Scamera vans....how much tolerance do they allow?

[larrylamb11]

Travelling down the M4 in Wales on Saturday on a long journey i think i may have been scam-vanned
Having been watching the road like a hawk and keeping my eyes peeled, i let my concentration slip for a moment and when i looked up there on a bridge over the carriageway was a scam-van.....****ing typical!!!
Naturally i hit the brakes and looking at the speedo reckon i was doing just over 80 when i first spotted the van (probably a while AFTER they would have spotted me), i was doing less than 70 by the time i passed under their position.
Sadly the road was empty and there werent any other vehicles around me....just me and the open road so i was the only target.

What sort of margin of error do they allow? I am assuming that being a scamera van pretty much anything over 80 is a dead cert for a ticket (+points etc.). Anyone in traf-pol Wales know? or anyone make an educated guess?

I feel my career as a relief HGV driver may be about to end........

[Streetcop]

Like Larrylampb to the slaughter eh?

Sorry.

Anyway..It depends on the force in question and the actual operator. They can be set to 'dob' anything doing over a certain speed, no matter what. Or, the operator can choose whether or not to 'dob' on each vehicle. The most popular way is the latter, (operator discretion)..

Presuming it was a 70mph zone that you were on...It's a 50/50 gamble for you. I personally would say 83mph and above, but that's only me.

14 days of sweating in the meantime, I'm afraid mate.

Fingers crossed for you though..

Street

[forever_driving]

For the benefit of employees working for the scamera partnerships...

Definition
tolerance (VARIATION)
noun [U] SPECIALIZED
the amount by which a measurement or calculation might vary and still be acceptable


Edited to say: I've just realised that neither of you even used the word 'tolerance', maybe I should pay more attention in the future. Anyway, I just hope that one of the scamera people are reading this and put 'tolerance' down on their 'word a day' calander.


>> Edited by forever_driving on Monday 16th August 10:40

[bryan35]

they usually set at 10% plus 2. So, 79 MPH they'll have you. Then add into the equasion that your speedo is most certainly reading high (probably by about 3MPH) then you were proabbly only doing about 77MPH. THEN you could add in Cosine effect but this doesn't effect it much. Presuming you WERE only travelling at an indicated 80MPH, I'd say you're in the clear. Unless you were in North Wales where if you're travelling at 69MPH they'll probably do you for 'intent to speed' :-)

[Mad Dave]

I once spoke to a Scamera van operator in Wiltshire. 60mph limit and he was snapping anyone over 70mph (so 71mph and over). And it was raining, so driving at those speeds would have been a fair cop - I wasn't speeding for that very reason.

The only thing I didnt agree with was where he was parked - layby right after a dual carriageway, but it was still 2 lanes in the direction I was travelling, but had gone back to 1 lane on the other side - so technically a 60 limit. Many people would think it was a 70 as 2 lanes in their direction.

83mph on a motorway/dual carriageway? Even thats a little harsh isnt it?

[Streetcop]

forever_driving said:

For the benefit of employees working for the scamera partnerships... Definition tolerance (VARIATION) noun [U] SPECIALIZED the amount by which a measurement or calculation might vary and still be acceptable

I remember in an interview once when the panel asked me what the word 'discretion' meant to me. I replied "Weakness!" Then went on to explain further. "I did use my discretion once, but I couldn't sleep that night, so I visited the driver the next day and reported him on summons. It was for the best in the long run"




Street

[larrylamb11]

Hmmmmmm.......I think this is pretty much what i had thought .... as you say a sweaty few days of waiting, but i have a forebodingly bad feeling.

The frustrating thing is that i did not consider the speed unsafe for the environment.....light trafiic, excellent visibilty, dry roads, well maintained vehicle etc. and in comparison to some of the downright dangerous driving witnessed over the length of the journey.... ar*e!!

This system seems so totally wrong and unfair - i have a Class 1 HGV licence, a bike licence and car licence, have never been involved in at fault accident (or otherwise) with a third party (touch wood), have never been clipped for speeding, or even pulled for a warning and cover a lot of miles every year in a variety of vehicles - yet a faceless roadside box that takes no account of driving ability or risk may deem me to be an unsafe driver! Something is not right........

Ranting over...sorry, very frustrated about this!!!

[TripleS]

larrylamb11 said:

Hmmmmmm.......I think this is pretty much what i had thought .... as you say a sweaty few days of waiting, but i have a forebodingly bad feeling. The frustrating thing is that i did not consider the speed unsafe for the environment.....light trafiic, excellent visibilty, dry roads, well maintained vehicle etc. and in comparison to some of the downright dangerous driving witnessed over the length of the journey.... ar*e!! This system seems so totally wrong and unfair - i have a Class 1 HGV licence, a bike licence and car licence, have never been involved in at fault accident (or otherwise) with a third party (touch wood), have never been clipped for speeding, or even pulled for a warning and cover a lot of miles every year in a variety of vehicles - yet a faceless roadside box that takes no account of driving ability or risk may deem me to be an unsafe driver! Something is not right........ Ranting over...sorry, very frustrated about this!!!

Well I have not (so far) had to suffer what you are now going through, but I do sympathise and I hope it all works out OK for you.

Damned nonsensical system.

Best wishes all,
Dave.

[BliarOut]

Mad Dave said:

I once spoke to a Scamera van operator in Wiltshire. 60mph limit and he was snapping anyone over 70mph (so 71mph and over). And it was raining, so driving at those speeds would have been a fair cop - I wasn't speeding for that very reason. The only thing I didnt agree with was where he was parked - layby right after a dual carriageway, but it was still 2 lanes in the direction I was travelling, but had gone back to 1 lane on the other side - so technically a 60 limit. Many people would think it was a 70 as 2 lanes in their direction. 83mph on a motorway/dual carriageway? Even thats a little harsh isnt it?

Mad Dave? Sound more like QuiteSensible Dave to me