Non-speeding

[breezer]

not all "gatso cameras" have film cameras, some are allegedly digital, and store directly onto a hard drive then they download when full

 

[planenut]

Out of interest, I take it they renew the films every 2 wks ?[/quote]

they might renew every two weeks, but if they haven't got one of those discount envelopes it might take another eight days to get the snaps back.....
it's very tempting to cover your number plate to go out at night, to test out the speed they actually work at.

 

[kendor]

It used to be (might still be) that digitally enhanced photographs were not submissible. So, a lot of people managed to get their convictions overturned when it was found they had been convicted with enhanced photos.

Even though it blatantly was them, if you couldn't tell with an unenhanced photo, then you couldn't convict them!

I think the law has since been changed though. Like all those people who had their tickets overturned because the speedlimit signage didn't conform to the law and the limit was thus unenforceable.

The Law changed regarding the acceptance of digital photos as evidence once the ability to watermark/digitally encrypt the data to an acceptable degree was devised a few years back.

 

[AdamW]

So what is the mechanism they use to make sure the pictures are taken the right time apart? Just thinking, if the delay between photo 1 and photo 2 was too long (by some glitch in the system) then the photos would "prove" you were travelling faster than you really were. Just think, if you were in a 30mph limit, driving at 30, and the flashes are 1 second apart. That would mean if it flashed, photo 2 would show you 13.4 metres further down the road than in photo 1.

But if a delay "appeared" between photo 1 and 2, and the time between photos lengthened to 1.2 seconds, the increased distance would show you were travelling at 36mph, more than enough for a conviction.

 

[kendor]

not really sure how it works but perhaps it may be one photo taken for Id purposes and a second long exposure one taken simultaneously?

 

[masona]

I was thinking what happen when the foreign number plate get flashed by the gatso ?

How do they trace the car owner back in their own country or do they get away with it ?

 

[david and julie]

I got a ticket last week for speeding. Said to Julie I don't understand this coz I know that camera and always slow down. She went all quiet and said she had borrowed my car and she got it. She said I had an important form for the bank and didn't want it to get lost in the post, so I took it and got flashed on the way.

We got a letter from the bank this morning saying they have lost the form and can we fill in another. Stupid bl***ers

 

[Thermo]

If its a foreign car they can pretty well much get aweay with it, however they can still trace it and if stopped while on the road, theyd be nicked and put before the court

 

[securespark]

I know that camera

Washway Road?

I visited a house near that camera the other day, and while I watched, four cars got nicked in the space of 2 mins...

 

[david and julie]

Yes Simon.

She was going to Altrincham, the camera's been there for donkey's, she should know better.

BTW. The limit near TGI fridays is now 30 during the motorway works, and there is a camera outside the restaurant(if you can call it that).

 

[AdamW]

How do they trace the car owner back in their own country or do they get away with it ?

Obviously points mean nothing to foreign drivers as every country has its own system, however I believe there are systems in place to retrieve fines. If you are a foreigner resident in the UK (i.e. UK number plate but foreign licence) and are caught speeding, you have to go to court under the same circumstances as someone with 9 points or more.

Belgian car caught by a gatso.

Also, if I went to Europe and followed the speed limit signs by driving under that speed but in mph instead of kph, do you think I could get away with a caution? I mean, France has a speed limit of 81mph (130 klicks), but if I drove at say, 110, could I argue it? Not really worth the bother, but would be interesting to see if anyone has got away with it!

 

[AdamW]

if stopped while on the road, theyd be nicked and put before the court

http://www.ukspeedtraps.co.uk/police1.htm

The police can prosecute foreign driver, but the way they do it is, they arrest the driver, bring him up in front of a magistrate at the earliest possible time, who will deal with the offender accordingly.

This is probably the same across Europe, and from what I have been told by French people, the fines for speeding in France are severe. My dad was pulled over there for no reason other than driving a high-performance car with UK numberplates. When Frog-Plod found nothing wrong with the car (including he had those stickers on his headlights... I'm still to see a French car with them on in the UK ), and admitted he wasn't speeding or driving dangerously, they let him go with a gallic shrug.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

She said I had an important form for the bank and didn't want it to get lost in the post, so I took it and got flashed on the way.

She might like to rephrase that when telling the story....

 

[david and julie]

Er yes.. she got flashed by a speed camera on the way.

 

[kendor]

Several methods of avoiding getting your number plate photographed have been mentioned but how about an extra pipe leading into the final part of the exhaust after the Cat say linked to an oil reservoir and actuated by a solenoid and switch that you flick on just as you approach the camera at high speed, the resultant smog hopefully will obscure the number plate and most likely the whole car