off topic: mobile gatso vans

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dan_the_v8man
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off topic: mobile gatso vans

Post by dan_the_v8man »

Hi

the mini gatso camera's they put in a van parked at the side of the road... do they flash when they've caught you? as i saw one coming up today and slowed down but i dont know if i slowed down quick enough.

do they work on a similar sort of range to the standard fixed cameras?

anyway back to my main question. the camera did not flash. does that mean im safe?


Cheers


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Post by deian »

i don't think they flash, they are just like the speed guns... which don't flash either... but in saying that i've never been done for speeding by a cop or a camera so i wouldn't know

i reckon the cameras are better than they ones they leave in the static ones up in the grey boxes, so maybe the quality is better, i think they read the tax disc too, well some of them do, was there a patrol car further down the road waiting to jump out? if so, it was the tax disc one
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Post by andmcit »

Just done the same as you and I braked a good distance from the van
[certainly twice the distance of a fixed camera]. Yep, I peaked just too
early BEFORE the 30 changes into the 50 and was scanned at 55... :(

No, not clever - I've no excuses, and no, NO flash.

Let's hope the 'gods' are more in your favour than they were with me.

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Post by Xaccers »

Make sure you keep both hands on the wheel passing them, one guy took his hands off the wheel to stick two fingers up at them because he was caught earlier that month, so they did him for driving without due care and attention.

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Post by CitroJim »

http://www.safespeed.org.uk/forum is full of incredibly useful information and points the way to go if you do get a NIP. Their forum is a good entertaining read generally and incredibly active.

http://www.pepipoo.com also contains a valuable store of information on the same topic.
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Post by AndersDK »

Depends on the type of the photo system.

My guess the earlier system relies solely on a good heavy IR power shot to make sure the photo has enough contrast to recognice the driver.
This feels almost like a standard flash burnt off right up in your face - except the dazzling flash is red :roll:
Thats the type that caught me last year :?

More recent photo units would not need a flash. The camera device is so sensitive, that daylight is more than adequate to produce a high contrast picture even at distance.

Modern times :evil:
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Post by OwenP »

I have also heard that they have a quota of tickets to meet, so they tend to ignore the 10% leeway if they are running low on tickets sent out or if they plain don't like the look of you. Don't know how true this is, but I wouldn't put it past the police at the moment.
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Post by Sl4yer »

The ones in vans are usually laser, so they won't flash.

Hopefully it may just have been a ANPR check - these are becoming more and more common, to catch those without the appropriate documentation and insurance. Much more use than speed cameras in my opinion.

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Post by CitroJim »

Sl4yer wrote:Hopefully it may just have been a ANPR check - these are becoming more and more common, to catch those without the appropriate documentation and insurance. Much more use than speed cameras in my opinion.
James
Very much agreed, I have no problem whatsoever with ANPR checks to detect those running without the necessary. Untaxed or cars without MOT are effectively uninsured and that in my mind is heneous. Persecute these to the max but please leave us otherwise law-abiding drivers alone who just occasionally and accidentially stray over a speed limit...

All speed cameras should be decommissioned in my opinion and speed enforcement should only be undertaken by wise and experienced coppers wo can bring common sence to bear on whether or not excess speed was dangerous or not and prosecute accordingly. No camera can make a judgement.
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Post by Xaccers »

Given the money, I'd have speed cameras which also do ANPR checks in pedestrian areas and around schools, where the speed limit should be dropped to 20mph. Anyone speeding in that area should be charged with dangerous driving not speeding.
On motorways, extend the variable speed limit across the network, and set the limit to what is appropriate for the current road conditions along that section.
So if there is fog or rain, the speed limit drops, if there's a nice straight section and traffic is light, increase the speed limit to say 90mph or whatever would be considered safe on that section.
It would help control the flow of traffic at busy times or if there's been an accident.
Anyone breaking the speed limit would be driving dangerously, and charged as such.

I know I'm not alone in thinking that speed itself doesn't cause accidents, but it's a contributary factor in many.
Doing 100mph down a deserted straight bit of motorway in dry conditions isn't in itself going to cause an accident, so not driving dangrously, but someone doing 60mph during rush hour in heavy traffic, weaving between lanes isn't speeding, but they are driving dangerously.

If the speed limit changed due to the road conditions rather than the current flat limit, I think people would learn to trust it and stick within them, because they'd be able to go fast when it's considered safe to do so, and there would be a legitimate reason for restricting the speed of traffic.
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Post by deian »

I totally agree with the statement that speed itself doesn't kills... it's the fact that people aren't aware of the dangers, lack of concentration, or dare i say it, pure stupidity!!!

I'm also against the speed cameras too, there are WAY too many, I think if there were less speed camera's people could concentrate more on the job in hand.... HAZARD perception, not 'speed camera' perception!!! The police forces and government need to get a grip on the reality here!!! How stupid are they??? Everytime there is an accident on a 60 road, the will lower the speed limit to 50 or even 40, as has happened around here a LOT. It's pathetic and infuriates the better drivers.

And I also agree about the dangerous driving thing too, or at least careless driving... i've been done for it, but i wasn't speeding, but thats another story about how speed DIDN'T cause an accident, but just plain stupidity (NOT on my part, i got done on a unfortunate technicality). Had I been speeding maybe it could have been done for dangerous driving.

The law is too complex, and the loopholes are too easy to find. One lesson I learned though is: if you gotta ask then the answer is usually no... i.e is it safe to overtake, can i see way ahead over there, usually this is where the stupidity happens... there are major stupid idiots on the roads these days!!

Your driving might be up to standard, but don't think you won't have an accident because you are a good driver, if you can spot the bad drivers (or the dangerous car) then you can avoid the accident.

Rant over.
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Speed cams

Post by uhn113x »

I agree totally with Jim and James here.
Speed cameras are a waste of space; as others in the post have described, people slow down to 30 when they see a camera, which may not be actually working, and can be set at absolutely anything. What use is that?

Yer average chav cannot quite understand the term "speed limit". To him (or her) it means that you have to drive at the limit+10.

If all motorists had common sense, all speed limits would be unnecessary.

The cameras that should be used are the red light ones (no, not that sort of red light :wink: ) and some way of catching tailgaters, especially on motorways, who kill people for real.
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Re: Speed cams

Post by Sl4yer »

uhn113x wrote:The cameras that should be used are the red light ones (no, not that sort of red light :wink: ) and some way of catching tailgaters, especially on motorways, who kill people for real.
Absolutely. I have no problem with traffic light cameras. I'm not that old, but I remember when most folk used to obey traffic lights! There is nothing more annoying than being caught in the middle of a junction because 2 or 3 selfish drivers decide to go through the opposite way on red.
Xac wrote:If the speed limit changed due to the road conditions rather than the current flat limit, I think people would learn to trust it and stick within them, because they'd be able to go fast when it's considered safe to do so, and there would be a legitimate reason for restricting the speed of traffic.
This is the problem with speed cameras. The law isn't strictly fixed - we are all supposed to drive at a speed that is suitable for the conditions, with the posted limit being the maximum. But as long as people know they're safe from the cameras, they'll drive at that maximum limit, even when conditions don't make it safe to do so. And the cameras will do little to catch them. The police will usually do even less!

See the news last week about how only 48% of camera triggers in London result in convictions? The other 52% are on cars that are improperly registered or cannot be traced. Speed cameras do nothing to trace the illegal drivers (unlicenced, banned, uninsured, driving stolens, drunk, etc.) who I have a feeling are responsible for causing much of the problems and accidents.

The Cutting Edge programme about the A46 was interesting last night. Of all the tragic cases it showed, non were directly due to speed. Some were lack of care and attention, others due to people racing or overtaking stupidly. Speed cameras wouldn't have helped at all.

Anyway, we're getting a little off-topic. Dan, keep your fingers crossed and read up on your options! :wink:

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Post by Homer »

AndersDK wrote: My guess the earlier system relies solely on a good heavy IR power shot to make sure the photo has enough contrast to recognice the driver.
This feels almost like a standard flash burnt off right up in your face - except the dazzling flash is red :roll:
Thats the type that caught me last year :?
There is not and never was a speed camera with an IR flash. It is an urban myth. The Truvelo, which many believed was an IR flash actually has a standard white flash with a magenta filter.

Where to start with the rest.

Traffic light cameras - seem like a good idea but they actually increase accidents so not such a good idea. Think about it, how many people running red lights do so deliberately? And if they aren't doing it deliberately then how is getting a ticket 2 weeks later going to stop them?
Xac wrote:Given the money, I'd have speed cameras which also do ANPR checks in pedestrian areas and around schools, where the speed limit should be dropped to 20mph. Anyone speeding in that area should be charged with dangerous driving not speeding.
What about 23mph at 2am?

The fact is that most drivers slow down where it is actually dangerous to speed. Those who don't are mainly the criminal element. Joyriders and those with false plates are outside the reach of speed cameras and ANPR needs real police backup to be effective.

Last year, for the first time the government released teh figures for accident causes. It's not surprising that observation (or lack of) is the biggest cause. No camera can ever detect that.
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Post by uhn113x »

Traffic light cameras - seem like a good idea but they actually increase accidents so not such a good idea.
How's that, Homer? I am not disputing what you say, just asking why. :)

Think about it, how many people running red lights do so deliberately? And if they aren't doing it deliberately then how is getting a ticket 2 weeks later going to stop them?
All of them, I would have thought, unless they have not seen the red light at all, which opens a different can of worms!
Xac wrote:
Given the money, I'd have speed cameras which also do ANPR checks in pedestrian areas and around schools, where the speed limit should be dropped to 20mph. Anyone speeding in that area should be charged with dangerous driving not speeding.

What about 23mph at 2am?
Unworkable for that reason - common sense would have to prevail and it doesn't. :roll:
The fact is that most drivers slow down where it is actually dangerous to speed. Those who don't are mainly the criminal element. Joyriders and those with false plates are outside the reach of speed cameras and ANPR needs real police backup to be effective.
That is where the money needs to be spent.
Last year, for the first time the government released teh figures for accident causes. It's not surprising that observation (or lack of) is the biggest cause. No camera can ever detect that
Amen, Homer. The modern cars with their plethora of TLAs** and things that make sure that everyone else gets killed or injured instead of you, and all the electronic toys to play with instead of concentrating on driving don't help, either.
The marketroids have brainwashed the Sun readers into thinking that is what they must have, though.

**TLA = Three letter acronym.
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