Strathclyde's scamera spin brigade
Discussion
At the Scottish motorshow the traffic cops had a PR/spin stand where they exault the greatness of scameras. Trouble was every single member of joe public coming on the stand was giving the cops a hard time 
However I had an interesting conversation with one of the talivan operator cops. Unless he was lying (doubt it) it turns out that the cash for cameras scheme (know as hypethocation) can only recover the cost when operating at accident black spots. These must have accident statistics to back up the location of either a fixed gatso or a talivan.
When I say recover the cost what I mean is that the local authority (council) can claim back the money from the tickets and give it to the cops.
It doesn't stop them placing talivans anywhere BUT they can only make money at these so called blackspots. This would explain why talivans prefer certain locations.
That said the treasury still rake in all the fines from all other talivan catches so I guess the government is keen to get more talvians out there.
Also had asked about jammers and the cop said they could PNC your plate and send someone round your house for a chat. Trouble is he was just using bravado. There is no way they have that level of resouces and even if they did they cannot inspect your bike/car if its in the garage without either your permission or a warrant. So thats a non starter.
He also said that they can tell when you are using a jammer cos they get an error message. After some prodding I managed to get him to admit that error messages pop up for all sorts of reasons so it wouldn't be conclusive evidence of a jammer.
I also asked about the non signing NIP thing but couldn't get any sense out of him. At first he said they would give you a fine and points if you filled it in but didn't sign it. I asked how as it couldn't be admissable evidence as any old Tom, Dick or Harry could have filled it and without a you wouldn't know who had filled it in. Then he said said that you could be prosecuted for failure to provide but thats bollocks cos it hasn't happened to anyone yet. He was a bit defensive on the subject but couldn't provide any real answers.
I forgot to ask if Strathclyde operates inductor loop traps although I think they do.
For what its worth Strathclyde have 4 Talivans (I think they are all marked)
All in all I was unimpressed by their PR spin and still think that patrol cars are better use of resources.
Andy
However I had an interesting conversation with one of the talivan operator cops. Unless he was lying (doubt it) it turns out that the cash for cameras scheme (know as hypethocation) can only recover the cost when operating at accident black spots. These must have accident statistics to back up the location of either a fixed gatso or a talivan.
When I say recover the cost what I mean is that the local authority (council) can claim back the money from the tickets and give it to the cops.
It doesn't stop them placing talivans anywhere BUT they can only make money at these so called blackspots. This would explain why talivans prefer certain locations.
That said the treasury still rake in all the fines from all other talivan catches so I guess the government is keen to get more talvians out there.
Also had asked about jammers and the cop said they could PNC your plate and send someone round your house for a chat. Trouble is he was just using bravado. There is no way they have that level of resouces and even if they did they cannot inspect your bike/car if its in the garage without either your permission or a warrant. So thats a non starter.
He also said that they can tell when you are using a jammer cos they get an error message. After some prodding I managed to get him to admit that error messages pop up for all sorts of reasons so it wouldn't be conclusive evidence of a jammer.
I also asked about the non signing NIP thing but couldn't get any sense out of him. At first he said they would give you a fine and points if you filled it in but didn't sign it. I asked how as it couldn't be admissable evidence as any old Tom, Dick or Harry could have filled it and without a you wouldn't know who had filled it in. Then he said said that you could be prosecuted for failure to provide but thats bollocks cos it hasn't happened to anyone yet. He was a bit defensive on the subject but couldn't provide any real answers.
I forgot to ask if Strathclyde operates inductor loop traps although I think they do.
For what its worth Strathclyde have 4 Talivans (I think they are all marked)
All in all I was unimpressed by their PR spin and still think that patrol cars are better use of resources.
Andy
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