speed fines do they work, cont.

when i accidentally ran the red light it was after 11pm and there was no-one, zero cars, on the road with me at the time. the intersection was completely empty. can't help but wonder what would have happened if i'd planted the breaks and stopped over the line. would the camera still go off, or is the speed i'm travelling also a factor (since the camera goes off when the sensors detect a car crossing the line after the light changes).
i've got 3 seconds after the light turns orange to cross the line, and 3 seconds after the light turns red until the other lights turn green.

the irony is the car accident that happened to me, and the reason why i needed a new car, happened because a p plated, novice, driver saw a red light camera at the lights and panicked. the light turned orange, she spotted the red light camera (on the other side of the road for on coming traffic, not us) and planted the breaks.

she didn't follow the golden rule they teach us when taking driving lessons, never stop suddenly without considering all those behind you and weather it is safe to stop without causing an accident.

the only person who saw her do this was the 4x4 driver coming up behind her. that driver managed to swerve into flowing traffic while the car directly after the 4x4 noticed the car in front breaking too late. it, the car behind it and myself all came screeching to a halt .. too late. one by one we hit her from behind, forcing her car out into the intersection, where the other traffic had to avoid hitting her.

we were in the middle lane of a 3 lane hwy and all the cars to the left and right of us made it safely through the intersection long before the light turned red. we were the only cars left at that intersection, any witnesses to say the p plater would have made it safely across the intersection if she hadn't panicked were long gone.

the red light camera at this intersection was the cause of a 4 car pile up. not a serious (resulting in death) accident but a bad accident none-the-less. one women involved in the accident was heavily pregnant and i (like the others no doubt) suffered bruising and damage to my joints that pained me for months. the camera may save lives but it causes more accidents.

the irony is i copped a 300+ fine for my red light incident. this p plater had no charge and was considered not at fault. the police who attended the accident said there was no way any of us could have stopped in time. there is no way to prepare yourself for a panicked driver who plants the breaks in an 80km p/h zone.

speed fines do they work

within a year+ of getting my next car i copped 3 fines. mostly i put it down to learning the new vehicle and how it works.

once was when i accidentally ran a red light. yes accidentally. my friend was directing, said turn here, so i slowed to turn, then she said, no this isn't the turn keep going. so i accelerated. as i did the light turned orange and i wasn't going slow enough to stop on time. the car kind of lurched forward as though the press of the accelerator was slow to start and then it was on.
i went to break, knew i would stop over the line so kept going. next thing it's paparazzi and i'm driving down the red carpet. chick chick chick. cameras lighting up.

next was when i was over taking a slow ute driver doing 75 in an 80 zone. he'd been driving slow for kilometers. finally i had a break in traffic and accelerated to move into flowing traffic. trouble was it was a down hill slope. again the accelerator went vroom. and there i am, paparazzi again, doing 85 in an 80 zone. chick chick.

next was ages later driving through town at 60 trying to figure out why my cruise control won't work. i kept pressing cruise on, then pushing the button up or down to set the speed at 60, let go of the accelerator and my speed creeps up again towards 70. i try again and again and again, pressing up and down and around and round. still when i leave it to the car to stay at that speed it creeps up. next thing paparazzi pop out of nowhere, flashing cameras at me like i'm a super star. and i get done for 68 in a 60 zone.

you've got to be kidding me!

what each of those stories have in common, that a stagnant camera on a pole and those who reap the rewards don't care about, is there was never any intent. surely intent has to play a part if it's to be considered a crime.

use to be police had to follow you for 3kms before booking you because they had to know you were deliberately trying to speed. not some accidental press of an accelerator or an inability to work cruise control or stop in time.

on a road (just one road) that generates $20 million a year for the government, there are 2 cameras along one stretch of road only 7kms apart. my friend got done twice in minutes of each other for doing over 100km along that road. got done twice! that's like pulling someone over and giving them 2 fines for the same crime.

so not only do they think people with no intent are criminals, they also book those 'criminals' twice for the same crime. and all because the government has gotten drunk of the lucrative rewards those stagnant (let's take a 1 second view of a person's life and pretend to know they've committed a crime without giving them the benefit of the doubt) cameras bring in.

some times the world is a shameful place to live.