Motorway Average Speed Camera's (Road Works)

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mally1

Administrator
View attachment 6249
Having spent a few hours today, driving at 50mph (thank god for cruise control) has anyone on here ever had a ticket? I must have been overtaken by several hundred vehicles going quite a bit faster than me... What do they know that I don't!!...
 
I think some people treat speeding tickets like a tax, they'll only try and avoid them once themself and their other named drivers all have enough penalty points that another one will lose them their licence.
 
More by luck than judgement, I've never been caught by either an average speed camera, or any of those fixed to the Motorway network.

I've been nailed once by a Gatso, and again by a traffic cop with hand-held radar.

On motorways & A roads, I tend to ignore everything BUT the ones on the yellow gantries to the side of the road. They're Satan incarnate, comparing your speed between 2 fixed points, and if caught, you're screwed.

The cameras on overhead gantries spanning the width of the M/way, with the 'advisory / compulsory' speed limit, may need a little more caution as although you can see the flash triggering like a demented park flasher every 5 seconds, the cameras frequently aren't working or are unmonitored.

V
 
Visioneer said:
The cameras on overhead gantries spanning the width of the M/way, with the 'advisory / compulsory' speed limit, may need a little more caution as although you can see the flash triggering like a demented park flasher every 5 seconds, the cameras frequently aren't working or are unmonitored.

V
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I'm not sure if its still the case, but at one time it was just that their memory got full so fast most people didn't get a ticket.
 
littlewoman said:
I think some people treat speeding tickets like a tax, they'll only try and avoid them once themself and their other named drivers all have enough penalty points that another one will lose them their licence.
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What's the fine for either No Licence, or revoked?

3 trips ago, I hadn't been in the UK for 8 or 9 years, and was visiting Coventry for the first time. Had a 9 am meeting, and at 08:45 came to traffic lights that were red. GPS said Turn Left, so I did. Blue lights in my mirror. Stop. Uniform says something in a funny accent, and the person I am talking to on the phone asks; "Who's that?" I say "Mr. Plod." "Do what now?" asks the man on the phone in Georgia. "I'll call you back..." I think the uniform asked for license and insurance and put the phone down. He definetly wanted me to do that! We are now causing numerous people to be late. Give 'Driving Wallet' to uniform who is insisting I put the phone down. Which I do. Inside wallet is my Georgia Deputy Sheriff's badge and other ID. Uniform's partner arrives and redirects traffic around my car. The Deputy's Badge and ID stopped me getting a ticket but wasted another 20 minutes talking about handguns, and how one of them never wanted one, but the other one was going on a course to be in a Tactical Team.
Even though we were holding up traffic, much of it looked like they felt sorry for me.
Really odd trip. Get to office, and the owner of the company is in a hurry. "Drive me to pickup my car..." What happened to "Please?" Drive him to the Bentley Dealership to pick up his Lambo. Talk to 'Marketing Manager" and I, not to be out done, show MM my Bentley Driver's Club Membership card. Discuss 1950's "R" Types that had GM God Awful automatic transmissions. We leave, I follow him and he slows down and pulls over to side of road and coasts off "M something" He's shaking his fists. Get out to find there's no petrol in the bloody thing. Passing cars slow, blow horns and thumb noses and give "V" signs. I have images of the Bentley dealership emptying a two gallon can of petrol into the Lambo. The Bentley people charged him fifteen hundred quid to service the Lambo but not even put a gallon of petrol in it... Did a lot of driving that trip.
Forgot to mention 'no seat belt' but he didn't mention it. I never wear one, unless it is a 5 point fixing. Usual lap diagonal ones are designed to throw you head first and sideways into the rear view mirror, which is why they are "Snap Off" types.
 
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mally said:
View attachment 6249
Having spent a few hours today, driving at 50mph (thank god for cruise control) has anyone on here ever had a ticket? I must have been overtaken by several hundred vehicles going quite a bit faster than me... What do they know that I don't!!...
Click to expand...

A second for thanking God for cruise control. I set mine to the around 53mph from the readout off my sat nav's and NOT the car reading as that is always lower. I am always passing others and maybe by the grace of God again am point free.

I know a few people that have received points from them.

The next bit comes with a huge word of CAUTION as I haven't researched it lately. As of a few years ago all Average Speed Cameras were lane specific. They need Home Office Approval to be able to ping you first in lane 1 and then for the second ping to be in any other lane. The cost of approval is high. The enormous amount of ASC in Nottingham were found out to be not so approved and refunds ensued.

On the odd occasion I have been doing SV in the zones and need to keep up I have changed lanes repeatedly and not received a ticket. Luckily there are no longer enough motorway cops to witness the careless driving.

Last year the mandatory ones on the M42 were found to have the wrong shape for the numbers on the display and motorists who challenged were refunded and had points removed. The law has now been changed to acknowledge the shape which is a big shame.
 
littlewoman said:
I think some people treat speeding tickets like a tax, they'll only try and avoid them once themself and their other named drivers all have enough penalty points that another one will lose them their licence.
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Here, rarely do the illegal Mexicans have insurance, and maybe, just maybe, 60% of other drivers have insurance. The first things asked for are; "License and Insurance" with insurance pronounced as two separate words.
The State Patrol issue traffic 'citations' that have Check (Tick) here boxes for whatever they stop you for. Their copy goes to the Sheriff's office for that County. As the State guy goes off watch, he hands the citations into the Sheriff's Office and leaves. The 'Dispatcher' then sorts them into piles. Out of Area; Friends of the Sheriff, Mayor, Police Chief, Fire Chief etc., people he doesn't like, and locals he doesn't know, family and friends. Then it narrows down to fines being levied or "oops they fell in the shredder"
I am going to miss Georgia, a lot! Like parking outside the Post Office on a hot day, and every vehicle has keys in the ignition and engines running with the A/C on. 50% with rifles and/or shotguns in a rack in the rear window. That was today.
 
deltasierra70 said:
What's the fine for either No Licence, or revoked?
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A fixed penalty fine is up to £100 (not sure of the minimum) if it goes to court it can be more. You get 3 to 6 points on your licence (3 for a bit over, 6 for lots over). 12 points usually looses your licence. You also get points for other minor offences.
 
littlewoman said:
I'm not sure if its still the case, but at one time it was just that their memory got full so fast most people didn't get a ticket.
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Certainly used to be the case. Now it's not so much local memory capacity, as network access. (Or whether there's actually a working camera in the box.)

In the good old days, some poor sod had to reload with film. On one of the early installations on the A40, they expected a roll of film to last a few days, possibly a week.

It lasted 40 minutes.

V
 
mally said:
View attachment 6249
Having spent a few hours today, driving at 50mph (thank god for cruise control) has anyone on here ever had a ticket? I must have been overtaken by several hundred vehicles going quite a bit faster than me... What do they know that I don't!!...
Click to expand...

To allow for speedos being out and to stop the courts being clogged up with people challenging tickets where they are clocked at 1 or 2 mph over the limit, you get +10% +2mph before they class you as 'speeding' - seem to recall it stated this on my father-in-laws ticket too.

So in a 50 you won't get a ticket until over 57mph, as at that point you are obviously intending to break the speed limit, rather than accidentally straying a little over.

In a 60 you can do 68 and normal motorway it's 79mph.

The gantry ones (I believe) don't work until they impose a lower than normal limit at busy times, but technically if the local Chief Constable is running out of budget he can turn them on all the time and get people doing over 79 :)
 
Got caught recently travelling from Newport Wales to Ross on Wye....doing 81 mph in a 50 mph. This was over a time and distance cameras.... The options for me was either to go to court to defend my case or take a speed awareness course. I attended the speed awareness course which was 4 hours of no wrist slapping information on how to be aware of how fast you are doing and what can happen when breaking at different speeds and how far you travel when you throw the anchor, parachute and any other braking instrument you use. The bonus was that you don't get three points plus on your licence....but the cost of the course was 85 quid...
 
PADDYOS said:
Got caught recently travelling from Newport Wales to Ross on Wye....doing 81 mph in a 50 mph. This was over a time and distance cameras.... The options for me was either to go to court to defend my case or take a speed awareness course. I attended the speed awareness course which was 4 hours of no wrist slapping information on how to be aware of how fast you are doing and what can happen when breaking at different speeds and how far you travel when you throw the anchor, parachute and any other braking instrument you use. The bonus was that you don't get three points plus on your licence....but the cost of the course was 85 quid...
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I fell asleep on the M11 a few years ago, on the drive home from LHR, having returned from Abu Dhabi.

I took the speed awareness course, which to my surprise I actually enjoyed. (except for the classroom stuff)

The practical side was handled by an IAM Instructor, with a Seat Leon Cup, Tdi., who taught me the back roads of Cambridgeshire with a total disregard for speed limits, with the whole exercise taking on the nature of a good IAM course.

The company managing the course, was working with Leicester Uni ?, whose course designer had a fixation that ALL instances of speeding were caused by stress and or Road Rage.

I don't 'do' stress or Road rage as their barrage of tests confirmed, therefore they were convinced there tests were in error.

One conversation went along the lines of: I wasn't effing stressed. I was so ferkin relaxed I was having a nap !

V :)
 
I recently went past a yellow-box-by-side-of-road-with-horns at a bit too fast, so did some research around speed cameras, find out possible defences.

Speed cameras must have signage (we have all seen the speed camera sign, however if its not in a certain distance, then the cameras data is void).
Cameras must be clear and visible (must have high visibility yellow painting on it, not blocked by any objects etc etc)
Cameras are not always cameras (The mechanism inside the cameras isn't always there. For example, lets say Lewisham has 20 speed cameras, they may only have mechinasim for 4, so these parts get moved from box to box. One day it may not have anything inside, next day it will!)
 
MrBlonde said:
To allow for speedos being out and to stop the courts being clogged up with people challenging tickets where they are clocked at 1 or 2 mph over the limit, you get +10% +2mph before they class you as 'speeding' - seem to recall it stated this on my father-in-laws ticket too.
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The "Mad Mullah of the Traffic Taliban" Richard Brunstrom did not give any allowance at all so believe that may be a myth.


MrBlonde said:
The gantry ones (I believe) don't work until they impose a lower than normal limit at busy times, but technically if the local Chief Constable is running out of budget he can turn them on all the time and get people doing over 79 :)
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CC got no control over the motorway ones. Money goes direct to central government.


One of the election promise by the new West Mids Crime commissioner was to turn off all the roads speed cameras which he duly did, saving £1m a year. They still have a couple of mobile one though.
 
MrBlonde said:
To allow for speedos being out and to stop the courts being clogged up with people challenging tickets where they are clocked at 1 or 2 mph over the limit, you get +10% +2mph before they class you as 'speeding' - seem to recall it stated this on my father-in-laws ticket too.

So in a 50 you won't get a ticket until over 57mph, as at that point you are obviously intending to break the speed limit, rather than accidentally straying a little over.

In a 60 you can do 68 and normal motorway it's 79mph.

The gantry ones (I believe) don't work until they impose a lower than normal limit at busy times, but technically if the local Chief Constable is running out of budget he can turn them on all the time and get people doing over 79 :)
Click to expand...

I was in a 50 doing about 55 and the white van with the camera was at the side of the road, thought I was going to get done but that was about a year and a half ago, haven't heard anything about it yet.

By the way cruise control in my car is my right foot ;)
 
rhea said:
The "Mad Mullah of the Traffic Taliban" Richard Brunstrom did not give any allowance at all so believe that may be a myth.
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Brunstrum may not have given any but it's ACPO guidance so if you get a ticket for a couple of mph over feel free to challenge saying your speedo must be out and that the ACPO say allowances should be made - i dare say they'll drop it rather than have to go to the trouble of testing your vehicle - i guess lots of people will also just pay up too.
You can also call in to question the accuracy of the speed detection equipment as they have a 2-3mph tolerance too (also in the below) so to prosecute they would need to prove exactly how accurate the kit was at the time and exactly how accurate your speedo was at the time.

http://www.acpo.police.uk/documents/uniformed/2013/201305-uoba-joining-forces-safer-roads.pdf

Table at 9.6
 
Mally, to answer your question- yes they do work and tickets have been issued for speeding on the temporary cameras you've pictured... Of course this depends if they're switched on/ recording etc. It's all a gamble. If you're willing to take the risk you've got to be willing to take the consequences.

All before you start to apply the legal loopholes, and there are a few depending on your circumstances.

As for the 10% +2 allowance mentioned. This is or rather was a guidance figure that most police forces used, however a lot have reduced it to just the 10% now!

I'm no driving saint, but as was taught to me- driving fast isn't all about speed, observation is the biggest advantage to a shorter drive... Observing hazards isn't just spotting the car approaching, the red light, the blue lights (!). it's planning an alternate route, spotting the roadwork signs before you've got snapped!

Then add the speed.


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