Quick, quick, slow

Why do some people slow down when they see a speed camera? People who are not speeding, that is.

On my commute to work I pass a camera in a 50mph limit. It's on a dual-carriageway, clearly visible and there are plenty of lamppost repeater signs to remind you what the limit is. Yet almost everyday someone spots the camera and slows down to 40mph - sometimes by standing on the brakes at the last minute.

Why? Are they so unaware that they missed all the signs? Do they not know the road? The fact that they're there in the peak suggests they probably use it regularly. Or do they think their speedometer is so wildly inaccurate that anything approaching an indicated 50 will get them zapped with a fixed penalty? Trust me on that last one, car speedometers are generally inaccurate the other way. At an indicated 50 you'll be doing about 47. That's why you get lorry drivers - who have super-accurate tachographs - glued to your boot lid through contra-flows, because you're not going as fast as you think you are.

This slowing for the camera behaviour isn't just an irritation. It's also dangerous. If someone not paying attention to the signs slows down they could get hit by someone not paying attention to the road (see my previous post). Not only that, it's wasteful. My highly-trained Korean hatchback will do 50mph in fifth gear, barely sipping diesel. Slow to 40 and I have to drop to fourth - higher engine revs, more fuel used, more pollution.

So please, unless you're actually speeding, don't slow down for cameras.

GOM