Police Mobile Camera Vans - Windscreen
Discussion
Just wondering whether anybody has had any experience of being caught head on by a police mobile camera van (through the windscreen).
Asking because I came over a crest in a 30mph zone following a line of traffic doing around 35mph-ish and noticed the mobile van on the opposite side of the road facing towards me. I, along with the traffic in front slowed well below 30mph before passing the rear of the van (which again, was located on the other side of the road - How they typically catch approaching traffic on the same side of the road) and noticed one of the windows was open and the camera appeared active, indicating the operator was sat in the rear...
I’ve been scouring the internet for a definitive answer, most seem to believe that the front facing cameras are simple CCTV for catching the rear plates of on-coming motorbikes as well as other things but nothing to track the speed of vehicles.
Does anybody have any experience/links of proof of this?
The van was police liveried with camera markers on only the rear of the van and was Cheshire police if that makes much difference.
Asking because I came over a crest in a 30mph zone following a line of traffic doing around 35mph-ish and noticed the mobile van on the opposite side of the road facing towards me. I, along with the traffic in front slowed well below 30mph before passing the rear of the van (which again, was located on the other side of the road - How they typically catch approaching traffic on the same side of the road) and noticed one of the windows was open and the camera appeared active, indicating the operator was sat in the rear...
I’ve been scouring the internet for a definitive answer, most seem to believe that the front facing cameras are simple CCTV for catching the rear plates of on-coming motorbikes as well as other things but nothing to track the speed of vehicles.
Does anybody have any experience/links of proof of this?
The van was police liveried with camera markers on only the rear of the van and was Cheshire police if that makes much difference.
scorcher said:
littleredrooster said:
I believe - but stand to be corrected - that the front camera is to photograph the plate of a speeding motorcycle after it has passed. Speeding is still detected from the rear only.
Or the side. But not the front.You won't find any proof, they don't want people to know the truth. So they spread rumours, which are in turn spread socially and in turn end up all over social media and internet forums, which is why you won't find a definitive answer.
As mentioned above, the lidar is manned at the rear of the vehicle and does not work through glass. But the science doesn't matter if nobody believes it because Freds cousins uncle said different.
They certainly won't work through a windscreen, because you cannot have a road legal vehicle with a hole in it's windscreen.
As mentioned above, the lidar is manned at the rear of the vehicle and does not work through glass. But the science doesn't matter if nobody believes it because Freds cousins uncle said different.
They certainly won't work through a windscreen, because you cannot have a road legal vehicle with a hole in it's windscreen.
speedking31 said:
I'm assuming this is in response to my post looking for examples - Fortunately the van I came across didn't have a hatch above the windscreen like those. It was a 2016-2018 style Transit (the larger ones).lyonspride said:
You won't find any proof, they don't want people to know the truth. So they spread rumours, which are in turn spread socially and in turn end up all over social media and internet forums, which is why you won't find a definitive answer.
As mentioned above, the lidar is manned at the rear of the vehicle and does not work through glass. But the science doesn't matter if nobody believes it because Freds cousins uncle said different.
They certainly won't work through a windscreen, because you cannot have a road legal vehicle with a hole in it's windscreen.
Let's hope you're right As mentioned above, the lidar is manned at the rear of the vehicle and does not work through glass. But the science doesn't matter if nobody believes it because Freds cousins uncle said different.
They certainly won't work through a windscreen, because you cannot have a road legal vehicle with a hole in it's windscreen.
- Tell us more!HantsRat said:
On a technical note, lasers do work through windscreens albeit with less range and more difficulty getting a reading. We don't however use them through glass.
Can a laser go through glass? Partially yes, can any laser measuring equipment get an accurate reading through glass? Not without knowing the quality, thickness and composition (laminated?) of the glass AND then doing a s
t tonne of maths.There would therefore be a policy of not doing speed measurement through glass, in order to avoid people getting off on a technicality.
This is also a reason why you don't usually see scamera/talivans on days where excessive speed would actually be dangerous (snow/ice/damp/cold), because there is a legal minimum working temperature of 16 degrees C in any job that isn't full on manual labour. Need the hatch open, which means.... Cold.
lyonspride said:
This is also a reason why you don't usually see scamera/talivans on days where excessive speed would actually be dangerous (snow/ice/damp/cold), because there is a legal minimum working temperature of 16 degrees C in any job that isn't full on manual labour. Need the hatch open, which means.... Cold.
Utter tosh. Vehicles heaters negate that problem. Ice/Damp/Cold have no impact on whether speed vans operate in the slightest. HantsRat said:
Tell you more of what?
Is the only way of catching speeding motorists from the front (windscreen) with a van equipped with one of the hatches above the windscreen like this one and not a standard mobile speed camera van: http://thumbsnap.com/vjwGdQrKGassing Station | Speed, Plod & the Law | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff