136 Part II — Instant Gratification
U.K. Speed Cameras
Speed cameras are seen as something of a menace in the U.K. Although the majority of drivers
understand the need to control the speed of some individuals, the placement of the some of the
cameras can be considered somewhat suspect. There are rules and regulations about the loca-
tions of cameras, but some seem placed purely to generate revenue rather than to prevent
accidents.For a long time, many cameras seemed to be deliberately hidden in order to catch the unaware
driver; there are rules against that now, but it is still possible to be unaware of the location of
a camera and get caught. Even worse, some cameras are placed in a zone where there is no
indication of the speed limit, which makes it even more likely that you will be caught
speeding.As such, U.K. citizens have begun something of a grass-roots campaign to make the cameras
more visible, make the speed limit for that region more visible, and for the locations of the
cameras to be made public.You can buy books with this information, and many of the car-based route finders and GPS
navigation systems now come with information about speed cameras and traps. Even better,
though, is the publication of camera locations on a Google Map mash-up.The speed camera location map (at http://spod.cx/speedcameras.html) is shown in
Figure 8-5. The map is simple but functional, showing the location of each camera on a stan-
dard driving map.FIGURE8-5: U.K. speed cameras.