Unpublicised Mobile Speed Cameras

[tim.tonal]

Minding my own business driving through Northants yesterday, when came across one of the local 'Safety' camera vans on parked at the side of the road with Lidar/Camera jobby deployed. Gets home and checks the Northants Police Highway Robbery website for the day in question - site not listed. Nor was it listed for the month!

A couple of months ago noticed the same shenanigans in Nottingham.

Seems they ain't keeping up with their end of the bargain as regards divulging their activities and this seems quite commonplace.

What's going on here? Who would I make a complaint to and what would be done about it if I did?

[Richard C]

Arrive Alive regularly do this. Correlation with website is about 50:50 - something like random.

When you email the PR person she emails back some serious and plausible excuse like copper was supposed to go on a course and course was cancelled so they sent him out on enforcement.

[bobbins]

I got caught like this in Cheshire. The web site says something like, they reserve the right to not stick to the posted sites for operational reasons.
The place where I got stopped wasn't even listed as a mobile site at all. And the operator wasn't wearing a hi-viz jacket - he was standing on a footbridge, but off to the side, with trees behind him, so he was out of normal line of sight and pretty invisible until close up. I've since seen them in the same place standing half way up the embankment in the shadow of the bridge.
Not cricket at all - the road's a brand new, motorway standard dual carriageway and I'm not aware of there being any accidents on it yet.

[TSS]

The locations listings on the Northants website used to be accurate. For the last 12 moths they’ve been fictional. I regularly see Scameras in Northants in places that do not correspond to where their website says they should be.

IMHO listing the locations on their site is just a PR exercise. Maybe they notice too many hits on their website and realised that if people know where they are they won’t make so much profit.

[havoc]

I'd imagine the websites are just that - a PR exercise paying lip-service to the alleged "deterrent".

The only way around it is to treat every known spot as risky until you get within CLEAR sight of it to ensure it's clear...which I know is doing what they want and slowing down, but this is a game, and they make the rules, unfortunately.

[outnumbered]

I reckon a FoI act query to them on the correlation between their website, their published policy on mobile use, and what they actually deploy in practice, might work well.

[corozin]

The Dorset Camera website often advertises cameras as being located on the "A35 - whole length"

This is a road which stretches for 65 miles from Bournemouth to Honiton... how much use is that? They might as well say "camering everywhere suckers"

[ratpit]

Didn't they used to hang highway robbers ???

[8Pack]

I would suggest that if anyone has any knowledge of "unknown" scam sites, send them to this site:
www.pocketgpsworld.com/uksafetycameras.php

The info is available for many GPS systems and as an "Autoroute" overlay.

Sorry, edited because of cock up on web address

>> Edited by 8Pack on Friday 11th February 00:11

[crazydave]

There's a booklet with Auto Express this week that gives a guide to mobile scameras around the country.

The ones near me are listed and accurate but I can't speak for the rest of the locations.

[nismo200sx]

this is what London SCamera Partnership say on their website:
Mobile Camera Locations

The mobile location schedules are of a general rather than a specific nature to accommodate any urgent operational requirements identified by the Metropolitan Police or the London Boroughs. There may be occasions where operational needs demand changes to published locations at short notice.




Monday 07.01.05
Richmond, Barnet, Lambeth, Islington, Havering
Tuesday 08.02.05
Merton, Hillingdon, Bromley, Westminster, Redbridge
Wednesday 09.02.05
Hounslow, Hammersmith & Fulham, Croydon, Hackney, Waltham Forest
Thursday 10.02.05
Kingston, Brent, Greenwich, Kensington & Chelsea, Enfield
Friday 11.02.05
Wansworth, Harrow, Southwark, Tower Hamlets, Barking & Dagenham
Saturday 12.02.05
Sutton, Barnet, Lewisham, Westminster. Newham
Sunday 13.02.05
Richmond, Hillingdon, Bexley, Islington, Redbridge

Not exactly very informative as they only tell you in which borough they are deployed in.

[rodney59]

Kent publish much the same vague locations. I asked them to name the exact location (and times) and when they last visited each mobile site. (In the interest that locals would want to know what was being done about "speeding" in their area) All under the FoI.

Got the following reply:
"
This information is exempt under the FoI Act. approved under the national FOI commission. This is because we fell it may be "prejudicial" to law enforcement and lead to harming individuals. People may also take advantage of speeding at sites where they know we are not operating on a particular day and this information could also lead to a pre-planned assault"

[simonrockman]

And of course if they change the camera site it is beyond them to update the web site.

[Fat Audi 80]

This is making me angrier and angrier.

I regularly break the speed limit perfectly safely where conditions allow and am a threat to no one but myself yet liable to losing my license in some cases if I were caught on camera.

Yet, regularly in the morning on the motorway I will be cruising in lane 1 doing 65mph and watch utter utter morons weaving in and out of lane 2 and 3 at 80 - 90 mph in dark and wet conditions literally feet off the back of other cars, some with children in, and NOTHING at all is done about it.......

WHEN IS THE APPROACH TO SAFETY GOING TO BE CHANGED!!!!!

I AM FUMING, AND I HAVEN'T EVEN BEEN CAUGHT ON ONE OF THESE SCAMERAS YET.....

Cheers,

Steve