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The Association of British Drivers“We’ve been successful in reducing accidents and making the county’s roads safer. We aim to do our job responsibly and, while we’re happy to use sanctions when necessary, a large part of our job is about educating the public.The ABD asks why senior police officres are so out of touch with not only the public, but with their own officers as well.
Suddenly we’re being told that we aren’t issuing enough tickets and that chiefs aren’t sure what we’re actually doing. We haven’t yet been told exactly what targets will be set, but there is a suggestion that we will be expected to hand out three or four tickets every shift.
While this might be realistic in urban areas, it would be excessive in rural areas like north Norfolk. Officers should be handing out tickets when appropriate and necessary, not because we’re behind on targets and need to catch up.”
| As a member of the Association of British Drivers national committee and a retired highway engineer, I would like to respond to some of the remarks made by Chris Fisher about the ABD (EDP, 14 February). The ABD opposes road charging because of the civil liberties' issues associated with continuous vehicle tracking, and the fact that it would not reduce congestion unless charges were so high that poorer motorists were priced off the road. It is not surprising that the Daily Mirror opposes charging, as many of its readers would be among the hardest hit. It is naive to think that reductions in other charges, such as fuel tax and vehicle excise duty, would cancel out the new tax. At best, other charges would only be reduced to match the net surplus from the scheme, after running costs had been deducted, since the Treasury is unlikely to tolerate a loss of overall tax revenue. Given the record of the London congestion charge, where 72% of income was swallowed up in costs during its first four years, there is little cause to be optimistic about a national scheme's efficiency. Mr Fisher's use of the phrase describes the ABD as 'in denial' about the ABD's view on climate change is intended to intimidate those who know that the science is far from settled - we prefer the term 'climate realists'. Dr Patrick Moore, one of the founders of Greenpeace and a man with impeccable environmental credentials, has criticised attempts to stifle debate. He has pointed out that the recent warming period began long before human-induced increase in CO2 was evident. The link between global temperatures and changes in the sun's radiation and magnetic field is much stronger than any link with CO2. Global temperatures have not risen since 1998 and solar physicists predict a period of global cooling to begin in the next few years, despite CO2 levels continuing to rise. Between 1965 and 1994, annual road deaths in the UK more than halved. Since then they have only fallen a further 7%, despite speeding prosecutions rising ten-fold to more than two million. Speed cameras are not improving road safety, and attempts have been made to disguise the fact by combining fatality figures with those for serious injuries. But hospital records of serious injuries show no significant change since 1996, while police figures indicate a worsening problem of under-reporting. The ABD is passionate about road safety and is certainly not a 'sad bunch of Jeremy Clarksons'. We wish to see a return to sensible road safety policies and roads policing, so that Britain's road safety record is once again the envy of the world. Malcolm Heymer ABD |
"If people are driving dangerously then yes, we will prosecute. But if someone is speeding but not excessively and has slowed down and adjusted their speed, they will be spoken to because they have shown good observation and adjusted to the conditions. It is about looking for people who react to situations."
"The police authority have expressed concerns about the whole issue of speed cameras and particularly of their accountability. In terms of accountability, a police force is accountable to a police authority and council services are accountable to the council, but there isn't the same sort of accountability with the partnership and it is this issue that the authority has expressed certain concerns about."
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