Warning!!!

[EbonynIvory]

Flashing speed warning signs are being used as speed cameras!!

I happened to notice that a flashing speed warning sign flashed very quickly instead of flashing up and staying alight for a while as I approached a 40 speed limit. As I drove past (very slowly!!) I could see a digital camera on the top and the sign itself was the flash!

Well, it caught the two people ahead of me and of course, me being a good girl.........

To be fair, being caught in a Disco speeding would be a bit of an achievement!

[Disco Matt]

That wouldn't surprise me. I know there's one in Aberystwyth (outside the Police Station) that has speed camera signs all over the roadside near it. I'd always assumed they were for those times when a copper fancied hanging a speed gun out of his office window! :lol:

[EbonynIvory]

Well, it is a bit cheeky, I'm not entirely sure that there are camera warning signs either. I will have to have a look the next time I go along there.

[muddyweb]

Well, it is a bit cheeky

As always, there is a simple solution to the problem  ;)

[gtomo2]

Well, it is a bit cheeky

As always, there is a simple solution to the problem  ;)

Yea BURN IT.
Oh sorry i mean stick to te speed limit ;)

[kizz81]

dont worry you can speed through them  :lol:
they had a simular setup on the main road near us where it chaged from a 60 to a 30 and the council sent out 100's of fines but then some one challenged it and it was found that it was an illegal setup as the camera was hidden and everyone got there money back  :lol:
so the council put up one of those signs that tells you your speed and now people use it as a competition to see who can get it to the highest speed  :lol:

naturally, im not involved at all  :lol:


( if im wrong and your daft enough to try it and get a ticket/fine/points its not connected to me  :lol:)

[EbonynIvory]

they had a similar setup on the main road near us where it changed from a 60 to a 30 and the council sent out 100's of fines but then some one challenged it and it was found that it was an illegal setup as the camera was hidden and everyone got there money back

That's called Entrapment. That why you couldn't be done for speeding away from a camera at one point, but the law has changed now! But all roads have to have camera warning signs up if there is a fixed camera set up.

Rule of thumb - stick to the speed limits! 

[littlepow]

How can it be entrapment if you are willingly breaking the law by speeding. It's not as if an undercover cop is sat in the passenger seat egging you on telling you, you wont get in to trouble if you do!

Speed cameras are only a problem to people who disregard other peoples safety by ignoring speed limits.

[Boggert]

dont worry you can speed through them  :lol:

Oh yes one of the better bits of advice I have heard lately... :roll: :roll: How irresponsible can you get?

For crying out loud they are there for a reason... to slow traffic in a built up area or protect the guys who are fixing the roads (which is one of the most dangerous jobs you can do)

[Yoshi]

Not condoning speeding, but am sure the law is still in place that it has to be a very visible camera for it to be enforced?

[shrekster]

kinetic rope and a good strong tow bar sorts them out..   so i have been told..

[Disco Matt]

Not condoning speeding, but am sure the law is still in place that it has to be a very visible camera for it to be enforced?

I've never been sure if that (or the bit about needing signs) is actually a law or just something authorities have done in an effort to avoid mass camera BBQs?

[annabelle]

 :)The "digital camera" on top of the sign is the sensor to detect the speed of vehicles approaching.  My husband uses them in his work (he runs a traffic management company) and you can set them to the speed you want.

[EbonynIvory]

:)The "digital camera" on top of the sign is the sensor to detect the speed of vehicles approaching.  My husband uses them in his work (he runs a traffic management company) and you can set them to the speed you want.

This was another box on top of the speed sensor!

[skip]

If a speed camera catches alot of people speeding it's not doing it's job. On the other hand if a camera doesn't catch anyone it's doing a very good job, or it's busted :)

[Boddle]

Well, it caught the two people ahead of me and of course, me being a good girl.........

???  :lol:

If a speed camera catches alot of people speeding it's not doing it's job. On the other hand if a camera doesn't catch anyone it's doing a very good job, or it's busted :)

 Yep, Good point.

 Stick to the speed limit and you'll be fine. Simple really isn't it.

[littlepow]

If a speed camera catches alot of people speeding it's not doing it's job. On the other hand if a camera doesn't catch anyone it's doing a very good job, or it's busted :)

If a speed camera catches a lot of people, then it is doing the job it was designed for. It is the drivers that have failed to carryout the duties as a road user responsibly.
When a camera ceases to record any further offenders it has proved it's worth and it maybe time to relocate it to another location, as drivers have learnt to behave and drive correctly. But leaving it in it's location will still provide a deterrent to drivers that have missed the whole idea of the speed limit.

[V8MoneyPit]

I think the term 'safety camera', which is what they are officially referred to, is always portrayed as a deterent, not a revenue making device. If this is the case, then adding a camera to the top of an alternative 'safety device' like a flashing speed sign, can only be a revenue making excercise since the deterent is already there.

[kizz81]

dont worry you can speed through them  :lol:

Oh yes one of the better bits of advice I have heard lately... :roll: :roll: How irresponsible can you get?

For crying out loud they are there for a reason... to slow traffic in a built up area or protect the guys who are fixing the roads (which is one of the most dangerous jobs you can do)

i was only joking sir

Oh yes one of the better bits of advice I have heard lately

nicest thing anyones ever said about me  :lol: thanks

( there were no road works near the camera so it was hardly protecting them )

speeding is not good, and it hurts

cheers kieran

[skip2]

There quite common these in Wales normally just meters within the 30 mph sign so often wonder whats thier range as using both sat-nav and speedo just going 20mph can set them off.

Once we crawled at steady 24 mph well before the 30 mph sign and still set it off.

[Chris Putt]

Has the law not changed recently that mobile cameras no longer need to be obvious?

This months top gear has a picture of a camera mounted in the back of a horse box at the side of the road.....Sad times.


Chris

[kizz81]

i thought that was just that crazy policeman ( with all due respect ) in wales 

the council have to use proper cameras that give off the right signals or somthing, that was the grounds that the courts used against mansfield council a year or so back

[Lord Shagg-Pyle]

As far as I'm aware there is no legal requirement to warn of speed detection devices, but I stand to be corrected, The reason I say this is unmarked camera cars (or  U-boats, as we used to call them in my old force, e.g they sneak up behind you, hit you with a roundm, then disapear without trace)would then have to display warning signs, which would then defeat the object.
Speeding is a very emotive subject. We all do it/ have done it/will do it in our everyday lives. The limits are there for a reason. However, I still think the best option is a marked car with a speed gun operated by a Police officer. This enables discretion and education to be used.
But of course, that is not cost effective! Thank you New Labour!

[littlepow]

However, I still think the best option is a marked car with a speed gun operated by a Police officer. This enables discretion and education to be used.
But of course, that is not cost effective! Thank you New Labour!

But wouldn't that enable the copper to collar people for other driving offences as well? Bring back traffic cops, they always amuse me on motorways doing 50 in a 70 and no-one dares over take!  :lol:

[Rich_P]

As far as I'm aware there is no legal requirement to warn of speed detection devices, but I stand to be corrected, The reason I say this is unmarked camera cars (or  U-boats, as we used to call them in my old force, e.g they sneak up behind you, hit you with a roundm, then disapear without trace)would then have to display warning signs, which would then defeat the object.

What about the Data Protection Act and Release of Information?

[Lord Shagg-Pyle]

However, I still think the best option is a marked car with a speed gun operated by a Police officer. This enables discretion and education to be used.
But of course, that is not cost effective! Thank you New Labour!

But wouldn't that enable the copper to collar people for other driving offences as well? Bring back traffic cops, they always amuse me on motorways doing 50 in a 70 and no-one dares over take!  :lol:

Exactly. The site of patrol cars on the road has been proven to reduce the incidents of bad driving, use of phones and a myriad of other offences.
But the current hierarchy doesn't see it like that. The removal of officers from pro-active patrolling has caused a lot of faith in the Police to be lost.
Hi Tech may solve a lot of problems and save money (as well as generating a lot!), but it doesn't talk to people, it doesn't give a few words of advice may well educate someone.
Let me a give a little example.
You are out driving:

A) You get caught by a speed gun at the side of the road. The officer flags you down, and explains the reason why the limit has been placed at that location. You have a chat, he checks your licence and using discretion, decides that a few words of advice will be sufficent. You drive off, a little bit embarrased at being caught, but you heed the advice.

B) You get caught by a camera. You get a letter through the post, asking you is you plead guilty or not guilty. Either way, you will proably end up with points and a fine. You get hacked off, and blame the Police, (even though most cameras are operated by civillian employees) haven't they got anything better to do etc etc. Your insurance goes up, you get even more hacked off, and your whole attitude towards the Police and safe driving changes.

Some may say I've provided a rose tinted view with option A. Not really, only from experience.
Option B is, I would suggest, the most common and likely option that will occur, which is a shame.

This reply, by the way, is not another 'feel sorry for the Plod, we're a good bunch really' post. It is just my thoughts on an everyday occurence in this statistic and profit driven country that we now live in.

[littlepow]

Serco run most of the traffic enforcement safety cameras. Due to the over liberal poo from New labour, people have been taught:

Police = bad, Criminals = victims, Victims = someone for criminals to sue!

[EbonynIvory]

Well, it caught the two people ahead of me and of course, me being a good girl.........

???  :lol:

Couldn't be anything else could I?!

If a speed camera catches alto of people speeding it's not doing it's job. On the other hand if a camera doesn't catch anyone it's doing a very good job, or it's busted :)

 Yep, Good point.

 Stick to the speed limit and you'll be fine. Simple really isn't it.

What was it you used to own?!

Lets face it, most of us drive 4X4s, therefore due to lack of acceleration & speed and the cost of fuel - generally don't break the speed limit anyway. I just thought it was a bit cheeky putting a speed camera on top of the flashing speed sign with no extra warnings. (I can't remember if there are any camera warning signs on that road - if there are, it goes to show how effective they are!!)

[nick h]

kinetic rope and a good strong tow bar sorts them out..   so i have been told..

no - det cord is better - it decapitates them

[Thrasher]

Some would say the big sign showing your speed was a warning  :shock:

...and my 4x4 *will* accelerate *very* quickly for its size.......don't stick us all in the "slow smelly diesel" category.