Cameras turned off in Germany

Even loose number plates could trigger cameras

By PH Staff / Wednesday, 19 December 2001 / Loading comments

The UK Speedtrap Guide brings us news of camera trouble in Germany. They report that tests by the German Government last week revealed that many cameras were inaccurately measuring speed.

Despite guidelines regarding the placement of cameras near walls and other potentially reflective structures it's alleged that readings showed that signals were being bounced back and giving false readings.

The greatest problem is reported to be the small deviations in angles at which the cameras were set to. Minor adjustments resulted in readings varying although the speeds reported worked in favour of the driver.

There's confusion as to the orginal source of the story however, with German readers of PistonHeads unaware of the so called scandal.

That aside, Steve Warren from the Speedtrap Guide has been conducting his own experiments to test the sensitivity of radar measurement when confronted with a variety of situations.

Amongst his findings:

Pointing a radar gun at a roadsign - no speed until a lorry thunders by, then the vibration alone gave readings
Pointing it at a speaker with music or voice playing, speeds of 100mph plus
A badly vibrating number plate gave erroneous readings.

To test it further, he mounted a metal plate on a speaker, turned up the volume and drove past the gun at 30mph with the boot open and the speaker pointing back. The gun gave speeds of over 100mph.

The results are certainly ammunition for those opposed to automated speed cameras. Perhaps it's time to reinstate plod at the side of the road with a radar gun and some common sense.

Link: www.ukspeedtraps.co.uk