What time do mobile cameras actually operate?
Discussion
What time do mobile cameras tend to start and finish operating?
I appreciate there is probably not one answer for the whole of the UK, but as a general rule... are they in operation at 7am for instance? Or do most begin once the roads are busier?
(If anyone wants specifics, Snakes Pass and Woodhead Pass in Derbyshire are ones I'm particularly interested in.)
I appreciate there is probably not one answer for the whole of the UK, but as a general rule... are they in operation at 7am for instance? Or do most begin once the roads are busier?
(If anyone wants specifics, Snakes Pass and Woodhead Pass in Derbyshire are ones I'm particularly interested in.)
Gman20 said:
They used to occasionally be out till midnight where i used to live with the hand held ones or one on a tripod.
I'm not sure i've ever seen a camera van operating in the dark, although that might be because they are a lot less noticeable.
I’m afraid they do operate in the dark. I was driving into Bletchley in December 2019 at 5.45pm when it was dark and cold. I was on a dual carriageway which was NSL. There was then a roundabout and after this the DC suddenly becomes 30 mph. I was on the inside lane with a car on the outside lane just in front of me. Suddenly the car in the outside lane brakes hard so that I pass it on the inside, at which point I saw there was a police van of some sort parked on the central reservation. As I went past it, it looked like it was all locked-up and empty. So I just assumed it was only a police van and they must of been on a job somewhere. A week later I received a NIP for doing 35 in a 30!I'm not sure i've ever seen a camera van operating in the dark, although that might be because they are a lot less noticeable.
I have seen camera vans operating in Dundee at 8pm on a sunday night in winter on the A90 Forfar rd, although the Scottish Dibble seem extra keen on speeding compared to the ones local to me (Lancs).
Northampshire start early, I went past one on the A43 north of Kettering at 06:30 a month or so ago.
Northampshire start early, I went past one on the A43 north of Kettering at 06:30 a month or so ago.
There is kit in use that is approved for night use now, certainly. The issue is whether the scamera partnership want to fund night excercises.
Rain drops affect light as it passes through them, even frickin' lasers, so I am not sure whether any of the devices are approved for use in the rain now. They probably shouldnt be, but possibly are.
Rain drops affect light as it passes through them, even frickin' lasers, so I am not sure whether any of the devices are approved for use in the rain now. They probably shouldnt be, but possibly are.
Bennet said:
What time do mobile cameras tend to start and finish operating?
I appreciate there is probably not one answer for the whole of the UK, but as a general rule... are they in operation at 7am for instance? Or do most begin once the roads are busier?
(If anyone wants specifics, Snakes Pass and Woodhead Pass in Derbyshire are ones I'm particularly interested in.)
Murphy's Law says that there will be one there in operation at the time you don't want it to be there......I appreciate there is probably not one answer for the whole of the UK, but as a general rule... are they in operation at 7am for instance? Or do most begin once the roads are busier?
(If anyone wants specifics, Snakes Pass and Woodhead Pass in Derbyshire are ones I'm particularly interested in.)
Boosted LS1 said:
Looking for early mornng hooners on empty roads. It's about safety don't you know.
That said, don't I recall the most serious accidents tend to be single vehicle crashes on rural A-roads in the dark?So night time cameras make much more sense than "policing" an inappropriately low 30 limit at lunchtime.
944 Man said:
There is kit in use that is approved for night use now, certainly. The issue is whether the scamera partnership want to fund night excercises.
Rain drops affect light as it passes through them, even frickin' lasers, so I am not sure whether any of the devices are approved for use in the rain now. They probably shouldnt be, but possibly are.
If it's any consolation, if the rain was sufficient to cause issues for a LIDAR device, it wouldn't give the operator a speed. The light pulse is coded, essentially it's a data packet, so if it is garbled the data is lost and the device doesn't register it as being received hence no speed. Rain drops affect light as it passes through them, even frickin' lasers, so I am not sure whether any of the devices are approved for use in the rain now. They probably shouldnt be, but possibly are.
Think of it like running a PING on a network.
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