Gatso Direction - Front Facing??

[Wildfire]

Can a Gatso get you coming towards it??

I was coming along a road last night 30 limit going in to a 40, where there was a Gatso facing me. Not a Truvelo, so as the limit went up and the camera was facing me I sped up to go into the 40, as I passed the Gatso (coming towards it) it went off. No other cars on the road, no other cameras. I turned around and made sure that there were no other cameras. I saw it happen the other day when I was going away from the same Gatso, to another car, but thought I must have been mistaken.

Also there are no camera signs for miles around on this particular stretch of road.

Am I looking at a NIP in 2 weeks, or what?

Cheers

Chris

[SS2.]

I read this a while ago from a 'trusted' member of the scamerati..

What you will probably find is if a GATSO goes off when driving towards it, they have a radar and counter in, but no camera. When a camera is live they are set to take pictures one way only, without the camera they can't distinguish what way the offending vehicle is travelling.

And I didn't think that Gatsos were type approved for front facing use...

I'm confident you'll be OK but I guess you will be certain in 15 days...

[zumbruk]

I don't believe a word of it. Front facing GATSOs would be *incredibly* dangerous - a bright flash (or two) straight in your eyes!?!?!?

OTOH, Truvelos can be operated in either mode, since they use IR flash.

[pdV6]

SS2. said:

I read this a while ago from a 'trusted' member of the scamerati.. What you will probably find is if a GATSO goes off when driving towards it, they have a radar and counter in, but no camera. When a camera is live they are set to take pictures one way only, without the camera they can't distinguish what way the offending vehicle is travelling. And I didn't think that Gatsos were type approved for front facing use... I'm confident you'll be OK but I guess you will be certain in 15 days...

Sorry, but that just has to be bollox. Why would the presence or absence of a camera have any effect on the speed calculation made by observing the doppler effect on the reflected RADAR signals from the car (i.e. +x mph as opposed to -x mph)?

In fact, testing by suitably equipped persons (i.e. fast bike (no number plate on the front, see?)) has shown that pretty much any GATSO (live or otherwise) will flash at you if you head towards it fast enough.

The problem with this one is probably its aim rather than anything else.

All IMO of course...

[smeggy]

"Truvelos can be operated in either mode....."

Correct


"......since they use IR flash"

Incorrect. The flash is actually magenta (no green).

www.truvelouk.com/installationmains.phtml

[smeggy]

PVD6, I think you misunderstood SS2 (unless I misunderstood you).

SS2 said:

.......without the camera they can't distinguish what way the offending vehicle is travelling

"they" being the camera operator who is processing the film, hence confirming the vehicle was indeed offending (receding and within the sensor area).



Wildfire,

I’ve never heard of anyone being prosecuted when approaching a GATSO, whatever their speed (I stand to be corrected), so sleep easy

[Wildfire]

Cheers guys.

[zumbruk]

smeggy said:

"Truvelos can be operated in either mode....." Correct "......since they use IR flash" Incorrect. The flash is actually magenta (no green). www.truvelouk.com/installationmain

Ta. I sit corrected.

[tonyhetherington]

pdV6 said:

Sorry, but that just has to be bollox. Why would the presence or absence of a camera have any effect on the speed calculation made by observing the doppler effect on the reflected RADAR signals from the car (i.e. +x mph as opposed to -x mph)? In fact, testing by suitably equipped persons (i.e. fast bike (no number plate on the front, see?)) has shown that pretty much any GATSO (live or otherwise) will flash at you if you head towards it fast enough. The problem with this one is probably its aim rather than anything else. All IMO of course...

I got told the same thing by the guy who runs a 'Safety Camera Partnership'. Simply put, if it goes off going towards you there is no film in it because the camera/radar setup gets moved from box to box (at any one time only maybe 1 in 8 boxes has an actualy camera in it). While there is no camera/radar in the gatso they put in a dummy radar which is nowhere near as accurate, and not calibrated - it is cheaper and less specific. That is why many people might get flashed and not receive an NIP.

Hope that makes sense
Tony

[blueyes]

tonyhetherington said:

pdV6 said: Sorry, but that just has to be bollox. Why would the presence or absence of a camera have any effect on the speed calculation made by observing the doppler effect on the reflected RADAR signals from the car (i.e. +x mph as opposed to -x mph)? In fact, testing by suitably equipped persons (i.e. fast bike (no number plate on the front, see?)) has shown that pretty much any GATSO (live or otherwise) will flash at you if you head towards it fast enough. The problem with this one is probably its aim rather than anything else. All IMO of course... I got told the same thing by the guy who runs a 'Safety Camera Partnership'. Simply put, if it goes off going towards you there is no film in it because the camera/radar setup gets moved from box to box (at any one time only maybe 1 in 8 boxes has an actualy camera in it). While there is no camera/radar in the gatso they put in a dummy radar which is nowhere near as accurate, and not calibrated - it is cheaper and less specific. That is why many people might get flashed and not receive an NIP. Hope that makes sense Tony

Tony is right. Full ones don't flash you in the face.

[nlldavies]

What happens if you are in the lane that the camera is monitoring, below the speed limit and it flashes because a speeding vehicle is travelling in the opposite direction.

I had this done to me a week ago. I was half way up the graded markings when the camera flashed behind me. I pass the camera everyday, so know of its existence and always drop to 30 or below. As I was picking my eyes up from looking at the speedo which was regestring about 29mph I noticed the camera flashing in the background.

How do they determine who was speeding in this situation.

[wiggy001]

nlldavies said:

What happens if you are in the lane that the camera is monitoring, below the speed limit and it flashes because a speeding vehicle is travelling in the opposite direction. I had this done to me a week ago. I was half way up the graded markings when the camera flashed behind me. I pass the camera everyday, so know of its existence and always drop to 30 or below. As I was picking my eyes up from looking at the speedo which was regestring about 29mph I noticed the camera flashing in the background. How do they determine who was speeding in this situation.

They look at the picture produced...

[smeggy]

wiggy001 said:

They look at the picture produced...

……..The GATSO camera will take 2 pics 0.5 seconds apart (unless they are notsoaccurate). The operator can determine the actual speed of both vehicles by measuring the distance they have travelled between the pics as indicated by the ‘graded markings’; multiply that by a magic number to give the respective speeds.

[ledfoot]

nlldavies said:

What happens if you are in the lane that the camera is monitoring, below the speed limit and it flashes because a speeding vehicle is travelling in the opposite direction.

Nothing happens, because there will not be a film in the camera if it flashes oncoming vehicles.