A537 Cat and Fiddle Speed Camera Fiasco

Here’s another rant contribution from our resident Buxton moaner Mr Grumpy!

Some weeks ago, I wrote my column highlighting the introduction of Average Speed Cameras on the A537 Cat and Fiddle Road. It got a mixed response from all readers of ‘About Buxton’, ranging from those opposed to Speed Cameras to those who want to sleep with them and have their babies. However an online story recently caught my eye, concerning the A537 Cat and Fiddle Average Speed Camera section in particular, and of which appeared in a national publication.

What if I was to tell you that doing that riding within the speed limit along the A537 Cat and Fiddle road could still potentially land you with a £60 fine and 3 penalty points from these wonders of modern technology introduced by the crème’ de la crème’ of Road Safety ‘experts’?, for doing little more than taking a short cut off the main A537 and then rejoining it further along?

http://www.motorcyclenews.com/MCN/News/newsresults/General-news/2010/April/apr2510-800000-speed-camera-cock-up/

Yes, even by Buxton standards this is a huge and monumental cock up of cringe worthy proportions, and means that anybody on two wheels who chooses to take a well known and well mapped short cut (which has a higher NSL limit than the A537 Cat and Fiddle) could end up getting wrongly fined and having their license endorsed purely through obeying the local posted speed limits.

But I suppose that is ok in the interests of road safety, after all its nothing about making money is it?

The Motorcycle News story alone goes to show just what little planning and thought goes into these things, such is the (gold)rush to roll them out and get busy milking the motorist that little facts like this one go un-noticed until £800k has been wasted on what is now little more than a white elephant and it only gets mentioned when it starts being publicised in the national press. How long before the daily’s catch on and it gets highlighted on TV programs like Top Gear? Buxton makes the headlines yet again, but not for anything positive.

Who exactly is responsible for this ‘oversight’ in any case, can’t they use simple everyday tools like Google Earth?, don’t they have access to detailed road maps and other documents and more to the point is he still employed? Given this story it may as well be Mr Bean. Big Brother may indeed be watching our roads, but who is responsible for watching the ‘watchers’? Had this oversight have gone unnoticed, how many people would have been wrongly convicted, faced higher insurance premiums through license endorsement or even lost their license through having an additional 3 points WRONGLY added to an existing 9 penalty points on their license?

I can see what will happen now its been made public in the press. In order to cover up embarrassed red faces, either the speed limit on the short cut will be drastically cut in places, probably to 50, 40 mph or whatever conveniently happens to be the nearest round figure once the speed councils have carefully driven and timed the route, or additional pairs of cameras will be fitted to the route in order to maintain continuity – wasting even more money than the original £800k budget.

According to the article, the cameras are still not ‘live’ now that the mistake or rather oversight has been discovered, but I can’t imagine that such a lucrative tool, especially one which cost us £800k will remain decommissioned for long, so they’ll have to do something, and Mr G’s lottery money this week is riding on the first option. Watch this space!

Several readers have asked me, that if I’m so opposed to Speed Cameras, then what would I do to alleviate the problem?. My answer is always…… ‘Elect me and find out’.

But joking aside (and politics are one huge grin), I personally would have spent the £800 earmarked on the A537 Cat and Fiddle average speed cameras to something more productive. After all, you are never going to escape born again 40-something bikers trying to recapture their lost youth before a mid life crisis sets in, all these brilliant well thought out and positioned cameras do, is to move the problem to another area – it never actually solves it.

So my £800k would be spent building a track which is open to the public for a nominal and affordable admission fee. A bit like the highly successful Nürburgring in Germany but where Bikers of all ages and experience levels can visit on a whim, pay an admission fee and ride in a non competitive environment, once they have taken out relevant ‘track day’ insurance and have produced a license with the relevant motorcycle entitlement of course.

This would allow fully grown, rational thinking adults to calculate the risk to themselves and others, evaluate their own riding skills and for like minded individuals to risk maiming or killing themselves in a controlled environment well away from public roads!. Then all of the other road users / sheep / little fluffy kittens etc can use the A537 Cat and Fiddle road with fewer risks.

Having such a Buxton based track would eventually gain fame and publicity and also continue to bring in visitors to Buxton from all over the world (Just like the Nürburgring attracts visitors from all over Europe to use its track) meaning the tourist industry is given the much needed kick up the backside which has not been forthcoming from elsewhere *cough*, new jobs through catering, trackside staff, first aiders, funeral directors would also be created through the new business(es) created behind the track and everybody would be happy. I bet there would also be change from the £800k too!

Then again, this is plain old fashioned common sense, which there isn’t exactly a monopoly of in certain circles – see the above Motorcycle News story!

I will also point out that Mr G is not against speed cameras per se, just those which are miles away from schools, houses and other built up areas, and those cameras which will never pick out and prosecute Gravel and Stone HGV drivers and Coach drivers cheerfully chatting on the phone whilst driving past our children through the centre of Buxton.

Oh, and isn’t it also UK law that for the past several years, parents of Children under 11 have to strap in their kids into suitable and approved child safety / booster seats in order to legally ride in a vehicle?. Well why isn’t this being policed and tickets to irresponsible parents issued also?, because at 3.10pm on most school days I’m willing to bet that this area of road safety law is also being flouted and unchallenged daily – probably in greater numbers than a few ageing bikers on the A537 and the law is the law? right?, even when its not raising revenue? I for one would like to see this aspect and road safety law and saving lives given just as equal priority as fitting speed cameras to Derbyshire Roads.

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A537 Cat and Fiddle Speed Camera Fiasco

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