Speed cameras

[Liquid Knight]

Yesterday I drove a fair few miles on our alleged motorway network. Sadly for me this involved doing 50mph and passing well over a thousand average speed cameras. :bang:

What's going to happen to all of these cameras when the road works (I didn't actually see any work going but there were loads of holes dug out) are completed?

We need people to be careful outside schools, town centers and other vulnerable areas where there is an elevated pedestrian hazard.

So why not make the motorway network Autobahn's with no speed limit in areas of reduced risk and use the cameras in urban areas where they can do some good instead of either ripping people off or pi$$ing people off?

 

[portland_bill]

We need people to be careful outside schools, town centers and other vulnerable areas where there is an elevated pedestrian hazard.

May be difficult to use them in these situations as they need a measured distance which may be too long for the area to be covered. Side roads will mess this up a treat.

So why not make the motorway network Autobahn's with no speed limit in areas of reduced risk and use the cameras in urban areas where they can do some good instead of either ripping people off or pi$$ing people off?

But the cameras are only being used where there is increased risk.
The reason they are used in motorway roadworks, and why there is an empty lane between us and the workers is for the workers safety.
We've all been buffeted by passing vehicles, either in our own vehicles or as pedestrians. There is a vacuum behind a moving vehicle, as the air that we've pushed away rushes back in it pulls anything with it. Lorries on the motorway can pull a man off his feet into the space behind, to be hit by the next, close-following truck. We've lost a lot of motorway maintenance workers like this. So we now get a lane as safety space and more enforcement of the temporary limits. The workers themselves are also not good at keeping away from the danger.

What's going to happen to all of these cameras when the road works are completed?

Will they really ever be finished?

 

[blu73]

i suspect they will just move them to the next road works.....

I have actually found a bit of road that has average speed cameras on that is not road works or anything, first and only ones i have ever come across that average check just on a normal 60mph limit road, A465 Heads of the Valleys Road. Lots of debate about whether they are good thing or not if you google it but its claimed they have reduced accidents by nearly 50%.

I am sure one day nearly the entire road network will have average speed cameras, can't see why they would not, they do really seem to slow people down... But i do concede that they are very annoying and there does seem to be a habit on motorways for them to stick up a 20mile average speed check despite them only ever working on a mile or so of them 20 miles which seems a little extreme.

 

[Blue2U]

I read that in the UK they followed a criminal suspect on camera from Leeds to London, it wont take long before some geek works out a way to to use all those cameras to work out your average for the day over the entire M-Way network, including temporary restrictions... Errr sorry if this isn't cheering you up.

 

[portland_bill]

We already have a lot of cameras on main roads, which use ANPR technology to measure average speeds.
The blue cameras are owned by Trafficmaster, originally intended for their navigation systems to identify and navigate around slow traffic. They record the reg numbers of passing traffic, then measure its average speed between cameras to give live average speeds for the road. This data is used by navigation systems, if you have live traffic updates, and used by local and national travel news providers. The system is controlled by legislation. Their computers read the centre part of the reg number and keep the data only for a short time. So it cannot be used to trace our movements - yet! It would only require a small software change to read the whole number and record it for longer.

Most motorways have live cctv. That is how they can follow a car across the country. On A & B roads, the car would disappear.

 

[kyle96]

IF anything they're more of a hazard since most people slam their breaks on regardless when they see one.
Once I drove up to scotland on the A1, there must have been a camera every 5 minuets, and every time I couldn't help but slow down a lot, I;m sure a lot of other people are the same.
What I also don't like is the fact you could be a normal safe driver sticking to speed limits, one day you do say an extra 4mph just being a little doesy then boom 3 points

 

[FatherJack]

I got told that these average speed cameras can only keep your average speed if you keep in the same lane, my step dads dad swears its true but I think it's complete ******** personally.

He's got a clean licence BTW.

 

[Focus Owner]

i'v heard that on news last year, does make sense.

read a calibration certificate, on a set and was done lane by lane

 

[blu73]

i have heard that, never fancied risking it - have often thought it would be possible to use a lorry to hide the car from the camera's though. Really they aren't that bad if you got cruise control and an iota of patience.

 

[T14086]

instead of either ripping people off or pi$$ing people off?

If you get caught it is no one's fault but your own, don't speed and you won't get fined.

I
What I also don't like is the fact you could be a normal safe driver sticking to speed limits, one day you do say an extra 4mph just being a little doesy then boom 3 points

Isn't your grande punto fitted with a speed warning, set it to 70mph then no excuses.

 

[Liquid Knight]

I read that in the UK they followed a criminal suspect on camera from Leeds to London, it wont take long before some geek works out a way to to use all those cameras to work out your average for the day over the entire M-Way network, including temporary restrictions... Errr sorry if this isn't cheering you up.

If you want to get Orwellian on us every single vehicle with a Sat' Nav' can be be tracked.

 

[Liquid Knight]

If you get caught it is no one's fault but your own, don't speed and you won't get fined.

Most speed cameras are actually due care and attention cameras if you can't see a ruddy great reflective box and adjust your speed in time you shouldn't be driving.

As for it being my fault. Saturday took nearly four hours longer than it should have. Wasting Police time is a serious criminal offence, wasting everyone's time is perfectly justifiable. :bang:

 

[blu73]

I'm not having a go but really c'mon, it was bank holiday weekend!!! you can't blame a few average speed checks for 4 hours onto a journey lol.

 

[portland_bill]

If you want to get Orwellian on us every single vehicle with a Sat' Nav' can be be tracked.

Only if it is transmitting its location information. Can't see my Navman doing that. Or any built-in system, unless you connect it to your phone and give it permission.

 

[kyle96]

If you get caught it is no one's fault but your own, don't speed and you won't get fined.



Isn't your grande punto fitted with a speed warning, set it to 70mph then no excuses.

My speedo is +/- 10mph inaccurate, the faster you are, the more inaccurate, I usually have to guess with the rev counter (since I know my car that well), which for some reason has been funny lately.
Either way, when I see a camera, if my speedo is at 70 for example, and the limit is 70, I'll slow down 60.

I also would think most people who have working speedos will slow down when they see a camera regardless of their speed just to make sure

 

[T14086]

My speedo is +/- 10mph inaccurate, the faster you are, the more inaccurate, I usually have to guess with the rev counter (since I know my car that well), which for some reason has been funny lately.
Either way, when I see a camera, if my speedo is at 70 for example, and the limit is 70, I'll slow down 60.

I also would think most people who have working speedos will slow down when they see a camera regardless of their speed just to make sure

Speedo is going to read faster not slower, mine reads 78mph at 70.

 

[blu73]

:yeahthat: they always read fast, newer ones are more accurate than older cars but they all read fast. Only way they wouldn't is by putting larger than stock rolling radius wheel & tyre combo on a car but that often corrects it rather than making it read slow....

My old alfa 159 was pretty accurate but was about 2-3mph off what GPS said, my cinq says 100mph when your really just over 80mph.

 

[Liquid Knight]

Only if it is transmitting its location information. Can't see my Navman doing that. Or any built-in system, unless you connect it to your phone and give it permission.

How do you know it isn't.

 

[scout]

When the average speed cameras first came out they did in fact only record people that stayed in the same lane but the software/technology is such, now, that you can weave as much as you like but you'll still get caught.

 

[blu73]

today driving down the A465 that i mentioned before in this thread that has average speed check on it. I did notice that some sections start with single lane and end in dual lanes and vice versa, for them to work at all scout has to be right.