1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198 
E SPEED UMIT DEBATE
Page 9
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
FAST ROAD TO NOWHERE
Not all speed cameras promote safety, says Brian Lee of Allan Morris Transport. So why is an issue so crucial to safety and productivity as speed limits not receiving the quality debate it merits?
The other day in the House of Lords we were once again robbea of a sensible decision over the proposed raising of the HGV speed limit from 40 to 50mph on A-roads. Reading Hansard the level of debate was akin to a pub discussion during a lock-in.
The A41 cuts through east Shropshire and is our umbilical cord from north-east Wales to the South. All day and everyday we have vehicles travelling north to south and vice versa. The camera in question has no safety intent whatsoever; it's simply a cash cow for the West Mercia Police. The person who sited the camera missed the point entirely — on the opposite side of the road at the end of the dual carriageway there's a daily scene where motorists, determined to pass trucks and each other, reach speeds that British Airways would be pleased with, all within sight, but out of reach of the camera.
Before the goody-goodies write to accuse me of condoning speeding — I don't. But, as with most things in life, there's a time and place. I don't think the placement of that particular camera is anything more than a rip-off.
HGV drivers are precious and 99 times out of 100 when they do incur a flash they are usually safe, harming no one. However, their livelihood is put into jeopardy as the points accumulate. Then they crawl along A-roads costing the nation millions in lost deliveries. And although I can't prove it I stand by the theory that more deaths and injuries are caused as frustrated drivers take risks to pass them.
We must therefore persevere with the case for the lifting of the speed limit for HGVs and hopefully have it debated openly and away from watering holes such as the House of Lords.