Flashed by a speed camera
 

Afternoon,

This morning on the way to work, I was flashed by a speed camera.

It was going up the West Cross Route towards the A40 in London - if you know it!

I'm sure there is a sign just before it that says 50mph.

My satnav warned me it was there.

I've been past it about 6 times in the last two weeks.

What speed was I doing? Between 39mph - 41mph.

There was no other cars near me at the time.

What do you think will happen??

Re: Flashed by a speed camera
 

There is a 1 in 4 chance, you will get a NIP. (Notice of Intended Prosecution).

Re: Flashed by a speed camera
 

A driving ban for driving too slowly :D
Seriously, iirc (not an expert) the stills are checked by hand before being sent out - hopefully that will show your correct speed (against the road markings).

Re: Flashed by a speed camera
 

For doing 39 - 41mph in a 50mph?

I'm going to get a photo of the camera and sign tomorrow!

But - why did it flash me? I thought they were only set-off when a speed is exceded?

Re: Flashed by a speed camera
 

Are you sure there are no temporary speed restrictions in force?

Did the camera flash twice in quick succession did you notice this?

Re: Flashed by a speed camera
 

In my experience - nothing will happen. I've been flashed by static speed cameras a few times (whilst being under the speed limit) in both North Wales and in Liverpool on the M62. I've yet to receive a ticket. Although I'm not sure why they do this :confused:

Re: Flashed by a speed camera
 

They flash occasionaly when there is nobody around, i think it may be to calibrate itself.
I was at the end of the M62 yesterday morning in stationary traffic and the camera flashed twice in a minute.

Re: Flashed by a speed camera
 

Never knew that...any documentation of that anywhere?

Re: Flashed by a speed camera
 

I've had this happen to me a number of times, nothing will happen as you were below the speed limit at the time.

Some times they pick up something that makes them think that there is a speeding car. It imght be a bird or reflection off some glass nearby. In any case. They will not take you to court because as mentioned by Aragorn, they are checked before they issue a NIP.

One near us can't cope in the fog. I went passed it about a year ago in the fog and it was firing off every minute or so.

Re: Flashed by a speed camera
 

I think its 14 days.. after this point they cannot do anything.

Re: Flashed by a speed camera
 

They have 14 days from the date of the offence to ISSUE a notice of intended prosecution (it may take longer for you to receive it). If you do receive one and you were in fact below the limit, you have an absolute defence and the CPS would drop it immediately if notified. No court would ever convict you.

Cheshire police once told me they often set "empty" cameras to flash below the speed limit to encourage people to go even slower still. What moral right the police have to do this is unclear...if they think the speed limit is too high there are appropriate channels. This sort of behaviour by the police can cause accidents.

Re: Flashed by a speed camera
 

I can't find the info that I saw a couple of years ago now:( I also read that they flash to fool people into thinking they are active when they have no film in them.

Re: Flashed by a speed camera
 

They can sometimes be set off by cars going in the opposite direction as well. We have one near me that has the calibration markings on both sides of the road, one set approaching the camera from the front and the usual set behind the camera. Traffic from both directions trigger it. I know there are some cameras designed to do this but I did read somewhere that is illegal to flash oncoming traffic because it may temporarily blind the driver. I think the markings on the approaching side were put there to frighten people. :erm:

Re: Flashed by a speed camera
 

Yes, oncoming cameras are a different design, quite distinctive in fact. they don't flash, they use something else.

And then there's SPECS cameras, which are different again...the average speed check ones.

Re: Flashed by a speed camera
 

I wouldn't worry if you were under the limit, the one not far from my house was flashing everyone in the 40MPH limit about 2 weeks ago.

We were all in traffic moving about 15MPH.:rolleyes:

Re: Flashed by a speed camera
 

Forward facing speed cameras are called Truvelo and look like:

https://www.cableforum.co.uk/images/local/2006/10/5.jpg

They are designed to catch a picture of the driver as well. They produce no visible flash, so drivers won't actually know they have ben caught out, until that NIP comes through the letter box as it uses an infra red flash.

Unlike Gatso speed camera's, Truvelo speed cameras use road strips, these can be seen just before the Truvelo speed camera and in some cases on both sides of the road. They are becoming more favourable over Gatso's.

Re: Flashed by a speed camera
 

Yup, those are the very ones, thanks Mick.

Re: Flashed by a speed camera
 

Yes - there are building works nearby by all the signs say 50 - I checked on the way home.

Yes - the camera flashed twice - about 1 second apart...

Re: Flashed by a speed camera
 

Truvelo cameras still use two lines for double checking your speed (on the photo) - you will see two thin lines just in front of them.

Re: Flashed by a speed camera
 

Aha the M41... :LOL:

Re: Flashed by a speed camera
 

Re: Flashed by a speed camera
 

Well I checked agin this moring on the way into work - there no other signs say anything lower than 50mph.

About 50 meters before the camera there is a sign saying 50 mph.

I'm 99% sure I was doing between 39 and 41 mph - there is no way I was going anywhere near 50mph!

We'll just have to sit it out and see what happens - will keep you posted! :tu:

---------- Post added at 07:57 ---------- Previous post was at 07:56 ----------

Always know it was the WCR! Never knew it had a motorway designation!

---------- Post added at 08:05 ---------- Previous post was at 07:57 ----------

YES!!!! YES!!!! YESSSSS!!!!

Seeeeee!! - Look at this!!

http://pathetic.org.uk/photos/m41/im...C02785_JPG.jpg


Here's the camera in question - and you can see a 50mph sign on the carriageway above.....

Right - come on then Mr Police force send me an NIP and YOU WILL have a fight!!! :D:D:D

Edit - By the looks of the photograph - that's the southbound road - those tower blocks are near the WestOne shopping center - I think....

Edit 2 - nope - it's northbound alright - the continuation of the photos show them traveling north...

Re: Flashed by a speed camera
 

And is there a sign on the road you were travelling on?

Re: Flashed by a speed camera
 

Yep - see post #1 - and confirmed today - there's one before the speed camera...50MPH.

Re: Flashed by a speed camera
 

Right O, missed that :)

Re: Flashed by a speed camera
 

Has anyone realised that truvelo and specs cameras are ONLY for motorists not bikers?

both take photos of the front of the vehicle, bikes don't have a forward facing number plate.

Re: Flashed by a speed camera
 

We've got a couple of these things sprung up where I live, they're Monitron cameras and contain no film but are directly linked by an ADSL link to a monitoring centre. They are replacing Gatsos with these in London.

http://www.speedcam.co.uk/index2.htm

Re: Flashed by a speed camera
 

I enjoyed playing the speed trap game, I got 9 out of 19 lol

Re: Flashed by a speed camera
 

Someone has painted a £ sign on all of them in Nottingham near the tennis centre:D :D :D :D Made me chuckle the other day when I went past them.:D :D :D :D

Re: Flashed by a speed camera
 

Grrrrrrr....what is it with me and speed cameras! I don't drive fast - I think I'm quite careful...most of the time.

Tonight I was flashed by a Gatso camera.
I knew it was there.
I saw it.
I've seen it hundreds of times.
I've been past it hundreds of times.

So what happened then? I accelerated to get in front of a bus which was parked up in a bus stop and probably was about to indicate to come back out.

Now - this camera was on the other side of the road - and there are camera road markings (the dashes that they reference against) on the other side of the road only.

Do you think I just set it off 'cus I was going a bit fast past the bus?

Can they catch up with me and give me a fine / points even though they have no markings to reference the speed against?

I only saw the one flash...

Re: Flashed by a speed camera
 

That is correct, the Police can't afford to arm all the cameras because the workings are to expensive, they move them around to different sites fooling the public that the camera is still armed when it's not.

Re: Flashed by a speed camera
 

AFAIK, the standard Gatsos are designed to be rear-firing and they can't prosecute drivers coming the other way. I was flashed by a camera on the other side once and never received an NIP

Apparently, the fake speed cameras are the ones that flash oncoming vehicles. They have cheaper speed detectors which can't tell the difference between a positive and negative speed. I do know that some do flash oncoming, and some don't, so that could explain it. I just heard it on another forum though.

Re: Flashed by a speed camera
 

Thanks Gavin - you'll be pleased to hear I slept well last night!

Re: Flashed by a speed camera
 

If you were driving towards a GATSO thats on the other side of the road and it goes off you wont hear anything. Thats happened to me before and people seemed to suggest at the time that it was a fake as it cant tell which direction you are travelling in.

Re: Flashed by a speed camera
 

Thanks W&C! ANother vote for the "you won't hear nowt" pot!

Re: Flashed by a speed camera
 

I was driving towards a Gatso Camara last week, 4th July 07 the lines were only on the oncoming lane the Gatso was in. yet the camara flashed in my face. I turned around and drove back to investigate. there were no lines in my lane or a Gazto camara but there were lines further down in my lane. So the camara only took my picture in the wrong lane without lines and face on.
:Yikes:
THE NEWS HERE...I recieved a letter saying I was speeding. I telephoned drivingoffence.com and they said they have never heard of such a thing...I will write back to the police and tell them that I want my case heard in court and see what they say...Possibly they are trying to pull a stroke...:eeek:

Re: Flashed by a speed camera
 

I am sure that there is a case to be had against front facing speed cameras, if I am in my car and get flashed by one I should get a fine, how do these work for motorbikes?
Surely this is discrimination against the motorist?

Re: Flashed by a speed camera
 

Some older gatsos if I remember correctly, can't work out the difference between a positive and a negative speed, question is, were you actually speeding? If so then why complain?

Re: Flashed by a speed camera
 

Zeph, what's a "negative speed"? :confused:

Re: Flashed by a speed camera
 

Think Scalar instead of Vector :) (or was that the other way around - I'm a little hungover :p:)

Re: Flashed by a speed camera
 

Im confused - i was driving to work on the Hagley road, where i was flashed by the opposite side camera; i was no where near the sensors on the road on my side, yet the other camera flashed!? - will i be receiving a fine?
Please Reply...
Thank You...
(PS) Which side does the camera flash for it to be my fine?...

Re: Flashed by a speed camera
 

3 year old thread ressurected.... Wow.

I would actually think that there would be a case against Gatso's on the basis of safety, the flash from a GATSO on the opposite side could distract an oncoming motorist and potentially cause an accident...

Aside from that, read the thread, it should give you some insight.

Re: Flashed by a speed camera
 

the GATSO on the other side of the road will always flash into oncoming traffic no matter where is it triggered though.

Re: Flashed by a speed camera
 

most cameras (not all)will only flash you when you go past it NOT as you aproach it if the camera was on the other side of the road facing you and it flashed then it will probably be because another car has gone through to fast on the other side of the road

Re: Flashed by a speed camera
 

Does anyone else find it amusing that Lord Nikon posts in a camera thread?

I'm looking forward to reading posts from Baron Pentax and Prince Hasselblad.

Re: Flashed by a speed camera
 

And ironically my cameras are Fuji, Pentax, Kodak, Olympus and Sony...

Re: Flashed by a speed camera
 

Makes no difference - just after New Year's day I got flashed by a gatso on the other side of the road pointing in the direction I was coming from, I didn't realise it did that.

Anyway it did flash but I heard nothing from them. They have 14 days in which to make contact with you so if you've heard nothing after that consider yourself lucky.

Not all cameras have 'film' in them.

Re: Flashed by a speed camera
 

This was probably a "Tuvelo" camera. They get you both ways. The way to spot them is, they have one circle, slightly offset from below the main part of the camera lens.

Re: Flashed by a speed camera
 

Not second guessing your encyclopedic knowledge but that's Truvelo.

Re: Flashed by a speed camera
 

As far as I am aware you can request the photo with speed so aslong as you was doing the correct speed you should be ok.

Re: Flashed by a speed camera
 

as far as i know truvelo cameras don't flash

Re: Flashed by a speed camera
 

That is a truvelo(they do a few different styles) and they do tend to be facing towards the front of the vehicle (though they can either way on narrow roads) and they rely on Peizo strips in the road to do the time/distance measurement (hence they can't be detected by a radar/laser detector). They do flash though it's very subdued mainly due to it being an infra-red flash unit (works then in all light enviroments). It's alll they have in bedfordshire/northhamptonshire... [for legal purposes the next bit is pure fiction ;)] It's the ONLY camera that's ever flashed me but I was on two wheels at that point in time and yes you can see the flash ;)

Re: Flashed by a speed camera
 

wow ,must have been speeding to get your car on 2 wheels :D

Re: Flashed by a speed camera
 

Even harder I was fictionally on a two wheeled vehicle on two wheels...

Re: Flashed by a speed camera
 

that's ok then ..as long as it was fictional;)

Re: Flashed by a speed camera
 

And it would still not have got you as there is no number plate on the front of a bike. It is a loophole for bikes that cars cannot take part in :LOL:

Re: Flashed by a speed camera
 

Oops, sorry for the typo, but doing this on a mobile phone is not easy. :)

---------- Post added at 21:55 ---------- Previous post was at 21:48 ----------

The one in our village does. This would be the one which we campaigned for nearly two years to have installed. Who would have thought it would be so difficult to persuade a council to install one. ;) After the thing had been there for three years (and passing it nearly everyday :rolleyes:), I motored passed the damned thing at thirty-five and was flashed. :mad: I got a notice in the post warning me and reminding me of the speed limit. :)

Re: Flashed by a speed camera
 

I was flashed in France. Can they get me in the UK? Ihave a friend who has been flashed 3 times and has 9 points. he suggested i got Mod Edit. I think. Anyone got this?

Re: Flashed by a speed camera
 

I would never use some dodgy website to deal with a speeding ticket.

Re: Flashed by a speed camera
 

I think Ingram is referring to Mod Edit.." It is an insurance policy which provides certain benefits if one loses their driver's licence.

Re: Flashed by a speed camera
 

Or idiot insurance as I call it, mainly as you need to be an idiot to use it ;)

Re: Flashed by a speed camera
 

Indeed, in fact one could go further and call it a "license-to-behave-like-a-moron insurance."

Re: Flashed by a speed camera
 

hi there im just woundering if anyone has had problems on the a2 canterbury road. ive drove past this speed cam 3 times under the speed limit and been double falshed every time 3 days in arow.
Thats 9 points i would just like to know if anyone has had the same problem and if they got anythink through the post. thanks any info a help.

Re: Flashed by a speed camera
 

I'd wait for the NIP and challenge it.

Re: Flashed by a speed camera
 

Nice piece of spamming there - i think you got away with it! :rolleyes:

---------- Post added at 20:07 ---------- Previous post was at 20:06 ----------

Think one of my work collegues had an issue with that a few weeks back...

Re: Flashed by a speed camera
 

Could be miscalibrated radar settings, that's why there are markings on the road though. If the photos taken don't match what the radar system says you shouldn't get a ticket, and if you do then then markings will clear you.

The calculation is distance divided by time = speed, the distance is determined by the gap between the road markings and the time is the time between flashes, usually 0.25s for a GATSO camera. For example if you travel 100m in 1 second then your speed is (not surprisingly) 100m/s (Which would guarantee you a speeding ban being 223mph) a calculation is available here