Smart motorway gantry cameras

[audi321]

Hi all, sorry if this is a repost, but I always thought the cameras on the motorway gantry were only active if there were a speed limit displayed on the signs. i.e. if the sign was not lit up, the camera was inactive. I'm sure I saw an interview with some government minister on Top Gear once, where he confirmed this would be the case?

Not so. I found out the hard way lol. 2 NIPs within 3 miles of each other. 83mph both times! Duh.........

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/cars/article-53...

[Pica-Pica]

So what you are saying is you don’t think NSL limits apply on M Ways.

[wack]

It'll be these that caught you

[Ian Geary]

Pica-Pica said:

So what you are saying is you don’t think NSL limits apply on M Ways.

No, he's saying he didn't think the NSL was enforced by gantry cameras.

Thought that was pretty clear myself...?

[A900ss]

audi321 said:

Not so. I found out the hard way lol. 2 NIPs within 3 miles of each other. 83mph both times! Duh.........
l

You have been incredibly niaive but do check out continuity of offence as it 'might' help you.

[Pica-Pica]

TVR4US said:

Pica-Pica said:

So what you are saying is you don’t think NSL limits apply on M Ways.

{Offensive term deleted]

I stand admonished. He did not think NSLs applied to him/her.

Edited by dinosaur.mod on Monday 23 April 21:15

[cmaguire]

Pica-Pica said:

TVR4US said:

Pica-Pica said:

So what you are saying is you don’t think NSL limits apply on M Ways.

Tosser

I stand admonished. He did not think NSLs applied to him/her.

You appear to have quoted a post that no longer exists?

In any event I can't see much positive about cameras resulting in convicting somebody for travelling at 83 mph on a Motorway operating under NSL.

I just spent a week in Denmark (I travel a lot so the specific location isn't directly relevant) and the guy driving me about commented on how the surveillance society we have in the UK just wasn't likely any time soon there as it just doesn't fit there with their mentality)

There is definitely a sense of freedom being in a place where you aren't being spied on all the time. It is actually somewhat relaxing.

[Pip1968]

Pica is an arse and is possibly related to 2CV and/or datum77 (whatever his user name is). Maybe they all live in Norfolk. It is a great shame PH does not delete posts by non motoring fans/ trolls.

Anyway Clacket Lane services camera is also permanently on. Even on Sundays at 0700 when there is hardly anyone on the road that you can kill with your speed.

Best of luck.

Pip

[Biker 1]

Pip1968 said:

Anyway Clacket Lane services camera is also permanently on.

I did wonder about that one - seemingly traffic slowing ever so slightly as if they all know.... Is it both sides of the carriageway, or only clockwise?

[chunder27]

Most of the time the gantry cameras will be set quite high I think.

I think we have all likely been flashed when they read 40 or 50, but there is a time limit that operates between them changing speeds I think? I live near Luton and there are countless overheads there and they can all read differing speeds, often two 50 then a 40, then another 50 and a 60! I have tripped them before and not received a ticket. If something happens or there is queuing, they often flash as the number can change rapidly, but I think there is a time limit imposed meaning you wont get done within 10 minutes or so.

Most people get done by the hard shoulder cameras, Ie using a lane you should not be, easily done if you normally get into a routine of using the shoulder every morning, then one morning the shoulder has a broken down vehicle in it and you just blindly follow your routine. Especially if you are only on for one junction say and normally just stay in the inner lane.

[Gafferjim]

https://www.thesun.co.uk/motors/5412914/drivers-wi...

These are the speed cameras that are being installed on all smart motorways, they aren't on every gantry, they don't need film, they will catch you speeding over any speed set with red circle around it, (Including National speed limit when nothing shown), also if you go through a red X
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=smart+motorway+s...

[speedking31]

chunder27 said:

... meaning you wont get done within 10 minutes or so.

That would pretty much make their function of controlling congestion unworkable. 1 minute is the grace period between limit change being displayed and enforcement.

[Bumblebee7]

A900ss said:

You have been incredibly niaive but do check out continuity of offence as it 'might' help you.

If you do go down this defense route I'd be very interested to know the outcome. Effectively you committed one offence of 'speeding' but were caught twice doing it. Theoretically you could argue that if you committed one offence but were caught multiple times you have still only committed one offence. No legal basis for my reasoning, but would be curious of the result.

[ghe13rte]

Bumblebee7 said:

A900ss said:

You have been incredibly niaive but do check out continuity of offence as it 'might' help you.

If you do go down this defense route I'd be very interested to know the outcome. Effectively you committed one offence of 'speeding' but were caught twice doing it. Theoretically you could argue that if you committed one offence but were caught multiple times you have still only committed one offence. No legal basis for my reasoning, but would be curious of the result.

It is one offence, it is excess speed.

It has been committed on multiple occasions.

[speedking31]

Not if he didn't slow down in between.

Otherwise why don't you put cameras in pairs at 1 metre intervals? You could double the points and get people off the road twice as fast.

[The Rookie]

There is a possible argument of a single continuous offence.

If both NIPs are returned together with a letter asking them to consider it a small single offence, some forces will cancel one, it does happen.

Depends on the speed alleged, if they offer a course and a fixed penalty then I’d suggest it would be foolish to continue to challenge, if it’s over 95 and going to court anyway there is little to lose.

[Swole]

Yes OP, you learnt the hard way. If no limit is displayed on the gantry then they are set to NSL...

Well, not always actually. Once installed by the manufacturer and after police trials, they are handed over to the force. The force has the ability to set the threshold to whatever they like over the displayed or NSL limit. So, they might set this bang on 70mph, 79mph (10%+2) which is likely in your case or 150mph if they like. In fact, I know of a couple where the latter is the case.

The force also has the ability to either activate or deactivate the system, and it’s not uncommon for them to be active only for a portion of the day. This is generally to limit the number of NIPS that would have to be generated which is still a fairly manual process.

So, how do you know if a system is activated? You won’t, there’s no physical identifier, it’s all backoffice.

Some systems are actually fake also. The camera housings are installed but the camera units are not. You can sometimes spot these when looking at cameras on the opposite side of the carriageway where you can see them face on, but that doesn’t help you on your journey, only worth noting for future journeys in the opposite direction. If however you see these HADECS3 attached to the large single signs (MS4) that overhangs from the left (not gantries), they are fake as enforcement from these is not yet approved.

[Digby]

For all those who have ever spoken of pointless limits and nice little earners..

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/04/30/review...