m40: police transit van with speed camera parked on bridge
Discussion
Usget said:
On the bridge northbound before the Oxford turnoff again today. I wasn't 100% concentrating and may have gone through at somewhere between 75 and 80 - hopefully should be OK though.
As the M40 seems to have an average speed of around 90mph (and depending on road conditions perfectly safely I may add) I can't seeing that being a problem. If they caught everyone doing say 75-85mph they would be raking it in. This is a common one.
https://goo.gl/maps/ggmfS1Um8g42
Parks above the northbound carriageway but is covering the southbound.
I know these things can nick you from half a mile away or something but I'm actually pretty convinced they wait until you are virtually on top of them. I know many will disagree but the amount of times I've spotted a van parked up in the distance and have seen other drivers sail past me before standing on the anchors 200 hundred yards before the van suggests to me they really don't need to target vehicles half a mile away. It seems like it's less a punishment for speeding and more about observation.
https://goo.gl/maps/ggmfS1Um8g42
Parks above the northbound carriageway but is covering the southbound.
I know these things can nick you from half a mile away or something but I'm actually pretty convinced they wait until you are virtually on top of them. I know many will disagree but the amount of times I've spotted a van parked up in the distance and have seen other drivers sail past me before standing on the anchors 200 hundred yards before the van suggests to me they really don't need to target vehicles half a mile away. It seems like it's less a punishment for speeding and more about observation.
Last time we went along the M40 there was one at Beaconsfield *and* another in the Banbury area. I'm sure I'd have been caught by the second one in normal circumstances but fortunately on this occasion I had a roof box on the car and travelling above about 75mph with that just uses too much fuel!
They are sneaky down there a bit like our local ones in Cumbria in that they (a) operate in areas with no signs and (b) often like to park all the way over to the right of bridges that are on/after right hand curves in order to stay out of sight for as long as possible.
They are sneaky down there a bit like our local ones in Cumbria in that they (a) operate in areas with no signs and (b) often like to park all the way over to the right of bridges that are on/after right hand curves in order to stay out of sight for as long as possible.
1Addicted said:
To avoid unnecessary clenching, the bottom line (pardon the pun), watch the road ahead and not the car in front.
I was following a little way behind, a line of cars on a local motorway who were all driving safely but above the limit, and if not a little too close to each other. I saw ahead at the brow of a hill where there happens to be a bridge over the other side, their brake lights come on in a hurry. To my mind it was either some idiot pulling off a silly stunt, or a speed trap so I took caution, and as I rounded the top of the hill there was a filthy little scoundrel perched on the bridge, in his "safety camera" van, aiming a camera down the road at me.
The van what flashed my car was also filthy.Must be a new tactic by these scrounchers if that is the right spelling.I thought it was a mucky builders van.Must be a new tactic.Never mind,was invited on the course and 100 quid lighter.Waste of time.I was following a little way behind, a line of cars on a local motorway who were all driving safely but above the limit, and if not a little too close to each other. I saw ahead at the brow of a hill where there happens to be a bridge over the other side, their brake lights come on in a hurry. To my mind it was either some idiot pulling off a silly stunt, or a speed trap so I took caution, and as I rounded the top of the hill there was a filthy little scoundrel perched on the bridge, in his "safety camera" van, aiming a camera down the road at me.
BTW, for future reference and despite what anyone says about them, a good laser detector will alert you with enough time to slow down a bit (or sometimes a lot), especially where they hide on bridges and are serially pinging all cars approaching them, as there's often enough light scatter from the car in front of you to trigger the alarm.
Not so useful if you're the only car on the road at the time, or if the camera van is hiding around a bend, but my Valentine One has saved me in these situations more than once. The double bridge tactic is one they seem to use whenever they can. M40 near Oxford and M3/A303 junction are two popular ones.
Edited by FurtiveFreddy on Tuesday 20th September 17:44
FurtiveFreddy said:
;)
BTW, for future reference and despite what anyone says about them, a good laser detector will alert you with enough time to slow down a bit (or sometimes a lot), especially where they hide on bridges and are serially pinging all cars approaching them, as there's often enough light scatter from the car in front of you to trigger the alarm.
Not so useful if you're the only car on the road at the time, or if the camera van is hiding around a bend, but my Valentine One has saved me in these situations more than once. The double bridge tactic is one they seem to use whenever they can. M40 near Oxford and M3/A303 junction are two popular ones.
Yup here too: Scatter and having to double dip (maybe an error on first ping) has alerted me in a helpful way with laser detectors x 3 in about 10 yearsBTW, for future reference and despite what anyone says about them, a good laser detector will alert you with enough time to slow down a bit (or sometimes a lot), especially where they hide on bridges and are serially pinging all cars approaching them, as there's often enough light scatter from the car in front of you to trigger the alarm.
Not so useful if you're the only car on the road at the time, or if the camera van is hiding around a bend, but my Valentine One has saved me in these situations more than once. The double bridge tactic is one they seem to use whenever they can. M40 near Oxford and M3/A303 junction are two popular ones.
Edited by FurtiveFreddy on Tuesday 20th September 17:44
OldGermanHeaps said:
Are the laser jammers reliable?
I was talking about detectors, not jammers. Both are reliable if you buy good ones. I used jammers for a few years but stopped bothering after a Friday night knock on the door by two gentlemen who hauled my other half down the station for a 'chat' after she borrowed my car one day and jammed a local speed trap.
The Valentine One is about the best radar/laser detector you can buy but there are a lot more false alarms these days due to laser/radar-based driver aids fitted on new cars.
Gassing Station | Speed, Plod & the Law | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff