previously, but I would say that it fits in with this thread as well.

In the 80's, when I was younger (Oh god I sound like my dad) the three most feared cycle squad members were P.C's Lindo, Foggo, and Lewis..they were legendary and larger than life, and it seemed like they were not only everywhere but on duty 24 hours a day, and whereever or whenever my friends & I broke the law or did something wrong, there they were waiting for us.

We need a stronger police presence to curb this dangerous driving which is island wide, not the guys who hide in trees giving out tickets for 50km in 8:30 rush hour traffic when you're only keeping up the traffic flow, but those who work to stop dangerous driving, and the complete disrespect for other road users that is so prevelant in Bermuda lately.

Perhaps with a greater police presence, and heavier fines, sentences, etc, more people would think twice when riding like idiots.

I wouldn't have agreed with this when I was 16-18 but I couldn't agree any stronger now.

[2 Gear Cyrus on 13.03.06 at 11:24]

2c. I was stopped by all of those guys. But there was also Sgt Scotland, PC Fairburn, PC Wilson. Very tough guys. There is nothing like them now and hence the roads are in a terrible mess. I feel safer driving my MC in the USA.

[Two Cents on 13.03.06 at 11:40]

2 Gear,

I forgot about PC Scotland, he was also a legend, when it came to "getting his man". I honestly don't remember PC Fairburn and PC Wilson, perhaps I just didn't know their names.

I remember hearing stories about PC Lindo. Foggo, et al, chasing guys, determined to get law-breakers at almost any cost (through back yards, down stairs, etc). The current MCPS policemen seem quite content to "be seen", posing on thier bikes at various locations around the island.

I feel that you should join the cycle squad to make a difference and not to be seen and because chicks dig guys on big bikes & in uniform.

[Triforce on 13.03.06 at 12:14]

I forgot to mention those with broken reflector in the rear lights so that it's no longer red but white. Pretty dangerous.

It all comes down to the same thing in the end, all these traffic-related discussions. Need more enforcement of traffic laws, preferably with more traffic officers and not just rush-hour watchers to check only seatbelt usage.

(while they're at it they can watch firsthand the vehicles that are unintentionally equipped with smokescreen devices to choke the morotists behind them)