Percentage of live Gatso's

Author
Discussion

deeps

5,393 posts

242 months

Tuesday 1st September 2009
quotequote all
Puff the magic.. said:
deeps said:
Yes, fixed cameras are old hat, it's all about mobile scamera vans now, and that was always going to be the case. They soon realised how easy the pickings are from a comfy mobile unit, and that could only ever go one way.
What would the reason for 'easy pickings' be then?
Money.

Quite simply, when scamming from their vans they can mingle-in amongst other traffic parked in lay-bys etc, and shoot motorists travelling at average speeds safely, from half a mile away. A licence to print.

softtop

Original Poster:

3,058 posts

248 months

Wednesday 2nd September 2009
quotequote all
Is there a postal strike going on? I have been received hardly any post over the last 14-18 days?

Boosted LS1

21,189 posts

261 months

Wednesday 2nd September 2009
quotequote all
Maybe it went to another address by mistake and the recipient will forward it to you?

Puff the magic..

584 posts

181 months

Wednesday 2nd September 2009
quotequote all
deeps said:
Puff the magic.. said:
deeps said:
Yes, fixed cameras are old hat, it's all about mobile scamera vans now, and that was always going to be the case. They soon realised how easy the pickings are from a comfy mobile unit, and that could only ever go one way.
What would the reason for 'easy pickings' be then?
Money.

Quite simply, when scamming from their vans they can mingle-in amongst other traffic parked in lay-bys etc, and shoot motorists travelling at average speeds safely, from half a mile away. A licence to print.
I think you have missed the object of the question.

The answer to it would be that if drivers continue to speed and make it easy then pickings will be likewise.

deeps

5,393 posts

242 months

Thursday 3rd September 2009
quotequote all
Puff the magic.. said:
deeps said:
Puff the magic.. said:
deeps said:
Yes, fixed cameras are old hat, it's all about mobile scamera vans now, and that was always going to be the case. They soon realised how easy the pickings are from a comfy mobile unit, and that could only ever go one way.
What would the reason for 'easy pickings' be then?
Money.

Quite simply, when scamming from their vans they can mingle-in amongst other traffic parked in lay-bys etc, and shoot motorists travelling at average speeds safely, from half a mile away. A licence to print.
I think you have missed the object of the question.
No mate, I missed nothing. People sometimes see through loaded questions, and don't always respond as you would wish.

Puff the magic.. said:
The answer to it would be that if drivers continue to speed and make it easy then pickings will be likewise.
No, that's not 'the' answer, it is in fact just your opinion.

Where there is a money making industry that actually produces nothing, there is corruption based on greed and false beliefs such as yours.

A nice comparrison to the scamera industry is the climate change industry, where real businesses are being scammed taxed for carbon credits, carbon trading, carbon permits etc. A whole lot of money changing hands for no actual purpose, end result or achievement.

The scam industry is engineered to make money, if money was removed from the equation the industry wouldn't even exist. Drivers will always exceed limits when it's safe to do so, always for ever and ever as long as vehicles exist. They will always be easy pickings to scammers.

If we all slowed to a 20mph crawl, the limits would be lowered to 10mph under the pretence of reducing the continuing road deaths. And so the scam would continue, albeit justified in the minds of the car haters, the gullible, and of course the big business bus companies favourites such as Brake and Transport 2000.

Now it's my turn to ask you a question. What percentage of accidents occur above the speed limit on UK roads?




Puff the magic..

584 posts

181 months

Thursday 3rd September 2009
quotequote all
You were doing so well then came the ridiculous bit when you said speed limits are reduced purposely to catch drivers out.

The number of accidents caused by excess speed is around 5% but the number of casualties is close to 50%. in other words a low number of the collisions causes most of the deaths and serious injuries. Perhaps you can now "see through" the guff you repeat in this respect.

youngsyr

14,742 posts

193 months

Thursday 3rd September 2009
quotequote all
Puff the magic.. said:
You were doing so well then came the ridiculous bit when you said speed limits are reduced purposely to catch drivers out.

The number of accidents caused by excess speed is around 5% but the number of casualties is close to 50%. in other words a low number of the collisions causes most of the deaths and serious injuries. Perhaps you can now "see through" the guff you repeat in this respect.
To help clarify, Deeps asked you what percentage of accidents occur above the speed limit on UK roads, not what percentage of accidents were caused by excess speed.

Call me cynical, but it strikes me that the use of the term "excess speed" in the statistics could well simply be the product of spin, enabling the user to include those accidents that happened below the speed limit but at a speed that is deemed excessive for the conditions whilst implying that the speed limit was actually being broken.

I also believe the use of percentages or absolute numbers in isolation are similarly not useful. For example, saying that around 2,500 people were killed in road accidents in 2007 is not as useful as saying that 2,500 people were killed in road accidents in 2007, compared to around 6,000 who died as a result of suicide in the same period and around 80,000 who died as a result of smoking (that numbers from 2005, but I would imagine it hasn't decreased significantly by 2007).


Puff the magic..

584 posts

181 months

Thursday 3rd September 2009
quotequote all
youngsyr said:
Puff the magic.. said:
You were doing so well then came the ridiculous bit when you said speed limits are reduced purposely to catch drivers out.

The number of accidents caused by excess speed is around 5% but the number of casualties is close to 50%. in other words a low number of the collisions causes most of the deaths and serious injuries. Perhaps you can now "see through" the guff you repeat in this respect.
To help clarify, Deeps asked you what percentage of accidents occur above the speed limit on UK roads, not what percentage of accidents were caused by excess speed.

Call me cynical, but it strikes me that the use of the term "excess speed" in the statistics could well simply be the product of spin, enabling the user to include those accidents that happened below the speed limit but at a speed that is deemed excessive for the conditions whilst implying that the speed limit was actually being broken.

I also believe the use of percentages or absolute numbers in isolation are similarly not useful. For example, saying that around 2,500 people were killed in road accidents in 2007 is not as useful as saying that 2,500 people were killed in road accidents in 2007, compared to around 6,000 who died as a result of suicide in the same period and around 80,000 who died as a result of smoking (that numbers from 2005, but I would imagine it hasn't decreased significantly by 2007).
You are assuming something is spin when in reality it is because you have misunderstood the standard terminology.

Excess speed is speed that is in excess of the speed limit
Excessive speed is speed that is far in excess of the speed limit
Both terms indicate that the speed is above the speed limit. A reasonable guide would be the ACPO speed enforcement guidelines. Excess speed will result in a FPN whereas excessive speed will result in a summons.

I do believe you are thinking of excess speed as being speed that is in excess of the speed for the conditions, that is something quite different.

youngsyr

14,742 posts

193 months

Thursday 3rd September 2009
quotequote all
Puff the magic.. said:
youngsyr said:
Puff the magic.. said:
You were doing so well then came the ridiculous bit when you said speed limits are reduced purposely to catch drivers out.

The number of accidents caused by excess speed is around 5% but the number of casualties is close to 50%. in other words a low number of the collisions causes most of the deaths and serious injuries. Perhaps you can now "see through" the guff you repeat in this respect.
To help clarify, Deeps asked you what percentage of accidents occur above the speed limit on UK roads, not what percentage of accidents were caused by excess speed.

Call me cynical, but it strikes me that the use of the term "excess speed" in the statistics could well simply be the product of spin, enabling the user to include those accidents that happened below the speed limit but at a speed that is deemed excessive for the conditions whilst implying that the speed limit was actually being broken.

I also believe the use of percentages or absolute numbers in isolation are similarly not useful. For example, saying that around 2,500 people were killed in road accidents in 2007 is not as useful as saying that 2,500 people were killed in road accidents in 2007, compared to around 6,000 who died as a result of suicide in the same period and around 80,000 who died as a result of smoking (that numbers from 2005, but I would imagine it hasn't decreased significantly by 2007).
You are assuming something is spin when in reality it is because you have misunderstood the standard terminology.

Excess speed is speed that is in excess of the speed limit
Excessive speed is speed that is far in excess of the speed limit
Both terms indicate that the speed is above the speed limit. A reasonable guide would be the ACPO speed enforcement guidelines. Excess speed will result in a FPN whereas excessive speed will result in a summons.

I do believe you are thinking of excess speed as being speed that is in excess of the speed for the conditions, that is something quite different.
It may well be standard terminology (and in all honesty it's news to me that it is), but I have heard and read the term "excess speed" used dozens of times during news reports and in newspapers and not once has it been defined.

Again, a cynical person could argue that such a vague term that isn't explicitly defined in those type of reports could be used to include whatever the author wishes (within its literal meaning), regardless of a standard definition existing for the term.

However, I am sorry for falsely accusing you of not answering Deeps's question.

The whole publishing of statistics for speeding, KSIs and so on does strike me as being heavily spun though. I work in a heavily numerical industry and know very well how easy it is to put your case across with "weasel words" and carefully selected data. It's no exageration to say that I'm confident that experts in the field could present equally compelling cases for and against a certain conclusion from the same set of data in all but the most extreme cases.

My opinion on the publication of speeding statistics is informed by recognising many of the tactics used in publishing those sets of data from the reports I read and write that are designed to persuade the reader of a certain viewpoint. Of course that spin may not necesarily come from the creator of the data itself.

loomx

327 posts

226 months

Thursday 3rd September 2009
quotequote all
I had an acident a while ago, in a 60mph zone, doing about 50mph, and the police stated that it was due to excessive speed.

Which is probably was for the conditions.

I never got a summons or any points, just did one of the driver training things.

pitmansboots

1,372 posts

188 months

Thursday 3rd September 2009
quotequote all
loomx said:
I had an acident a while ago, in a 60mph zone, doing about 50mph, and the police stated that it was due to excessive speed.

Which is probably was for the conditions.

I never got a summons or any points, just did one of the driver training things.
That would be a typical misuse of the term.

When the data got back to the police road traffic collision database that term would have been changed to the correct code.

There are only 2 contributory factors for excess speed on the police record form now, 306 Exceeding the speed limit and 307 Travelling too fast for the conditions

The police officer can't, as nobody can, be right all of the time so checks are in place to correct the data returned if required. From what you have described a correction would be required.

Edited by pitmansboots on Thursday 3rd September 12:10

pitmansboots

1,372 posts

188 months

Thursday 3rd September 2009
quotequote all
youngsyr said:
Puff the magic.. said:
youngsyr said:
Puff the magic.. said:
You were doing so well then came the ridiculous bit when you said speed limits are reduced purposely to catch drivers out.

The number of accidents caused by excess speed is around 5% but the number of casualties is close to 50%. in other words a low number of the collisions causes most of the deaths and serious injuries. Perhaps you can now "see through" the guff you repeat in this respect.
To help clarify, Deeps asked you what percentage of accidents occur above the speed limit on UK roads, not what percentage of accidents were caused by excess speed.

Call me cynical, but it strikes me that the use of the term "excess speed" in the statistics could well simply be the product of spin, enabling the user to include those accidents that happened below the speed limit but at a speed that is deemed excessive for the conditions whilst implying that the speed limit was actually being broken.

I also believe the use of percentages or absolute numbers in isolation are similarly not useful. For example, saying that around 2,500 people were killed in road accidents in 2007 is not as useful as saying that 2,500 people were killed in road accidents in 2007, compared to around 6,000 who died as a result of suicide in the same period and around 80,000 who died as a result of smoking (that numbers from 2005, but I would imagine it hasn't decreased significantly by 2007).
You are assuming something is spin when in reality it is because you have misunderstood the standard terminology.

Excess speed is speed that is in excess of the speed limit
Excessive speed is speed that is far in excess of the speed limit
Both terms indicate that the speed is above the speed limit. A reasonable guide would be the ACPO speed enforcement guidelines. Excess speed will result in a FPN whereas excessive speed will result in a summons.

I do believe you are thinking of excess speed as being speed that is in excess of the speed for the conditions, that is something quite different.
It may well be standard terminology (and in all honesty it's news to me that it is), but I have heard and read the term "excess speed" used dozens of times during news reports and in newspapers and not once has it been defined.

Again, a cynical person could argue that such a vague term that isn't explicitly defined in those type of reports could be used to include whatever the author wishes (within its literal meaning), regardless of a standard definition existing for the term.

However, I am sorry for falsely accusing you of not answering Deeps's question.

The whole publishing of statistics for speeding, KSIs and so on does strike me as being heavily spun though. I work in a heavily numerical industry and know very well how easy it is to put your case across with "weasel words" and carefully selected data. It's no exageration to say that I'm confident that experts in the field could present equally compelling cases for and against a certain conclusion from the same set of data in all but the most extreme cases.

My opinion on the publication of speeding statistics is informed by recognising many of the tactics used in publishing those sets of data from the reports I read and write that are designed to persuade the reader of a certain viewpoint. Of course that spin may not necesarily come from the creator of the data itself.
Road Safety is the same as any other occupation, it has its own language.

It is often misunderstood and misinterpreted. Perhaps this is why "spin" is often claimed when the Road Safety pro has simply used the language as it was meant and someone outside of the industry has taken the term literally.

shakotan

10,715 posts

197 months

Thursday 3rd September 2009
quotequote all
Puddenchucker said:
Dizeee said:
Puff the magic.. said:
It would appear that Dizeee's insider informant is winding him up.
rofl

Bless! If only you knew the real facts...
With respect, other than saying that someone you know, whose job-function you haven't disclosed, has told you the holes in the back are "something to do with the camera being live," what evidence have you to support your assertion?

Meanwhile, here's another picture of the back of a Gatso with the cover open (this one has had a little fire damage):



As you can see the only thing on the cover are the two locks, the postion of which neatly corresponds to the two holes on the opposite side.
I think it is a definative fact shown by the pictures that there is no mechanical connection between the rear vents/keyholes, and the opertational status of the camera.

This is a given, due to unrefutable photographic evidence.

The only logical correlation I can surmise is that the sliding shutter latch is prone to jamming, or seizing due to exposure to elements. Therefore, cameras that are not regularly maintained or active have the cover left shut, since access is never going to be required.

However, since live cameras have to be accessed regularly, perhaps all service/operation crew have been advised to leave the shutter down/key holes open, to prevent jamming/seizing and therefore not being able to access the camera internals?

Dizeee, who knows what your connection to Gatso cameras actually is, but it can't be in the manufacture or service/operation of them, otherwise you'd know exactly what the two rear apetures were for.

pitmansboots

1,372 posts

188 months

Thursday 3rd September 2009
quotequote all
shakotan said:
...However, since live cameras have to be accessed regularly, perhaps all service/operation crew have been advised to leave the shutter down/key holes open, to prevent jamming/seizing and therefore not being able to access the camera internals?...
Not an unreasonable conclusion however Camera Techs are instructed to make sure they are set in the "Closed" position when they secure the cabinets.

deeps

5,393 posts

242 months

Thursday 3rd September 2009
quotequote all
Puff the magic.. said:
You were doing so well then came the ridiculous bit when you said speed limits are reduced purposely to catch drivers out.
I never said that, only you did.

"If we all slowed to a 20mph crawl, the limits would be lowered to 10mph under the pretence of reducing the continuing road deaths ".

Are you saying I'm wrong with that theory? If so, why would the continuing road deaths have become acceptable?

Puff the magic.. said:
The number of accidents caused by excess speed is around 5% but the number of casualties is close to 50%. in other words a low number of the collisions causes most of the deaths and serious injuries. Perhaps you can now "see through" the guff you repeat in this respect.
So you're saying that "close to 50%" of KSI collisions happen at 34mph here in Somerset? That's the "excess speed" the Scamera Partnership target, and coincidentally the speed that raises them the most revenue.





shakotan

10,715 posts

197 months

Friday 4th September 2009
quotequote all
pitmansboots said:
shakotan said:
...However, since live cameras have to be accessed regularly, perhaps all service/operation crew have been advised to leave the shutter down/key holes open, to prevent jamming/seizing and therefore not being able to access the camera internals?...
Not an unreasonable conclusion however Camera Techs are instructed to make sure they are set in the "Closed" position when they secure the cabinets.
Well, that would go against my theory then, since Dizzeee said that only cameras with the shutter 'open' are live?

pitmansboots

1,372 posts

188 months

Friday 4th September 2009
quotequote all
shakotan said:
pitmansboots said:
shakotan said:
...However, since live cameras have to be accessed regularly, perhaps all service/operation crew have been advised to leave the shutter down/key holes open, to prevent jamming/seizing and therefore not being able to access the camera internals?...
Not an unreasonable conclusion however Camera Techs are instructed to make sure they are set in the "Closed" position when they secure the cabinets.
Well, that would go against my theory then, since Dizzeee said that only cameras with the shutter 'open' are live?
I think there is confusion over the "shutter" over the cabinet locks and the "Shutter" on the camera.

The argument here has been the lock shutters.

shakotan

10,715 posts

197 months

Monday 7th September 2009
quotequote all
pitmansboots said:
shakotan said:
pitmansboots said:
shakotan said:
...However, since live cameras have to be accessed regularly, perhaps all service/operation crew have been advised to leave the shutter down/key holes open, to prevent jamming/seizing and therefore not being able to access the camera internals?...
Not an unreasonable conclusion however Camera Techs are instructed to make sure they are set in the "Closed" position when they secure the cabinets.
Well, that would go against my theory then, since Dizzeee said that only cameras with the shutter 'open' are live?
I think there is confusion over the "shutter" over the cabinet locks and the "Shutter" on the camera.

The argument here has been the lock shutters.
I'm fully aware of this, thank you.

bluepolarbear

1,665 posts

247 months

Tuesday 8th September 2009
quotequote all
shakotan said:
The only logical correlation I can surmise is that the sliding shutter latch is prone to jamming, or seizing due to exposure to elements. Therefore, cameras that are not regularly maintained or active have the cover left shut, since access is never going to be required.
The urban myth is that the shutters are required to be open to allow the camera to keep within operating temperatures as it bakes inside a metal box.

Edited by bluepolarbear on Wednesday 9th September 08:07

Medic-one

3,109 posts

204 months

Wednesday 9th September 2009
quotequote all
The Loose Goose said:
The only way to prove this as fact is..

For a series of experiments, Going through speeds traps and setting the camera off.

Then checking if the holes are open or closed..

Any volunteers to prove who is right??
Walked past 2 different camera's today which both have flashed me over the last 2 days and on both of them the holes were closed.