Speed Cameras: A Fair Cop?

I've only ever been nicked for speeding once before. I was coming back down the hill from Frant into Tunbridge Wells about seven years ago and didn't spot the speed camera sign, didn't slow down quick enough, saw the flash in my rear view mirror and thought: "It's a fair cop!" A few days later the official looking letter arrived from Sussex Police, with photographic evidence and I paid up without much of a moan. Last week, driving back from Uckfield and Crowborough, I had a really easy, pleasant little trip and didn't think very much of the journey at all. Clear roads, a little foggy with sunshine breaking through from what I remember. So imagine my surprise then when, a few days later, I got another little official looking letter from Sussex Police with those dreaded words "Notification of Intended Prosecution" Apparently I'd been clocked doing 53 in a 40 zone through Eridge Green! No photos were sent to back up the allegation, I have to request them in writing. I can't recall the incident at all, I can't say I noticed anything unusual in that area, I didn't nearly cause an accident, I don't consider that I was in any way driving dangerously that day. In fact quite the reverse, I'm pretty sure that I'm a considerate, careful, experienced driver. I don't feel that I've been taught any lesson, other than perhaps to always drive like a learner in Sussex, since I didn't realise I'd committed a crime. I always get the feeling that the emphasis of GATSO speed cameras is to catch you out after the event; far more effective for me are those signs which light up in front of you to tell you that you're speeding and to slow down. They work for me and make me do just that. Speed cameras just make you feel resentment and frustration. Yes I know that if I'd driven slower then I wouldn't have got a ticket but I can't be the only one left feeling cheated by this experience. I think I'll stick to riding my bike, I can go as fast as I like, it keeps me fit and it hardly costs a penny....