Multi-direction scamera van
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Meet the latest weapon in the war on motorists, a police speed enforcement van equipped with four cameras which catches drivers on film in every direction simultaneously. Bedfordshire Police are now operating the new 'Command Vans' with cameras at the front, both sides and back rather than just the rear as with traditional speed vans.
The four vans, which were converted from traditional rear camera only vans at a cost of £28,000 each, allow a single operator to monitor traffic from all angles at once.
All four cameras are circled on Bedfordshire Police's speed camera van. The front camera, second from the left, records the back of the car after it has gone past, the side cameras simultaneously picture vehicles passing alongside, and a policeman with a laser gun, second from the right, captures the speed the motorist is driving approaching the van from over half a mile away
Traditional vans could capture speeding cars but struggle to identify drivers who contested tickets and motorbikes which do not have front number plates.
But the new vehicles can register a speeding vehicle as it approaches more than half a mile away and then record front, rear and side images as it passes to ensure identification. An officer sits in the back manning a laser gun and monitors feeds from the extra cameras high on each side panel, dashboard and rear.
Bedfordshire Police are believed to be the first force in the UK to use the new Commander Vans and claim they will help reduce 'hazardous driving'.
The view from the four cameras taken at exactly the same time, showing, top left, a car approaching, top right, cars that have passed pictured from the front of the van, and, bottom left, a motorcyclist passing the van, and, bottom right, the hedge alongside the van where it is parked
But motoring organisations slammed the force for wasting public money on creating even more lucrative speed camera 'cash cows'. Roger Lawson, a spokesman for the Association of British Drivers, said the four-way Command Vans were an unwelcome development.
He said: 'This is the first time I have come across such vans but as an organisation we would like to see these kinds of camera prosecutions done away with altogether. Statistically the idea that speed cameras stop speeding is a load of cobblers, they are just a way of raising revenue. This kind of investment is a waste of money. They should be scrapping vans rather than improving them. In the current economic climate when cuts are likely to be made police and politicians should be concentrating on major crime issues, not motorists.'
Out of a fleet of five mobile enforcement vans, the Bedfordshire Police have four Command Vans which were first introduced in last year as old vans were replaced.
It cost around £110,000 in total to upgrade the all four vans' camera technology from analogue recording equipment to digital with LTI UltraLyte 1000 laser guns.
They are made out of aluminium and steel and have a speed range of plus or minus 200mph and a distance range of 3,280ft.
John Franklin, a spokesman for the RAC, said it was all very well to have extra cameras as long as motorists were also able to use them in defence.
He said: 'It has to work both ways. If you have a concern that you were not the driver you should be able to prove that using the images. They have to be available to drivers as well as the police. Our general view is that there should a regular audit to make sure all cameras are being used for the right reasons. But it's difficult to audit vans because they appear here there and everywhere. If vans are appearing in placing where there is concern for safety, fine, but as soon as they are being used to get money into public coffers that is a concern.'
Bedfordshire Police said they hoped to deter motorists from speeding in the first place and insisted prevention was better than a fine.
A spokeswoman said: 'It's all about keeping our roads safe and deterring hazardous behaviour that puts lives at risk.
'We don't measure our success in terms of an increase in the number of people detected speeding. We don't want to catch people, we want people to slow down. Enforcement is most effective when we use high visibility vans to deter speeding. Using this digital technology we are able to capture high quality images of vehicles from the front, side and rear. This means that we can identify speeding motorcycles, which only have a number plate on the back, and we can enforce the speed limit in both directions at once. Also, when cars are recorded speeding, the picture of the front of the vehicle can help the owner to identify the driver.'
In October 2008 Swindon scrapped all its fixed speed cameras and saw no increase in accidents compared with the previous year, although the Government lost around £80,000 in revenue.
Northamptonshire, which borders Bedfordshire, also withdrew all its mobile speed cameras after the County Council branded them an unnecessary hazard. The static cameras remained.
The four vans, which were converted from traditional rear camera only vans at a cost of £28,000 each, allow a single operator to monitor traffic from all angles at once.
All four cameras are circled on Bedfordshire Police's speed camera van. The front camera, second from the left, records the back of the car after it has gone past, the side cameras simultaneously picture vehicles passing alongside, and a policeman with a laser gun, second from the right, captures the speed the motorist is driving approaching the van from over half a mile away
Traditional vans could capture speeding cars but struggle to identify drivers who contested tickets and motorbikes which do not have front number plates.
But the new vehicles can register a speeding vehicle as it approaches more than half a mile away and then record front, rear and side images as it passes to ensure identification. An officer sits in the back manning a laser gun and monitors feeds from the extra cameras high on each side panel, dashboard and rear.
Bedfordshire Police are believed to be the first force in the UK to use the new Commander Vans and claim they will help reduce 'hazardous driving'.
The view from the four cameras taken at exactly the same time, showing, top left, a car approaching, top right, cars that have passed pictured from the front of the van, and, bottom left, a motorcyclist passing the van, and, bottom right, the hedge alongside the van where it is parked
But motoring organisations slammed the force for wasting public money on creating even more lucrative speed camera 'cash cows'. Roger Lawson, a spokesman for the Association of British Drivers, said the four-way Command Vans were an unwelcome development.
He said: 'This is the first time I have come across such vans but as an organisation we would like to see these kinds of camera prosecutions done away with altogether. Statistically the idea that speed cameras stop speeding is a load of cobblers, they are just a way of raising revenue. This kind of investment is a waste of money. They should be scrapping vans rather than improving them. In the current economic climate when cuts are likely to be made police and politicians should be concentrating on major crime issues, not motorists.'
Out of a fleet of five mobile enforcement vans, the Bedfordshire Police have four Command Vans which were first introduced in last year as old vans were replaced.
It cost around £110,000 in total to upgrade the all four vans' camera technology from analogue recording equipment to digital with LTI UltraLyte 1000 laser guns.
They are made out of aluminium and steel and have a speed range of plus or minus 200mph and a distance range of 3,280ft.
John Franklin, a spokesman for the RAC, said it was all very well to have extra cameras as long as motorists were also able to use them in defence.
He said: 'It has to work both ways. If you have a concern that you were not the driver you should be able to prove that using the images. They have to be available to drivers as well as the police. Our general view is that there should a regular audit to make sure all cameras are being used for the right reasons. But it's difficult to audit vans because they appear here there and everywhere. If vans are appearing in placing where there is concern for safety, fine, but as soon as they are being used to get money into public coffers that is a concern.'
Bedfordshire Police said they hoped to deter motorists from speeding in the first place and insisted prevention was better than a fine.
A spokeswoman said: 'It's all about keeping our roads safe and deterring hazardous behaviour that puts lives at risk.
'We don't measure our success in terms of an increase in the number of people detected speeding. We don't want to catch people, we want people to slow down. Enforcement is most effective when we use high visibility vans to deter speeding. Using this digital technology we are able to capture high quality images of vehicles from the front, side and rear. This means that we can identify speeding motorcycles, which only have a number plate on the back, and we can enforce the speed limit in both directions at once. Also, when cars are recorded speeding, the picture of the front of the vehicle can help the owner to identify the driver.'
In October 2008 Swindon scrapped all its fixed speed cameras and saw no increase in accidents compared with the previous year, although the Government lost around £80,000 in revenue.
Northamptonshire, which borders Bedfordshire, also withdrew all its mobile speed cameras after the County Council branded them an unnecessary hazard. The static cameras remained.
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