Speed Cameras: a rant.

I'm just back from a few days in the western part of the British county of Norfolk.

It's land that's been reclaimed from the sea: 


photo by LittleHow

and it's famed for its huge skies, rich dark soil, drainage ditches, wildfowl, and boring straight roads which suddenly turn at right-angles.

This last largely accounts for its other reputation, which is for fatal traffic accidents.

The authorities could install speed cameras, of course, which are no doubt A Good And Necessary Thing, but the trouble is that speed cameras are resented with such bitterness that they are not only ignored, but it's not unknown for people to cover their lenses with ink.

But now, I see, some genius in western Norfolk has come up with a new and cunning wheeze.

There are no speed cameras any more. Instead there are safety cameras.

And how hard it is for a poor boy racer to resent them, now.*

Word To Use Today: safety. Safe comes from the Latin word salus, which has meant safety for a couple of thousand years.

*Girl racers, presumably, are similarly frustrated.