Police Like speed Cameras But....

Today, the belief that speed is more than a contributory factor in most accidents can only be held by those with vested interests. Common sense suggests that if any one or more of the following few is going on then sooner or later there will be an accident’: inattention/distraction, disregard for others and aggression, risk taking, impatience, incompetence and stupidity. Speed? Not really. Clearly, that might affect damage/injury, so there may be an effect, certainly, but the cause? Not speed.

Some say there is no difference between a camera and a live officer. However, I’d choose the latter any day. You can converse with him/her, even if the conclusion is: "you’re nicked". A serious ticking off (even with a fine) may do some good. It is a far more positive event and could leave you (irritated but) with a feeling that the prospective fine payment has been earned and justified. But a speed camera is a dead-head. Being a tin-can copper, it only sees things on the road in black and white. But it is capable of initiating a rather de-humanising experience: you cannot, in all honesty, talk to it(!), and it doesn’t listen, anyway; you cannot explain; and it cannot choose to give you a metaphorical clip round the ear and send you on your way; stealthily, it nicks you regardless, 10mph or 1mph too fast. All this is compounded by the machined missive which arrives later from the so-called ‘Safety Unit’ - as if the speed was THE safety issue. See above, it was not.

And, because there is such a preponderance of cameras, those who are caught making innocent mistakes are treated like hardened criminals, as if that was a choice which they had made. Even those who make no mistakes are treated as if they are about to (in the case of CCTV, particularly). Naturally, most of us leave home in the morning with lawful intention. However, riding/driving requires such focussed concentration these days that it is all too easy to miss a vital sign. And then, to make matters worse, your insurance company gets all upset too. Electronics has a role, but cameras are not the way forward.

As to the money, the advent and blossoming of speed cameras must be like a gift of ever-increasing plenty; and the proportionate public hatred of them ought not to be simply brushed aside. Bureaucracies, from the top to the tiny, are hungry for cash; they want more and with some fervour they guard it and spend it. They will not give up this one without a fight. The thing is, we really do value our officers, so when all is said and done, blame the politicians!

Some say that cameras are a necessary evil in our society which we must put up with. However, an evil is never something that we should put up with. It is best rooted out in all its forms, where at all possible. . In its speed and CCTV versions, the camera effects a form of oppression and is certainly evil. Will no-one rid us of this turbulent beast?

And what about those one million-odd people (I understand) who bother neither to road tax nor insure? I reckon that they are happily motoring around making fools of the rest of us, knowing exactly what they can expect: peace of mind; and the knock on the door? Never.

The XF - Design features - Some Suggested Revisions
As a Jaguar owner and keen follower, I am more than delighted with the huge success of the model. What a superb motor car it is with accolades coming from all quarters. And we do want Jaguar to be very successful.
However, I have fallen for a perceived need to try to improve the frontal appearance. I feel that the grill setting is wrong, and the front lights are, to me, awful oversized gashes; they are too far from what the C-XF promised. No doubt this was for good reasons, but here I go anyway.
A drawing is shown (it’s very poor!). But my message is that the grill setting should be vertical. Its current ‘slope’ may be smooth but it looks weak - like the S-Type, unfortunately. Marketing photographs of the front are now mostly taken 2ft. from the ground, perhaps for this reason.
Effectively, if the whole grill unit was to be pivoted forward at the top about an axis somewhere near the centre of the badge, then a vertical grill could be achieved. A fresh unit with a new chrome surround around the upper elements would continue the lines of the bonnet, and the bottom edge would ‘move’ back into the opening. This would present a stronger, more eager appearance, in my humble view. Does it not look more ‘Jaguar’ too?
Then there are the front lights. These seem to me to need diminishing, and should have a more rounded/curving appearance to be achieved with more enveloping bodywork - maybe using the existing units. However, somehow, the flasher’s side extension should, ideally, be much reduced in size too - even be separated from the main light unit.
I was so glad to see the revised X-Type ‘face’ looking so much stronger now, and I would like to see the XF likewise. These things are important to us.
We all look forward to the new XJ in 2010. And it’s good luck to the Jaguar team