A man who blew up a speed camera after he was caught speeding because he feared he would lose his licence has been jailed for four months. He used chemicals he obtained from his welding job to destroy the camera, which flashed him while he was driving in Hyde, Greater Manchester. The explosion caused £11,700 damage to the camera, which had flashed him exceeding the speed limit on 14 August last year.

Caused £11,700 of damage?! I don't like speed cameras, but it's annoying that the companies that make them are charging the council these kinds of figures! I might start up a speed camera company, there's obviously no competition in the market, lol. Anyway, 4 months for doing this, I guess it's creating a bomb!

It's pointless anyway the digital image is relayed as soon as it is taken so blowing up the hardware won't stop the fine.

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Hehe, yeah I had wondered about that bit! I remember a few years ago all the rage was blowing them up using fireworks. I still get over the apparent cost of these little yellow cameras though.

I must say that I'm a great supporter of anyone who destroys speed cameras. They are a blot on the landscape and a dangerous intrusion into our lives.

Sorry guys I've just got back from a demo of a new system aimed a HGV and white van drivers. By burying a weight sensor in the road you can tell if the vehicle is overloaded and that will trigger the camera as well! This also cures the problem of an HGV speeding on motorways where the car limit is higher so they couldn't be detected before.

Some counties are deploying them already!

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I'm sorry, but I think speed cameras are fair enough. If you know the limit and exceed it, then you should accept your punishment gracefully.

However, what does annoy me is unrealistic speed limits being set, and when speed cameras are put on safe straight stretches of road purely to create revenue.

I agree but what annoys me is the duplicity. Most speed cameras are not safety cameras they are greed cameras (which is why the Government have refused permission for sighting more). They are there to raise revenue usually on the flimsiest of justifications. The classic case was there had been deaths on the section of road in the last 4 years so we a safety camera was errected. What they didn't say is one guy jumped off a bridge onto the road another was killed by a resurfacing vehicle reversing into him.

Cigarette and booze revenue are all falling so where does the Government turn for a new cash cow? The motorist.

As for safety it is having the opposite effect police cars are being taken off the road and divisions disbanded. How many drunk, dangerous or stolen car drivers have been caught by speed cameras?

Finally they are racist. they only chase speeding motorists for fines if the car is registered in the UK!

Can I start on how pointless speed humps are now?

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That's 'cos Chief Constables see speed cameras as a cheaper alternative to highly trained traffic officers.

Flippin hate them I do,no need for them,people still break the law and when they see a camera they slam the anchors on and cause near misses or hits,and then when they go past the markings well it is back to 90 MPH,,no point in them at all.

I go with Popi Pudden and Karston in the last three postings.

Popi- Yep, they see a camera, panic even if they are at the correct speed, cause a ripple effect behind and zoom off causing greater fuel consumption and greater risk of accidents.

Pudden- Absolutely. What is the greater hazard? I do not condone speeding, but that is not the real issue per se of road safety.

Karston- Yep, most I think are revenue generators. The fixed ones are one thing, the mobiles another.

I'll admit to something! I got my first speeding ticket in fifteen years recently. It was a mobile unit that took a lovely photo of me overtaking some cars. I paid my fine and got my first points in years.

I was photoed overtaking some cars on a straight with very few hazards- no excuse at all in the eyes of the law. I was sober, was a trainer of advanced driving skills, again no excuse.

The whole point of this is that I got done- and I really don't care about that. What I do care about is that these robots are taking over from proper policing and the real dangers that are out there on the road are not necessarily being addressed. The general level of driving in this country is better than many, but is lazy and sloppy. Cameras do nothing to address this