RE: 20 years of the Gatso
Discussion
I got caught by an average speed check on the Road to the Large Cambridge Roundabout towards the M11. I accelerated to get past a lorry when joining said A road. Then continued along the road @ 8.21am on a Sunday Morning. 80mph across 3cameras..... probably the only person ever on that road too 
Gorbyrev said:
Shall we light a spare tyre to celebrate!?
Absolutely. There are few speed cameras in the US because there are millions of guns in circulation, just how long would it take for the British motoring public to "object" in any meaningful way? Obviously 20 years is a bit soon...Contrary to what some say I think you can easily get done by a fixed camera particularly if you are driving on a road you don't know or don't know well, particularly in the dark, on unlit roads with no camera warning facilities in car. Signs fpr the cameras to me mean very little as in many areas they shove them up all over the place.
Although I have not yet (touch wood) been done by a scamera or the now ubiquitous specs average speed jobbies. I have been done by a mobile for 70 on a 60, and 36 on a 30 the latter was an LTi 20/20 and the officer using it had obviously set it up wrong as I was doing 30 on the clock, the LTi can of course clock a wall moving at some speed if placed in the wrong hands.
Bring back traffic coppers, it made for a much more interesting cat and mouse game on the motorway, and if I have transgressed I prefer to be informed of it and potentially be educated about it by a professional not a yellow flashing box. I am sure many on here have been given a stern look or a wagged finger by a traffic officer in place of a ticket.
Although I have not yet (touch wood) been done by a scamera or the now ubiquitous specs average speed jobbies. I have been done by a mobile for 70 on a 60, and 36 on a 30 the latter was an LTi 20/20 and the officer using it had obviously set it up wrong as I was doing 30 on the clock, the LTi can of course clock a wall moving at some speed if placed in the wrong hands.
Bring back traffic coppers, it made for a much more interesting cat and mouse game on the motorway, and if I have transgressed I prefer to be informed of it and potentially be educated about it by a professional not a yellow flashing box. I am sure many on here have been given a stern look or a wagged finger by a traffic officer in place of a ticket.
I probably shouldn’t say this on PH but I’m a highway engineer and for a while in my old job I had the envious role of working on speed camera (or safety cameras) and their installation.
Now I can honestly hold my hands up and say when choosing a site for them I always used the correct criteria and rationale, i.e. 85 percentile speeds, no. of accidents in set years etc. I would always fight locations I didn’t think were appropriate and do the upmost within my control to make sure they were sited correctly.
What I didn’t have any control or choice over was political will. If “someone” wanted a camera often there wasn’t much I could do about it. Unfortunately this is still the case for a lot that happens on the roads of this country and if anything is getting worse.
We are just there to do what we are told, we can advise but at the end of the day if someone high enough up the chain wants something then it’s going to happen. So next time you see a camera or speed hump, don’t always blame us engineers!
Going to hide now!
Now I can honestly hold my hands up and say when choosing a site for them I always used the correct criteria and rationale, i.e. 85 percentile speeds, no. of accidents in set years etc. I would always fight locations I didn’t think were appropriate and do the upmost within my control to make sure they were sited correctly.
What I didn’t have any control or choice over was political will. If “someone” wanted a camera often there wasn’t much I could do about it. Unfortunately this is still the case for a lot that happens on the roads of this country and if anything is getting worse.
We are just there to do what we are told, we can advise but at the end of the day if someone high enough up the chain wants something then it’s going to happen. So next time you see a camera or speed hump, don’t always blame us engineers!
Going to hide now!
markeyturbo said:
slight change of subject, but has anyone actually been caught by a 'specs' camera?
i dont know anyone that has, are they real or just a massively expensive scaremongering technique?
yup, 56 in a 50. First and only speeding 'offence'. On an empty motorway, in a zone with no work being carried out, FWIW. i dont know anyone that has, are they real or just a massively expensive scaremongering technique?
Etch primer on the lens of the camera does wonders apparently.
998420 said:
I still feel very guilty about this, I lived near St Margarets at the time and with a number of friends we often discussed burning / destroying this thing many times, if we had, they would have likely been deemed unusable, we didn't, now they are everywhere....
One of my life's biggest regrets, my chance to change Society for the better, and I failed.
I once indirectly got caught for speeding by it, I slowed down for it and in doing so a plain clothes car caught up with me, stupidly I thought they "had not got me" ... but it turned out they had, all the way from Richmond Circus.
One of my life's biggest regrets, my chance to change Society for the better, and I failed.
I once indirectly got caught for speeding by it, I slowed down for it and in doing so a plain clothes car caught up with me, stupidly I thought they "had not got me" ... but it turned out they had, all the way from Richmond Circus.
I remember Jay Leno saying the same thing, I guess people in the UK are just pussies. Hence so much cctv, which is being used to catch motorists more than using to patrol the streets. No one uses paintball guns or anything.
Annoyingly people just do not stand up for anything in the UK. So much stupid rules etc against motorists and we are seen as the enemy and are made to feel guilty as though its a very big sin to be driving a car, but if you ride a bicycle you are a hero. People get fines, tickets, points for the most daftest of things. Look at how much of a joke Westiminster and Camden councils have made of motorists, that its a revenue earner for them, yet nothing is done. Look how long it has taken for laws to stop these cowboy clamping companies. To make matters worse, stupid road tax systems and they cant even repair the roads properly. Not to mention the excessive VAT, taxes & duty on fuel.
Annoyingly people just do not stand up for anything in the UK. So much stupid rules etc against motorists and we are seen as the enemy and are made to feel guilty as though its a very big sin to be driving a car, but if you ride a bicycle you are a hero. People get fines, tickets, points for the most daftest of things. Look at how much of a joke Westiminster and Camden councils have made of motorists, that its a revenue earner for them, yet nothing is done. Look how long it has taken for laws to stop these cowboy clamping companies. To make matters worse, stupid road tax systems and they cant even repair the roads properly. Not to mention the excessive VAT, taxes & duty on fuel.
jamespink said:
Absolutely. There are few speed cameras in the US because there are millions of guns in circulation, just how long would it take for the British motoring public to "object" in any meaningful way? Obviously 20 years is a bit soon...
Just as I had mention Camden council, that f
king jokers are at it again with their so called 20 mph speed limit. And having pathetic kids holding up 20 mph signs. This is just seriously demoralising and taking the piss. They do all this st in the name of safety but their real reason is to make money from it, nothing else. Many of these corrupt councillors earning excessive salaries for doing fk all.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-199181...
king jokers are at it again with their so called 20 mph speed limit. And having pathetic kids holding up 20 mph signs. This is just seriously demoralising and taking the piss. They do all this st in the name of safety but their real reason is to make money from it, nothing else. Many of these corrupt councillors earning excessive salaries for doing fk all.http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-199181...
Escort Si-130 said:
No ..... the ONLY issue is that the things don't work!
Quick story.
Locally there is a sweeping bend in the road on the way out of Blackburn going towards Preston. I have been travelling on this road for the past 50 odd years and I can't ever remember seeing an accident.
A few years ago a numpty who had been to a local night spot and had a skinful of booze was driving on this (wet) road at about 3.00am and had spin in his 3 series BMW. Killed himself.
GATSO gets erected a few months later because there has been a fatality on this road. The camera is sited ACTUALLY ON THE APEX OF THE BEND hidden behind some foliage.
A few years pass and there have been no further fatalities. Statistics then say that there has been a 100% reduction in fatalities.
If you'd have placed a garden gnome at the side of the road the outcome would have been exactly the same.
I rest my case.
Quick story.
Locally there is a sweeping bend in the road on the way out of Blackburn going towards Preston. I have been travelling on this road for the past 50 odd years and I can't ever remember seeing an accident.
A few years ago a numpty who had been to a local night spot and had a skinful of booze was driving on this (wet) road at about 3.00am and had spin in his 3 series BMW. Killed himself.
GATSO gets erected a few months later because there has been a fatality on this road. The camera is sited ACTUALLY ON THE APEX OF THE BEND hidden behind some foliage.
A few years pass and there have been no further fatalities. Statistics then say that there has been a 100% reduction in fatalities.
If you'd have placed a garden gnome at the side of the road the outcome would have been exactly the same.
I rest my case.
this and the last vulcan in one day
interesting to hear the early trigger speeds and Type R Tom's testimony - I don't think they have to be wrong, not if set with sensible leeway and in the right place with some warning (and on a side note, would it kill them to make them less of an eyesore without compromising visibility?). But I suspect the cheap and kludgy way of appearing to care about road safety will always be the popular one.
edit: who's NOT voting zero? avg is now 0.55?
interesting to hear the early trigger speeds and Type R Tom's testimony - I don't think they have to be wrong, not if set with sensible leeway and in the right place with some warning (and on a side note, would it kill them to make them less of an eyesore without compromising visibility?). But I suspect the cheap and kludgy way of appearing to care about road safety will always be the popular one.
edit: who's NOT voting zero? avg is now 0.55?
The issue i have with "machine justice" is that after 20 years of it, the average motorist, when asked "Why do you have to regard speed limits" will reply with "so i don't get caught by a camera and fined/ given points".
No one answers with "So i don't kill someone" or "so i don't have an accident"............
No one answers with "So i don't kill someone" or "so i don't have an accident"............
Zumbruk said:
billzeebub said:
people don't get caught by them [SPECS] because they drive through knuckles gripping the wheel tight fixated on their speedo (to the detriment of all that is going on outside the car)
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