Getting Flashed

[Matthew_McNally]

Was in London yesterday - drove down Sunday night, train in from Sunningdale, then drove back last night.

On both the drive down on Sunday, and back up last night, we went through roadworks (on M6 and M62), with a 50mph speed limit and, of course, speed cameras.

Both times, someone went passed me > 50mph and was flashed.

But - I will in in both pictures - practically certain.

Now I was not speeding - I was doing 50mph.

I know these roads, and I know they have cameras on them.

The cars that went passed me were not going that much faster (certainly no more than 60mph).

Can the police differentiate between the cars in these circumstances?

Will they be able to tell that it was not me who triggered the camera?

Or do I need to spend the next two weeks dreading every brown envelope that comes through the door?

[Rodders_UK]

Yeah - they can tell.

If the camera was GATSO or TRUVELO, they can only convict on photographic evidence that has been actually looked at by somebody. There are lines on the road, and the camera actually takes 2 pictures - the person who looks at the pictures uses the lines plus the time delay to calculate speed.

If you do get nicked, you can demand to see the pics.

[JOHNNY-BOY]

The camera should take two shots at a set interval that way the police can work out how fast the vehicle was travelling by seeing how far it has travelled between shots. So if they can do their maths correct you should be safe!!

[JOHNNY-BOY]

Great minds think a-like hey Rod!! :D

[Matthew_McNally]

If the camera was GATSO or TRUVELO, they can only convict on photographic evidence that has been actually looked at by somebody.  There are lines on the road, and the camera actually takes 2 pictures - the person who looks at the pictures uses the lines plus the time delay to calculate speed.

cheers guys- phew!

there are white lines on the road - and the camera was triggered properly - two clear flashes.

on the second one, if someone looks at the picture - they will be able to clearly see which car is speeding.

It is the one with the brake lights on, wheels locked and smoking, and a speech bubble coming out the drivers side window saying

"Oh *****!!!! - Camera!!!!"

:D

[Rodders_UK]

LOl - you gotta watch that too - someone got nicked a while back for sticking 2 fingers up at a Gatso - it came out on the film apparently.

[Matthew_McNally]

LOl - you gotta watch that too - someone got nicked a while back for sticking 2 fingers up at a Gatso - it came out on the film apparently.

for what crime?

foul and abusive behaviour towards an inanimate object?

[ricky_is200]

if someone looks at the picture - they will be able to clearly see which car is speeding.

It is the one with the brake lights on, wheels locked and smoking, and a speech bubble coming out the drivers side window saying

"Oh *****!!!! - Camera!!!!"

Didn't you find yourself hitting the brakes automatically when you saw the flash? I always do, don't know why as even if it was me it was flashing at its too late they've got ya!

[javadude]

I went by one on the A14 the other week. There were at least 3 warning signs before it and it was painted blue and bright yellow but someone still shot past me in the outside lane and got flashed.

He should have waited a bit - as I passed it there was a juggernaught between me and the camera. I was keeping to the speed limit but it would be interesting to see how fast someone could pass a speed camera with a lorry on the inside hiding them. Perhaps the next test for TopGear?

[Wallace]

One of the motoring programmes has already done tests on how fast you have to go to beet the speed trap (either Driven or 5th Gear). I think you need a Tornado GR1A :(1,452mph (2,336km/h) at 36,000ft (11,000m)) Thats if the camera can see you.

[Steve]

was watching tv earlier and showed pics of the funniest things speed cameras have caught

A bird flying by

Someone mooning

a guy on a motorbike with his leg over the number plate

and get this

A duck with ducklings set the camera off!

[Brian Berry]

Even if caught exeeding the speed limit you only know if you are going to be done if you receive a Notice of Intended Prosecution within 14 days of the offence. This is if you are not stopped and told at the time. I say this as some cameras flash and there ARE no proceedings as there is no film in the camera or there is a camera defect.

[vudu]

Too bad they're introducing digital cameras to replace the film ones.. if I remember the tv program correctly, the pictures get send digitally to the processing centre or are stored in an on-board hard disk or memory card! Is there no end to this madness?!? :duh:

I'm SURE that the police (and of course the public!) would be better off spending all that money fighting street crime instead of charging people who go 10mph over the limit in a perfectly capable car with such great brakes and handling as the IS200!! Ok, so people do get killed in 30 mph zones by speeding cars, but WHY on motorways??? Look at the German limit-free autobahn safety record!

Sorry about the ranting, it just frustrates me seeing those cameras on the motorway, especially on calm roads..

[Rodders_UK]

I agree with you totally Vudu - it's just blatant cash generation.

I reckon that if you're caught speeding around town, in a 30 limit, you should get an instant ban - but on the motorway it's hard enough to speed most of the time because of the traffic.

I like driving quickly, but in a town where there might be kids etc (and especially in my own town) 30 is as fast as I'll go. It's amazing how many eejits persist in tailgaiting me at 30mph - usually young kids in old Fiestas.

I quite often stop the car in the middle of the road, where I know they can't pass, and get out for a quiet word!!

[Matthew_McNally]

but WHY on motorways???

on both sections, there were roadworks, and the speed limit had been brought down to 50mph.

can't say there was any sign of people working at 10pm on a sunday evening though.

[james2210]

I heard somewhere (or possibly dreamed) a long time ago, that the Gitso cameras mark the offending vehicle with a dot on the photograph. You should be fine unless you happen to have a dot painted on the back of your car for some reason!

Rant mode ON

We're all pretty stupid really. All it would take is for everyone to behave for say 6 months and their source of income would dry up. No income-no maintenance on the cameras-no people to get the film out of them-no money to buy new ones.

I always try not to speed, but depite my best intentions, you sometimes have to go 35 if you need to get past a cyclist safely before the car coming towards you ends up as a dashboard ornament. I've only been caught speeding twice. Once was about 7 years ago in my trusty or was that rusty old Metro. I was doing 38 in a 30 because I had some idiot in a Renault 5 turbo trying to check the tread depth on my spare tyre-no excuse really. The other time was in Lanzarote. The local cops supposedly got me doing 42KMH in a 30 zone. They did not show me any evidence and because I don't speak Spanish I couldn't argue with them. They flagged down a conveniently passing taxi to take me to a cash point so I could pay the £120 fine! This happened to be the same taxi that was in front of me doing the same speed when I got caught! The taxi's were just going up and down the same road as the trap was on so they'd get the business! What was even more bizarre was that the 30 signs were facing in the other direction, according to the signs on the side we were going, the limit was 40! Spanish signs-worse than their plumbing!

Speed limits should really be timed. Around my area, there are some really nice dual carriageways, which until recently were NSL. Now there are so many 50 and 40MPH signs on them, they show up from space! If the limit applied from say 7AM to 7PM, it would still have the "accident saving" properties, yet would not hold up people being forced to do 40MPH on a road with no or few other cars on it.

Rant mode OFF!

[lj659695]

Hello all could anyone tell me what the cameras on the blue poles are ?? are they speed cameras or what

[lexuslexus]

The cameras on the blue poles are not speed cameras. They are part of the commercial system that checks on traffic jams - such as Traffic Master etc - they are usually on motoeway bridges one over each lane but where there are no bridges they put them on poles.

[lexuslexus]

Does anyone have info. on the newer motorway speed cameras? I have heard that they digitally photograph your number plate then do this again some miles down the motorway, if you got there too fast you get a ticket. ie. no point slowing down for each camera, and no marking on road?

[Bazza-old]

i am definetly not saying the motorist is innocent, far from it

but what about teaching a bit of road safety to pedestrians

the way some people walk out they deserve to get hit

not only kids either

mother with prams who push the pram into the road then look for whats coming

people trying to cross when the zebra crossing is 20 yards up the road

the ones who inch out ,thinking the next one will stop

as allways its the motorist who is at fault

rant over!

back on topic

have the accident figures dropped in proportion to the amount of cameras installed ?????

somehow i dont think so

[Rodders_UK]

Does anyone have info. on the newer motorway speed cameras? I have heard that they digitally photograph your number plate then do this again some miles down the motorway, if you got there too fast you get a ticket. ie. no point slowing down for each camera, and no marking on road?

This is the dreaded SPECS system - it's put in (so far) in the North, on the M62 and up the top of the M1 (and prolly elsewhere too by now)

My Origin Blue i knows where the cameras are - I think you can get the locations from the Web too

[mudzs]

The cameras on the blue poles take a pic at one point and then a few miles down the road take another pic and calculate your speed between the two points.So i supose it is poss to go through one at a very high speed then pull over to the hard shoulder wait a minute and then carry on to the next one.I see a motor bike go through a camera yesterday on one wheel with his finger in the air and get this someone on the BACK :o .oH AND THESE CAMERAS were ON THE M20 towards dover and folkstone so anyone doing a trip to france beware.

[NigeSt]

This is the dreaded SPECS system - it's put in (so far) in the North, on the M62 and up the top of the M1 (and prolly elsewhere too by now)

The A616 from Sheffield to Huddersfield is soaked with SPECS (which calculates speed over distance). That used to be a great road; now it's half an hour of focusing on the speedo rather than the road.

On a recent trip up North, I was amazed (should that be 'gobsmacked'?) at the number of speed cameras. I thought it was bad 'darn Sarth' but travelling between Sheffield and Blackburn, I found the number of cameras truly oppressive - and a distraction from focusing on the road ;)

So are detectors worth the cost?

Nige

[Loz]

So are detectors worth the cost?

Nige

Yup.... still cost less than your licence/job/home/wife/social life.convenience ....last time I checked.

:zee:

[NigeSt]

Yup.... still cost less than your licence/job/home/wife/social life.convenience ....last time I checked.

:zee:

The problem would be providing a false sense of security, are they accurate enough to depend upon?

Nige