traffic police at Upper Bukit Timah Road
Below is extracted from Asiaone without their permission, nor any permission was taken from the Mr Big Ears above.
THE traffic police, who have been slammed for being 'sneaky' and 'grossly unfair' in their recent clampdown on speeding motorists, yesterday sprang a surprise. After receiving a barrage of feedback and some stinging brickbats in The Straits Times Forum pages, they agreed to ease up on the surprise element of their checks by listing on their website the roads where officers, armed with laser speed cameras, will be deployed.
Smart move. Now we can't call them names anymore. Your appeal letters to them will come back with replies like..."We already list the locations in the website, so it's your fault for not checking!"
It's like right now when you are getting ready to go out and before you head for the door, your wife will say "dear, have you switch on the power, on the PC and Modem, wait for windows to launch, log in into traffic Police website and check all the roads with speed camera? And remember to off the PC and Modem and off the power..ok.
Warning signs may also be put up on the roads to alert motorists ahead of speed traps. In addition, officers will wear white uniforms during the day and don vests with yellow reflectors at night, to make them more visible on the roads.
Oh yeah... more like to make sure they are visible so that no one will knock them down.
Another concession: the police, together with the Land Transport Authority will consider reviewing the speed limits of roads which motorists say are 'too slow' on a monthly, instead of quarterly basis. The current quarterly review, to be completed by April 1, of more than 40 roads includes Upper Bukit Timah Road, Upper Serangoon Road, Thomsom Road and Tampines Avenue 10 - all stretches frequently cited by motorists as having too low a speed limit. Said Traffic Police Commander Ng Guat Ting: 'We recognise the sentiments of the motoring public that speed enforcement can only be seen as reasonable if the speed limits are deemed reasonable by the motoring public too.' But she made clear that while the traffic police will take a more open and transparent approach in enforcement and consider motorists' suggestions, overall road safety will not be compromised.
That means they will now not hide behind bushes or wear camouflaged uniforms, hide behind gates......
The Traffic Police also stood their ground on the accuracy of the laser speed cameras and the effectiveness of their speed traps. Whether the officer is standing by the road or on an overhead bridge, the camera accurately captures images of speeding vehicles and clocks the speed in split-second intervals which are then scrutinised to make sure that an offence has been committed. 'The photographs and readings are clear and accurate enough to be tendered as evidence in court,' added Commander Ng.
Your wife will always be the prettiest, your son will always be the cutest, you will always be the most handsome, your dog will always be the most opedient, your speed cameras will always be the most accurate.....
Its use has already saved lives, she maintained. Since the cameras came into use in June last year, the number of fatalities caused by speeding has dropped, from 65 cases in 2003 to 52 last year. In January this year, there were no accidents resulting in serious injury, compared with five in the same month last year, before the cameras came into use.
This is another example of misleading statistics. Why use the statistics for the whole year when the camera only came on in June? Why not use June to December as comparison? Afterall, they use just January 2005 vs January 2004.
Commander Ng also said there was nothing random in the way officers decided where to deploy teams with the laser speed cameras. Accident-prone areas, school zones, and stretches of road frequently cited in complaints about excessive speeding, top the list. Speeding remains a major problem on local roads, she added. In 2003, 48,930 summonses were issued. Last year's tally, which will be out in March, will be 'significantly higher' because of stepped up enforcement and the accuracy of the new laser speed cameras.
Of course, speeding is a major problem on local roads. Not only that, nose-digging ranks no.2. What other problems can you find on the roads?
I also pitty those 48930 summonses, simply because they may be the victims of not-so-accurate speed cameras.
Drivers are often a lot more than marginally over the limit too. For two hours earlier this month, the traffic police clocked the speed of 800 vehicles along Upper Bukit Timah Road, which has a 50kmh limit. They found that 30 per cent of vehicles zoomed by at 80kmh and 10 per cent went above 90kmh. The highest speed clocked: 141kmh by a motorbike, and 124kmh by a car.
Wow. I was wrong in my earlier post. Donald Trump will not only be green, he will become the CEO of Traffic Police!!
800 cars x 40% who speed = 320 cars
320 cars x $150 = $48000 for 2 hours
1 hour = $24000!!!!!!
In 1 hour, the LTA already earn back the salary they pay to that Speed-camera-holder (Mr Big Ear Above).
Or based on $10 an hour, that is a whopping 2400 times return on labour costs!
Director of police public affairs, Senior Assistant Commissioner Tan Puay Kern said: 'If we really want to catch people and hit quotas, we don't have to put up warning signs. People forget that our job is to save lives.'
That shows it's a common perception. Quotas!!!
Anyway, I agreed speeding is dangerous. People who speed like 120 to 140km/h are putting themselves and other public at risks.
I just do not agree with they manner they summon people.
No comments:
Post a Comment