As Vremya Novostey notes, these data were previously classified, although experienced drivers have probably long since noted all police 'ambushes' in their areas. Now, however, we are talking about opening up a large body of police service information, and it is not excluded that over time the location of every hidden camera designed to track down reckless drivers will also be included in tourist guides.
It is notable that, according to The Independent, the decision to open the maps was made by the police themselves. Recommendations on publishing the locations of speed cameras were sent to local chief constables by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO). Senior inspector of one of the association's units, Paul Brooks, told the newspaper that the police considered it 'fair for society to know such things.' However, this move was largely forced: the Freedom of Information Act that came into force in the United Kingdom in any case expected the disclosure of more than 100,000 police service documents. ACPO admits that they decided not to wait for a wave of requests from drivers and expressed a desire to satisfy their legitimate curiosity in advance.
And there is no doubt that English motorists would not have been slow to act. UK drivers have long been the vanguard of the pan-European movement against photo equipment for recording traffic violations, both hidden cameras and openly visible speed cameras.
According to calculations by the Association of British Drivers (ABD), with the help of these cunning devices installed on roads, the police have already obtained the revocation of driving licenses for more than 250,000 people. Moreover, four out of five of those punished claim that their offense, recorded by a camera, was minor and did not pose a danger to others.
Earlier, motorists of foggy Albion had already achieved that a significant part of the hidden speed cameras was brought out of the 'underground' and even painted in bright colors, convincing the government that unauthorized photo recording is a violation of human rights. Now the Drivers' Association, it seems, intends not only to achieve the disclosure of information about the remaining unnoticed cameras, but also to fight for the complete dismantling of these devices, which the authorities and police consider an excellent means of preventing offenses.
ABD leader Brian Gregory claims that because of the proliferation of speed cameras, UK roads will only become more dangerous, since 'zombie drivers will appear on them, who, in fear of losing their licenses, will be glued to the speedometer.' It is notable that some safety experts even support the drivers. In particular, in one study published this year in the rather authoritative publication British Medical Journal, it was claimed that radars placed on display could provoke an increase in the number of road accidents.
The example of freedom-loving British motorists did not go unnoticed in continental Europe. For example, in Italy, the authorities recently had to agree to the need to install road signs warning drivers of approaching a section where automatic speed recording is carried out. Motorists in Germany, where the practice of punishing drivers based on photo evidence is actively practiced, have so far failed to obtain such indulgences from the government.
However, persistent Germans have made an end run, trying to prove that bright camera flashes, which automatically fire at night when speed is exceeded, blind drivers and thereby provoke traffic accidents, the consequences of which can be more serious than exceeding the speed limit by a few kilometers per hour.