Making GATSO's Flash

gaz545

dhope wrote:

gaz545 wrote:

Went through one on Coombe Lane, Croydon at 38mph and it didn't set off
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bi8FPNeT6G4

I know the limits don't apply to bikes, and there wasn't a thing dangerous about the video so I'm not having a go, but...

gaz545 wrote:

Obviously i know how fast i'm going because i have a GPS unit but whilst going down this hill i was not looking at it!

Could I use this when driving? Sorry officer, I just wasn't looking at the speedo

Well when going down hill i get in a super low position where my chin is just above my handle bars. I would have to take my eyes fully of the road for 4seconds to check my speed. Where as in a car it's a bit different. A small glance for half a second and you can see the speed you are going.

thelawnet

Tricycleboy wrote:

Rather concerned about this Richmond Park speed limit. I live up the road and regularly use it for a spin and hit 35- 40 mph or thereabouts at various points, obviously overtaking cars etc as i go.

I was cycling through there the other day and was going up a gentle hill at spot on 20mph and was passed by a car. I was mildly indignant, but then decided it justifies any subsequent speeding I might do on my bike.

thelawnet

DesWeller wrote:

Ignorance doesn't usually wash with the law, so arguing that you've got no speedo isn't going to get you very far. Like arguing that you've got no breathalyzer so didn't know you were over the drink drive limit.

Well with so few roads where the speed limit applies to bicycles it's not really worth worrying about.

Headhuunter

EKE_38BPM wrote:

A friend got stopped by the police in RP a while back. He got a fine I think. No speedo either but he said the police's radar clocked him at 34mph.

I would be almost tempted to challenge it. Fair enough if they had stopped him for "furious cycling" or whatever, but to specifically stop a cyclist for SPEEDING would surely not make it thruogh the courts....

Drysuitdiver

Kieran_Burns wrote:

Well - I have been stopped by the Police (twice) while speeding on a bike. The second time I was congratulated! (and then told to calm down )

but these were in the days of my heady (and dumb) youth, and I reckon I *could* trip the 30mph one, every time I get to it, I can't be bothered :roll:

in my younger days I too got waved over at the bottom of a good descent and shown my speed on the radar gun . 42 mph in a 30 . the nice man said he couldnt prosecute and to be a bit more careful

ketsbaia

There's a 20mph zone speed camera on my way in to work and I regularly go past at 30+ without setting it off. Bit disappointing, really.

Headhuunter

Yeah I think bikes are too small generally to set off GATSOs, I'm sure they're set that way to avoid going off when birds fly by etc...

Kieran_Burns

I think if you sit up and assume the "Angel of the North" position as you whizz through, you may have more of a chance to tripping the GATSO

Of course - everyone else will think you're a knob, or at the very best; a knob trying to look like Mark Cavendish.

twotoes

Most speed cameras are triggered by sensors embedded into the road. So I'm guessing it is the mass of the vehicle passing over them that triggers the operation. Subsequently a cyclist is probably to light

gaz545

A roller balder did it with a hi-viz vest on. I may start wearing one if it lets me set off speed cameras LOL!

Linky

Confusedboy

i'm wrong then about speed limits applying to everyone; looks like you have to be driving a motor vehicle to speed. 'Dangerous cycling' is another thing, not related to speed though that might be a factor, and depends to some extent on the opinion of the plod who books you. I would have contended that my experience in Barry, when I was claimed to be doing 45, was not 'dangerous cycling' given the light traffic at the time.

RP and similar places are different in that a local by-law restricts everone's speed, to 20mph in that case. Impossible to enforce strictly unless your vehicle has a speedo, but I think if I was cycling at 34mph I'd know full well that I was going a good bit faster than 20, and would confess with some pride if I was caught!

Seriously, there is good reason to adhere to the motor vehicle speed limits even if they don't apply to you as a cyclist, as the sighting of road signs, markings, zebra crossings and street furniture, as well as the timing of traffic lights, is set with that speed in mind.

shouldbeinbed

Am I the only one thinking there's a bit of hypocrisy going on here. Boasting about knowing yr going through 20 zones at 30, 30 zones at 40 etc as if its a good thing against the 'moton' mentality against dangerous drivers shown on BR

And yes I know, killjoy, misery, yaddy yad.

seward4or5

gaz545 wrote:

A roller balder did it with a hi-viz vest on. I may start wearing one if it lets me set off speed cameras LOL!

Presumably to be more aerodynamically efficient....

asprilla

Here's a moral dilemma for you:

Just suppose, for argument's sake, that whilst your car has been sat in the local garage with some key components removed rendering it undrivable it is discovered that someone has copied your registration plate and put it on their car which looks exactly the same. Lets just say the left a petrol station without paying and you got the letter about it.

Now suppose that having received your car back in full working order you were quick pleased about no longer having to drive the crappy courtesy car and got a little enthusiastic and accidentally ended up passing though a mobile camera unit whilst going about 90mph.

When the fine and notification or points came though without any photographic evidence of who was driving, what would you do?

Just for the sake of lively debate, of course.

Kieran_Burns

Asprilla wrote:

Here's a moral dilemma for you:

Just suppose, for argument's sake, that whilst your car has been sat in the local garage with some key components removed rendering it undrivable it is discovered that someone has copied your registration plate and put it on their car which looks exactly the same. Lets just say the left a petrol station without paying and you got the letter about it.

Now suppose that having received your car back in full working order you were quick pleased about no longer having to drive the crappy courtesy car and got a little enthusiastic and accidentally ended up passing though a mobile camera unit whilst going about 90mph.

When the fine and notification or points came though without any photographic evidence of who was driving, what would you do?

Just for the sake of lively debate, of course.

No morals involved.... just the Law

What are my obligations on receiving the Notice of Intended Prosecution?

You are required to identify the driver of the vehicle. You must do this within 28 days and if you fail to do so, you have committed a further offence for which your licence can be endorsed with 6 penalty points and a fine up of £1,000 imposed.


Can I demand the photographic evidence?
When issuing a NIP, there is no obligation upon the Police to release photographic evidence but many Police forces will supply same on request. Several Police forces allow you to inspect the photographs on the internet.


What if I was not the driver of the vehicle?
You are obliged to tell the prosecution who was driving the vehicle at the time of the alleged offence.


The Notice of Intended Prosecution identifies my vehicle but I know it was not on the road at the time of the alleged offence. What can I do?
There are an increasing number of cases where registration numbers have been read incorrectly or vehicles have been "cloned" by using duplicate number plates. If you feel you fall into this category, you should reply to the NIP by stating that you believe the information is incorrect and that you can establish where the vehicle was at the time of the alleged offence.

asprilla

Thanks for entering into the spirit of things.

Kieran_Burns

Asprilla wrote:

Thanks for entering into the spirit of things.

If you look VERY carefully - you can see your joke, hiding in the corner sobbing quietly to itself

noodles71

I would have thought we did not expose a big enough cross section of metal to the radar in the original Gatso (big fat yellow box) to set it off. I am just guessing here so there is a very good chance I am wrong.

But.... the newer smaller letterbox types are triggered by three piezo-electric sensor strips on the road similar to how we trigger a set of traffic lights. These are far more likely to be triggered by a cyclist and almost certainly generate a photo at the speed camera partnership that operates the camera. They are connected by a DSL line and a digital camera as opposed to the old film style ones in the larger boxes.

An easy one to test for us souf lunduners is to head across Blackheath on the A2 towards Deptford and try and trigger the older style gatso as you go down Blackheath Hill.

Drysuitdiver

twotoes wrote:

Most speed cameras are triggered by sensors embedded into the road. So I'm guessing it is the mass of the vehicle passing over them that triggers the operation. Subsequently a cyclist is probably to light

some truvelos are gatsos are not.

twotoes

I stand corrected..

Twostage

EKE_38BPM wrote:

Maybe lycra is radar absorbing so we are all stealth cyclists?

From watching the lad triggering one on his skates this might not be as daft as it sounds. He has to put on something reflective to make it flash. I think it is possible that ordinary clothes absorb and scatter the detector beam but something like a rain-proof will be more 'solid' and not scatter the beam as much making it visible to the camera.

This situation could be improved by strapping a bin lid to your back as it would focus the beam back.

Twostage

EKE_38BPM wrote:

Maybe lycra is radar absorbing so we are all stealth cyclists?

From watching the lad triggering one on his skates this might not be as daft as it sounds. He has to put on something reflective to make it flash. I think it is possible that ordinary clothes absorb and scatter the detector beam but something like a rain-proof will be more 'solid' and not scatter the beam as much making it visible to the camera.

This situation could be improved by strapping a bin lid to your back as it would focus the beam back.

sharky1029

Police: Well, I was doing 36 behind you and this is a 30 zone. Speed limits apply to cyclists too, so slow down. Save it for the velodrome

According to the road traffic act speed limits apply to 'all motor vehicles' and there is no section mentioning bicyles, so therefore PC plod was wrong.
But you can be doe for furious or carless cycling.

I have set of a gatso in a 30mph zone and i always try and get the ones which show your speed or have happy or sad faces to show too fast.

thecrofter

sharky1029 wrote:

Police: Well, I was doing 36 behind you and this is a 30 zone. Speed limits apply to cyclists too, so slow down. Save it for the velodrome

According to the road traffic act speed limits apply to 'all motor vehicles' and there is no section mentioning bicyles, so therefore PC plod was wrong.
But you can be doe for furious or carless cycling.

I have set of a gatso in a 30mph zone and i always try and get the ones which show your speed or have happy or sad faces to show too fast.

As the limit applies to "all motor vehicles" should plod not have then arrested himself as he has confessed to an offence.

Initialised

I discovered today that tripping a 30MPH warning light under your own steam is very rewarding. Quite a buzz as I sailed past one (I had to check and no there wasn't anyone behind me!).

The GATSO further down didn't register so either I wasn't reflective enough or it was turned off.

GATSO's are almost as good as other cyclists at getting the legs moving.

I might start lobbying for some on my commute to speed me up on lazy morning runs.