... I was doing a little over 30 in a Cotswold village, say 34 or 35 on the speedo. Can I expect an NIP in the post to Hertz and then on to me with a hefty admin surcharge?!
I booked and rented the car with an NZ address and NZ license - will that help me if the worst comes to the worst?
Coincidentally, as I crested a hill to leave the same village I was confronted by a blaze of police lights - 2 cop cars and 2 unmarked cars pulled up in a layby. They let me cruise past. Have they been zealously policing the speed limit on the A3400 at 3am, or possibly something unrelated going on? Never seen a police BMW X5 before....
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Well, Nick, others here will tell you differently but my experience recently is that up to 40mph, speedometers are pretty much spot on, so an indicated 35 is consistent with triggering the camera. It used to be that the camera always flashed but sometimes had no film, but I've no idea whether that's still the case. But assuming the camera did record something, yes, I'd expect it to go to Hertz and Hertz to pass it on.
A lot of police vehicles with blue lights at that time of night suggests something else was up, unless they're finding very odd ways to spend what Nice Mr Cameron gives them.
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>> Well, Nick, others here will tell you differently but my experience recently is that up
>> to 40mph, speedometers are pretty much spot on, so an indicated 35 is consistent with
>> triggering the camera.
And I will tell the opposite tale. The speedo will be at least 3mph fast, and the camera wont flash untill you have hit the 10% +2mph. ie 37mph real speed.
I cruise through 30mph cameras at a sat nav indicated 35 mph and have never been flashed.
Been doing the 50mph specs zone on the M1 at 55 mph for months now.
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Edit, meant to add, that means if you were doing a genuine 35 mph speedo indicated, nothing is going to happen.
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I thought most speed cameras had been converted to digital, so the "no film" is unlikely. In Edinburgh the traffic light cameras are also speed traps.
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>> I thought most speed cameras had been converted to digital, so the "no film" is
>> unlikely. In Edinburgh the traffic light cameras are also speed traps.
Not down here. Saw Serco adding film to the one on the A3 on Monday.
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>Been doing the 50mph specs zone on the M1 at 55 mph for months now.
And I happily do the 40mph roadworks on the A404(M) at an indicated 45 (when there isn't someone in the way at 37). But we're both above 40 in these examples. I've timed both our cars over a measured kilometre, and 30 is 30, 40 about 39, but 60 about 56 and 70 more like 65. There is accurate data from the ABS sensors, so the error must be designed in that way.
>I cruise through 30mph cameras at a sat nav indicated 35 mph and have never been flashed.
But Nick was flashed, Z, so I don't follow your reasoning that this means nothing's going to happen. Is there a second layer of processing (possible, I suppose) where the pictures are sorted into the ones worth pursuing and those that aren't?
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If he was flashed he was doing more than 35mph. Its possible the speedo will be accurate but it wont be under reading. If he was flashed I would suggest the speedo was more like 40!
If its a genuine knick, hertz will get the "grass him up" letter, and they will, adding a surcharge to Nicks rental bill. Nothing more will come of it. NZ address? NZ license? it will get binned.
But here is my fiver says nothing will happen, unless Nick is of course being a little coy about the speedo. Come on Nick, what was it really? 36? 37? 38?
Last edited by: Zero on Thu 30 Jun 11 at 09:38
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>> But here is my fiver
We've heard about your fivers before!
...Sits in very comfortable Office Chair with smile on face.
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>> examples. I've timed both our cars over a measured kilometre, and 30 is 30, 40
>> about 39, but 60 about 56 and 70 more like 65. There is accurate data
>> from the ABS sensors, so the error must be designed in that way.
You need to check it against a GPS really. On my VW you could get a digital readout of the speed on the climate control display as well, it matched GPS speed and the speedo was a consistent 3mph fast.
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Hope it's just a flash without the follow up Nick.
Z, there's a notice pinned up at one of the RDC's i've regularly visited near The Belfry, they warn of new weight sensitive camera's which will trigger HGV's and presecution wil follow for as little as 42mph, the notice states 6 (crossed out and 7 hand written in) drivers from the depot concerned have been done (not sure of the actual speeds involved) for very small over 40mph increments.
I wonder if the ACPO guidelines are changing.
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Heard rumours of cameras that can vary speed limit by class of vehicle. As for measuring weight, I doubt it - terribly difficult and expensive to do at speed. I have see one that checks length on trial, but by far the most likely explanation is a digital online camera that photographs and checks everyones speed, using ANPR to apply the lower speed limit for HGV.
Any idea where this camera is? Would like to have a peek at the set up.
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>> Any idea where this camera is? Would like to have a peek at the set
>> up.
>>
Close to The Belfry entrance (A446 Wishaw, nr Kingsbury), apparently there's three in the vicinity....there always were cameras on that section of road but i don't travel it as often as i did so couldn't tell you what these look like.
Size sensitive isn't new, i suppose coaches might trigger a flash, maybe a real live human being sorts through the pics for nicks and oh dear can't do that one.
Last edited by: gordonbennet on Thu 30 Jun 11 at 09:04
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The camera near the Belfry appeared when the speed limit dropped to 50mph a couple of years ago, was camera clear until then. It photographs the rear of your car and is within 20-30 yards of the Belfry entrance.
There is another camera about half a mile further along which photographs your face (travelling towards Bassets Pole) it is on the opposite side of the road. I am fed up with drivers slowing to 50 as they pass it travelling away fom Bassets Pole - the speed limit at that point is 60 and going that way it won't catch you anyway.
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Edit - Both are on streetview.
The second has always puzzled me, being sited on the wrong side of the road.
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>> Heard rumours of cameras that can vary speed limit by class of vehicle
This one: bit.ly/kYPo1o
will flash twice at the back of my 7.5 tonne lorry if I pass it at 47-48mph in wet conditions.
It's a 50mph speed limit section of road, which means whilst my vehicle is allowed to travel at up to 50mph, whilst anything bigger should be travelling at no more than 40mph. The overall height of my lorry is just under 12ft, so i guess the camera fires some kind of light beam at it to roughly gauge its height, and triggers for a breach of the 40mph limit for HGV1s.The fact that it only goes off in the wet suggests the beam is more strongly reflected or more widely scattered by a wet lorry. I've tried this a dozen times or more in each of wet and dry conditions, it always and only flashes me in the wet.
No ticket is ever issued because, I assume, either ANPR or the MkI human eyeball confirms the class of vehicle.
Last edited by: Dave_TDCi on Thu 30 Jun 11 at 23:13
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Assuming the offence is progressed, which it may not be, the first stage is a Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP)/Sect 172 identify the driver request to the registered keeper.
Reasonable to assume Hertz will correctly name Nick as the driver.
In the ordinary course of things, he then receives a NIP and also a conditional offer of a fixed penalty, almost certainly £60 and three licence penalty points.
There may also be an offer of a speed awareness course.
These cost £100 or so, but are reckoned to be a good choice because there is no prosecution.
All the above assumes a UK resident driver.
I'm not sure what happens if Nick is back in NZ by the time the NIP is sent.
Common sense suggests the prosecuting authority will realise it's a waste of time sending a NIP to New Zealand and drop it.
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>>
>> Common sense suggests the prosecuting authority will realise it's a waste of time sending a
>> NIP to New Zealand and drop it.
>>
I've a friend who comes over from the Isle of Man onto the mainland. He must have an extensive collection of parking fines and speeding tickets from cameras due to him, but they never bother posting them over to Man.
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My Escort's (with new tyres of the correct size)speedo was virtually 100% accurate against a sat-nav but not so with the old tyres-makes you realize how much the rolling radius affects the speedo.
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but not so with the old tyres-makes you realize how much the rolling radius affects the speedo. >>
That's true, 2mph satnav difference with a truck.
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Less than 2% difference with a car wheel, though - 1mph at 60. (My rough calculation based on medium-sized 205/55x16 tyres and 2 x 6mm difference in diameter from new to worn out - I suppose with, say, 13-inch wheels the proportional difference is greater.)
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You'd like to think that someone with an ounce of common has the authority to send an appropriate rollicking letter if justified to someone just over the limit at 3.30am, and not automatically prosecute...just like a real police officer might do.
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>> You'd like to think that someone with an ounce of common has the authority to send an appropriate rollicking letter if justified to someone just over the limit at 3.30am, and not automatically prosecute...just like a real police officer might do.
Computers don't do common sense though.
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Computers do what they're programmed to do - by human beings. Which is why a 'computer error' is (almost) always a human error.
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TBH I was looking at the road not the speedo, but I was aware that it was a 30 zone and I was doing approx 30.
I dabbed the brakes and looked down, the speedo was 32 and falling.
Bit peeved actually, I was only on that road because the M40 northbound was closed for overnight resurfacing, grrr.
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If it's any consolation, that's a lovely bit of road. I used to use it and the A429 just for fun when the M40 didn't appeal. Not often at 3am though - harder to appreciate the scenery.
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Nick- don't bank on the authority dropping it. They've got your name and date of birth. You could end up on PNC as 'wanted'. Doesn't mean anything will happen unless you get stopped, of course, but if you do you certainly won't be walking away!
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>> Nick- don't bank on the authority dropping it. They've got your name and date of
>> birth. You could end up on PNC as 'wanted'.
Highly unlikely tho, Hire car, foreign license, foreign address? it'll be in the bin in no time.
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Speed camera flash-flash at 3am today... - WillDeBeest
