Speed camera warning notices?
Discussion
Got a letter from plod the other day, basically saying that I''d been caught by an auto camera device on the M4 exceeding the 70mph speed limit by 16mph.
I''m told that the police are now able to use two standard CCTV cameras to record any vehicles speed. The first camera takes a shot of your car and utilising OCR extracts your number plate details and the exact time you passed this camera, then many miles down the motorway (at a measured distance) another camera does the same, a simple calculation involving the distance travelled and the time taken to travel this distance gives you your average speed and if it exceeds the national speed limit, your nicked! So be warned.
Lets face it at some time in our lives most people exceed the speed limits particularly on motorways, fair enough impose and enforce 30 and 40mph speed limits in built up areas or known blackspots but to strictly enforce the 70mph speed limit on motorways is ridiculous, and surely just another form of taxation by stealth from the Government.
Its not so bad having to pay the fine, but 3 points on your licence too, now that''s taking it a bit far, get caught by four such devices and you could up loosing your licence on a single journey! Not to mention the additional financial burden that having points on your licence is going to put on your insurance premium when it comes up for renewal!
I remember reading somewhere that you have to have prior warning of speed cameras (by the placement of a warning sign xyz metres before such a speed trap) otherwise the prosecution could be thrown out of court. Is this true? Does anyone out there have any experience of this? I certainly saw no prior warning notice and the first I knew of it was when the letter dropped through my door.
Got told something similar at the w/e but unsure can anyone confirm ???
Digital images cannot be used as yet for prosecution as it is possible that they can be intercepted and altered in the same way that e-mail is not legally binding apparently until the law catches up with technology this can't be done and is being challenged in Europe???? Don't know for sure though just a conversation that sounds plausible!!
Just for those who dont know.... OCR is Optical Character Recognition. This is the system used by SVDD in Specs cameras. Although the image is enhanced by computer I am aware that the evidence is valid as it is not enhancing the image to make the picture visable to the naked eye. It would be impossible to say where the algorithems that enhanced the image finished and the OCR ones started. It also seems to be very accurate day/night. Scary!
quote:Mine was recorded as Place: M4 JNC 33 CAPEL LLANILLTERN TO JNC 34 MISKIN WESTBOUND So it seems on the face of it, that my speed was recorded between the two junctions. Going back to my question about warning signs, there must surely be some legislation requiring them, otherwise why would they go to the trouble and expense of erecting such notices before fixed GATSO installations? I would imagine, that without such signage they could potentially up their "catch" rate by at least 100%, or maybe they're giving us a sporting chance!
Where were you on the M4 when you got done?
Edited by Wicked on Tuesday 31st July 15:17 Fare as i know the new digital cameras that are on the blue poles can read a number plate in any weather condition, day or night, this system works by storing your number and time you past and when you pass the next camera 1mile down the road it logs in the time you past it and then works out the time taken to go between them, it already know the distance and using the equation= speed = distace * time . It works out your average and if its over you will get a letter in the post automatically. The cameras can read 5+ cars at any one time and I think its coming on line is September. I also think that the fast roads are over policed and that they ahould spend more time anking the town and cities safer and make people drive at a better speed but do you think if this were to happen they would miss there T5s, I know I wouldnt miss them on the road the next time I went out for a burn?????????
Edited by campbell on Wednesday 1st August 17:55
I think you'll find that the cameras mounted on blue poles are part of the Trafficmaster network and although they have the capability to calculate ones speed as indicated, we are told that they are there simply to monitor traffic flow.
This seems like a bit of overkill to me, using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. But maybe they have some alternative future role for them?
I agree with wicked. I am sure in other posts I have read that the blue cameras are traffic-masters used for flow and accident spotting not speed traps. The OCR bit is for recognising cars in accidents/evidence for court cases (I believe). As far as I understabnd these Blue cameras are connected to the local police station and recorded on video. The processing of the two pictures for every car taken from a video would be horrendous. (They are having enough trouble with the processing of the Gatsos). The only "average" speed cameras I know of are in Nottingham on their ring road and they supposedly Flash on the second camera. As far as I am aware Motorway speeding is from the "van on the bridge", vascar or Gatsos.
As far as I am aware:
The blue vertical poles with blue coloured cameras looking each way up the road, situated on the verge are traffic master. These are not speed cameras.
I have seen SPECS fitted on blue poles. These were L shaped streaching over the carriageway to position the camera in the middle of a lane. The camera on these however is white and easily identifyable as SPECS because of the two infra red lamps (with 4 lenses) on either side. Obviously there is the other camera 200 odd metres further on.
Hope this helps.
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