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Greed cameras in Switzerland |
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Chris Burmajster |
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Joined: Apr 03 2010
Member No: #81
Location: South East |
I gather that the Swiss have banned not only radar detectors, but also GPS based sat navs with a greed camera database installed. I have heard stories of Tom Toms being confiscated, but I don't know if that is true. What I want to know is what happens if you have a built in sat nav like on a C6? Do they make you switch the cameras off or do they confiscate the entire car? Either way, perhaps I should just holiday elsewhere? I don't fancy going back to maps whilst on holiday just to suit some anti car nutters. | ||
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C6Dave |
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Member No: #1
Location: Northumberland |
Camera databases are purportedly for 'Safety' cameras which are located at 'accident black spots' (well are supposed to be in the UK) so are in fact a 'road safety' device How can anyone ban a road safety device? |
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BruceB |
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Joined: Sep 13 2010
Member No: #234
Location: Hampshire |
C6Dave wrote ... Camera databases are purportedly for 'Safety' cameras which are located at 'accident black spots' (well are supposed to be in the UK) so are in fact a 'road safety' device How can anyone ban a road safety device? Because (just as in the UK) they arre frequently sited on wide, straight sections of road whre there is little danger. Road safety comes a poor second to the revenue-generating attractions of the cameras. They only the difference is that the Swiss are unsurprisingly faaaaar more efficient about collecting the revenue. I haven't suffered myself, but I know a number (on a motorcycle newsgroup that I frequent) who have been hit, and hit hard, for taking an unwisely relaxed attitude to speeding in a foreign country. And, as an unrelated thought, a Happy New Year to everyone. |
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ciao_chao |
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Joined: Jun 15 2011
Member No: #518
Location: Buckinghamshire |
BruceB wrote ... C6Dave wrote ... Camera databases are purportedly for 'Safety' cameras which are located at 'accident black spots' (well are supposed to be in the UK) so are in fact a 'road safety' device How can anyone ban a road safety device? Because (just as in the UK) they arre frequently sited on wide, straight sections of road whre there is little danger. Road safety comes a poor second to the revenue-generating attractions of the cameras. They only the difference is that the Swiss are unsurprisingly faaaaar more efficient about collecting the revenue. I haven't suffered myself, but I know a number (on a motorcycle newsgroup that I frequent) who have been hit, and hit hard, for taking an unwisely relaxed attitude to speeding in a foreign country. And, as an unrelated thought, a Happy New Year to everyone. Pain in the backside when they put cameras on perfectly straight wide roads! The problem is those are the places people tend to overtake, and a few idiots spoil it for the rest of us? |
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mark28 |
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Joined: Apr 28 2010
Member No: #102
Location: Hampshire |
The other option ...... Stick to the limit !!! ( stands well back after lighting blue touch paper) | ||
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Chris Burmajster |
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Joined: Apr 03 2010
Member No: #81
Location: South East |
mark28 wrote ... The other option ...... Stick to the limit !!! ( stands well back after lighting blue touch paper) I would if only those limits were set at sensible levels. When limits are set properly using the tried and trusted 85th percentile principle, then the vast majority of drivers stick to them. The problem today is that politicians interfere with this and set limits based on political dogma rather than science. Result - poor compliance, sacks full of cash for greedy councils and 'partnerships' and less respect for the law. Society loses out while the authorities line their pockets. |
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verycleverman |
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Joined: Mar 08 2010
Member No: #65
Location: Northumberland |
Chris Burmajster wrote ... Result - poor compliance, sacks full of cash for greedy councils and 'partnerships' and less respect for the law. Society loses out while the authorities line their pockets. I concur, it's much like the motorway 'matrix' signs that everyone with more than one brain cell ignores. If they told the truth, more people would obey them. Heading home from work at 03.30 one morning, I was confronted with a warning of 'Congestion' and the instruction to slow down to 30mph. Both I and the other car on the motorway chose to ignore the warning! Whilst on the subject, (soapbox), of unreasonable regulations, what is the purpose of 'double yellow lines'? I always understood it was for safety and traffic flow reasons. In which case, why is it unsafe for me to stop on them but not for somebody carrying a 'disabled' badge? Surely if my car is going to present a hazard then so is that of a disabled person. Don't get me wrong, I don't object to reasonable and justifiable regulation - just so long as they tell the truth and apply the regulations fairly. Pete. |
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BruceB |
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Joined: Sep 13 2010
Member No: #234
Location: Hampshire |
mark28 wrote ... The other option ...... Stick to the limit !!! ( stands well back after lighting blue touch paper) My family has a little game that affords us endless delight. It is Collaborator:Partisan, and we play it with relish about the people in our village, and beyond. Imagine an invasion by an occupying army. Who would be enforcing the draconian laws, and who would cheerfully be stringing piano-wire across the roads? Some would be all too happy to pull on the armband and say, "Yes, Mr. Spiggins, I do appreciate that it seems slightly harsh that overstaying your parking time is a summary capital offence, but that's what our new masters have decreed. Rules are rules, and thank God that somebody at least is doing something about the lack of discipline that we used to have around here, so I'm sorry, Mr. Spiggins, but ..." BANG. Meanwhile, some would be feeding poisoned chocolates to the troops. I'm fairly certain which side I would be on. You say "stick to the limit". How far will you abdicate your free-will to the authorities? If the government suddenly decided to reduce the limit on all A-roads and motorways to 50mph, would you shrug and accept it? 40mph? 30mph? At what point do ypu start to resist, or will you simply become a boiling frog (Wikipedia is your friend on this, if you don;t know what I mean). Most speed limits are entirely sensible. Some are not strict enough, and I feel there should be a 20mph limit outside all schools at the start and end of the day. Some, however, are arbitrary and foolish and I regard it as a matter of honour to break them. The 70mph national speed limit was introduced in the time of drum brakes, no seat-belts, cross-ply tyres, no breathalysers, no crumple-zones, a single half-built motorway, 'suicide lanes' on many A-roads, a risible driving-test and a primitive MoT test for 10yo vehicles. We were killing nearly 7,000 a people a year. The annual death toll is now below 3,000, and per capita we are just about the safest country in Europe. We deserve to be treated as responsible individuals, and allowed a bit more latitude. So, give us variable speed-limits, a higher limit on motorways (particularly at night). For as long as I retain free-will, I will regard it as a duty to break those speed-limits which defy logic - and, of course, where there isn't a camera! |
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mark28 |
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Joined: Apr 28 2010
Member No: #102
Location: Hampshire |
I knew this would start a little bit of conversation . I am not saying I except rules lying down . However the law of the land says 70 and 70 it is . If you choose to break the law and get caught then take the punishment . If the plan is to change laws by breaking them then good luck . I am sure there are laws that we all dislike , how about saying have a drink and drive if you think you are ok with it, sadly there are lots of people who think they can drive when over the limit but sadly they are mistaken . There were people in the summer riots who felt they should be allowed to take from shops as they were disadvantaged by the rule as laid down by society . I guess it's all about perception . I also would suggest than some of the legislation we are subjected to have led to the UK having some of the safest roads . I seem to recal as a little boy lots of moaning about seatbelts being worn and the law infringing of peoples rights and not being treated as adults . |
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mark28 |
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Joined: Apr 28 2010
Member No: #102
Location: Hampshire |
Oops it should say accept not except !!!! | ||
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BruceB |
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Joined: Sep 13 2010
Member No: #234
Location: Hampshire |
mark28 wrote ... I am sure there are laws that we all dislike , how about saying have a drink and drive if you think you are ok with it, sadly there are lots of people who think they can drive when over the limit but sadly they are mistaken . There were people in the summer riots who felt they should be allowed to take from shops as they were disadvantaged by the rule as laid down by society . Not to get all Old Testament-y about this, but theft is undisputably a crime; as is riot and the arson displayed. Personally, I have never driven drunk, or even on the distant borders of drunk, because it is simply something I regard as irresponsible and (to me) equally undisputably wrong - an absolute offence. Speeding I regard as far more arbitrary and, in my own squiffy-eyed morality, amenable to - er - personal interpretation. |
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ciao_chao |
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Joined: Jun 15 2011
Member No: #518
Location: Buckinghamshire |
We seem to be getting away from the issue somewhat here. The original issue was about camera databases... | ||
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Chris Burmajster |
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Joined: Apr 03 2010
Member No: #81
Location: South East |
Getting back to my original question..... what would happen to me / my car if I drove it to Switzerland with a greed camera database installed (as it is already). Would they get me to disable the database or confiscate the whole car? | ||
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michaelb |
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Joined: Nov 17 2009
Member No: #14
Location: London |
Dunno but I can tell you that the French Gendarmerie were very pleased to reach into a friend's glove box in his Merc SL, confiscate his radar detector and march him off to the nearest ATM so he could hand over the requisite fine I suspect the Swiss might have awarded themselves similar powers. |
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Chevrons |
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Joined: Apr 10 2010
Member No: #85
Location: N. Staffs |
IAM press release on the subject does little to clear this up: http://www.sourceuk.net/article/12/12154/iam_study_reveals_penalties_for_using_safety_camera_detectors_abroad.html | ||
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