SPECS

[Davel]

I know that these work on your average speed through a given distance, say through roadworks etc.

If you approach the first one above the speed limit and slowing down, and then go through the rest at or below the speedlimit, are you okay?

Was on the M6 yesterday and entered a roadworks area with a 40 mph limit. Appraoched at about 45 and then slowed right down yet the last specs camera set my laser detector off - unless something else did and I was still at 40mph.

[Yugguy]

I'd have thought the last one would always set off your detector at any speed or how else would it be able to work out the time you took to travel from the first one?

[deva link]

Davel said:

I know that these work on your average speed through a given distance, say through roadworks etc. If you approach the first one above the speed limit and slowing down, and then go through the rest at or below the speedlimit, are you okay? Was on the M6 yesterday and entered a roadworks area with a 40 mph limit. Appraoched at about 45 and then slowed right down yet the last specs camera set my laser detector off - unless something else did and I was still at 40mph.

Could be the gallows for you, then.

I'm still amazed by how many people appear not to know about specs and just continue through at almost normal speed - perhaps they've all got cloned plates?

[deva link]

Yugguy said:

I'd have thought the last one would always set off your detector at any speed or how else would it be able to work out the time you took to travel from the first one?

Eh? Hmm - maybe this validates my other post.

[SS2.]

Davel said:

I know that these work on your average speed through a given distance, say through roadworks etc. If you approach the first one above the speed limit and slowing down, and then go through the rest at or below the speedlimit, are you okay? Was on the M6 yesterday and entered a roadworks area with a 40 mph limit. Appraoched at about 45 and then slowed right down yet the last specs camera set my laser detector off - unless something else did and I was still at 40mph.

Yup, SPECS works by calculating the average speed between a set or sets of cameras.. Regardless of approach speeds, even if you drove through the SPECS zone at an indicated 45 then this is likely to be an actual 42ish which would be below their enforcement threshold (unless they were complete barstewards)..

More info here - www.speedcheck.co.uk/FAQs.htm

[J1mmyD]

I was taking a close look at a set of specs cameras the other day wondering exactly how they managed to work.

I mean - I know the basics: Point A they snap your numberplate; Point B they snap it again. The time is recorded between your passing Point A and Point B while the distance between the two points is already known. Distance/time = speed.

But, here's what I mean: the cameras seemed pointed at a very small fixed point. (White roadmarkings could be seen in the centre of the lane at that point). So, my question is - does a specs camera only cover one lane?

I got to thinking about this more when I realised that in some places there are two cameras mounted on top of each stantion.

Does this mean we can get away with speeding provided we use the inside lane .... or if we switch lanes when we pass the second camera of the pair?

[Davel]

Sorry maybe I wasn't clear.

I was slowing down as I approached the first camera and was probably doing 45 as I got close and then only 40 as I passed under it and travelled through the rest.

I wasn't speeding at all between the first and last set of cameras i.e throughout the whole roadworks area.

My question really was would the first camera record your speed on approach, or is your average speed only recorded through the specs area, in which case I'm not worried.

[SS2.]

Davel said:

My question really was would the first camera record your speed on approach, or is your average speed only recorded through the specs area, in which case I'm not worried.

SPECS website said:

As vehicles pass between the cameras pairs they are digitally recorded. The time it takes for the vehicle to travel between both points is used to calculate the average speed.

[deva link]

Davel said:

Sorry maybe I wasn't clear. I was slowing down as I approached the first camera and was probably doing 45 as I got close and then only 40 as I passed under it and travelled through the rest. I wasn't speeding at all between the first and last set of cameras i.e throughout the whole roadworks area. My question really was would the first camera record your speed on approach, or is your average speed only recorded through the specs area, in which case I'm not worried.

Watch the presentation that SS2 posted.

[Davel]

Question answered then

[HarryW]

Check this site to see if have any points winging your way www.e-database.co.uk/

[Deltafox]

HarryW said:

Check this site to see if have any points winging your way www.e-database.co.uk/

Thats a bogus site

[polarbert]

Sorry to bring up a slightly old thread but these cameras do only focus on one lane, pretty much always the outside one. That is why you see more than one of them on the M1 roadworks near London, as they monitor 2 of the outside lanes.

[smeggy]

I once read that one specs cam can only cover a width of only 3.7 meters;, this is only slightly wider than the typical width of a motorway lane. The figure of 3.7 meters does make sense given the resolution of the cameras, any greater and there won't be enough resolution to enable reliable character recognition.

[LRdriver II]

I reset my average speed pooter in the car when driving thru the first at 40mph. That way I keep a tally of actual average speeds. The other trick is to drive up the bumper of a big rig (keep on truckin). No way they can capture numberplates then..

[smeggy]

LRdriver II said:

The other trick is to drive up the bumper of a big rig (keep on truckin). No way they can capture numberplates then..

'safety cameras'

[tigger1]

Aye, all we need to do is convoy through them at 100+, with driver "peeling off" to the back after each camera...although I think the DD charge might make it not worthwhile!

(oh, and the potential for death)

[Peter Ward]

This reminds me of a question I asked elsewhere but I don't think I saw a reply. When there's a stretch with many SPECS setups, are they always set up in separate pairs or can the pairs overlap? Can a SPECS camera be both the end of one pair and the beginning of another pair?

[smeggy]

Peter Ward said:

This reminds me of a question I asked elsewhere but I don't think I saw a reply. When there's a stretch with many SPECS setups, are they always set up in separate pairs or can the pairs overlap? Can a SPECS camera be both the end of one pair and the beginning of another pair?

I don’t know the answer to that, both configurations are possible. I would assume overlapping pairs simply because I can’t be sure if I’m driving between a non-monitored pair on an alternating pair setup – besides, the SCPs can get more revenue from overlapping pairs.

[jasandjules]

If they are keen enough and know the distances between each set of cameras, I am sure it wouldn't take them too long to get an NIP in the post.