Bus Companies refuse to have routes on 'Bumpy' Roads
Be aware that the bus companies are pretty much sick of speed bumps, chicanes etc. And have threatened to withdraw bus services from areas with then on! So if you are one of the lucky people that have a bus service - watch out for the council wishing to 'bump' your road (I suppose the council don't care if your bus service is revoked - it means there is less traffic on the road and therefor less to repair).

South Tyneside Council have just earmarked £110,000 for more humps and bumps to be installed on our roads in 2002/3. Watch your local press for road alterations and get in your objection to them.

Drivers Win Battle over 'Fair Play' - Speed Cameras Removed
Hundreds of hidden speed cameras are to be ripped out in a victory for motorists and fair play. In future they must be installed only at accident blackspots, not where they can trap the most drivers. Pollce will be banned from hiding them behind trees, hedges, lampposts and road signs. There must also be clear advance warning, giving drivers time to slow down.
The new Government guidelines are a sharp change of policy. It has been prompted by recognition that badly-sited or deliberately hidden speed traps are undermining support for the 'cash for cameras' safety scheme. This lets police keep some of the fines produced by installing extra cameras, which are supposed to be painted yellow and easy to see. But some police forces have failed to stick to the rules, triggering mounting fury among drivers who are paying £25million a year in speeding fines - double the level of five years ago. Now police are to be told cameras must be sited only at places where four people have been killed or seriously injured or there have been eight 'personal injury' accidents in the previous three years.
Any of the existing 5,000 cameras that do not meet the new guidelines must be uprooted within six months. The AA said the rules were an important victory for motorists who had campaigned for fair play. Spokesman Paul Watters said: 'We expect that hundreds of cameras may have to be removed as a result and we certainly welcome it, 'It is a sensible move by the Government and will ensure motorists continue to respect well-sited speed cameras. Mr Watters said support for the devices had been falling, and added: 'Hopefully, as these rules come into effect, drivers will know that cameras are only sited in places where there is a genuine speed and accident problem and they will drive accordingly. 'At the moment they are being stuck up anywhere. This leads to a total lack of respect
for them which is certainly not good for road safety.'
Many drivers had complained that they were being used as 'soft targets' to raise revenue while muggers and burglars appeared to run little risk of being caught.
The new rules, in a handbook being issued this week, say cameras must be clearly visible from 60metres away where the speed limit is up to 40mph and from l00metres elsewhere. There must be warning signs within 1km (0.6 miles) of the camera - and signs must not be put up to fool drivers.
Each site must be reviewed every six months and cameras can be. retained where it is proven they have slashed accident rates. But if other measures such as road humps helped achieve the reduction, authorities should remove the camera. Operators of mobile cameras must wear fluorescent clothing and use marked vehicles.
Transport minister John Spellar said yesterday: 'We want to reduce accidents by ensuring appropriate speeds but we do not want to catch motorists. 'That is why we have insisted on clear visibility, so people know where the cameras are.' Cameras must be painted yellow by a deadline next month, although some police chiefs believe they will not be able to meet it. Speed cameras are currently the responsibility of either the police or local authorities, or, under the cash-for-cameras scheme, a 'partnership' including police, local authorities, the Home Office and safety groups.
All will now have to check their camera sites.
Among concealed cameras that will be outlawed are at least half a dozen hidden behind road signs on a single Surrey stretch of the A3. One infamous camera is actually bolted to the back of the sign warning about it. The Government's own-figures show cash raised by speed cameras has more than doubled since Labour took office five years ago.
The number of camera-related fixed penalty tickets has also more than doubled, to over 600,000 a year. and had been predicted to top three million in the next two years.
Prosecutions at magistrates courts have rocketed 16 fold in some areas, with the total across England and Wales soaring from 48,000 to more than 109,000.