Can the rozzers get away with this?

There has been a speed trap placed on a road I use on my way to work and everyone is kicking off a fuss about it.

The road is a 30 road, but has no signs, or those little round reminders on it.

Is quite a wide road and everyone round our way thinks its a 40.

In my opinion is dangerously placed as it is comming up to a roundabout and you are checking mirrors, vehicles around you etc. Now you have to look at your speedo instead of the mirrors- which i always got taught after failing my test on this, mirors are vital.

Now, the trap itself.

Its a tripod at the back of a white ford connect van with a camera on it (placed on the floor about 4ft away)- manned by a bloke in none police uniform (and yesterday no Hi-vis clothing). The van is unmarked, isnt a police looking vehicle and the chappie isnt in uniform. Also there is no signs up near it or up indicating a speed trap-although it is and people are being caught by it. Someone even wrote a letter to the local rag about it.

If anything this trap looks like the council surveying the road rather than a speed trap.

Now i dont htink I have been done by this as I was about 3rd in a queue of cars and if anything the needle was just over 30, but like I said cant confirm that as carrying out observations, but iwas moving at the same rate as other traffic and my mate was in front of me (2 cars away) in his orion, and he said he was doing 30.

can they get away with this?

Don't they say that if the road has evenly spaced street lights, then you should be doing 30?

and they've also just won the right to covertly position speed cameras, all in all, yes I reckon they can get away with it.

It is legal but if the road is not adequately signposted OR the speed limit cannot be worked out by spacing between streetlights ( if any ) then they won't be able to make it stick. You can't complain about checking your speedo as you should be aware of your speed at all times.

Also, the speed indicator on the Stilo is 11% down on actual on average but 8% at 30mph ( GPS fun ). You could easily go 33mph without getting snapped.

CheeseMaster said:

It is legal but if the road is not adequately signposted OR the speed limit cannot be worked out by spacing between streetlights ( if any ) then they won't be able to make it stick. You can't complain about checking your speedo as you should be aware of your speed at all times.

Also, the speed indicator on the Stilo is 11% down on actual on average but 8% at 30mph ( GPS fun ). You could easily go 33mph without getting snapped.

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I would have said that the Tacho was a little more accurate than GPS satellite tracking. So i'm not sure how true that is, but definitely you should be aware of your speed at all times.
It's a bit crap, there's a blind corner near me that has one of these covert cameras, just gotta know where it is, and be careful in future.

if it looks like a built up area and there are street lights and there AREN'T any little remeinders then IT IS A 30, there are only reminders when its like a 20 or 40 or 50 etc

you could aruge the toss on the vis thing, but I wouldn't count on it.

I think instead of speed cameras in that place there should be a surveillance cam and peeps making sure people use there indicators at roundabouts and using them properly as so many near miss's and minor accidents take place there as people don't know how to use them

The speedo is not accurate. The tacho, I don't know, I have never sat in a Stilo with the handbook out for the model and a calculator to work out the speeds for the rpm for each gear to tell. I'm sure if you sat there putting blobs of tipex all over the panel to indicate speed it might be easier than glancing at the speedo or the GPS indicator.

GPS accuracy for speeds is pretty good, if you are tracking the same set of satellites and doing an average over a reasonable distance. There is no point in looking at the figures beyond the decimal point though.

I've checked my GPS ( after getting in an argument about it ) on a measured ten kilometer stretch with a stop watch and it was within one decimal place of the true figure. Better than 10% out no?

I always thought the Stilo was out as when I do 30 in it I attract the tailgaters and flashing lights, when in other cars (saxo, corsas, ibizas and god forbid, matiz!) I dont get this reaction

Big Black Stilo said:

I always thought the Stilo was out as when I do 30 in it I attract the tailgaters and flashing lights, when in other cars (saxo, corsas, ibizas and god forbid, matiz!) I dont get this reaction

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Hmm this might be why when I'm following certain people I feel the need to dangerously overtake as from where I'm sitting in Tipo it says the other person is doing 23MPH

Trancendental said:

Hmm this might be why when I'm following certain people I feel the need to dangerously overtake as from where I'm sitting in Tipo it says the other person is doing 23MPH

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And in the stilo i have noticed I no longer get stuck behind people doing 25- its always 30

TBH the lamp posts are evenly spaced, and i know the road is a 30, but the spacing is impaired by the size of the road. The road is very wide and makes the distance look more than it is

Stop-watch it on the motorway. Do a constant 70mph for 5 miles, then constant 80mph for 5 miles on a clear stretch ( passenger should have stop watch ). I bet you find that 80mph on the speedo is really 70mph. I'm sure you can find sections where the distance between the two points are well known. Don't know how reliable milometers are, but make sure if you use it that it has /just/ clocked to the next tenth of a mile before you start the run.

Are cameras hidden to catch drivers out?
No. Safety cameras are there to save lives and make the roads safer not to make money or catch motorists out. All fixed and mobile cameras comply with the Department for Transport’s guidelines on conspicuity and visibility. There are camera signs on routes leading to camera sites giving drivers an extra opportunity to check they are driving at a safe and legal speed. Our aim is to encourage you to slow down – we hope that by seeing our cameras and signs you will adjust your speed throughout your journey.

Unless I am outdated, this is all I know about speed cameras that there should be camera signs in the area.

Steve

it might not be a speed camera, it could simply be an anpr camera or even nothing police related

why should you have to watch your speedo, you should stick to the limits all the time *ahem*

by your description of it it sounds like one of those tax disc cameras they used to use. with the new system i wouldnt have thought theyd need to do that now.

Is it not fair to say that if you're approaching a traffic island in a residential area, it would be a good idea to be SLOWING DOWN FOR IT and preparing to give way to traffic already on it or approaching from the right? Or am I being a bit thick here?

Seraph said:

It's a bit crap, there's a blind corner near me that has one of these covert cameras, just gotta know where it is, and be careful in future.

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WHERE???

stilosporting said:

WHERE???

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dude? digging up an old thread.

You don't drive much round Cleckheaton, so it wouldn't mean much, but there are a few to be fair. or even better, well placed behind trees.

Seraph said:

, well placed behind trees.

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Are these the environmentally friendly ones then Seraph

PNL said:

Are these the environmentally friendly ones then Seraph

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funny thing is, some people would say that all manmade structures should blend in with the natural surroundings, so funnily enough, yea they are!

Seraph said:

dude? digging up an old thread.

You don't drive much round Cleckheaton, so it wouldn't mean much, but there are a few to be fair. or even better, well placed behind trees.

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i take my dad to guisley (sp?) every week. any on that route?