Speed camera laws infringe basic rights?

[volospian]

Sorry if this has been posted already, if it has, could a don please delete?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/5383726.stm

"The case essentially concerns the requirement for vehicle keepers to identify the driver of a vehicle identified on a speed camera," a spokesman said.

"The applicants claim this requirement breaches the right against self-incrimination and thereby their right to a fair trial under the European Convention on Human Rights.

Under current laws a driver had two choices - either to admit they were driving, or to refuse to provide information on the driver, he said.

If the driver conceded they were driving, he said it would amount to an admission and form part of the prosecution case against them.

And if the driver refused to provide information, they would be prosecuted under different laws.

Mr Welch said: "This offends against a very important principle - namely that you should not have to incriminate yourself.

It'll be interesting to see what comes of this one. I for one would like to see a move away from the reliance upon fixed speed cameras, to replacement with more traditional traffic enforcement methods, namely more coppers out there, mixed with mobile speed traps, ANPR and so on. Shame that all costs money!

 

[volospian]

Merged the other Thread from GD here.

Ah, that explains a lot.

I was a well confused wondering where the other posts had come from I thought some serious editing was going on


For those who say this is just a way to avoid fines, it is not about speeding at all. It is about the way this government is eroding freedom and right to be treated fairly.

There was a time when the law was there to protect the layman. Now the law is there to provide the government with a way of forcing the layman to do what the governement wants them to do.

Successive laws passed by New Labour have pared down our liberty at an astonishing rate. The right to trial by jury, the right to silence, the right not to be punished until a court has decided that the law has been broken, the right to demonstrate and protest, the presumption of innocence, the right to private communication, the right to travel without surveillance and the details of that journey being retained - all have been curtailed"

"I am sorry to tell you: I want us to go further in all these areas."

This is an interesting site