Surely catching criminals has a deterent effect? And takes those criminals off the streets?
I think calling people who speed criminals is a bit extreme don't you think? There's a huge difference between aggressive behaviour and speeding and doing a couple of miles over the speed limit. Also there's a point system to a driver's licence so one ticket or even two isn't going to get someone off the street and 99% of the time most people are just following the flow of traffic. Which I think is safer rather than having traffic jams caused by people suddenly breaking in front of you. Which has happened to me on many occasions even when the speed limit is being followed.
Since stationary cameras get well known and most people who travel those roads know where they are. So they become pointless. Which begs the question of what exactly are they doing except catching those who don't know where they are. Most people think they're nothing but revenue raisers. Which I partly agree with.
I believe in safe driving and I think concentrating on getting aggressive drivers off the streets is more important than giving tickets to people just for doing 5 to 10 miles over the speed limit (typical speeding). I also think getting drunk drivers or those on drugs, both a problem, off the street is far more important.
Yes there are lots of people doing stupid things on the road, there are many who shouldn't be driving, I won't disagree with that, but doing a little over the speed limit isn't going to kill anyone. Someone driving drunk or on drugs or aggressively will.