Have I Been Caught?

[H13RNC]

I was driving home from work last night, on a bypass. Then the camera on the otherside of the road flashed twice (limits was 50, and i was cruising at 60) is this common or have I been snagged?

Cheers

H

[Norfolk n Chance]

If it flashed it must have been a GATSO, so you would have to have been on it's side of the road driving away from it to be caught.

You can set them off by driving too fast towards them and it sounds like this is what you have done.

As GATSO's flash they cannot be forward facing as it could temporarily blind you!

[smoftah]

^^ What he said

if it was facing you i.e. you were driving towards it and you could see the front of the camera with the lens and the flash, then it has not got you.

If however, you were driving towards it and you saw a yellow back plate only (without lens and flash) then sounds like you have been caught.

[H13RNC]

I cant remember now, i thought camera's only catch you on the road that your on if thats the case then ive done it 2 days in a row

:censor:

[smoftah]

its quite rare to find a gatso that takes pics of the other side of the road.

So hopefully you should be ok.

Good Luck.

[Norfolk n Chance]

Couple of years back i was flashed by a camera on the opposite side of the road.

Queried it with my next door neighbour at the time, handy that he was in CID, he asked the questions for me and was told that they cannot prosecute someone driving towards a rear facing camera.

This is due to the inaccuracies of the radar being bounced back quicker as you're driving towards it not away from it

So unless things have changed you should be ok!

;)

[new 2002 Tsport owner]

I am seriously thinking of getting a road angel detector for 180 quid!

Motorists save the police from having to work hard to catch criminals for their stats!

Yes...It is always quoted that 'speed' is cause of all the death and destruction on our roads and I agree that there are some right numpties out there who should be shot [anyone that overtakes on blind bends, hidden humps and when there is NO gap...and that especially means motorcyclists who seem to think they are unbreakable!]

But it is inappropriate speed and skill that is the real danger.

I always drove at 20mph in housing estates well before 20 is plenty became the norm due to the fact that kids and animals would try and commit Hari-Kiri via my car and that is messy!

If on a beautiful sunny day, in my car that can cruise safely at 120 mph+, on a deserted Dual carriageway, why cant I have a bit of fun?

Maybe go up to 100 [but no more cause the fuel use would empty my wallet too fast! ].

Why cant I....Because someone in Council thinks that the speed limit of dual carriageway is 50mph [with no explanation except noise pollution!?] and it is brutally enforced with undercover traffic cops waiting to take my driving privilages off me!

Im afraid this situation makes my blood boil!

There are speed camera everywhere too! I am too busy looking at the speedo to make sure I dont put 1 pound extra pressure on the throttle and there goes 3 points that I am more likely to crash!

I really do hope the *****S have not got you!

[chenks]

I am seriously thinking of getting a road angel detector for 180 quid!

here's an idea... why not save yourself £180 and just obey the speed limit ?

crazy idea, but it might just work !

[new 2002 Tsport owner]

Well thats a good idea!

But why are there no speed restrictions on some German Autobahns?

Why are dual carriageways now being restricted to 50mph and policed with unmarked cars and average speed cameras [where traffic is light and where there are crash barriers between carriageways] when I can legally do 60 on a narrow, windy and extremely dangerous A road in the Highlands?

There are sections of road where the maximun speed limit is not even clear.

If you would care to explain why this is the case I will happily crawl along dual carriageway at 50 mph causing an obstruction and endangering myself because everyone else is doing 80!

Speed limits are needed but it is the stupid way they are enforced!

We need patrol cars that stop dangerous driving...and also that means old, blind people who have never had driving/eye test doing 20mph in a 60 as well as us boy racers!

Are you suggesting that by sticking to a speed limit I will never have a accident?

It is accidents that we must avoid!

One final point...You are stating, I take it, that you have never exceeded a speed limit?

The T-sport breaks the National maximum in third gear!

I find it hard to belive that you have always resisted 'lift' in third gear!

[Vince W]

Save some cash and get yourself a Navman F20. It tells you when you're approaching any speed detector (audio and visual warning)plus you won't get lost. (no suscription to pay, just stick it on windscreen and plug in the power lead.)

I've had mine for about two years now and it's saved me loads on speeding fines.

[Parts-King]

A lot of things are not right about speed limits or indeed, the law in general, that doesnt mean you have to break it just because you dont like it. The thing that :censor: me off is the one where the Police unmarked car driver does 159 MPH through road works on a 50MPH section of the M54 just to test out his new car...........and gets away with it How can that be right? SPEEDING COP

Kingo

[chenks]

One final point...You are stating, I take it, that you have never exceeded a speed limit?

The T-sport breaks the National maximum in third gear!

I find it hard to belive that you have always resisted 'lift' in third gear!

not at all. but if i get caught i am big enough to take it on the chin and accept it (i haven't been caught, and very rarely exceed the limit anyway).

if you can't stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen.

whether you think the limits are right or wrong, they are the law. if you break them, then you take the punishment. if you don't want the punishment, don't break the limits - very simple.

[H13RNC]

Hey guys stop arguing

Shall i be :censor: my pants coz i'll get another 3 points or not?

Cheers

H

[Norfolk n Chance]

Hey guys stop arguing

Shall i be :censor: my pants coz i'll get another 3 points or not?

Cheers

H

See what you've started?

I still think you'll not get a fine

They have to send you a 'Notice of Intended Prosecution' within 14 days.

So watch your post!

[cabcurtains]

Hey guys stop arguing

Shall i be :censor: my pants coz i'll get another 3 points or not?

Cheers

H

Go back down the road (doing 50!) and confirm which side the camera is facing or sit and wait for the penalty notice.

In some parts of the country you can get on speed awareness courses which result in no points. This is a good idea IMO.

[borodaz]

speed limits on housing estates , school areas , town centres etc I agree with, speed limits on d/c ways and motorways should be higher. If I did not think I would brake the speed limit I would not have a t sport, and hiting lift through all gears is just too iresistable, I hit lift in 3rd 90% of the times I take my car out. I always make sure I've got clear road and I'm concentrating 110%

The thaught of having your speed watched over a certain distance just frustrates me, this country is geting beyond a joke

[Teddylicious]

I find that keeping up with the flow of traffic is alot safer than trolling along at 50 causing wagons to switch lane, this is very frustrating as it slows everyone in the first two lanes to under 56mph and causes alot of back log, now all you have to do is throw into the mix an overworked foreign driver (driving position/visibility) and you've got the recipe for disaster with the amount of blind spots they'll have.

The most effective speed cameras are the average speed ones commonly used amongst construction sites (they even slow sales reps down... sometimes), as standard GATSO's just slow people down for 30 metres, then they build back up there speed.

I wouldn't buy and rely on a speed angel, as it only takes an unmarked police car to take you to the cleaners, whilst your happily moving on at 100+ safe in the knowledge that you'll get plenty of notice from the little black box. Once your on video/recorded over 97mph it will most likely go to court with possible loss of license.

I suppose as long as you drive sensibly and within the capabilities of the car at the appropriate moments then the police aren't overly fussed.

[BeenThereDoneIt]

I dare to stick my head above the parapet on this issue...however...

As a response bobby I don't really deal with GASTO's, but do set them off now and again whilst on blues. Although through experience this is even quite hard to do when doing 50 in a 30 towards one... I don't think that they can prosecute you for driving towards one, however there is another model of camera that get's you travelling towards it.

To echo the other posters, if you're doing more than is allowed, and get caught, take it on the chin and learn. If you don't agree with the camera's then don't drive on those roads, or invest in a SatNav that tell's you where they are.

As for the speed awareness course, that only applies if you're doing say 31-35mph in a 30, and you still get the fine. I think anything over 36mph is points and a fine.

If your argument is that Speed Cameras mean we can all sit back and do nothing, or stop us from going out and arresting those people who walk around with badges saying "RAPIST" or "BURGLAR" are very wrong. "Our" figures are only measured by the amount of Crimes solved, and aren't affected in the slightest by GATSO revenue.

So if you are going to slag us off, then please invest a bit of time learning the facts.

[new 2002 Tsport owner]

I am not looking for a fight!

Especially not with other T-sport owners!

Maybe Been there done it can tell me why dual carriageways[bypass]/motorways with little traffic and full safety barriers now have 50 and 60mph speed limits?

50 for crying out loud! That is slower than the Americans 55mph limit!

It is the year 2008! Cars travelled much quicker than this when the first Motorway was opened!

Cars are better maintained, reliable, and have safety systems such as ABS, VSC, Traction control and here I am on the best and safest road I can be on crawling[and thats exactly what it feels like] along at 50!

For the past 15 years 70mph road...next day there is a sign that it is now 50!

Traffic police then sit in lay-by waiting for easy meat! [i am not blaming them as Council probably tells them to do it]

This is the one thing that I dont get!

My mate got pinched at one section of this and the signs are so tiny you can hardly notice them.

Now if I do 50mph I feel at danger because few people notice or do this limit causing me to spend more time looking behind than in front as I have now become an obstruction!

Going by what the original poster said

"I was driving home from work last night, on a bypass. Then the camera on the otherside of the road flashed twice (limits was 50, and i was cruising at 60) is this common or have I been snagged?"

It would seem that he may [hopefully not!!] have been caught out by these new limits [unless it was roadworks of course!].

[MarcTS]

My best bit of advise is to always make sure you aren't the fastest car on any stretch of road, that way other drivers will trigger off the fixed cameras and give you advanced warning, and the cops with mobile cameras will pick them up as they are going faster than you.

I enjoy the power and speed of the T-Sport and I always drive at a speed I am comfortable with when taking into consideration the surroundings (i.e. multi lane roads, pedestrian areas, built up/lack of vision etc), quality or road and volume of traffic, and I always leave a stupid amount of space in front of me when driving. This saves me from crashing into the person in front of me in the event of sudden braking but it also means I can brake more gently which gives the guy up my a$$ in a BMW time to finish his important phone call and stop rather than ploughing into the back of me.

[new 2002 Tsport owner]

I can brake more gently which gives the guy up my a$$ in a BMW time to finish his important phone call and stop rather than ploughing into the back of me.

I hear you!

He he...

Why is it always a BMW?!

They must have great brakes [parachute and/or ejector seat!] to feel safe an inch from your bumper at 70 while on mobile phone!

Or maybe they just think they are God and not troubled by the mortal laws of physics...

[BeenThereDoneIt]

Speed limits etc are not set by us, and neither are the laws. I don't blame Mr Tesco for not selling Marmite in specific packaging that I like, it's not his fault, he just works with what products he has. And that's all we do. If traffic have targets, i.e 1 ticket, per officer, per day, and they know they can get that on a bit of road that people ALWAYS speed down. Then 30mins into his shift, his quote is complete, and he can carry on the rest of the shift worry free.

I don't have a ticket quota, but I do despise people on their phone, and as such I park up (on the rare occasion it's quiet on the radio), at a certain set of traffic lights where people are always nattering away, and I ticket them. Is it sneaky? Is it under-hand? Or should those people know better, that talking with the phone to your ear is stupid, and illegal?

I'm not here to argue, and am willing to answer questions about my job as best I can, but I am a CTS owner as are you all, and am here, because I like the banter, like the cars, and like to have a natter.

I know we're never gonna be shaking motorists hands, but ultimately, the signs/rules are all there. If you didn't notice the (small) sign, and get pinged, appeal it...or accept it. Thats the only way things will change. Complain to Council's, they CAN change things...

[Vince W]

Speed limits etc are not set by us, and neither are the laws. I don't blame Mr Tesco for not selling Marmite in specific packaging that I like, it's not his fault, he just works with what products he has. And that's all we do. If traffic have targets, i.e 1 ticket, per officer, per day, and they know they can get that on a bit of road that people ALWAYS speed down. Then 30mins into his shift, his quote is complete, and he can carry on the rest of the shift worry free.

I don't have a ticket quota, but I do despise people on their phone, and as such I park up (on the rare occasion it's quiet on the radio), at a certain set of traffic lights where people are always nattering away, and I ticket them. Is it sneaky? Is it under-hand? Or should those people know better, that talking with the phone to your ear is stupid, and illegal?

I'm not here to argue, and am willing to answer questions about my job as best I can, but I am a CTS owner as are you all, and am here, because I like the banter, like the cars, and like to have a natter.

I know we're never gonna be shaking motorists hands, but ultimately, the signs/rules are all there. If you didn't notice the (small) sign, and get pinged, appeal it...or accept it. Thats the only way things will change. Complain to Council's, they CAN change things...

Respect. B)

[geoffb]

I don't have a ticket quota, but I do despise people on their phone, and as such I park up (on the rare occasion it's quiet on the radio), at a certain set of traffic lights where people are always nattering away, and I ticket them. Is it sneaky? Is it under-hand? Or should those people know better, that talking with the phone to your ear is stupid, and illegal?

No it's not sneaky or underhand - in fact I wish there were more traffic police around to target dumb and arrogant mobile phone users who use them whilst driving which, in my view, is an exceptionally dangerous practice. All you'll get from me is a big thank you for every one that you catch. I just wish the fine was a deterrent which it clearly isn't. I'd make it £1000 minimum with the car immediately impounded for 3 months and £5000 and car crushed for a second offence (I like to be gentle).

I won't even try to enter the speed debate. I have my own views but the topic is a very complex one with no easy answers IMHO.

[cabcurtains]

The phone thing and the speed camera issue are combined, roads policing has been pushed down the priority list over the last few years as its expensive as well as other issues. We now have those highways clowns on the Motorways (don't get me going!), PCSO's plodding the streets because the real Police spend to much time doing paperwork so cant come out, then the CPS throw the case out anyway. Combine this with PACE and the mad world of political correctness and i am surprised that most police are still in the job, must keep going for the pension.... :(

Anyway the cameras provide ammo to help the politicians to explain why we don't need expensive traffic police, as they will claim that lives are being saved by them, however i have never seen a camera that films a driver with no insurance on the phone whilst drunk have you?

Must stop these rants ;)