Mobile camera van roof light

[Rocky20]

Anyone any knowledge of what the box on top of a mobile camera van is? Has two light looking lenses? Looks like some form of spot light or maybe infrared light? Rode past the van, which had the front facing me but had the flap open at the rear to catch traffic coming over a brow in the opposite direction, slowed down long before I passed the van but curious as to what the little unit on the roof was.

[voram]

I've known people nicked when approaching a van from the front when they'd previously thought the camera only pointed backwards. Wonder if it's some kind of periscope system?

[Rocky20]

Yeah some vans have a hatch at the front too, but this only had hatch open at the rear. The thing on the roof didn’t even look like a camera lense, just look like two lights.

[FunkyGibbon]

ANPR?

[LargeRed]

I was once told off for looking at an unmarked shabby white van in a lay-by. It had several long whip aerials on the roof.

I stopped behind it and walked the length of the lay-by. On my return walk a copper jumped out asked what I was doing ?

It turned out to be a mule/trials van with lots of electronics inside, testing the very latest in speed traps and ANPR.

[Rocky20]

Found an imagine of the same type of thing, the white one on the left ….

[Chris32345]

Rocky20 said:

Found an imagine of the same type of thing, the white one on the left ….

Infrared light on the left and camera or the righ would be my guest

[Rocky20]

Chris32345 said:

Infrared light on the left and camera or the righ would be my guest

I imagine it is the camera used to capture a rear plate after someone has gone past the main camera facing the other way.

[martinbiz]

Lots of I would think and I imagine on here. Perhaps a more definitive answer is it will be external cctv on the speed camera van you saw. Most mobile speed camera vans are equipped now, you would be surprised at the amount of attempted assaults and threats that are made against operators these days. The images someone posted are not a mobile speed camera van, but a mobile cctv and ANPR unit

[Rocky20]

martinbiz said:

Lots of I would think and I imagine on here. Perhaps a more definitive answer is it will be external cctv on the speed camera van you saw. Most mobile speed camera vans are equipped now, you would be surprised at the amount of attempted assaults and threats that are made against operators these days. The images someone posted are not a mobile speed camera van, but a mobile cctv and ANPR unit

Yes 100% agree. My initial thoughts were some form of CCTV or infrared to help with catching bike plates in the dark or people not displaying a front plate on a car. I know the imagine posted is from a different type of van but the camera unit is the same, it was purely for an example.

[voram]

Looks like ANPR to me. Doesn't need to be very big because they're not trying to read at long range.