400 protest on M4

More than 400 people joined a go-slow demo on the M4 at the weekend to protest against the introduction of speed cameras on a four-junction stretch of the motorway.

The protest saw 200 cars and bikes riding at 56mph down both sides of the M4 between junctions 14 and 17.

The cameras were introduced on the road after the Safety Camera Partnership decided that it needed to address the number of deaths on the road. The trigger speed for the cameras was also dropped from the usual 85mph to 79mph.

The protest aimed to show that safe driving was more than just about what speed you ride at and rider Dave Peers said there were plenty of examples just in the short ride.

“A French coach driver very nearly killed me in his impatience to pass a protesting BMW GS motorcycle. After trying to intimidate the GS rider by tailgating him he then tried pulling into my path. Where were the police then?”

And the danger of speed cameras themselves was also highlighted shortly after the protest, on the ride back to the starting point.

“Coming up to a bridge a Subaru in lane 3 suspected a talivan was in operation and slammed his brakes on. Another vehicle hit him from behind. Luckily no-one appeared to be hurt but chaos ensued! I thought It just nicely illustrated the point we were trying to make and this occurs with such frequency the length and breadth of our motorways and other roads where these tax machines are deployed, sometimes with fatal consequences!”

The only comment released by the camera partnership was that 12% of all road deaths in the area happened on the M4.