Average speed cameras do they work??

prowla

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

Erm, the average speed cameras are generally set up for the roadworks...

patman99

Whether or not you get a ticket depends on the type of camera set-up.
From what I have been told by a Highways Agency worker the cameras only share data between themselves and the previous/next camera in the same lane and not with cameras covering other lanes.

IE -
camera 1 in lane one will share info with camera 2 in lane one. Camera 2 in lane 1 will take data from camera 1 & use this to calculate the average speed.
The cameras in lane 1 will not pass info onto cameras on lane 2 (or 3).

Thus, you could drive down the road at 100mph and as long as you pass each camera in a different lane, no ticket.

chrisw

Seems changing lanes to avoid the cameras is a popular misconception:-


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SPECS_(speed_camera)

dearlouise

They do. Had to go on a speed awareness course last year & 80% of the attendees were caught by these...

IamNotAllowedToUseMyName

chrisw wrote: »

Seems changing lanes to avoid the cameras is a popular misconception:-


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SPECS_(speed_camera)

To be fair, it is an out of date piece of information.

With speed cameras it is always best to assume that they work rather than rely on a bloke down the pub's tips and tricks. Every day on PepiPoo you can guarantee that there is someone posting about an unfair ticket because there was no sign, or the cameras were hidden or...

Basically if you don't want a speeding ticket, don't speed, everything else is fair game as long as the signs are right and the TRO is in order. Many speed cameras are certified up to a kilometre away (not SPECS obviously) so if you've seen them, they've already clocked you.

Nearly_Old

The SPECS systems have developed considerably over the years since the first systems were type approved and they are now extremely flexible. The first systems had to be cabled with each camera being individually cabled back to a control room in the site offices. This took time and added a considerable extra cost to the contracts and therefore not all the cameras were real - you could check this by looking for the cables!

For a number of years it was (theoretically) possible to get away by changing lanes as long as the lane change took place between 2 live cameras. This was nothing to do with the SPECS systems but was an oversight in the Statutory Instrument (SI) that legalised the SPECS systems. The SI referred to "exceeding the limit in a lane" so if you changed lane at the right point you could get away with it.

Once cabling was replaced with microwave and then wi-fi links, and the SI had been amended all cameras could be live with instant data processing. Again theoretically the intervention speed would be at, or above the ACPO guidelines, however if required in particular circumstances a SPECS system can be set at a lower threshold. Having spent over 15 years in motorway and highway maintenance with sometimes only a line of cones between me and the great british driving public SPECS has been a great improvement.

UsernameAlreadyExists

Nice post, and very interesting. Thank you.


But ... what protects you now from the great british driving public? Is it still a line of cones? and according to all the public service broadcasts 40 kills ... so 50 is still lethal? No?

---lee---

Something else to consider here. I was driving through a set of these a couple of weeks ago. The limit was 50, so I set my cruise control. I was overtaken by three cars. Two were going over 70. They left at the next exit before the next camera, so I assume they were locals who were familiar with the layout.

The third guy who passed my was going about 60 and I had observed him approaching me for a long time. Shortly after he passed me, the speed camera zone ended and he continued at exactly the same pace, in the outside lane (with no traffic on the inside for another few minutes). My conculsion here was they he probably drivers on all mways and highways at 60, regardless of speed limits or conditions.

Nearly_Old

UsernameAlreadyExists wrote: »

Nice post, and very interesting. Thank you.


But ... what protects you now from the great british driving public? Is it still a line of cones? and according to all the public service broadcasts 40 kills ... so 50 is still lethal? No?

Some years ago portable (well relatively portable) temporary concrete barriers were used at hazardous sites but since then temporary steel barriers anchored to the road surface have been developed and these are now normally used. The original aim of the 50 limit in contraflows was to reduce the severity of a head-on collision if a vehicle lost control and crossed into the opposing traffic. Having had to attend a few such collisions all of which, before the mandatory involved fatalities the lower limit certainly did help.

The other effect if all drivers try and achieve the limit is that the maximum flow rate can be achieved and queuing reduced. Before the use of temporary barriers the closest I came was when a petrol tanker had a blowout, swerved through the cones and missed a group of us by about 30m. It wasn't the nicest working environment to work in.

neilmcl

patman99 wrote: »

Whether or not you get a ticket depends on the type of camera set-up.
From what I have been told by a Highways Agency worker the cameras only share data between themselves and the previous/next camera in the same lane and not with cameras covering other lanes.

IE -
camera 1 in lane one will share info with camera 2 in lane one. Camera 2 in lane 1 will take data from camera 1 & use this to calculate the average speed.
The cameras in lane 1 will not pass info onto cameras on lane 2 (or 3).

Thus, you could drive down the road at 100mph and as long as you pass each camera in a different lane, no ticket.

Oh dear, oh dear. Fallen for that old chestnut have you. :rotfl: