Speed ​​cameras – Gray boxes on yellow roads … –

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Gray boxes on the yellow roads…

Speed ​​cameras - Gray boxes on yellow roads ... -

Gilles de Robien and Remy Heitz yesterday inaugurated in Loire-Atlantique the second wave of automatic radars, which provides for the additional installation of 450 fixed and 100 mobile vehicles by the end of the year… Including on the departmental roads.

After the inauguration with fanfare of the first wave of automatic radars (press trip in the Frejus tunnel, read, followed by a large Sarkozy Show on the edge of RN20, read), the government seems to be adopting a much more subtle for the launch of the second batch, which took place yesterday in Loire-Atlantique.

On the eve of a particularly tight network of the territory (nearly 450 fixed and mobile radars will be added this year to the 100 installed last year, then 450 new ones in 2005 to arrive at the 700 fixed automatic radars and 300 mobile cameras planned) , the Minister of Transport Gilles de Robien and the interministerial delegate for road safety Remy Heitz judiciously made the inauguration of the first two automatic radars of this second wave coincide with that of a new driver’s license center, deposit "training and government education "which aims to" empower young drivers ". Because "by making their license more fragile, it is a question of protecting them, they who are the most exposed to the road risk", explains Gilles de Robien without laughing..

Regarding automatic radars, the purpose of which is "to encourage" (sic!) Drivers to "better respect speeds", the minister assured "that with Dominique de Villepin (Minister of the Interior, Editor’s note), we will be very careful that the deployment takes place on a regular basis during the summer and then during the following months ”. 15 fixed speed cameras should therefore be installed this summer, then between 40 and 50 per month from September while for mobile speed cameras, 12 devices should be put into service in July, 15 in August then 20 to 30 per month from September.

Loire-Atlantique, which already had two automatic mobile radars, is therefore equipped with its first two fixed automatic radars, one on the Nantes ring road near the RN 844 at Saint-Herblain and the other on the RD 723 at the level of the town of Rouans (see, which will be updated each month according to new locations).

Because this is the main novelty of this second wave: the sinister gray boxes, hitherto confined to highways and major fast axes, are now appearing on the peaceful little yellow roads, with in particular the RD n ° 81 in the town. Alata in Corsica…

"This is the first automatic speed camera installed on a departmental road and I would like to particularly thank the General Council of Loire-Atlantique (passed to the left for the first time in its history during the April 2004 elections, Editor’s note) and its president (the socialist Patrick Mareschal, Editor’s note) for their involvement ", welcomed Gilles de Robien before justifying the choice of the location:" on this site, although the traffic is relatively low, we observed during the 5 last years 12 accidents with 3 dead, 6 seriously injured and 5 lightly injured. We also observe that 50% of users exceed the authorized speed limit ".

Two sentences cleverly placed side by side, without further clarification on a possible cause and effect link between the two observations, but what does it matter: the amalgam "speed = accident" has become absolute truth, as unstoppable as the equation "Iraq = weapons of mass destruction "which recently justified the American-British offensive in the Middle East. "This is indeed a site which meets the criteria defined for the installation of radars", concluded the minister….

According to the information collected by Moto-Net, the new generation radars offer some technical innovations such as the remote setting of the maximum speed (especially in the event of work), but still do not detect the rain or the type of vehicle. They cannot therefore flash a vehicle traveling at more than 110 on a highway in the event of rain, nor a truck traveling at 130.

On the other hand, still according to our information, they can now differentiate the traffic lanes and therefore ticket several vehicles at the same time, unlike those of the first generation which do not allow to use a photo showing more than one vehicle at a time..

As for the signaling, it will remain the same and the radars will not be painted in fluorescent yellow so as to be very clearly visible as in England. Astonishing, from a government which insists on repeating that "the purpose of these automatic radars is not to trap users" and that the revenues "will be used to finance the entire system, its investment and its operation and that the surplus, if there is a surplus, will be allocated to financing road safety actions "…

Eric MICHEL

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