Safe Speed Forums

I was just wondering about the specs cameras- on a stretch of motorway just near me, there are specs cameras on either side of the motorway, I understood it that the specs cameras monitored the traffic going towards them- some of the cameras look as if they are pointing to the other side of the motorway (i.e to traffic going in the opposite direction). Are they able to do this or do they only monitor the registration numbers of oncoming traffic (traffic going towards the cameras)?

Also, what happens if you were to go through 1 specs camera above the speed limit for that section and by the time you reached the next specs camera you were conveniently positioned behind a lorry and out of visible sight of the second camera?

Hope these questions both make sense....

Interesting site and forum from what ive seen so far, just stumbled across it via a link in another forum,

Cheers

You don't say which stretch of motorway, but if you mean the M1 around J21, then there is also the additional problem of traffic leaving at the junction after passing the first set of cameras bu not the second.

AIUI you will need to go through both sets and be visible driving towards the cameras for your speed to be calculated.

Some of the cameras point in strange directions because of the contraflow that is often in force there (the usage of the lanes changes frequently).

Since they calculte average speed only, it wont matter id you are over the limit when passing a camera provded your average speed between then is within the limit. So if you have been held up in a slow congested bit, you could drive the rest of the restricted area much faster than the limit without triggering the camera

But I wouldn't reccommend it!

At a guess, the third camera would be able to take an average between #1 and #3 tough if your average between #2 and #3 was low enough to cancel out the average from #1 to #2 you would be in the clear.

Then again it may simply discard any registrations from #1 which don't get picked up by #2.

A recent article on the london congestion charge said the cameras they use (which we can guess are very similar technology to SPECS) fail to read about 25% of plates anyway. I think it is fair to assume the failure rate for higher speed vehicles will be greater. So it's not just if you ar ehidden from the camera, sometimes it just doesn't see you.

What always gets me is, the people who bomb past at about 70mph when Im tootling along at 50mph. Do they know something I dont about the cameras not working or being set to a higher triggering speed or are they just thick and not bothered by the nip in the post?

I at one stage thought specs took your average over the whole distance of the specs 'area' (if you get my meaning!?), but I read on here today that it was only taken over two cameras.

Dont talk to me about that congestion charge thing . I dont really know London and thought on my way out "Im sure there will be lots of places I can payfor the congestion charge!". I saw one little shop but it was in a double red line zone so I couldnt stop outside, stopped in at Tesco's and an Esso a little further on - neither took payment for the charge I would have thought as you have to pay it 10pm or whatever time it is that everywhere would take it. Got my gf to pay it online was major stress though!
I checked my route the next day and found that I had just skirted around the congestion charge so paid the dosh for nothing! Ahhh happy days!
Glad I got that off my chest!