Ever been flashed

obi_waynne

Administrator
Staff member
Moderator
Points
1,157
Location
Deal, Kent UK
Car
A3 1.4 TFSI 150 COD
Have you ever been flashed by a speed camera? Did you get anything through the post and how long did it take? What speed were you doing and what was the applicable limit?

Does anyone know what the trigger speeds are for motorway cameras? Is the 10%+3mph just an urban myth?
 
been flashed but never heard anything.
think the camera setting depend on where you are, were lucky round here as there is no fixed cameras only 2 mobile ones to cover the whole of D&G (2480 square miles) arnt we lucky
 
i was flashed from the opposite side of a dual carriageway, doing perhaps "slightly" over the 70mph speedlimit ni the outside lane - nothing came of it. Was also flashed on the North circular some years ago driving a hire car but also nothing came of this. Did get done on the A9 dual carriageway though - 76mph in a 70mph zone, dont even know what it was just came through the post 3 point and 60 quid fine. Think the thieving police just saw a 205 gti and decided to be tough,
 
The police aren't thieves. They don't get any revenue at all from speed enforcement. Gatso's cannot enforce approaching traffic speed limits.

76 in a 70 is very very harsh indeed. Even ACPO suggests 10% + 2mph as a MINIMUM before anyone is sent a NIP. Although technically there is no leeway whatsoever so you can be done for 70.00001 in a 70.

Some time ago the Met Police trialled a zero tolerance on the M4 between junctions 4 and 1 (Harmonsworth to Hammersmith) ie if you are at 70.000001mph you autoatically get a ticket, 3 points and £60.

Now, consider this. Someone caught at 89.99999mph will still only get 3points and £60 quid. So where's the incentive?

What happened was that the average speed went up on that section of road yet the accident rate remained unchanged.
 
Never been flashed by a camera - and i'll kick myself if I do (they're bright yellow!) - but I have approached a van with a gun pretty quickly and anchored on the brakes - nothing ever came of it, must have slowed before I got within range of his gun.
 
I got flashed after I accidentally took a toll road in a rental car without the required chip inside. Got a ticket a month later...
 
HDi, you are of course correct, the police are not getting the funds, am just venting as it still smarts about getting points for doing 76mph and spoiling a clean license - this was from a handheld gun though and not a fixed camera.
and shouldnt be calling all police thieves as they very nicely let me off for undertaking coming off a roundabout as i told them that i'd just been to the supermarket and had to get home before the icecream melted - the expression on his face was a picture
 
I got flashed after I accidentally took a toll road in a rental car without the required chip inside. Got a ticket a month later...

Wow a month is quite slow, we have to be notified within something like 14 days otherwise the offence is waived.
 
i was flashed from the opposite side of a dual carriageway, doing perhaps "slightly" over the 70mph speedlimit ni the outside lane - nothing came of it. Was also flashed on the North circular some years ago driving a hire car but also nothing came of this. Did get done on the A9 dual carriageway though - 76mph in a 70mph zone, dont even know what it was just came through the post 3 point and 60 quid fine. Think the thieving police just saw a 205 gti and decided to be tough,

76 seems a bit low, usually set for min 10% plus 2 or 3mph.

Police don't get the money. Getting caught isn't compulsary, that is what your speedo is for :). Bearing in mind that most speedos read around 5-10% fast, your speedo must have been showing at least 80mph. Naughty boy :)
 
Very true you won't get clobbered if you don't exceed the speed limit.

The problem I have with that approach is that we're telling people that so long as you don't break the limit you can drive as badly as you like in all other ways.

In an ideal world there would be no need for speed limits as we'd all adjust our speed according to the situation in which we're driving.
 
Wow a month is quite slow, we have to be notified within something like 14 days otherwise the offence is waived.

I think what took so long was the fact that I was in a rental car in a different state than the one I lived in so I am sure the time it took for them to process the picture and send it to the rental company THEN having the rental company inform me postal service...I could see how it took a bit of time. PLUS...I was probably exagerating when I said a month. It happend a while ago so I don't really remember or care. The charge wasn't too bad but I was still a tad-bit ticked that I accidentally found myself on a toll road (more like a highway) and had no choice BUT to go through and get charged.
It's in the past now so I'm not worried about it too much anymore.
 
Very true you won't get clobbered if you don't exceed the speed limit.

The problem I have with that approach is that we're telling people that so long as you don't break the limit you can drive as badly as you like in all other ways.

In an ideal world there would be no need for speed limits as we'd all adjust our speed according to the situation in which we're driving.

Don't quite understand this. A lot of drivers are prosecuted for offences other than speeding.

Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) we don't live in an ideal world, so there have to be rules and regs in order to maintain some sort of civilised behaviour.

Bear in mind that the UK's average IQ is around 98, so approx half of the population has an IQ below this rather low figure! And we let them drive?
 
Very true you won't get clobbered if you don't exceed the speed limit.

The problem I have with that approach is that we're telling people that so long as you don't break the limit you can drive as badly as you like in all other ways.

In an ideal world there would be no need for speed limits as we'd all adjust our speed according to the situation in which we're driving.


In the US, I have found that they do their best to catch you between two close speedlimit transitions. For Example: There is a road in Albuquerque, NM called 'Paseo Del Norte' and there is an overpass with on/off ramps and stoplights on either side. The key to the speed-camera's success is that on either side of the overpass is a short, downward sloping hill with a stoplight at the end of each of them. SO, when people are coming from the offramp there is a set speed limit and then it reduces 10mph halfway between the ramp and the light. Peoples reactions are to just coast to the light and because they are decelerating and not braking, they get flashed. And there are a LOT of people who get flashed there. At night, it is like watching a strobelight go off.
 
In the US, I have found that they do their best to catch you between two close speedlimit transitions. For Example: There is a road in Albuquerque, NM called 'Paseo Del Norte' and there is an overpass with on/off ramps and stoplights on either side. The key to the speed-camera's success is that on either side of the overpass is a short, downward sloping hill with a stoplight at the end of each of them. SO, when people are coming from the offramp there is a set speed limit and then it reduces 10mph halfway between the ramp and the light. Peoples reactions are to just coast to the light and because they are decelerating and not braking, they get flashed. And there are a LOT of people who get flashed there. At night, it is like watching a strobelight go off.
That is so sneaky! At least our speed cameras are painted luminous orange and there are plenty of signs.
 
Don't quite understand this. A lot of drivers are prosecuted for offences other than speeding.

Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) we don't live in an ideal world, so there have to be rules and regs in order to maintain some sort of civilised behaviour.

Bear in mind that the UK's average IQ is around 98, so approx half of the population has an IQ below this rather low figure! And we let them drive?

I know what you're at. The reality is that most people are unable to determine a suitable speed for themselves. So we have to have the regulations and rules.

I'm not overly concerned about it to be honest. I am a very systematic and observant driver. I do exceed speed limits on de-restricted roads when safe to do so. Clearly, if I get caught I only have myself to blame.

What's more worrying is the number of people who approach a speed camera or roadside enforcement van and still fail to notice the thing at all. The first time they become aware is when the NIP arrives in the post!!

That is very very scary indeed. Just where the hell are they looking when they're driving?

Such drivers really should sit an extended test.
 
Truevelo will catch you passing and approaching as well, and they've been around almost as long as Gatso cameras themselves.

They're nasty devices, using inductive loops in the road to monitor your approach and speed. Therefore they're not detected by radar and laser detectors (which, sadly, are illegal again).

The only chance of defence once the driver has been identified is to go to court rather than pay the fine and ask that the road be dug up to confirm accuracy of placement of the induction loops.
 
Hi Guys
Up here in Ayrshire we have a series of average speed cameras which measure your speed between each set. This is over a stretch of approx 20 miles or so.. On the dual carriage way parts, a seperate camera monitors each lane so provided you change lanes between cameras you cant get caught. I`ve lways been to scared to try it but thats the theory acording to Top Gears Jeremy Clackson. Also as the camera has to identify the driver they face head on into the traffic so motorbikes are "imune" as they have no front numberplate. Wasnt brave enough to try that either :embarrest:

Rab
 
Hi Guys
Up here in Ayrshire we have a series of average speed cameras which measure your speed between each set. This is over a stretch of approx 20 miles or so.. On the dual carriage way parts, a seperate camera monitors each lane so provided you change lanes between cameras you cant get caught. I`ve lways been to scared to try it but thats the theory acording to Top Gears Jeremy Clackson. Also as the camera has to identify the driver they face head on into the traffic so motorbikes are "imune" as they have no front numberplate. Wasnt brave enough to try that either :embarrest:

Rab

Sadly this is a myth, the speed averaging cameras use number plate recognition. If it can't read the plate then it is flagged up anyway and manually confirmed! ;)

Every journey we ever take is I'm sure recorded on camera so if they want to prosecute us I'm sure if they dig deep enough they will find some misdemeanor!
 
Hi Waynne
I dont follow you ;)

If you drive on the inside lane, the camera pointed at that lane will log your reg number if you cange lanes you wont pass the aim point of the next camera watching the inside lane therefor it cant work out your average speed. There is a seperate camera for each lane.

As for the motor bike theory, if it cant see your reg plate cos its hidden behind your bike it then cant log your vehicle

Or am I still wrong:lol:
Rab
 
on the bike your right
but all th cameras are linked to a database, inside middle and outside lane cameras are all linked togeather so it doesnt matter which one you drive through it will pick up your reg and log it as being at point A
you swap lanes at the next set another camera picks you and and logs your plate at B.

all the cameras do is reconise your plates and feed them to the computer which works out your speed by the time travelled between points A and B, ( it already knows the distance)
 
Hi Waynne
I dont follow you ;)

If you drive on the inside lane, the camera pointed at that lane will log your reg number if you cange lanes you wont pass the aim point of the next camera watching the inside lane therefor it cant work out your average speed. There is a seperate camera for each lane.

As for the motor bike theory, if it cant see your reg plate cos its hidden behind your bike it then cant log your vehicle

Or am I still wrong:lol:
Rab

The cameras are all connected to a central hub as PG stated ;). They even put a couple of SPECS on slip roads down this way so you can't filter off without having the average check completed.

Bikes do seem to have the advantage here. Although here is soemthing for the paranoid to consider. If they saw a chap in red leathers on a Kawasuki ZR3000 in Kent doing 200mph then theoretically they could pull in additional CCTV footage to establish the number plate. Its all a bit big brother.

This is why I wear a fake nose, moustache and glasses when I'm driving.
 
The average speed cameras are strange as there is no hard evidence or the offence being commited in the form of a photograph. You could have two shots of a car doing 40mph at either end but averaging 110 between the check points.
 
Hi all
yes I suppose your right..........in a way.But..........these were the first S.P.E.C.S. cameras in UK and are NOT linked. So each lane has a seperate set of cameras.. The newer ownes are operated, as yous say (linked) but ( if I was brave/stupid enough) I CAN fly through my local ones as fast as I like provided I change lanes .

(I`m still not brave enough)
Rab
 
are you on about the ones on the way to prestwick airport Rab ? not up your way much but i know they were theyre a few years ago when i last used flew from there they went on for a fair bit.


wouldnt be suprised if they had been updated as it wouldnt be the cameras that changed it would be at the other side
 
The camera hardware is no different. It's just the way the information thus gathered is processed. It is your choice to exceed the speed limit. If you don't do so then you cannot be found guilty of a speeding offence. I, too, exceed speed limits at times when I determine that it's safe to do so.

If I get clobbered then it's up to me to present a reasonable case, or, more likely, hands-up and confess.

The SPECS devices are relatively new and I suspect that there have been few formal prosecutions as a result of the evidence they provide. No doubt the justice system will change to accomodate such evidence. Possibly it will change too suddenly as the current government seems to have a very 'top down state first' approach to policing us whilst we go about our daily lives.

If you are unlucky enough to receive a NIP then it might just be worth challenging in court if you make yourself very familiar with the Police and Criminal Evidence Act. Much as speeding is a summary offence the evidence offered (by both parties) if you decline the conditional offer of fixed penalty is subject to the constraints of P.A.C.E.

It might just be enough to secure your license if the prosecution decides to retract all the evidence and ask the court enter judgement that there is no case to answer.

Such opportunities become ever more rare by the day.

More sensibly, and it goes against my principles, don't exceed the speed limit, even if it is safe to do so. And if you do exceed it, the chances of being penalised are growing ever more likely.

Make of that what you will.
 
Last edited:
Hi Guys

You are probably correct. I wasnt thinking about changes made at their end of the cameras. The fact I sit at the speed limit show I am not convinced enough with my theory that I would risk getting points on my licence anyway. I tend to use cruise control quite a bit to ensure my speed doesnt creep up unnoticed
rab
 
When I first read the title to this tread.. I was expecting replies like "yeah, by a coach load of girls coming back from a party"
 
yeah that would be a bit better than the cops camera.
Knowing my luck I`m more likely to get an old guy in a dirty raincoat :embarrest:
Rab
 

Similar threads


Please watch this on my YouTube channel & Subscribe.


Back
Top