Police abandon Scamera Vans..
Police abandon Scamera Vans..
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Discussion

sjn2004

Original Poster:

4,051 posts

267 months

Wednesday 9th March 2005
quotequote all
Travelling on the M62 this past Sunday, in the distance on a footbridge was a lone figure bending down slightly. As we got close we could see it was a cop in a dark blue jumper with some laser device mounted on a photographic tripod. He was targetting the lane below him(opposite direction to us) . The drivers in that lane just wouldn't have seen him, how sneaky is this? It was bright and sunny and he was on a long straight stretch. He'd parked his car/van out of sight. Is this legal? Are we to expect camoflage jackets next?

puggit

49,804 posts

278 months

Wednesday 9th March 2005
quotequote all
It's all about safety - if you don't see them then you'll slow down and drive safer

rallysanf

99 posts

260 months

Wednesday 9th March 2005
quotequote all
Yep I've seen that on the M5, and the M42. Sometimes they will set up 3 cameras on tripod, one per lane. Very sneaky. However the lenghts they'll go to hide a camera van is quite impressive.
Perhaps the opposite to this was recently on the A46 around Lincoln there was a police car and camera van both parked on a solid white line about 1/3rd on the road! Surely illegally parked!

deeps

5,432 posts

271 months

Wednesday 9th March 2005
quotequote all
I think three cameras on tripods are the ANPR ones.

As for the guy on the footbridge, I'm sure he prevented many accidents occuring that day. Yeah right!

It's all about catching as many motorists as they can who are breaking a draconian speed law, the fact that they're all driving safely doesn't come into it! SLOW DOWN and do as you're told! If you were the copper what would you rather do, point the speed gun or wait for hours for a dodgy looking vehicle to pass who may be driving dangerously? I'm afraid they take the easy option.

Martin_S

9,939 posts

275 months

Wednesday 9th March 2005
quotequote all
See this thread I posted a few months ago...

www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?f=10&h=0&t=132706

autismuk

1,529 posts

270 months

Thursday 10th March 2005
quotequote all
deeps said:
I think three cameras on tripods are the ANPR ones.

As for the guy on the footbridge, I'm sure he prevented many accidents occuring that day. Yeah right!

It's all about catching as many motorists as they can who are breaking a draconian speed law, the fact that they're all driving safely doesn't come into it! SLOW DOWN and do as you're told! If you were the copper what would you rather do, point the speed gun or wait for hours for a dodgy looking vehicle to pass who may be driving dangerously? I'm afraid they take the easy option.


Actually I think most of them would rather do the latter. What they are allowed to do is another matter...

Dibble

13,276 posts

270 months

Thursday 10th March 2005
quotequote all
autismuk said:

deeps said:
If you were the copper what would you rather do, point the speed gun or wait for hours for a dodgy looking vehicle to pass who may be driving dangerously? I'm afraid they take the easy option.



Actually I think most of them would rather do the latter. What they are allowed to do is another matter...


No, I'd rather do the former. And I know I wouldn't have to wait hours - it's usually within single figure minutes, less than a mile from the nick.

SimonHarrod911

6,792 posts

262 months

Thursday 10th March 2005
quotequote all
rallysanf said:

Perhaps the opposite to this was recently on the A46 around Lincoln there was a police car and camera van both parked on a solid white line about 1/3rd on the road! Surely illegally parked!


I saw that, it was quite unbelievable. In order to pass safely in a big car you had to cross the central broken line!!!!

Camera van plod really are the lowest form of scum.

rude girl

6,937 posts

289 months

Thursday 10th March 2005
quotequote all
rallysanf said:
Sometimes they will set up 3 cameras on tripod, one per lane. Very sneaky. However the lenghts they'll go to hide a camera van is quite impressive.


That's ANPR I think.

Hollywood Wheels

3,689 posts

260 months

Thursday 10th March 2005
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autismuk said:


Actually I think most of them would rather do the latter. What they are allowed to do is another matter...


Said it before, a TINY minority of Plod have anything to do with road policing. I've never held a laser or had anything to do with gatso's.

Unfortunately there is an element of the public who are totally ignorant of this fact because they would much rather just jump on the 'bash-BiB' bandwagon. It's easier to do than support the majority of Police who have no experience of speed enforcement. Their only ever contact with old bill is when they get pinged by a camera. I'm not for one moment suggesting that some of those ignorant people post on here....

count duckula

1,324 posts

304 months

Friday 11th March 2005
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They have been doing this in Wycombe before now, I took this picture last year, it was hard to see, and the scamera van was parked up around the corner.



Malc

SpudGunner

472 posts

289 months

Friday 11th March 2005
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Would have been very tempting in the above situation, to not knock it over. That tripod looks pretty unstable...........