M1 Variable Speed Cameras

forgotmyname

Best course of action is to stick to the speed limit and let everyone
else do what they want to do.

If a lorry gets close to you then stick to the limit or gradually slow until he overtakes.
His speedo will be more accurate than yours. So you think your doing 40 where his speedo may say 38.

kaya

I have been though all the variable cameras on the southern M1 early morning at speeds that even the police helicopter couldn't achieve ( As a passenger) many times and never had a ticket , same with the ones on the m25 , methinks they only turn them on once in a blue moon or my friend would be banned and imprisoned by now

Lum

Most of the gantries don't have camera housings fitted, of those that do only some have actual cameras in them. They are gatso-style cameras so you should notice a flash.

They do work, I have seen tickets issued for them (thankfully not to me!)

I normally defend truck drivers, but in this case so long as you haven't just overtaken the truck and pulled into its stopping distance they should be aware of the speed limit reduction and expecting the vehicle in front to slow down to obey it.

It sucks but that's the nature of camera enforcement, no discretion, I guess you could always dive into the hard shoulder if the truck is actually about to hit you. I think it would count as a valid emergency.

As for why they were still on, perhaps there was a jam up ahead that you never encountered because you were slowed down before reaching it. If the HADECS system is working perfectly you will never see the jam that triggered the reduced limit.

Of course it's also possible that someone set the 40 limit by hand and then went home for the day without telling the person on the next shift.

Nearly_Old

kaya wrote: »

I have been though all the variable cameras on the southern M1 early morning at speeds that even the police helicopter couldn't achieve ( As a passenger) many times and never had a ticket , same with the ones on the m25 , methinks they only turn them on once in a blue moon or my friend would be banned and imprisoned by now

When the legislation was drafted for managed motorways the Statutory Instrument (currently) only authorises the cameras when a speed limit is displayed on the signs. Therefore until there is a further amendment to the legislation the cameras cannot be used to enforce the NSL as the sign is not displaying a speed limit.

It's a bit like the original SPECS system where the initial legislation referred to exceeding the speed limit "in a lane". So changing lanes between camears was an option albeit still a gamble on which cameras were live. The latest systems work between any pair of cameras and the reference to "in a lane" has long since been removed.

Lum

Yes, it's perfectly fine, and legal, to ignore the orange advisory signs and continue to do 70 as they are literally that, advisory.

The same is also true for the black on yellow "max speed" signs you see on some roadworks. If there's no people actually working on the road at the time I'll happily go through those at 70. Same with the black on white max speed signs you see on some bends too (e.g. at the north end of the M5)

If they were legal speed limits and were being enforced by these cameras, I would have been banned several times over by now.

CrazyPanda

Thanks for that! I was sat in lane 1 quite a way in front so when I saw the 40 sign I started to slow gradually but it seemed they didn't. Maybe they know something that I don't! There were no definite flashes. Is the flash really obvious?

muckybutt

Very obvious ! like a camera flash but brighter.

You'll have to wait a few weeks to see if theres a nip served on you for speeding, if there is then play it by the book.

There are loads of these being installed between Wakefield and Bradford on the M62, and I mean loads. Neary every gantry has camera housings on them, and if they go live like the average speed cams are whilst the road works are on they'll catch 1000's.... lastyears headlines when the cameras went live.

Lum

CrazyPanda wrote: »

Thanks for that! I was sat in lane 1 quite a way in front so when I saw the 40 sign I started to slow gradually but it seemed they didn't. Maybe they know something that I don't! There were no definite flashes. Is the flash really obvious?

When you say slowing gradually, did you brake or just lift off?

If they're not paying attention then it may be worth pressing the brake pedal just a little, just enough to light up the red lights and get their attention.

CrazyPanda

Lum wrote: »

When you say slowing gradually, did you brake or just lift off?

If they're not paying attention then it may be worth pressing the brake pedal just a little, just enough to light up the red lights and get their attention.

I braked gently to bring the speed down so they knew I was trying to slow down. Oh well, there's not much I can do, there were other motorists coming screaming by me in the outer lanes. Will just have to wait and see if I get the NIP through the post. I've read somewhere that you can appeal for a Speed awareness course even if they don't offer one straight away... I would rather pay the extra £30 and have no points on my licence!

Lum

Hopefully you won't receive anything. You probably already know, but providing the car is registered in your name (and you haven't recently bought it or moved house) then you only have to wait 14 days to find out.

About how close do you reckon the truck was while you were on the gatso lines, reckon it would show up in the shot?