>> but what does it avail to give 3 points and £100 fine to someone trying to drive safely and briefly exceeding 55mph?
Isn't that what average speed cameras are intended to resolve?
However, let me tell you about the other side of the fence;
In Chile the speed limits range from 18mph around schools, 31mph in residential areas, 62mph on the equivalent of A Roads and 75mph on the equivalent of Motorways.
Not unreasonable except for one thing; They are not enforced, *ever*.
Police *never* stop a car with a car. The only way they stop a car is to flag it down at the side of the road. And this is only for a document check.
Traffic lights are never enforced, speed limits are never enforced, [And when I say "never", I have seen one speed trap in 20 years], even one-way streets are never enforced. .
There are no enforcement cameras for anything. Not traffic lights, speeding.
There is *no* traffic enforcement at all.
And you are 50 times more likely to die on the roads here than you are in the UK. Driving is stressful and needs constant vigilance. When the lights go green, *then* you check to see if nothing is coming - and there usually is. You'll even see one of those huge long bendy buses hit a red traffic light at a crossroads in a 30 limit and blow through them at 50mph.
Suicidal overtaking is the norm, tailgating, swerving in an out of traffic lanes, on the pavement etc. etc.
One of these days I'll post a video from the dashcam, just so you can see what it is like.
I would love to have a regime of cameras such as exists in the UK. Any level of enforcement would help.
Except for one thing; if you are stopped, and if you do not have the correct documentation then you are in the s***; if you do not have your licence then you will be arrested. If you do not have the car's documentation (equiv. of V5, MOT, RFL and Insurance) then your car will be impounded. And the fines are huge. To give you an idea the equivalent of an M&S shop assistant will earn around £500 per month. The most trivial offence here carries a minimum fine of around £100. They can be a month's pay.
They do sometimes have roadblocks. And then they will check all documentation, breath test, and that's about it.
There is a massive police presence though. But they are their to control, not enforce. So they will direct traffic, for example around an accident and you *must* obey their instructions, but you can jump a red light in front of them and they will do nothing.
|
