Swindon is a soulless shit hole of the highest order. I don’t mean to offend all the people who live in Swindon; they are probably pretty nice, if slightly average, people. Swindon is not a shit hole in the same way that Birmingham is a shit hole, well actually it is a shit hole for one of the same reasons but Birmingham is a shit hole for so many more reasons. Swindon is only really a shit hole because it has no soul, no community and no culture. Swindon does have thriving business and great prospects and it also has one tiny bit of history in the form of the town’s name.
The name refers to the old part of the town which sits atop a small hill or down. Historically it was the place where the pig market for the area took place and on this down they traded swine: swine down became Swindon.
This is why I love the fact that a place which historically made so much money from pigs is now leading the way in cutting the extra taxes caused by the pigs and their silly speed cameras. A councilor in Swindon has called for each and every camera to be reviewed and removed so that the motorists are no longer subjected to the cash extracting tactics of badly placed cameras.
I have long been a fan of speed cameras, they generate additional taxes from BMW drivers, but there is no evidence to suggest that they make the roads safer. The classic standalone camera is normally always placed in a location where it will generate maximum revenue rather than slowing people down. The cameras are always poorly signed and often just around the apex of a bend where you have to slam on your brakes to avoid a ticket. These cameras encourage erratic driving and clearly make the roads less safe than before.
The solution is simple. SCS make the average speed cameras which are used on the motorway. These cameras are so reliable that they actually cause people to slow down because there is no way of getting around them. Changing lanes does not work, they use SDSL back-haul to a remote storage site so do not need film to be replaced and they are immune to pretty much all legal challenges. They are fairer as well because they are obvious when you enter the speed check zone and you have time to slow down safely through the checked zone so no slamming on the brakes and causing a pile up.
So why don’t the government use them? Of course it’s simple, isn’t it? They are so reliable that they cause people to slow down and that means fewer penalties and less revenue generated for the government.
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