A New type of Speed camera!

M1llh0use
M1llh0use Posts: 863
edited July 2009 in The Crudcatcher
In Poole, dorset. On approaching the quay on the A350 holes bay road (50mph dual carridgeway) the road goes from 50mph to 30mph coming up to a set of traffic lights.

map here

These lights have cameras fitted to catch red light jumping.

These cameras have been upgraded to act as "red light jump - green light speeding" and will be active as of 1st july. only thing i'm not sure about is if they have been replaced in both directions but assume that they have!!

http://www.dorsetsafetycameras.org.uk/i ... &Itemid=84

looks like these will be more commonplace soooooooooo.....

]YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!
{insert smartarse comment here}
«1

Comments

  • Chaz.Harding
    Chaz.Harding Posts: 3,144
    Thanks buddy!

    Government are B@STARDS!!!

    :evil:
    Boo-yah mofo
    Sick to the power of rad
    Fix it 'till it's broke
  • XxxBFGxxX
    XxxBFGxxX Posts: 1,355
    wan*ers
  • cat_with_no_tail
    cat_with_no_tail Posts: 12,981
    Not to start yet another debate about RLJing, but why is this a bad thing? I would rather see cameras there to catch people who run red lights than the ones purely there to catch people speeding.
    If someone passes me doing 40 in a 30 zone, it has no bearing on me whatsoever. However, if someone jumps a red light and ploughs into me, it does.
    Surely this is something that rather than purely being a cash cow for the government, could actually do something to make roads safer?

    Like I say, not trying to start an argument, just not sure why it's a bad thing?
  • M1llh0use
    M1llh0use Posts: 863
    not saying anything about red light cameras, in fact agreee with them entirely!

    just a warning that these types of camera (red jump / green speed) are now in use so just a warning to watch your speed through traffic lights with cameras on them!
    {insert smartarse comment here}
  • cat_with_no_tail
    cat_with_no_tail Posts: 12,981
    M1llh0use wrote:
    not saying anything about red light cameras, in fact agreee with them entirely!

    just a warning that these types of camera (red jump / green speed) are now in use so just a warning to watch your speed through traffic lights with cameras on them!

    Ah right, I get you now. So these cameras will not ONLY catch RLJers, but are also set to catch people speeding through the lights. Sorry, didn't quite get that 1st time round (we dont have any speed cameras here, just a couple of mobile radar ones).

    It was potentially a good idea, but they had to go and spoil it by fitting a speed camera to it :roll:
  • llamafarmer
    llamafarmer Posts: 1,893
    It was potentially a good idea, but they had to go and spoil it by fitting a speed camera to it :roll:

    To be honest, after I got caught by a mobile camera and did a speed awareness course (avoiding 3 points) it did open my eyes a bit to just how much difference a few extra mph can make.

    I still don't necessarily like speed cameras, but I can see they have a role to play to some extent. My main beef with them is half the time they're on busy, complex bits of road, which if you're trying to navigate for the first time in rush hour, just adds another massive distraction.
  • .blitz
    .blitz Posts: 6,197
    M1llh0use wrote:
    These cameras have been upgraded to act as "red light jump - green light speeding" and will be active as of 1st july.
    How quaint :)

    The Midlands is something of police state when it comes to cameras and they certainly like to mix it up. They love average speed cameras and the first time they put cameras on the lights on roundabouts they were going off like fireworks. It's also interesting to note how fast the emergency vehicles have to go before they set them off :wink:
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    the problem I see with speed cameras round here is that they're never EVER on any dangerous streches of road. Perfectly straight road, 70mph limit, and it's littered with speed cameras.
    Twisty mountain road, 60mph limit, lots of crashes, NO cameras.
    Outside schools, where there are often cars breaking the speed limit, and blind bends in both directions, NO speed cameras.

    :roll:
  • bails87
    bails87 Posts: 12,998
    Yeah, they can be in some seemingly silly places, but I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that if you choose to break the law in a place with great big signs warning you that there are speed cameras, then whose fault is it? And even if there were no warning signs, the easy way to not get caught is to not commit an offence, surely.....

    EDIT: theres a stretch of what should be safe 30mph road by me, about 5 people have died in the past few years on it, a mix of peds hit by cars/buses, motorcyclists hit by cars and drunk people driving into trees at 70mph, just the other morning there was someone being loaded into an ambulance after being hit by a land rover, and the council have now put a speed camera in, so it seems like they've got that one right.
    MTB/CX

    "As I said last time, it won't happen again."
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    The trouble is, bails, that there's signs absolutely everywhere, it's like the "boy who cried wolf". People keep seeing signs all over the place, even when there aren't any cameras, and they start to ignore them.
    the easy way to not get caught is to not commit an offence, surely.....
    Well, sure, but how many people can honestly raise their hands up and say honestly, that they have never broken the speed limit?
    Is it safer to have people driving looking at their speedos the whole time, or have people who may well be driving a little faster than they should, but who are looking out of the windscreen like they should be?
    You can spout the "speed limit is a limit, not a target" crap forever and a day, but the bottom line is, people behave like people do. The immense amount of "convictions" highlights the fact that people aren;t paying attention, and in fact will drive at a speed they deem safe or comfortable.

    On motorways (when they're not congested) for example, most of the traffic ambles along at around 80-85 MPH. Do people stop at 85 or so MPH because of the law? No, they drive at a speed which they deem to be safe, and controllable.

    Bottom line is, Speed cameras AREN'T changing people's minds about speed. The biggest result from them is that it's driven people against the police, turning them into an unwanted enemy.
  • wemac
    wemac Posts: 91
    It was potentially a good idea, but they had to go and spoil it by fitting a speed camera to it :roll:

    To be honest, after I got caught by a mobile camera and did a speed awareness course (avoiding 3 points) it did open my eyes a bit to just how much difference a few extra mph can make.

    I still don't necessarily like speed cameras, but I can see they have a role to play to some extent. My main beef with them is half the time they're on busy, complex bits of road, which if you're trying to navigate for the first time in rush hour, just adds another massive distraction.

    Aaaaaargh! They've got to him with the brainwashing!

    Only kidding. I think people will drive at the speed they choose regardless of things like speed cameras. I also think that you can't really complain if you get caught doing it - I would say it's an informed risk you take (there's always a sign telling you they're there).

    I agree with the comments on the appropriateness of unrealistic speed limits on certain types of road (esp motorway), but hey! it's the law so, rage against the machine
    Trek Fuel EX8 09
  • bails87
    bails87 Posts: 12,998
    Well, sure, but how many people can honestly raise their hands up and say honestly, that they have never broken the speed limit?

    Of course I've broken the speed limit, and I'm not claiming to be a saint, but I'm not stupid about it and don't speed past cameras. If someone can't see all the warning signs and the flourescent yellow camera 10 foot in the air at the side of the road then I'd rather they weren't doing 50mph in a residential area with kids playing in the street, or 120mph on the motorway while trying to eat a pasty or read a map. The point I'm making is, if you get caught it's no-ones fault but your own, and if you "accidentally" stamped on the accelerator and did 45 in a 30, then, again, should you really be driving if you can't control your car?

    Although I do see plenty of old dears pootling about who seems to drive by feel and look more dangerous at 20mph than most other people would at 60mph because they can barely see or hear and appear to have no reflexes!
    MTB/CX

    "As I said last time, it won't happen again."
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    Accidentally stomp on the throttle and do 45 in a built up area is one thing, but when I got "caught" 5 years ago, I was doing 35 in a 30 zone. I have no idea how, because to my recollection i was stuck in a traffic jam at the time, on the stretch of road they said I got "caught" on.
    Contesting it turned out to be way more hassle and time than it was worth, and they were threatening all kinds of stuff, so I gave in.

    As for bright yellow cameras? Hoo boy. You've never seen GATSOs hidden in un-trimmed bushes, or police hidden in horse trailers with a mobile unit and all that malarkey then I take it.

    Several people I know have also been told they were caught breaking the speed limit, with no images as proof. What is odd however, is that the road they were said to be caught on doesn't exist anymore, and to the best of my knowledge, hasn't been in existence for over 20 years.
    Luckily they got let off and didn't have to pay or get any points, but trying to get themselves off proved tricky, with all kinds of court-order threats, "forgotten" phone calls, "lost" emails and so on. In the end, the events just petered out, but that's hardly a satisfying resolution.


    and as for...
    The point I'm making is, if you get caught it's no-ones fault but your own, and if you "accidentally" stamped on the accelerator and did 45 in a 30, then, again, should you really be driving if you can't control your car?
    Well that's just plain offensive. You wanna take a pop at my driving? Say that to my face you sack of crap. You're making assumptions that have no basis.
  • llamafarmer
    llamafarmer Posts: 1,893
    The trouble is, bails, that there's signs absolutely everywhere, it's like the "boy who cried wolf". People keep seeing signs all over the place, even when there aren't any cameras, and they start to ignore them.

    That's only a problem if you're speeding and only slowing down for cameras. At the end of the day, you're banging your head against the wall. If it's a 30mph limit then that's the law and at least we get some warning about where the cameras are. I don't like them either, but it's not worth getting angry about, just try to drive to the speed limit.

    And I don't think bails was trying to insult you
  • cat_with_no_tail
    cat_with_no_tail Posts: 12,981
    Say that to my face you sack of crap.

    :lol::lol::lol::lol:

    Possibly a bit harsh but made me lol anyway
  • cee
    cee Posts: 4,553

    and as for...
    The point I'm making is, if you get caught it's no-ones fault but your own, and if you "accidentally" stamped on the accelerator and did 45 in a 30, then, again, should you really be driving if you can't control your car?
    Well that's just plain offensive. You wanna take a pop at my driving? Say that to my face you sack of crap. You're making assumptions that have no basis.

    in fairness...if you can not feel the difference between 30 and 45 mph then i am taking a pop at your driving. driving instructors do not have to look at the speedo to know they are going more than 30. neither should you (within a couple of mph tolerance...say 10%..oh yeah..they already allow you that.)

    :D:D:D
    Whenever I see an adult on a bicycle, I believe in the future of the human race.

    H.G. Wells.
  • bails87
    bails87 Posts: 12,998
    and as for...
    The point I'm making is, if you get caught it's no-ones fault but your own, and if you "accidentally" stamped on the accelerator and did 45 in a 30, then, again, should you really be driving if you can't control your car?
    Well that's just plain offensive. You wanna take a pop at my driving? Say that to my face you sack of crap. You're making assumptions that have no basis.

    :oops: Woah, sorry! If you get caught when you've done nothing wrong then fair enough, that's clearly wrong. But when I said "you" I didn't mean you personally, and I wasn't accusing you of driving at 45, it was a hypothetical situation, so replace all the instances of "you" with "a person". So apologies, but that genuinely wasn't aimed at you, just at people who say they drifted over the limit without realising, therefore they should be let off. I don't know you, so how could I be judging your driving?!
    MTB/CX

    "As I said last time, it won't happen again."
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    Drifting over the limit to 35 mph is easily done un-noticed, especially when you take the accuracy of speedometers into account, on top of tyre sizes, pressures and so on. :evil:
  • Porgy
    Porgy Posts: 4,525
    .blitz wrote:
    M1llh0use wrote:
    These cameras have been upgraded to act as "red light jump - green light speeding" and will be active as of 1st july.
    How quaint :)

    The Midlands is something of police state when it comes to cameras and they certainly like to mix it up. They love average speed cameras and the first time they put cameras on the lights on roundabouts they were going off like fireworks. It's also interesting to note how fast the emergency vehicles have to go before they set them off :wink:

    I've neevr understood how using cameras to enforce the legal speed limit can in any way be likened to a police state.

    It's a pity people don;t make a similar fuss about the ubiquitous CCTV cameras - in many cases they're not even legal.
  • Porgy
    Porgy Posts: 4,525
    edited July 2009
    Drifting over the limit to 35 mph is easily done un-noticed, especially when you take the accuracy of speedometers into account, on top of tyre sizes, pressures and so on. :evil:

    15 years of driving though - and i've never done it. So is it that easy?
  • bails87
    bails87 Posts: 12,998
    Ok, so I'm still a sack of crap then? Fair enough. :(


    Is an accurate speedo a legal requirement in a car? Just curious if it ever gets checked during MOTs and the like. Although I did think they over-reported by 5% or so, I imagine to cover the manufacturers back in the exact circumstances you're talking about.

    But I thought in your case you were sat in traffic when you got flashed, so the "drifting over the limit" thing isn't an issue there anyway, sounded like a plain and simple mistake by the camera/police.

    My original point, and cee and
    llamafarmer's still stands though, (unless theres a fault with the system, in which case you should be able to get a pic to prove innocence or guilt) you won't get caught speeding if you're not speeding, simple as.

    People don't like hidden camera's and I'd be P'd off if I got caught by one, but I'd have to accept that if I hadn't broken the law I wouldn't have been caught. Like someone else said, its a calculated risk, is me getting to my destination 5 minutes quicker worth the 5% chance of a £30 fine? For most people it is, and thats why they speed. Unfortunately people tend to think about the effect on them and not others, so the size of the fine matters, the increased chance of killing/seriously injuring someone else doesnt. (and I'm not accusing anyone of anything!)

    By the way, what do people think of the sat nav things that were proposed in the pay-per-mile scheme? Where they can use the sat nav signal to detect if you've been speeding and fine accordingly. I wouldn't want them because of the big brother element, but if someone got a speeding ticket because of one, they coudln't argue that they weren't aware that their speed was being recorded. I think people speed more because of the low chance of punishment, rather than the size of the fine itself.
    MTB/CX

    "As I said last time, it won't happen again."
  • M1llh0use
    M1llh0use Posts: 863
    fckun hell guys!! Calm down....

    Didn't want to start WW3 :lol: just noting a new type of camera for those that might not pay too much attention to the dial 2 feet in front of them in favour of the hundreds of tonnes of metal on the road being piloted by people looking at said dial instead of the road!!




    shhesh, try and do a bunch of people a favour...

    :roll: :roll: :roll:
    {insert smartarse comment here}
  • bails87
    bails87 Posts: 12,998
    :oops: Well, at least it's in the crudcatcher! I contributed to what was basically a full sus vs hardtail thread earlier, think I'm just feeling a little controversial today, now then, SPDs or flats.....
    MTB/CX

    "As I said last time, it won't happen again."
  • llamafarmer
    llamafarmer Posts: 1,893
    M1llh0use wrote:
    Didn't want to start WW3 :lol: just noting a new type of camera for those that might not pay too much attention to the dial 2 feet in front of them in favour of the hundreds of tonnes of metal on the road being piloted by people looking at said dial instead of the road!!

    I've exhausted all the arguments myself mate, I was fuming for ages after I got my ticket from a white van hidden in a layby, but it gets you nowhere.

    Do the people who are too focused on the road to check their speed every so often also refuse to use their radio or adjust their air conditioning or use a sat nav for the same reason? :lol: Checking your speed is as much a part of driving as checking your mirrors or using your indicators.

    *I'm no saint, I still speed sometimes, I get annoyed with other drivers etc, etc....
  • randomage
    randomage Posts: 100
    This is something we get in heaps down soof. Mobile vans are everywhere you look, usually well hidden! Last spring i was caught by one apparently doing *cough* 84 in a 70 limit. To this day i am certain that i never saw the van, even after working out exactly where it would have been. Which is on a bridge, hidden round a corner, coming over the crest of a hill. Where people are going to be subconsciously speeding up whilst they deal with a fairly tight left hander at 70 + on a dualer. Checking your speedo kinda takes a back seat when there's that much to be concentrate on.
    "The day after tomorrow is the first day of the rest of your life. That way, you always have a couple of days in hand." - Bill Bailey
  • Eskimo427
    Eskimo427 Posts: 288
    can I just point out it isn't the police of the Government who decide on speed cameras and their location - it's the local council to the area. Councils are given £300k-£500k by the government to spend on road safety; how they spend it is down to them. I would say most take the easy way out and buy cameras as they think it's the thing to do - daft really as all the revenue generated by them goes to the government and not the local council!

    Google Swindon council and you'll find out they have removed their fixed cameras.

    As a side note I have been caught speed 4 times, once was on the M6 doing 79mph and yes I think speed cameras have a place, but not everywhere on UK roads.
  • cee
    cee Posts: 4,553
    I also read somewhere that there need to be a certain number of accidents on a particular stretch in order for a camera to be intalled there.....

    It might have only been in one council ward though...can't really remember the details.

    As an aside...if I were in charge, I would bring the speed limit in town down to 20mph until 6.30pm
    Whenever I see an adult on a bicycle, I believe in the future of the human race.

    H.G. Wells.
  • cat_with_no_tail
    cat_with_no_tail Posts: 12,981
    cee wrote:
    I also read somewhere that there need to be a certain number of accidents on a particular stretch in order for a camera to be intalled there.....

    It might have only been in one council ward though...can't really remember the details.

    As an aside...if I were in charge, I would bring the speed limit in town down to 20mph until 6.30pm

    We have 20mph speed limts in residential areas and along the prom here. People always seem to think that there are no speed limits here, but fail to realise that it's only really over the mountain, and a couple of other very open roads.
  • thekickingmule
    thekickingmule Posts: 7,957
    cee wrote:
    I also read somewhere that there need to be a certain number of accidents on a particular stretch in order for a camera to be intalled there.....

    It might have only been in one council ward though...can't really remember the details.
    Nope, you're right. The transport secretary was on Top Gear once and he explained it. Jeremy Clarkson found it strange that they considered 2 of the accidents on the M6 to be people commiting suicide by jumping off bridges, as speed cameras can't change that.
    It takes as much courage to have tried and failed as it does to have tried and succeeded.
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