Not always, as a close relative of mine knows to her cost!

I do wish people would learn the rules regarding this road.

I am fed up with having abuse hurled at me by people turning right out of Waldenshaw Road (i.e. onto the two-way section) without looking when they suddenly discover me coming the opposite direction.

This bit is not one way and I go straight ahead to the one way section that joins onto Honor Oak Road. A lot of people don't seem to realise you can do this.

I'm sick and tired of the amount of surveillance we have in the country! Why should we have cameras everywhere just becasue of few people abuse the rules?

They're not asking for cameras everywhere - just in a specific place where there is known, potentially dangerous, violation of a traffic rule.

It's a recognised fact that the UK is one of the most densely populated areas per head for surviellence cameras. I'm sick of the big brother attitude to law keeping in this country. People break the rules - it's a fact of life. Unless it's dangerous, why do we need cameras? We are therefore all punished (by that I mean monitored on film) because of the bad behaviour of the few. I'd rahter the money went to rebuilding our swimming pool, than wasted on CCTV at the top of Manor Mount!

..and before anyone says it - going the wrong way down a one way street is potentially dangerous - as is drinking too much, crossing a busy road, fixing a roof, changing a light bulb....

They could put a rising barrier at the end of the road, which would only be raised when a vehicle approaches from the correct direction. They did this for buses in a road in New Cross.

Gingernuts, if you have been threatened by someone coming the wrong way down Manor Mount and still feel the same way about a camera then good on you. I rather suspect you have not. I have, so has Roz and so I believe has Baggy Dave.

I am fed up with people who abuse the rules of the road because it saves them 30 seconds on their journey. Every time I have come across someone coming down the road the wrong way I have blocked their passage with my car or motorcycle and have made them reverse. Not so easy to do at the moment for me but I will continue to do so.

I have also written to the Forest Hill SNT (they recently ran an operation over a week at this location and fined 40 people as well as confiscating 3 cars for lack of insurance) to also look at speeding drivers along Waldenshaw Road. Let us hope they can monitor both situations at the same time.

I'm not surprised you've been threatened!!! Do you stop everyone you see breaking the law? drug dealers, drunks, theives? While I commend your good citizenship, you cant possibily believe that enforcing the law (as you see it) on someone (who sees things differently) when you are not a law enforcer is going to get you thanked.

I'm with gingernuts on this. A surveillance camera is a completely disproportionate response to a trivial infringement of a trivial traffic rule.

Roz, have you never gone through a light on Orange, done 35 in a 30 mph zone, slipped into a bus lane a few meters early? - what if you were caught on camera and fined every time you took a tiny step out of line - would you still think cameras were such a good thing?

Going the wrong way down that bit of the road is bad - Yet another camera is worse!

To Gingernuts and thenutfield, I have been off work for nearly 9 months with a crusshed foot and wrecked knee because someone decided to have a few pints and drive home. Now I am sure that in most cases they would have made it home without hurting anyone but they didnt, they hit me and the impact on myself, my family and my career has been enormous.

Driving the wrong way down a one way street may not seem much to you until someone is hurt or killed. Like it or not, going the wrong way down a one way street IS AGAINST THE LAW!!!

Having been directly affected by an uncaring motorist I would welcome a camera on Manor Mount, I am also willing to flog the skin off anyone caught coming the wrong way.

People who do not give a damb about this kind of rule usually dont care about taxing their car, insuring it or leaving the scene if involved in an accident. Just ask the owners of cars at the bottem of Manor Mount who have had their cars crashed into by speeders who dont take the corner and crash into the cars. I have seen someone do it and speed off, unfortunatly I was unable to get an index number to at least help the people who's car had been crashed into.

One final point, what difference would a camera on that small part of Forest Hill have to you?

Gingernuts, in answer to your question. Yes i do stop people who are breaking the law. I point out to people that they have "accidently" dropped litter, I have stopped a number of drunkards racialy abusing a member of staff in a tube station and would help someone getting mugged. Dont get me wrong, if I felt my (or anyone elses) life was in danger I would be straight onto the police but sometimes you have to do something immediatly.

I would rather speak to someone who lets their dog **** on the pavement than cross to the other side and tut. If I dont do it no one else would. Unless we ALL take a stand against people who break "little" laws we will soon find ourselves in the position where people do not give a damb about any laws.

I feel that we may already be to late there.

I fully support those who are upset by the criminals who knowlingly break the law and put others in danger.
Cannot believe those who seem to be defending this action.

Yestyerday myself and 3 others crossing the road when light green for predestrians outside Lewisham Hospital. A cyclists carried on and ploughed into one of the ladies , brief apology as they cycled on. Cyclists should be penalised for not obeying the laws like everyone else.

I'm not condoning this behavouiur - I'm just saying that cameras are not the anwser. It wont stop the illegal usage of this road and will only 'help' to catch the idiots who do this - it wont even stop them running you over!! The types who race down this road occasionally probably dont even have a licence.

Londonrz, I'm really sorry to hear about your accident, and there's absolutely no excuse for drink driving - but this isnt in the same league as driving the wrong way down Manor Mount, if sober and not speeding - althought it's still very wrong of course. At the same time, people have a responsibility to themselves to look BOTH ways when crossing a road, even if it's a one way. Perhaps the answer is to change this back to a two way street!

gingernuts, thank you for your reply and kind words.

I have to admit that we are a society with far to many cameras and far to much intrusion. CCTV which is supposed to be there for our protection is used to fine bad parking etc.

However in this instance if there is a fixed camera to catch ONLY those people commiting this offence then I am behind it. I would love to know that the police could use a traffic unit to police this (and many other bad spots) but our wise government has decided that cameras and not traffic cars will save us. God help us all.

Incidentially - I have seen community police in the mornings walking along this street. I assume they are pulling up these wrong do-ers!

Gingernuts, your suggestion that the way to solve the problem is to change MM back to two ways is typical of the motorists' attitude in this country. I can't be doing anything wrong, I'm in a car. The rule is there for a reason, and simply changing it because people flout it is a reprehensible suggestion.

The point is, the rule isnt enforceable and people seem to think having a one way system at the top of Manor Mount that is abused, is extremely dangerous. Cameras will not stop the abuse - just enable the authorities to find and fine the car owners who are registered. Therefore the problems that this system causes must be measured against the benefit of keeping it one way. This has nothing to do with having a drivers mentality, what ever that means!

This is for the critics; lets highlight the problem more clearly.

Assume that you are leaving Sainsburys car park and that you want to exit onto Honor Oak Road. You head up the hill and get almost to the narrow bit at the top when a white van (just an example) turns into Manor Mount, illegally. When there are cars parked either side it is difficult for two cars to pass. If you are driving up the hill lawfully it is often the case, as it was with me a few weeks ago, that you may be forced to reverse down the hill to let the offending vehicle pass, not just slightly perturbed at this drivers flashing his lights and hooting at you and making it clear that if you don't get out of his way fast you may find yourself bumped down the hill. If you are really unlucky the other driver may wind down his window and yell expletives at you and your child at not getting out of the way fast enough. The fact is that a car coming down a one way street, especially when you are not expecting it, is dangerous as its not supposed to be there and people base their driving on that assumption. Shall we all then just ignore roundabout signs and go round them anyway we feel like it?

Also think of some potential scenarios where a pedestrian is crossing the road oblivious to a car turning into MM from HOR as he/she is not expecting traffic to come from that direction. And if they are not looking in that direction, what are the possible consequences to that person?

And lets not forget that someone was nearly beaten senseless a few years ago on this stretch of road for daring to approach offending drivers.....

I'd be interested to hear why gingernuts considers fines to be so useless- surely they are the only solution and one which is widely understood? The vehicles are usually registered to some owner even if they are not insured/licensed so its likely that someone will be feeling the pinch. I think its much too late to be concerned about CCTV- it absolutely everywhere and we are monitored 24/7 by a range of means. We even now thanks to google street thingy can have our homes studied on the internet by potential criminals.

Londondrz, I am sorry to hear what happened and hope that you get better soon. A friend of mine has had an accident on her motorbike recently and fortunately has only had a dislocated knee, but this has rendered her immobile and off work for many months. It doesn't take much injury wise to significantly disrupt a life and personal finances.

Sorry, but what reason is this road, (with its large private houses), one-way? Traffic to the sainsburys car park is forced to use Waldenshaw Rd (past a nursery school) instead.

Yes it it residential, and the rush hour short cutters need to be deterred, but some humps and a speed limit seems more appropriate given that a legitimate, popular, local destination is at the end of the road.

This one-way system is the abuse.