It's started - M1 to get permanent speed cameras

miloVanMultistrada

miloVanMultistrada

Webmonkey
Linked to variable limits:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/nottinghamshire/8438375.stm

M1 works speed cameras will stay

The M1 through Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire is to get permanent speed cameras to enforce variable limits.

Temporary cameras installed for widening road works between junctions 25 and 28 have proved so effective they will stay, it has been confirmed.

Once the work finishes the stretch will become a "managed motorway" with speed limits changing to suit conditions.
Police said matrix boards would display the chosen limit and these would be enforced by the cameras.

Completion date

Ch Insp Andy Charlton, of Nottinghamshire police, said: "When the project finishes, that stretch of motorway will become a managed stretch of motorway where the cameras will be used to enforce variable speed limits.

"While they are there temporarily at the moment as a time distance section, in the future when the M1 [widening] is finished there will be variable speed limits, up on the matrix boards, and they will have camera support".

Between May 2008 to October 2009, 5,084 vehicles were recorded as breaking the 50 mph limit, on a stretch used by about 131,000 vehicles daily.

Work began to widen the 14-mile stretch of the motorway in November 2008 and the project is due to finish this autumn - but the highways agency has said it could now be earlier.
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Surprised they managed to resist the temptation for all that revenue up until this point. :rolleyes:
 
It's only a matter of time before it spreads :mad:
I hope these variable speed limits are very well signposted, it will be all to easy to forget or notice that the speed limit has been changed.
Between May 2008 to October 2009, 5,084 vehicles were recorded as breaking the 50 mph limit, on a stretch used by about 131,000 vehicles daily.
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Surpisingly, or maybe not, that's only about 0.02% of the vehicles. Average speed cameras are obviously very effective.
 
A man from Nottingham has been caught "driving" at 0mph by a speed camera - not once but twice. Skip related content
Related photos / videos
Speed Camera Fines Driver Of Parked Car Enlarge photo

Jeff Buck, 55, has received two fines in the post and letters of intended prosection for the offences.

His parked car had been snapped by a speed camera on his street, apparently as other cars sped past.

The latest incident occured on 13 December 2009.

Nottinghamshire Police claimed he was snapped while driving his Vauxhall Zafira at 37mph in a 30mph zone.

When Mr Buck demanded to see the photographs, police dropped the case.

The problem for Mr Buck is the camera is situated outside his home where his car is parked.

When speeding drivers are caught by the camera, his car is snapped too and he gets sent the fine by mistake.

Mr Buck said: "The photographs must presumably show two vehicles, with mine parked halfway on the pavement and road.

"It's amazing that whatever system is in place cannot tell the difference between a car that is motionless and one travelling at 37mph.

"I am amused by it, but also angry that I have to go to the trouble of contacting the police.

"My only option is to park the car on the road as I don't have a garage or driveway."

Police have since apologised for the mix-up. In a statement they said: "The software used to read number plates has captured his car's number plate in the image.

"On both occasions the offending vehicle number plates were similar to those of Mr Buck's vehicle registration number.

"We will examine the processes and see if improvements can be made to minimise the chance of this happening again in the future."
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Speed camera's, they're fantastic eh? ;)
 
Derek said:
It's only a matter of time before it spreads :mad:
I hope these variable speed limits are very well signposted, it will be all to easy to forget or notice that the speed limit has been changed.

Surpisingly, or maybe not, that's only about 0.02% of the vehicles. Average speed cameras are obviously very effective.
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Yes, that does look like a low figure. Although it's probably because the cameras were on road works, where most people will slow down anyway and there may have been lanes blocked (you can't speed if there's only one lane and the guy in front is under the limit!)

Time will tell what they do on the M1, but the variable speed limits on the M25, when set to the national limit, were either inactive or set to only go off at a very high speed.

The ferry from Rosyth is looking more attractive for any trips abroad though!
 
chrisw said:
(5084/131000)*100= ~3.88% still not a high amount to justify the millions of £'s to do the work.
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This is turning into a Maths post which must be a first on here! :lol2:

131000 is per day therefore you need to multiply that by 182 (approx) as the experiment ran for 6 months.
On the flip side the argument will be that there were very few serious accidents and given the average cost of an accident even saving 2 or 3 would probably justify the costs and I bet the numbers would be down dramtically which is what will be put forward as the argument to extend the scheme.
Like it or not I can this scheme being put in place on every major road in the country.
The only thing stopping it happening quickly is the infrastructure costs but sooner or later the funding will be made available.
Once it is up and running the costs are minimal as it will all be done by computers.
 
It doesn't seem like many people. I would have thought it to be much more.

Whenever I'm sitting in a average speed camera zone with the cruise control on and the tomtom saying 50 mph I'm amazed the number of nobs that zap past if they cannot see a camera.

Maybe we also need the cameras to spot the mob phone users as well.

I do hope that they do turn them off and not enforce the 70 mph zone. What would they class as excessive? Surely 95 is OK?

squirrel.
 
I have to drive through this section of the M1 once a fortnight when heading darn sarf; a right pain in the arse. With current (front facing) average speed cameras (big signs telling you and large yellow illuminated posts and cameras), I just sit behind a wagon at 50 and let the world go by.

The overhead variable signs are up but not working. At least you can see where the (rear facing) variable speed cameras will be by the graded lines on the road. Watch out if heading to Castle Donny from the north as you have to pass right throught them.

Out of interest, if someone is 'caught' by a laser/camera van on a bike how do they get your reg plate for a ticket? These are front facing cameras?

Also on motorways and A roads, I was told the police are employing more powerful lasers with a range of 1.5 miles. So no speeding on the A74 at Lockerbie.
 
Adi said:
Out of interest, if someone is 'caught' by a laser/camera van on a bike how do they get your reg plate for a ticket? These are front facing cameras?

Also on motorways and A roads, I was told the police are employing more powerful lasers with a range of 1.5 miles. So no speeding on the A74 at Lockerbie.
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The automated front facing average cameras they have on rigs next to the motorway or front facing fixed cameras won't catch a vehicle with a rear number plate only (there have been cases where someone regularly rides past a front facing camera - on their way to work say - setting it off each day, eventually the police lie in wait!)

However, if you go past a camera van / laser trap I think the operator can make a note of your reg plate and submit that with the picture as evidence. The camera vans are now being fitted with front and rear facing cameras, so they track your speed on approach and then take multiple pics to get you from front and back as you pass.

Regarding the laser with the 1.5 mile range... might be a good idea to stop and turn around as soon as you lay eyes on the police. At this point, they'll have your speed but aren't likely to be able to read your number plate (especially if it's a small one :D).
 
miloVanMultistrada said:
Regarding the laser with the 1.5 mile range... might be a good idea to stop and turn around as soon as you lay eyes on the police. At this point, they'll have your speed but aren't likely to be able to read your number plate (especially if it's a small one :D).
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"Safety Camera" van at Stafford show in October and the operators were showing the equipment to anyone interested.
Friend went in for a chat to them and was shown what they see on the camera.
He was astonished at what detail they can pick up as quality of pictures is so high.
At a mile away they can clearly read a number plate and I bet very few will spot a camera van a mile down a road.
General verdict was by the time you see them you are way too late to do anything.
 
Adi said:
Also on motorways and A roads, I was told the police are employing more powerful lasers with a range of 1.5 miles. So no speeding on the A74 at Lockerbie.
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The trick there is to keep off the A74(M) and use the old roads running alongside. There are a couple of villages and a few turns to make but the road surface is superb and there is virtually no traffic.

It's a pretty ride, loses you no time (esp on a bike) and is very relaxing. Plod uses it as a back road to get up and down the junctions of the motorway from what I've seen but they don't seem very active on those roads themselves.
 
rockjock620 said:
The trick there is to keep off the A74(M) and use the old roads running alongside. There are a couple of villages and a few turns to make but the road surface is superb and there is virtually no traffic.

It's a pretty ride, loses you no time (esp on a bike) and is very relaxing. Plod uses it as a back road to get up and down the junctions of the motorway from what I've seen but they don't seem very active on those roads themselves.
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just watch oot north of lockerbie at dinwoodie lodge know sumone that got busted there a few months ago on the old 74
 
And just when you thought it couldn't get much worse... they play the Joker:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/8632340.stm

New speed cameras to use satellite technology

Speed cameras which use a satellite positioning system and number plate recognition technology to track vehicles have been tested in England.

The system was tried out on Salter Road in Southwark, south London and on the A374 in Cornwall.

Details of the tests were revealed in evidence to the House of Commons Transport select committee by PIPS Technology, which devised the system,

A Home Office spokeswoman declined to comment on the trials.

The SpeedSpike system uses automatic number plate recognition and GPS to capture the positions of cars and then calculate an average speed over a distance.

A record is made of vehicles found to be breaking speed limits.
PIPS Technology said it could be used in a number of areas including motorways, A roads, urban "rat runs" and to enforce speed restrictions around schools.
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http://pipstechnology.com/news/library/datasheets/PSS5060 SpeedSpike-1108.pdf
 
Average speed camera's

We should all be aware there is a proposal to average speed zone the A9 from Perth to Inverness and the sneaky thing is that like the Kilmarnock bypass the intend to drop the limit down to 50 mph.
Support every and any pressure group you can to block these draconian limits, next step is the man with the red flag in front?
 
And the roadworks have now gone! Glorious, roadworks-free tarmac for the 28 miles except we now have variable speed cameras.

Not sure if they are wired in yet but I am sure they will be soon to catch Donnington bound bikers! They won't miss an opportunity for more cash.
 
Mange tout Rodney.

Donnington have recently signed a new finance deal (linked to the speed cameras on M1?) and aim to start racing again on 4th September this year. Track days, etc to follow.
 
There was also a set of tests going through a year or so ago which involved the use of number plates with embeded chip/loops which was read by roadside receivers but I believe that was more down the toll route type scenario
 
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