Where do you stand on speed camera vans?

I was chatting to someone about my hatred for speed camera vans, that they are everywhere nowadays but only in places trying to catch motorists out and in places I’ve never seen accidents. You never see them in residential streets where boy racers speed about. I 100% believe they are nothing but a money making exercise, a tax on speeding. 
But the person I spoke to disagreed and said “just don’t speed!” and that they make the roads safer. 
But I drive each year in Switzerland and never seen a single speed camera van and everyone drives sensibly. 
Here in the UK we are taxed on absolutely everything, anything they can tax us on they will do. 
Where do you stand on police speed camera vans?

But it’s so easy to go over the speed limit without realising. You may not have realised the speed limit has reduced or not watching your speedometer and then you’re 5 mph over the speed limit. Should people be fined half a week’s wages for something so trivial? I got caught speeding in France 5 years ago at 1am doing 87km/h in an 80 km/h road. I didn’t mean to speed, I was in no rush, I must have not realised the speed limit had changed. It is really harsh to fine me for that. 
The police in the UK use it as a cash cow. It is a shame that citizens are treat this way, always punished and nothing but an income stream.

It is a bit sneaky really.

Tbh I've not see one around for a long time but I have seen them previously in areas where unless you were local you would realise that the speed limit suddenly drops and as such I can't se any other reason why they are there other than to catch the unsuspecting non-locals out.

I'm certainly not a boy-racer and these days you'll probably find me driving on the inside lane of the motorway with my fellow old fogies but even I can quite often find myself a mile or two over the speed limit every now and again, without meaning to be.

I'm not against speed cameras to save lives but speed cameras just to raise money in sneaky ways isn't what they should be being used for.

I think you have to be pretty unlucky if you’re only two or three mph over the limit. I just avoid speeding because I simply can’t be arsed with the potential consequences.

Fwiw I've never received a speeding ticket for being a few miles over the limit, my point was more to do with being over the speed limit usually by just a mile or two but not purposely doing so - in other words technically speeding.

My biggest crime was once when my daughter was about 13, we had driven out of a MacDonald's and was stopped at traffic lights at a junction.

My daughter then managed to spill her drink down herself.

While stationary I unclipped my seatbelt, reached over to the back seat where the was a box of tissues to hand to her.  Whilst doing this the lights changed and the car behind beeped me.

I handed the tissues to my daughter, set off in first gear and put my seatbelt back on.

About 20 seconds later a police car came passed me pulled me over and gave me a ticket, even though I explained what I had done, my daughter showed her top and jeans which were still wet and about ten soggy tissues in the passenger stairwell which she had used to mop herself with!

Is it any wonder why the police are seen by many as they sometimes are?

I wrote to the Chief Inspectors Office and was told that I could attend an online training course on the importance of wearing a seatbelt which would mean no penalty points and no need to inform my insurance but I still had to pay the fixed penalty notice and the Chief Inspector (or whoever wrote the letter in his name) clearly believed they were doing me a kindness.

Shit happens and I took it on the chin, I reasoned there were probably far worse things I'd done that maybe I'd got away with (nothing bad, I'm not that type of a person, maybe say unknowingly been doing 40 in a 30 area before I spotted a sign sort of thing) but there was simply no need for me to waste a couple of hours being told to do what I do anyway and being £50 or whatever it was out of pocket for technically (travelling at about 5 miles an hour for about six seconds) breaking the law!

Worse things happen at sea and all that and I am one of those that can move on but there's some dicks in every job I suppose but I suspect the police have more than there fair share!

Hey ho!

That is incredibly harsh that they fined you for that situation. Absolutely no compassion or humanity shown towards you. This is what I think is so wrong with our country now, rather than the State aiming to make life as good as it can for its people, the State aims to control, dictate and punish the people. We have become a nanny state. 
I got a parking fine for parking next to a dropped curb on an industrial estate where no one ever walks down.. I appealed saying I was unaware and please show leniency and I have learnt to not do it again. Appeal unsuccessful. Just more evidence that we are treat so poorly and punished and fined as much as possible. 
For me speed cameras just represents the State controlling, punishing and lack of trust in people.

Yes, that was a true story.

I think what happened from the police point of view was that there were two policemen in the car and the one in the passenger seat came over to talk with me, then the driver came with the ticket.

Looking back I suspect the driver was in the car doing a search on my reg  and started filling in the ticket without hearing why I was putting my seatbelt on when he saw me - I guess he probably thought I had seen the police car when it came pass me (might even have been the car that beeped me at the traffic lights for all I know) and thought I was just another driver who drove without 'belting up'.

I guess once he heard my story he had either to carry on or explain to his boss why he had a half filled in ticket that he did not complete and issue.

In fact thinking back he was the one who told me about applying for the training course and avoid the points penalty.

I wasn't best pleased but shit happens and I squared it off in my mind by reasoning if you drive enough  you make plenty mistakes you get away with and a few you don't - as I was (technically) driving without a seat belt on even if just for a few seconds.

I don't even think I had a MacDonald myself as we were heading home for tea and my daughter simply fancied a coke or whatever it was.

Hey ho!

If the camera's at the front the best place to stand would probably be on the bonnet.