Speeding moves have not worked, say pier residents
Saturday 24th July 2010, 2:56PM BST.
The traffic-calming measures which have been introduced to the area
‘BOY racers’ are still making Albert Pier residents’ lives a misery, despite £15,000 worth of public money being spent on trying to slow them down.
Speed bumps and ‘smiley’ SID cameras have been installed in the area in a bid to deal with the problem. But St Helier Deputy Trevor Pitman says that more needs to be done.
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Smiley SID cameras? To encourage boy racers to slow down? ROFLCOPTERS!!
Did it not occur to anyone that these cameras will actually have completely the opposite effect, as they will happily take it in turns to see who can get the highest ‘score’ going through one of these?
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He he he he he – yer gorra larf aint yer !!!!!
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The Smiley Sid ‘s will have as much effect as reducing the speed limit from 20mph to 15mph. I’m sure that will stop the boy racers in their tracks and make them realise the error of their ways!!
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Whoever came up with the “measures” down at Albert Pier deserves to lose their job. First the speed limit was lowered to 20 MPH and the smiley signs were put up, despite the fact the existing limit was being ignored.
Surprise surprise, it didn’t work, so what was done next?
A 15 MPH speed limit was imposed of course! Ahh, but road humps were added too, which sounds reasonable until you see that the road humps are spaced so far apart that the majority of small cars (for which the boy racers are known) fit easily between them!
So, we’ve provided the racers with a light up scoreboard and encouraged them to play “chicken” by funelling them down the centre of the road to avoid the humps.
Genius.
But there’s more! On seeing that the road humps were spaced too far apart, you’d think they’d have them moved or made wider. Nope. Much better to just put four cones in the middle of the road instead!
It would be funny if we weren’t paying for it, along with the wages of the muppet responsible…
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To add something constructive to my earlier comments lest I be labelled a whinger with nothing to contribute:
- Remove those useless humps and introduce full width speed bumps, either permanent tarmac ones or the pre-made black/yellow section ones you see from time to time. You need something you can’t avoid or drive over fast.
- Revert to the original 20 MPH speed limit to make the port speed limit consistent again. There’s really no need for a 15 MPH limit.
- Re-deploy the smiley speed sign somewhere it’ll be useful, e.g., near a school, approaching a country village, etc.
- Increase the number of night-time Police patrols to the Albert Pier at the weekends. If people really are breaking the law then why aren’t more patrols stopping by? I know the Police are busy at the weekends, but I fail to believe any of the Police cars you see driving past the weighbridge on a Friday/Saturday night can’t spare the extra 2 minutes it would take to pass by the Albert Pier.
Finally, a completely alternative suggestion: Has anyone considered just closing the pier to traffic after, say, 11pm? Obviously people should still be able to get into and out of the car park on the quay directly in front of Albert/Victoria place, but does anyone really need vehicular access to the rest of the pier that late at night?
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Take the cars off them and crush them – problem solved!
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Simple, go to youtube and search automatic bollards. Have them placed around the harbour (with lights, like traffic lights) and only let one car through at a time. They would need to be placed quite close together, but this would stop the ‘boy racers’. If they want to speed they can write their car off at the same time.
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The solution is simple. Install a trap door half way along the road and I will decide who is a boy racer and who goes home. £40,000 a year and you got a deal.
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Wondeful, another successful initiative.or example of how simple problems defeat they system hands down…now hang on to your seats for the suggestion of the century…..Police it.!!suspensions and heavy fines….soon becomes not worth it..Aha Truthseeker I spot a flaw in your plan, The musical chairs of chief officers and other assorted jiggery pokery combined with the hankering after Tazers has led to them forgetting what policing actually is…
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simple impounded there cars make them take a driving test again and give them a big fine they won’t do it again now that was’nt hard was it
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I love it now i must go and see how fast I can go in my car
any one up for a challenge ? what do you think has anyone got a ton yet ?
honestly what ever next its a shame the police dont do more about all the thefts in st clements
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SID Cameras? how bout we put up a scoreboard aswell?
Just stick a bobby there a few saturday nights and they will soon find somewhere else to hang out.
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Yes JB, it just needs a bit of simple policing – if anyone can be bothered! Plenty of honourary police are happy to do daytime crowd marshalling at events where they can be seen to be doing good work for the community, hobnob with the Great and Good, and get awards for public service…. but do they want to volunteer to actually do something to help with this nighttime situation?!
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heres a thought. 2 or more affected residents park their cars untidily on either side of the road, right at the speed humps, thus causing a chicane, and see what happens [my bet is the fuzz will be quicker to slap tickets on the parked cars rather than deal with the miscreants]
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Just put up speed cameras and impose hefty fines for anyone caught speeding. If they cant pay then take their cars away and crush em. Job Done!
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Look at the Australian website:
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/crush-hoon-cars/story-e6frea83-1111112361620
They already do it. Crush them – one strike and you’re out.
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I hope the residents in the area are sent the £15000 bill for this wastage. Cars speed outside my house all the time but I don’t get all these measures. Just send the police down there and get it sorted, anyway it only moves the problem on elsewhere as kids will be kids. Live and let live.
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The solution to this problem is simple. We need an Island wide 20 mph speed limit. The benifits are too many to list, but here are just a few:
1) Slower traffic means less road traffic accidents. 30mph / 40mph is far too fast and is what took away my beloved little Jimmy the Chihuahua.
2) A lower speed limit would force people to buy economical greener cars, rather than gas guzzling 4 by 4s – improving the impact on the environment and better air quality.
3) People would revert to public transport and cycling more, increasing health benifits.
4) the common misconception that a lowered speed limit woud cause traffic jams is simply a red herring. Lowering the speed limit would not cause traffic jams more than a 30mph speed limit. The roads would become clearer as more and more people revert to other means of transport, in any event.
5) Noise reduction – as less people would drive cars, there would be less noise polution, which affects many sufferers of Excess Noise Disorder, like my friend Betty the Librarian.
6)Jersey would become a leader in the world in eco-friendliness setting an example that it can be done to the rest of the world. We could develop manufactoring of green energy efficient cars, which would take over as the Islands main source of revenue as the local offshore financial market enevitably collapses.
7) There is no need for people to rush around at 30mph and higher. There are many health benifits to a slower pace of life. Taking in the scenery and travelling at a much more civilised pace cuts down on health stressors. This new greener island would be much more pleasant place to live.
9) The world would be a better place if Jersey took this stance and led the way. It would remind the inhabitants of the earth that we don’t have to rush through life, we don’t have to drive around in cars in a mission at all costs to get to our destination. We can enjoy enjoy the journey rather than seeing it as a chore.
10) A lower speed limit would destroy societys miguided belief that we should be increasing speed limits. It would remind people who is in charge.
Rose
x
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No, it needs a 5mph limit and someone walking ahead of the vehicle with a red flag. That should sort us out once and for all.
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How does crushing cars as a punishment square with saving us all from unnecesary global warming caused by manufacturing?
Remember ‘Deodand’ when fishing boats were burned as punishment for their crew drowning?
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Maybe the States should look at what is being done elsewhere to stop this type of anti-social behaviour, vide: -
http://www.glass-uk.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=223&Itemid=444
Or maybe along with the Tasars, we should issue the local police with ‘stop sticks’, to burst the tyres of the errant motorists, thus providing work for people fitting new tyres. This would reduce the unemployment figures and assist in the economic recovery of the island. The ‘boy racers’ would be forced to walk, giving them physical exercise helping to the problems of increased obesity, reducing the drain on financial problems in the health department, enabling the States to rid themselves of the overpaid hierarchy at the hospital, whilst having sufficient wonga to pay the recently retired police chief’s pension.
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Oh dear, Rosemary is back waiving her 20 mph banner !
While I still have the freedom to enjoy motoring, and lets face it for how much longer, I bought a cheap convertible, just for the sheer hell of it. My wife and I have absoultely no need for a third car, but life is short etc !
Said car is of German origin, and being automatic, does not go into top gear until 50 mph, hence in Jersey’s traffic, it only does 20 mpg. Do I care ? Not really when the gin palaces in the marina only do 1 mpg.
However, during a weekend trip to France, the car did 30 mpg, at speeds up to 90 mph with the hood down before the good lady said that’s enough !
So dear Rosemary, can you please explain how imposing a low speed limit on island traffic would have environmental benefits !
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So ‘Rosemary Bead’ (ahem) wants the speed limit at the harbour set to 20mph…it’s currently 15mph
So she actually wants the speed limit increased?
Now that certainly doesn’t sound like the ‘Rosemary Bead’ that we’ve all grown to know and admire. I suspect an impostor!
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#18 Hi Rosemary, nice to have you back.
The answer really is very simple, and it’s not a 20mph limit because that is worse for the environment, does nothing to help the public (those drivers causing the problem will ignore it anyway) and will cause more crashes. At 20mph even the most alert person will have to fight falling asleep at the wheel.
A driving licence is not a human right, it is earned and so it can be lost through bad driving. So for pity’s sake take the licences off these boy racers and get a system in place that prevents anyone without a current driving licence from buying a car. Who is going to lend their car to someone whose stupidity has lost them their licence? After all, when they crash it the owner won’t be able to claim on their insurance. Start taking licences off dangerous drivers and leave those that drive at an appropriate speed for the conditions alone!
The UK Government is too weak to tell people that a driving licence is not a human right, it refuses to bring in a test which actually requires skill and attention. Is it too much to ask that Jersey lead’s the way?
The only way to stop bad driving is to get the bad drivers off the road, how hard is it to understand that?
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Mrs. Rosemary Bead 18.
Re: “Slower traffic means less road traffic accidents. 30mph / 40mph is far too fast and is what took away my beloved little Jimmy the Chihuahua.”
Rosemary, how many dogs have you actually thrown under speeding cars in the last few years?
Not long ago you wrote:
“Ever since my little pet, wee Bob, my beloved little Jack Russel was mown down by a maniac speeding driver in St. Aubin, I have been campaigning for a reduction in the speed limit, in his memory.”
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