Average speed cameras do they work??

SG27

Driving on various motorways yesterday I went through many average speed check zones. Mainly 50mph where they are road works. I took care to stay a 50mph yet I seemed to be constantly overtaken by people going considerably faster some probably 70mph or more. are all these people going to recieve fines in the post or do they know something I don't?

giraffe69

Mostly they do work although they may be set to a speed higher than 50. Someone doing 70 is rather likely to receive post.

keith1950

Average speed cameras do they work??

The answer is yes, though as above , the speed threshold will probably nearer 60mph.

The trouble is that a lot of drivers don't understand how they work so they slow down to go through the 1st sensor and then speed up.

In fact you could go through the 1st sensor at 100 mph as long as you then slow down enough that your average between any 2 sensors is under 50 mph.

The vehicle is registered by number plate recognition going through the entry and exit sensors and a computer works out the average speed.

neilmcl

SG27 wrote: »

Driving on various motorways yesterday I went through many average speed check zones. Mainly 50mph where they are road works. I took care to stay a 50mph yet I seemed to be constantly overtaken by people going considerably faster some probably 70mph or more. are all these people going to recieve fines in the post or do they know something I don't?

Were they all definitely average (SPECS) speed cameras or could some of the "zones" have been simply variable speed traffic management areas with gantry speed signs and gatsos?

arcon5

If the road was only 50 due to road works it's likely the cameras are set to 70. Cars would generally be okay then doing up to 78

SG27

neilmcl wrote: »

Were they all definitely average (SPECS) speed cameras or could some of the "zones" have been simply variable speed traffic management areas with gantry speed signs and gatsos?

I'm not sure whether they are a SPECS. They are the ones with the tall yellow poles holding the camera which are set at intervals along the road. They are set up specifically for the road work areas. They also have them on some national speed limit roads too.

SG27

keith1950 wrote: »

The answer is yes, though as above , the speed threshold will probably nearer 60mph.

The trouble is that a lot of drivers don't understand how they work so they slow down to go through the 1st sensor and then speed up.

In fact you could go through the 1st sensor at 100 mph as long as you then slow down enough that your average between any 2 sensors is under 50 mph.

The vehicle is registered by number plate recognition going through the entry and exit sensors and a computer works out the average speed.

Maybe this is part of it although it does quite clearly state average speed check. If be interested to know how many of those who sped past me recieve fines.

scotsbob

keith1950 wrote: »

The trouble is that a lot of drivers don't understand how they work so they slow down to go through the 1st sensor and then speed up.

I think this is correct.

There is a long 40 mile stretch of these cameras on the A77 and many people slow down for each camera and then speed up again.

They haven't grasped what "average" means. They think it is average passing each camera when it is average over the distance.

IamNotAllowedToUseMyName

SG27 wrote: »

Maybe this is part of it although it does quite clearly state average speed check. If be interested to know how many of those who sped past me recieve fines.

The SPECS system will be set at ACPO guidelines, so they will be set to ticket at 10% + 2mph, so you can get a ticket at an average 57mph. Add in some over-reading of the speedo, most people could drive through with the speedo just under 60 and not receive a ticket.

Generally it is quite hard to speed consistently through the system, though it does tickle me to see drivers braking for the cameras and then accelerate.

I believe that the system works by pairs of cameras and not all camera pairs may be active.

The mian point is that you will never know whether that person flying through the road works is going to get a ticket, but I can assure you that people do get tickets on the system.

The stuff about being set for 70mph previously in the thread is nonsense, these yellow pole cameras are installed specifically for roadworks and set for the temporary speed limit (except that there are some average cameras on the A14 and else where).

Happychappy

arcon5 wrote: »

If the road was only 50 due to road works it's likely the cameras are set to 70. Cars would generally be okay then doing up to 78

Are you referring to a set of roadworks on say the M1 where there is a temporary 50 limit and spec cameras ! Would these be set at 70?

catleugh

I consistently drive through these at 51-52 mph (When possible) , on my sat-nav, which translates to 53-54 on my speedo. Never had a ticket yet. A lot of the time you find yourself stuck behind cars doing 45 mph anyway.