Tuesday 8th July 2003

Speed Cameras - the Next Generation

Australia leads the way with cameras that you can't avoid

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[skid]

I think we should enjoy our liberated freedom while we can as it's going to go very very quickly.

When I'm a Grandfather I will be able to talk misty eyed about the good old days when traffic mmoved at the heady speed of 40 mph on the M25!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Alan420]

Very much doubt it.

As was said in another thread ; where's the revenue?

Everyone does the limit, and Tony B etc find themselves short of the 2million quid it cost to install and all the revenue they were getting from the last generation of scamera.

[swilly]

Add to that the fact that someone some where will develop a method of foiling the technology.

How about a Specs Digital Jammer then?

..or a dirty number plate

[Alan420]

Or half a tyre and a flammable liquid?

[plotloss]

That damned dutch rally driver really does have a lot to answer for...

[Alan420]

I don't consider myself a violent man, but if I'd been there when he first showed off his infernal contraption I wswear I'd swing for him!

[toad_oftoadhall]

Alan420 said:

Or half a tyre and a flammable liquid?

Works on vans too!

Make sure the doors are cling wrapped shut first! ;-)

[rev-erend]

Starting to wonder why I bother owning a supercar... I know perhaps
I'll buy a flat cap and drive it around under the speed limit everywhere !

[Alan420]

Nah, sell it, buy a JCB, and start driving over the speed limit (signs) everywhere.

[IanReid]

Of course it wouldn't be an issue if they had sensible speed limits, but as we all know that isn't going to happen how about speculating on some other scenarios.

This is a 300km road so presumably there will be some services in there. So unless there is a camera just before the services start and then one when you come out you could just blast in this part and stop for a cuppa in the services and be OK.

Personally if I drove a SPECS road regularly I'd time between the cameras at a legal speed, then the next time drive the boring part really slowly whilst hammering it in the interesting part, but still keeping to the right average. Even if the cameras do real speed no problem, just surf past them as everyone does now.

I'm sure people will start exploiting this loophole, just as they do with the fixed cameras now. After all otherwise why would they need talivans on the A40 where the fixed speed cameras have been saving us all for the last decade.

[DustyC]

BUT...
In Australia (well , Sydney anyway) there is a sign warning of speed cameras before each one. That includes mobile ones.

Also there are no fake signs.

The signs are visible and give plenty of time to slow down making the black spot safer and not just a money making scheme.

[Alan420]

Slight variation on the idea. You could trundle past the first one, give it welly, stop just behind the second one and wait for the time to elapse.


What you'd do with that time is entirely up to you...

[Ev_]

There's also the small matter that, in the UK, it's damn near impossible to cover any distance of more than a few miles at an average speed higher than the posted limit. There'll always be some dawdling bugger who'll bring your average down for you...

[OZGS]

In the State of Victoria where this system is being installed they have the most draconian speed policies in the country. Which is saying something as Australia has to be one of the worst countries to be a driver. The Victorian government is obsessed with speed and last year lowered the tolerance for issuing a ticket to 3km/h! They are in line to raise about $450million this year from their ever growing number of camera’s. So successful were they at getting the public to slow down (whilst still recording some of the worst road casualty figures) that they had to lower speed limits and tolerances to stop them losing revenue. For those of us in NSW we face an automatic ban for driving at 130Km/h. That’s about 80mph! Also the BiB here have no discretion at all, in fact they don’t even know the word is in the dictionary and Aussies drivers are appalling which is probably the root of the problem! Apart from that a great place!

[Alan420]

Ha! And to think I was going to come over and join you!

Nein danke...

[chrisbr68]

what about if you did a few laps of the m25 at whatever speed you like, and then came off at your desired junction? assuming no traffic and speed cops!

[Richard C]

said:

Slight variation on the idea. You could trundle past the first one, give it welly, stop just behind the second one and wait for the time to elapse.

'nuvver slight variation. You could trundle past the first one, give it welly until you are right up the backside of that HGV, trundling along in the inside lane, then you don't have wait for the time to elapse - the camera can't get you.

[Byff]

OZGS said:

In the State of Victoria where this system is being installed they have the most draconian speed policies in the country. Which is saying something as Australia has to be one of the worst countries to be a driver. The Victorian government is obsessed with speed and last year lowered the tolerance for issuing a ticket to 3km/h! They are in line to raise about $450million this year from their ever growing number of camera’s. So successful were they at getting the public to slow down (whilst still recording some of the worst road casualty figures) that they had to lower speed limits and tolerances to stop them losing revenue. For those of us in NSW we face an automatic ban for driving at 130Km/h. That’s about 80mph! Also the BiB here have no discretion at all, in fact they don’t even know the word is in the dictionary and Aussies drivers are appalling which is probably the root of the problem! Apart from that a great place!

Hmmm - New South Wales, Wales. Is it something to do with the name of the place that makes the council/police stupid fkwits