PHOTO: New No-Car Lane Cameras in Newcastle

These new No-Car Lane Cameras on West Road in Newcastle upon Tyne will soon monitor and enforce the No-Car Lanes at the junction of West Road and the A1 (Roundabout).

M4 Protest - Road Deaths UP

Quoted by M4Protest.org...


Speed cameras:

The basics...

• £700 million in fines
• 12 million drivers convicted
• Road deaths UP
• Speed camera policy has failed
• Join us
• We're not standing for it any longer

New Technology to Detect Sleepy Drivers

theNewspaper.com reported on the 21st August 2005 that the UK Government are developeing a new system to identify sleepy drivers.

The report:

UK officials are developing a roadside video game-like test of awareness to be used to gauge whether a motorist is driving while drowsy, whether from over-the-counter medicines or lack of sleep. Scotland on Sunday reports that the prototypes of the handheld device require suspected drowsy drivers to guide a cursor around a screen and respond properly as various road signs flash on the screen. Anyone responding with slow reflexes can be hit with a £2500 (US $4,490) fine for "driving without due care and consideration."

The machine would be used after police witness a driver exhibiting symptoms of impaired driving such as weaving across lanes. It would replace the familiar coordination tests that police currently administer on the roadside, including asking individuals to stand on one leg.

Road safety expert Paul Smith of Safe Speed discounts the usefulness of the idea. He maintains the shock of police sirens and lights in the rearview mirror is sufficient to wake most people. "We would welcome any genuine initiatives that would ensure that drivers are fit to drive," Smith said. "But the idea that a roadside test will be able to gauge driver sleepiness is quite absurd. The encounter with the Police alone will ensure that drivers are fully awake when tested. Obviously it's the Home Office who are dreaming."


Article Excerpt:

Keith Millar, a professor of psychological medicine at Glasgow University, said: "The advantage of the tests will be that they won't depend on the perception of an individual police officer. "But they have their problems too. If they are electronic, then younger people with more experience of video games and the like would have an advantage over older drivers. They would have to take account of the fact that elderly people's reactions tend to be slower, even though their driving skills will not be impaired. Unless the tests can be adjusted for the driver's age, they have huge problems."

Carpool Lane Cameras - More Taxation for Motorists?

We found this article on theNewspaper.com.

The report, dated 19th July 2005:

Although Britain only has two high-occupancy carpool or "car share" lanes, the Department for Transport is currently testing a new camera system designed by UK-based Laser Optical Engineering Ltd. that can count the number of persons in an automobile and issue photographic tickets to anyone it believes is driving without the required number of occupants. The devices are being tested in advance of a planned expansion of the restricted lanes in the UK.

The Cyclops Image System uses infrared cameras mounted on freeway overpasses that can capture a full view of the inside of a vehicle. Face detection software distinguishes between the skin of a driver or passenger and the background of the automobile. The manufacturer claims a 95 percent accuracy rate in being able to photograph and count the number of occupants in all weather conditions.

The Cyclops camera also claims the ability to distinguish between dummies, real humans and other animals while the vehicle is traveling up to 80 MPH. The system is also designed to be combined with additional ticketing functions for bus lane violations, congestion charges, tolls and other road tax schemes.

The UK government is currently conducting trials of the technology on the A647 in Leeds. The only other HOV lane in the country is located in Gloucestershire but Transport Secretary Alistair Darling announced on July 6 that he would study an expansion of the concept to the M1, M3, M61 and M62.

A Texas Transportation Institute study released in March found a significant increase in accidents on Texas freeways that adopted non-buffer-separated carpooling lanes.

Accidents UP at Speed Camera Sites

Reported by Sunderland Today on the 1st September, 2004:

NEW figures reveal that accidents and injuries at speed camera sites in Sunderland have INCREASED in recent years.

Instead of falling, the number of people hurt at fixed and mobile camera sites in the city has gone up, along with the number of bumps, scrapes and crashes.

Drivers and motoring organisations today said the figures show cameras in the city are "nothing but a fix" designed to feed a "revenue-raising bottomless pit". But Safe Speed for Life - responsible for siting cameras in Sunderland - hit back, claiming it is too early to draw any firm conclusions.

The number of casualties at camera sites in the city rocketed from 65 in 1999-2000 to 103 in 2003-04. The most startling increase came in the number of minor injuries, rising from 55 to 96.

Anti-camera campaigners say the figures show what motorists have been saying all along, that speed cameras in Sunderland don't stop accidents.

Joyce Brown, 77, of Seaburn, snapped speeding three times on Whitburn Bents Road in less than 30 minutes, says she is not surprised by the findings. Mrs Brown, who had a clean driving licence for 40 years, said: "People are so busy looking at their speedometers that they're probably not paying much attention to the road."

Nigel Humphries, from the Association of British Drivers, said: " Instead of placing speed cameras in areas with safety issues, they are being put where speed limits are low, thereby criminalising normal progress along the road. "

Bosses at Safe Speed for Life say the number, and severity, of collisions is influenced by a wide range of factors, only one of which is the presence of road safety cameras.

A spokeswoman for the organisation said: " We will be testing how effective the cameras have been against previous years' data. "Our aim is to prevent all collisions and injuries. The figures are still too high and we will not become complacent."

Ex Policemans Yellow Line Rage

The BBC Reports:

A retired police sergeant is taking legal action against his former force in a bid to stop what he says is illegal parking by police vehicles.

Ernie Gash, 61, who does not live in the street, says officers regularly park on double yellow lines outside Scunthorpe police station.

He is mounting a private prosecution against Humberside Police and says he has photographs to back his case.

The police force says Mr Gash's charges will be "vigorously defended".

Since the former officer first made his complaints, the Scunthorpe station has put in new parking bays.

But Mr Gash says this has not stopped the problems of vehicles parking on the yellow lines outside the station

He told BBC News: "What I object to is police officers breaking the law when they feel like it when there is no operational need.

"There is alternative parking available to them.

"I have been stonewalled by the police so I have been forced to take this draconian action.

"I am annoyed that there is a small element of police officers who feel they can do what they like."

Mr Gash's summons is expected to be heard by Scunthorpe magistrates next month.

SPECS error means refund of Points and Fines

Reported in 2005 by the ABD:

5,600 drivers? That's £335,800.

The London Safety Camera pratnership will have to refund points and fines to some 5,600 drivers after some imbecile put either the SPECS camera or the speed limit signs in the wrong place on Lower Thames Street.

The SPECS camera was taking registration numbers outside of the absurd 20mph zone it was supposed to be enforcing.

£390, 000 in fines returned to Motorists

Reported in 2004 by the ABD

6,500 Drivers? That's £390,000

North Wales police had to refund thousands of fines after a judge discovered they'd been printing a signature on forms rather than getting an officer to check and sign each one as the law requires.

Judge Derek Halbert slammed North Wales Police for automating speeding prosecutions.

Demonstrating once again their contempt for due legal process when dealing with drivers, the police had submitted numerous items of evidence supposedly witnessed and signed by a police officer, yet it was revealed in court that the signature had in fact been scanned and added by computer.

The judge described the police procedure as "utterly inappropriate". Once their little game had been uncovered, the police promised to change the procedure. The question is why they introduced it in the first place.

PHOTO: Gatso bites the dust!

This camera is believed to be on the A5, near Nuneaton.

Apparently a guy by the name of Martin Callaghan borrowed his work's van without permission and fell victim to a camera on the A5 near Nuneaton.

In the early hours one morning Martin returned to the scene to destroy the evidence.

When the police caught Martin in the act, they were not amused.

Martin suffered a large fine and more than 100 hours community service and was lucky to escape a prison sentence.

Truvelo Camera vandalised again

Somebody with a grudge against speed cameras has struck again in their costly one-man war.

The Police are determined to catch what is believed to be a single motorist seeking revenge after being convicted by evidence from the speed traps.

The latest target shown above was a Truvelo camera in Featherstall Road, Oldham which has been repeatedly vandalised over the past six months.

The camera was installed because of nine crashes in the past three years, in which two people were seriously injured, one of them a child.

In the attack, silver paint was sprayed across the lens so it can no longer take pictures, and the word “dummy” written on the casing. It also appeared to have been shot at with an air rifle.

The cameras are owned and operated by Drivesafe, which spends £250,000 on installing and maintaining them every year.

Spokesman Claire Wightman said: “The police are made aware of every act of vandalism on every speed camera. They warn that criminal damage, especially when it endangers the lives of innocent members of the public, is punishable by imprisonment.”

The Advertiser revealed last month how the camera, and one in Manchester Road, are being systematically vandalised – apparently by the same person.

As soon as engineers repair the speed traps, the mystery attacker strikes again. Each time the same method of attack is used, spraying silver paint across the lens so it cannot catch drivers breaking the 30mph limit.

Anyone photographed driving too fast is hit with a fine of at least £60 and has three points on their license. More points and a bigger fine is imposed if the limit is broken by more than 25mph.

Each camera costs £20,000 and each one in Greater Manchester caught an average of 207 speeding drivers last year.

Challenge to slow motorists down

The BBC Reports:

Gloucestershire County Council says speeding traffic has grown to such an extent that it is being inundated with requests to borrow a radar gun.

The equipment is loaned for short periods to help establish the extent of the problem across the county. The Great Gloucestershire Debate - currently highlighting road safety - heard slowing speeding traffic is the next big challenge facing experts.

In one village it was claimed a driver was doing 60mph in a 30mph limit.

Garry Handley from the council's road safety team says people still think they are unlucky when caught speeding. He told the debate: "Stealing is stealing and speeding is speeding. "It is an offence and our challenge is to make drivers understand the seriousness of the crime and the tragic consequences when collisions occur.

'Ripping communities apart'

"We know 70% of drivers regularly exceed speed limits and it is literally ripping communities apart. "I know of one elderly lady who is so afraid to cross the road outside her home that she can no longer visit her friend, who lives opposite."

The GGD debate heard the village of Chalford had purchased signs which display a red 30 sign when motorist are exceeding the speed limit.

Councillor borrowed a radar gun and found, on average, vehicles were travelling between 40 and 43mph through the village. "If the police had been there, 14 people would have been booked in one hour," said Janet Gaskill from the parish council. "We now want to buy our own speed gun.

People slowed down when they saw the councillors out in their yellow jackets. "Speeding was one of the biggest concerns highlighted by people in our parish plan last year, yet we know it must be local people who are speeding because we get very little through traffic," she said.

All Posts on GreedCameras

All Articles on GreedCameras

PHOTOGRAPHS

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PHOTO: Vandalised Walton On Hill Gatso
PHOTO: Truvelo Camera Vandalised - Again!
PHOTO: Gatso bites the dust - near Nuneaton
PHOTO: Speed Camera Blown Apart
PHOTO: New No-Car Lane Cameras in Newcastle
PHOTO: A1 Motorway - Torched Gatso
PHOTO: New Speed Measurement Site in Newcastle



OTHER LINKS

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PROOF - Speed cameras DO lie !
FREE Speed Camera Database
Gatso attacked for the second time in two years
Newcastle Traffic CCTV Are Watching You !

Speed or Greed
We Want Your Photos
Illegally Parked Police Van
Driver Steals £34, 000 Speed Camera
Truvelo vs Gatso

Speed Camera Facts
159mph Cop Cleared of Speeding
Speeders Pics are Online
New Motorway Speed Cameras
Cheating SPECS Cameras

Speed Camera Site Audit Form
Gatso Facts
Police Helecopter Watches Drivers From 2,000 Feet
Explosives Used To Target Speed Cameras
MAD - Are they still active?

One Fifth of Drivers admit to Speeding
Claim Speed Cameras don't cut crashes
A77 gets new SPECS cameras
Northampton Speed Camera set alight
Shropshire Speed Camera set alight again

Traffic Fines up for Met's PC's
Police Camera Van parks illegally
59 Police Officers let off with fines
Calls to slow Speeders in Gloucester
£390, 000 in Fines retruened to Motorists after Police cock up!


£335, 000 refunded to motorists after SPECS misplaced
Ex-Policemans Yellow Line Rage
Accidents UP at Speed Camera Sites
Carpool Lane Cameras - More Taxation for Motorists?
New Technology to Detect Sleepy Drivers

M4 Protest - Road Deaths UP
SCAMera Van questions answered by the operator
Don't get confused - ANPR vs Speed Cameras
Police Radar Guns add 30mph
Greed Camera cops quits with calls for more cameras!

Speed fine loophole for drivers!
Next Top Traffic Cop - Copped Speeding... TWICE!
ILLEGAL speeding signs in Northumberland
The guts of a Gatso
Speed Cameras DO NOT save lives

Northumbria abusing Speed Cameras
Speed Cameras Up and Officers Down
ANPR cameras CANNOT read dirty plates
24/7 Vehicle Database - It's watching YOU !

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59 Police Officers LET OFF with Speeding Fines

Reported by the BBC:

A police force has let off 59 of its own drivers caught speeding.

The marked vehicles, which were being used for operational purposes, were caught by mobile cameras in Derbyshire.

Police bosses scrapped the tickets even though in at least 14 of the cases no blue flashing lights were detected by the cameras.

Some safety groups have been upset at the decision to tear up the tickets, with the charity Brake saying the decision "smacked of double standards".

Balancing act

Mick Creedon, Derbyshire Police's assistant chief constable, said: "Would you want us to go to the scene at 30 miles an hour and comply with the speed limit?

"Or if there's an emergency, if there's a fatal accident, if there's someone being attacked and stabbed, if we're carrying out surveillance against difficult organised criminals, do we do that at 30 miles an hour?"

The issue arose after the officers were sent notices of intended prosecution in 2004 after they were photographed speeding.

The officers' own divisional commanders and the force's head of criminal justice department examined the incidents the cars were attending and decided none of them should be prosecuted.

Major risk

Supt Royston Smith said that in at least 14 of the 59 incidents, flashing lights used by the vehicles in question had not been picked up by the camera, and it has since been satisfied they were displaying their blue lights.

Kevin Clinton of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, said: "There are times when the police have to exceed the speed limit but this has to be done safely and blue lights must almost always be used to warn the public.

Brake spokesperson Caroline Chisholm said: "Officers who break speed limits make a mockery of the crucial laws of the road that other police officers work hard to enforce.

"All drivers - police officers and members of the public - have a responsibility to stay well within limits at all times because breaking the speed limit by just a few miles per hour can be fatal."

The force has recently carried out a review of driving standards and has introduced new assessment procedures.

Police park ILLEGALLY to target motorists

Police Camera vans (Talivans) are used to monitor traffic offences, such as speeding right?

OK, why then is this one breaking the law by committing a traffic offence. This van is committing two parking violations in one go!

The location is Vastern Road in Reading and this clip was published on scoobynet in October 2003 shortly after being filmed on a Saturday morning and, within 36 hours, over two thousand downloads were made!

I found this clip on makingsuccess.com.

This is a video clip of a police van, parked illegally whilst targeting motorists.

CLICK HERE to download the movie clip.

Traffic Fines UP for on duty Police

London's police officers are notching up a growing number of traffic tickets while on duty.

Figures show the the Metropolitan Police incurred 2,396 fines for speeding, illegal parking or bus lane offences in the first five months of this year whereas in 2004 the figure was 3,328 fines - for the whole of the year.

Tickets can be overturned if officers have a valid reason.

The Met said the rise was due to a growing fleet of police vehicles and more speed and bus lane cameras.

Acting Chief Supt Ian Chappell (in charge of the Met's traffic operational command unit) said Met officers covered more than 65 million miles a year and it was sometimes necessary to breach traffic regulations in emergencies.

"None of our officers are above the law and neither would they wish to be." he said. "Every officer must account to a senior officer for his or her actions, and only once it has been demonstrated that their actions were necessary in the course of their duties, are the violations cancelled."

From January to May this year, the offences were:

• 444 fines for speeding
• 900 for bus lane offences
• 1,052 for illegal parking while on duty.

The Met spent £190,000 on traffic fines in the last financial year.

Other forces reflected this trend with West Midlands police facing 1,074 speed camera fines in the first five months of the year, compared with 1,186 in the whole of 2004.

All but 22 of last year's fines were overturned.

Shropshire speed camera damaged again!

A speed camera in Shropshire which somebody tried to cut down with a power saw in 2003 has been damaged again in June 2005.

The £25,000 camera at Bennetts Bank in Wellington, was set on fire in the early hours of Sunday 12th June.

According to West Mercia Police, damage was caused to the lens box and case of the Gatso camera.

After the saw attack on 17 May 2003, Councillor Gary Davies, a former mayor of Wellington, described those who vandalised speed cameras as "morons".

There is no information so far about who might be responsible for the latest attack.

Northampton speed camera set alight

A speed camera in Northamptonshire has been attacked by arsonists, police say.

This was reported in the press on 14th June 2005.

The camera, between Round Spinney and Moulton Park Industrial Estate in Northampton, had a tyre put around its base which was then set on fire.

The fire is believed to have been started between midnight and 0130 BST last Saturday. The camera no longer works and is being repaired.

Northamptonshire Police say they would like to talk to anyone who has information about the incident.

Scotlands A77 gets new SPECS Speed Cameras

The BBC Reports:

A new kind of speed trap is to be launched in a bid to cut deaths on one of Scotland's most dangerous roads.

The Speed Enforcement Camera System (Specs) will track drivers over a 28-mile length of the A77 and calculate their average speed.

The stretch of road between Ayr and Girvan is an accident blackspot with 15 fatalities and 314 accidents between 1999 and 2004.

Take a look at the full BBC's report by clicking here. This is worth a read.
Then click here to read our report on cheating the SPECS cameras!

Claim cameras don't cut crashes

The BBC Reports:

The Association of British Drivers (ABD) has made new claims that cameras have not helped reduce crashes along a stretch of the M4 in Wiltshire.

The ABD paid Wiltshire police for accident statistics and found excessive speed was a factor in 14% of crashes.

Previously the Wiltshire and Swindon Safety Camera Partnership (WSSCP) said cameras had reduced crashes by 64%.

Paul Smith, of the independent Safe Speed campaign said the WSSCP claims did not make sense.

Data interpretation

"There is absolutely no mechanism by which their claims could be true," said Mr Smith.

"Far from making the roads safer, cameras have damaged the foundations of British road safety by squandering massive resources on a minor safety factor."

Data supplied to the Department for Transport for the seven specific collision cluster sites on the M4 showed out of the 90 collisions analyzed, 16 (17.77%) were specifically caused by speeding, according to the officer at the scene.

A further 51 were judged to have speed as a causing factor (either inappropriate or excessive speed) and the remaining 23 collisions were not speed related.

Based on this, the WSSCP said: "Therefore out of the 90 collisions examined, 74% were judged to have excess speed or inappropriate speed as a causation factor."

Paul Smith disagrees with the partnership's interpretation of the data.

"Excessive speed is not the same as exceeding a speed limit," he said. "It includes speed inappropriate for the conditions as well as speed in excess of the speed limit."

A fifth of drivers admit to speeding

The BBC Reports:

About one in five motorists in East Anglia and the South regularly exceed the speed limit according to a survey.

Researchers spoke to more than 1,500 drivers and found that 94% of them admitted they had speeded.

They also found in the South region 23% said they regularly broke speed limits, while in East Anglia 20% did so.

Almost all drivers questioned said they have a sound knowledge of speed limits, while only 50% correctly identified the limit on a dual carriageway.

Almost a quarter of drivers think it is acceptable to speed if they believe the limit is too low.

And a third consider speeding acceptable if there is an emergency, while 21% thought it was acceptable if there was little traffic about.

Direct Line's motor spokeswoman Emma Holyer said: "The lack of knowledge among motorists is very surprising - particularly that so many don't even know the speed limits on some UK roads.

"Not only is speeding dangerous but, as many motorists know to their expense, speed cameras exist across the UK and the points on your licence and fine incurred can be hefty."


Percentage of drivers who reguarly go over the posted speed limit

• East Anglia 20%
• South West 11%
• South 23%
• Lancashire 15%
• North East 18%
• Yorkshire 16%

MAD - Are they still active?

Speed cameras are causing increasing frustration and anger for motorists.

They are more and more seen as a revenue generators and not a legitimate tool for cutting speeding and saving lives.

A militant group, Motorists Against Detection (MAD), led by the legendary Captain Gatso (wearing a Tony Blair mask) have taken it upon themselves to vandalise speed cameras, rendering them completely useless.

So far Captain Gatsos organisation has put 500 of them, including many across the North, out of action.


It says it not against all speed cameras and believes they should be in place in built-up and urban areas. But it has waged a war on speed cameras on major trunk roads and motorways.

Believed to have in excess of 200 members countrywide, MAD uses internet chatrooms, email and pay-as-you-go mobile phones to keep in touch.

MAD's vandalism has already cost millions of pounds, and police concern is growing after two cameras were blown up in the Midlands using explosives.

It appears information is now very scarce on Captain Gatsos organisation. Are MAD still active or have they been arrested or imprissoned?

Explosives used to target Speed Cameras

The BBC, on Monday, 17 November, 2003, Reports:

Speed camera protestors prepared to use explosives have been branded "terrorists" by the Association of Chief Police Officers spokesman, Richard Brunstrom.

Speaking on BBC One's Real Story, Mr Brunstrom was reacting to recent incidents in Northern Ireland and Nottingham where roadside cameras have been blown up.

"We've had things that are effectively terrorist devices, bombs, planted in speed cameras. It's lucky that no-one's been killed yet," he told the programme.

"These are people who as far as I can see would prefer to be allowed to drive dangerously and kill their fellow citizens, or my wife and children, or your family standing next to a bus stop, than pay a fixed penalty ticket for speeding."

The bombings are the most serious attacks so far in protests that have seen cameras across the UK destroyed with saws, angle grinders and paint.

The activist group Motorists Against Detection (MAD) says it has damaged 700 cameras.

A spokesman for MAD told Real Story that only cameras in isolated rural locations would be targeted by explosives.

"In a deserted place miles from anyone the only person they (the bombers) are going to hurt is themselves," he said.

Responding, Mr Brunstrom said the police had a duty to treat the attacks very seriously.

"This is terrorism - not of the sort that we fear internationally but this is terrorist behaviour. People making and planting bombs is terrorism and that's how we're treating it."

He admitted the police could have taken earlier attacks more seriously.

"I think frankly we've been a bit slow to recognise how big the problem was. We've only just in the last year or so begun to realise just how serious the attack is."

The first speed camera protestor to face prison for his actions could go to jail for up to three years later this month.

Police caught Karl Joyce attempting to set fire to a camera in Norwich that had captured two of his family speeding. Magistrates referred his case to the Crown Court after deciding their maximum penalty of six months in prison would not reflect the seriousness of the crime.

However, MAD's spokesman told Real Story that prison sentences would not stop the group from destroying speed cameras.

PHOTO: Speed Camera Blown Apart

A speed camera has been destroyed by a bomb planted on the main box. The blast sent shards of metal flying more than 50 feet into the air

Bomb disposal experts are investigating how the equipment on the A605 at Thrapston, Northamptonshire, was wrecked.

The incident is the latest in a series of deliberate attacks on speed cameras across the country, which has been blamed on frustrated motorists.

Dozens of cameras have been burned, toppled and driven into, but the A605 camera was believed to be the first that had been bombed.

A team from the Explosive Ordnance disposal unit has examined the site and forensic experts have also studied the debris.

Police Chopper watches you from 2,000 feet

Police in the UK have successfully tested a 160mph helicopter that can read licence plates from as much as 2,000 feet in the air.

The Eurocopter EC135 is equipped with a camera capable of scanning 5 cars every second.

Essex Police Inspector Paul Moor told the Daily Star newspaper: "This is all about denying criminals the use of the road. Using a number plate recognition camera from the air means crooks will have nowhere to hide."

The use of Automated Plate Number Recognition (ANPR) is growing. ANPR devices photograph vehicles and then use optical character recognition (OCR) to extract license plate numbers and match them with any selected databases, such as the Police National Computer or the DVLA.

Police ANPR equipped vehicles can check a staggering 3,600 vehicles per hour. That's one every second!

The devices use infrared sensors to avoid the need for a flash and to operate in all weather conditions.

Originally intended to detect stolen vehicles and cloned cars, ANPR is increasingly being used in the UK to issue tickets. For instance, drivers who have expired insurance face a £200 fine or if they haven't paid their car tax, they face a £60 fine.

In 2004, ANPR teams stopped 180,543 vehicles and issued 51,000 tickets for offenses including failure to wear a seatbelt, use of a mobile phone while driving, and various insurance and road tax infractions.

Gatso Facts

• In the UK, across the many police forces and local authorities there are more than 4,000 fixed Gatso speed cameras. Accounting for some 90% of all fixed speed cameras.
• Fixed Gatso cameras are rear facing, this is because they use a high intensity strobe as their flash and this would dazzle oncoming motorists.
• Fixed Gatso cameras are installed in FIP's (Fixed Installation Posts) and these cost between £20,000 and £40,000 (in more rural areas) each because they need a mains supply.
• The FIP Gatso has a film capacity of up to 400 pictures. This is around 200 speeding offences - as two images are taken per offence.
• In busy locations, a Gatso film may only last a few hours due to the amount of offences recorded.
• Gatsos can identify between cars, vans and HGV's.
• Gatsos can be installed on centre reservations with a swivel head to watch both sides of the road, although only one direction at a time.
• New Gatsos use a RADAR system called "Instant-On" which uses short RADAR pulses to reduce their "radio visibility" to RADAR detectors.
• It is a myth you can "out-run" Gatso speed cameras if you drive fast enough.

Speed enforcement site Audit Form

The Home Office has declared that speed cameras should be brightly painted and not hidden behind objects.

The Association of British Drivers have compiled a document which will help you determine if a speed camera site meets Home Office requirements.

Please visit the ABD website and download the form.

Rather than providing a link to the actual form, please take the time to browse the ABD website as there is some very interesting information here. A link to the audit form is available from the front page of their site.

Cheating SPECS Cameras

How to Cheat SPECS

Please Note: GreedCameras DO NOT condone speeding and careless driving. All information provided on this website is provided as a guide only and is NOT intended to be used by any wreckless person(s) who intends to break UK (or international) law.


SPECS (Speed Enforcement Camera System) cameras work in pairs and as neither camera measures your speed directly you can beat the system if you're alert!

If you pass the first camera faster than the posted speed limit, slow down or pull over before you pass the second camera site. The cameras computers do a simple calculation to determine your speed.

SPEED = DISTANCE/TIME

The LESS TIME it takes your vehicle to pass the pre-set distance, the FASTER you were travelling. The MORE TIME it takes to cover the distance, the SLOWER you were travelling. Slowing or stopping before passing the second camera site will give the impression you were travelling within the speed threshold.

New way to measure Motorway Speeds

Hundreds of motorists are being caught speeding every single day on the M1 near Leicester by a series of linked cameras.

They measure drivers' average speed through the stretch of road currently being resurfaced between Junction 21, Leicester and Junction 20 at Lutterworth.

Speed cameras (such as Gatso and Truvelo cameras) normally check speed at a specific site, but motorists are being clocked by a series of cameras which work out speed over a longer stretch. These are SPECS cameras.

SPECS use ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) to register your vehicle at a specific point on the stretch of road then the registration number is read again at another site by another SPECS camera. Like VASCAR, the speed of the vehicle is calculated from the time the vehicle takes to travel the pre-defined distance.

The vehicle details are logged and a speeding ticket is issued to the driver.

Some 2,000 fines have been handed out in the last fortnight.

Roadworks will be in place until November, affecting several miles south of the main junction into Leicester and the start of the M69.

SPECS cameras are not the most reliable speed monitoring system in use.

Read our article on Cheating SPECS Cameras

Speeders can get their pics online

Speeding motorists caught on camera in Cumbria will soon be able to see the evidence of offences for themselves.

Offenders will be given access to a website which will show high quality images of them behind the wheel.

Officials say the technology will reduce the number of time-wasting excuses from speeding drivers who contest speed camera evidence.

The site will also have information on the prosecution process will be operated by Cumbria Safety Cameras.

When a motorist receives notice of an offence, or NIP (Notice of Intended Prosecution), the paperwork will include security details and instructions on how to access to the website.

On accessing the site, the motorist will see details of the offence, including maps and photographs of the vehicle and the driver.

Cumbria safety cameras communications manager Kevin Tea said: "Strangers to Cumbria may not know where a safety camera hotspot is by the name on the paperwork. "The maps assist them identifying the location and the photographs will aid identifying the driver at the time of
the offence.

"This is particularly useful when people share the driving or where a number of drivers have access to a company vehicle.

"Allowing access to this information will save time and money in answering queries from motorists."

The new website is expected to be up and running later in 2005.

159mph Traffic Cop Cleared of Speeding

A police constable who reached 159mph on a motorway has been cleared of speeding and dangerous driving.

Pc Mark Milton, 38, from Telford, Shropshire, was recorded by the patrol car's video camera on the M54 in 2003, Ludlow Magistrates' Court heard.

District Judge Bruce Morgan acquitted him after calling the constable the "creme de la creme" of police drivers.

Pc Milton is trained in advanced driving and was "familiarising" himself with a new car, the court was told.

This was a story reported by the BBC in May 2005.
The full story is available here.

Speed Camera Facts

The facts as published by The Guardian

• The first cameras appeared in 1992 following the Road Traffic Act 1991
• They were introduced on a mass scale in 1995
• The cost of a fixed camera is about £32,000
• Britain's first privately funded speed cameras went into operation in Flitwick, Beds, after villagers raised £18,000 in 1996
• 5,000 cameras led to an estimated 2m £60 fines and three penalty points in 2003 (automatic loss of licence after 12 points)
• Speed cameras raise £17m a year for the Treasury
• Thames Valley made a record-breaking £4.6m in fines generated by cameras in 2003. In second place was Northants, followed by Lincolnshire and Essex
• 85% of people believe speed cameras save lives

Truvelo vs Gatso

Two very popular revenue generators in use on British roads today are the Truvelo (left) and the Gatso (right) speed cameras.

Although these cameras detect speeding motorists, they do so in different ways.

Gatso
The Gatso unit is a rear-facing camera which uses RADAR to track the speed of a moving vehicle. Using the doppler effect (technical information will be added soon to explain this) , the camera can detect the exact speed of a vehicle in a split second and determine if it is exceeding the posted speed limit.

If the vehicle is exceeding the limit, the camera is triggered.

Gatso cameras can ONLY take photographs of the rear of the vehicle.

Truvelo
The Truvelo unit is a forward-facing camera which uses induction strips embedded in the road surface to measure the speed of approaching vehicles. Yards in front of the unit are three white lines pained on the road. Each line is a pressure sensor which is triggered when a vehicle moves over it.

The time taken to cross all three lines is used in the Speed = Distance / Time formula. The camera site knows the distance between the pressure sensors, it then times how long it takes the car to travel over them and works out the speed of the oncoming vehicle. If this is over the posted speed limit, the camera is triggered.

Truvelo can ONLY take photographs of the front of the vehicle.

Truvelo versus Gatso
If we look at Truvelo versus Gatso then obviously both have pros and cons. Drivers can get advanced warning of Gatso cameras using RADAR detectors. Although the new "Instant-On" Gatso cameras reduce their RADAR emissions and this makes detection harder, though not impossible. In addition to this, the secondary markers (white dashes on the road in front of the camera) are sometimes visible from a distance.

Truvelo cameras do not emit RADAR pulses, therefore cannot be detected by RADAR detectors. However, they are usually highly visible and ugly looking cameras on the roadside. An alert driver can see this and slow before reaching the camera site. The detection/induction sensors are not easily visible to the driver.

Gatso cameras will detect every motorist who speeds passed it. Truvelo cameras don't!

Vehicles with front facing number plates will certainly be photographed and the driver will be traced. There are some drivers however without front facing number plates. They're motorcyclists. These drivers can drive at any speed towards Truvelo cameras, be photographed and get away scot free and there have been many reports of motorcyclists flashing the "V sign" or waving at the cameras when photographed.

Why then, are Truvelo cameras becoming more commonplace on our roads? Isn't this discrimination between motorcycle drivers and other motorists?

Thief steals £34, 000 Speed Camera

(July 2004)
The BBC Reports:

A motorist caught speeding is believed to be responsible for stealing a speed camera to avoid prosecution.

Police were called after a member of the public noticed the door on the camera, situated near Longcot, Faringdon, Oxfordshire, was open.

Officers say the camera and flash - which will cost over £42,000 to replace - were stolen sometime between Thursday 1 July, and Sunday, 4 July.

Police said the driver would have had to stand on a car to reach the camera.

Pc Simon Jenkin told BBC News Online: "This is a very quiet area, with very little crime, so I'd describe this as a significant crime.

"Due to the height of the camera we suspect the thief would have had to stand on a car or pick-up in order to reach it. "It's likely someone would have seen this and we'd appeal for any witnesses to come forward."

PHOTO: Spot the ILLEGALLY parked Police Van

This Northumbria Police van is part of a complaint to the police regarding their parking regulations. The police station to the LEFT of this image is Market Street Police Station in Newcastle upon Tyne.

The offences:
1) The van is parked on DOUBLE YELLOW lines.
2) The van is parked in a BUS STOP.

This police van IS NOT attending a call out, it is parked up and the officers are inside the station!

PHOTO: Walton on the Hill Gatso - sleeping?

I was sent this by email quite some time ago.
The location of this Gatso is clearly visible... on its face!

We want your Photos!

WE WANT YOUR PHOTOS

GreedCameras is collating images of speed cameras that have been trashed.

Although GreedCameras does not condone criminal damage and strongly advises against any action(s) which may cause damage to property, like many others, GreedCameras enjoy seeing these revenue generators put beyond use.

If you have any images of speed cameras which have been put
"beyond use", please email them and we'll publish them!

Note: To protect your privacy, we will never publish your name or email address unless you specifically request this in your email.

We're also looking for stories where you feel you have been unfairly treat by the police or the courts where driving is concerned, photographs or registration numbers of unmarked police cars, new camera sites, hidden camera sites, talivan locations and new technologies!

Have you been prosecuted for speeding?
Have you been caught on camera by the Talivans?
Have you receved an NIP for a speeding or other road traffic offence?

We'd like to hear from you!

They say, information is power. So let's share it!

Speed or Greed?

The UK government has recently made a major u-turn on the decision to deploy more speed cameras in the North East of England until a full study into their effectiveness is complete.

There is misconception amongst some drivers and many non-drivers that speed cameras reduce speed, and therefore reduce road deaths. This was backed up by a government lead campaign a few years ago, SlOA, Speed leads tO Accidents.

Speed only leads to accidents if the driver is not in control of the vehicle or is not taking the necessary care and attention whilst in control of the vehicle.

A driver could be in full control of a vehicle, on a motorway, and paying full attention to the road conditions and the surroundings - at speeds in excess of 100mph and never have an accident. At the same time, a driver may be driving in a built up area, at only 20mph and be involved in an accident as a result of not paying enough attention to the conditions around them.

There are many statistics available which will contradict what I've said here but, there are also many more which backup my comments.

A survey carried out by Car Parts Direct has revealed that over 268,000 drivers are now banned from driving and millions of pounds are being paid out in speeding fines. Thousands of motorists are losing their jobs, freedom and ability to earn a living.

82% of speed camera victims thought they were driving safely at the time of their conviction and were just unfortunate to be doing a few miles over the limit.

65% thought their speeding ticket was totally unjustified and felt cheated.

With this in mind, what is the real issue here?

Speed or Greed?