Safe Speed Forums

I have just come across this while flicking through files form the past.
Note the last comments................ we 'up here north of Watford' clearly have our work cut out with other groups within RoadPeace.

Speed cameras can 'talk' to track you down
By David Williams Motoring Editor, Evening Standard
7 April 2005
A new "intelligent" speed trap is set to catch thousands of drivers in London.
Groups of cameras will track cars over a wide area - such as a housing estate - instead of "flashing" them at just one spot.
Designers say it will be impossible for drivers to outwit them by slamming on their brakes as the cameras record each car's number plate and "talk" to each other via radio-wave technology.
Computers then calculate how fast the vehicle was travelling between each point. If a driver is found to have been speeding they will be fined ?60.
Road safety campaigners today hailed the new system that will rigidly enforce speed limits in 20mph zones.
But motoring groups said it would be powerless against the rising number who drive illegally by refusing to register their cars. The system is being pioneered by Transport for London in Camden from next month.
In a year-long experiment two cameras will be placed at either end of Mansfield Road, which has a 20mph zone. Fines will not be issued until the scheme has Home Office approval.
If successful it will be used across London. "The aim is to see how and if the technology works - it is not to gauge the effect on motorists yet," said TfL.
"It is one of a range of ideas we are looking at to tackle speed in sensitive areas such as residential roads.
"At the moment the only option to slow people down is to use hard engineering techniques such as humps, which many people do not like. This is one possible option and we want to see how it works."

Paul Smith, of the Safe Speed campaign, said: "Authority's obsession with speed cameras is not improving road safety and it has to stop."
However, safety organisation Road-Peace said it welcomed the trial.

_________________
belladonna
'Wisdom is knowing how little we know'
Socrates

Hmmm, a trial is one thing. this scheme could be used in a very dangerous manner. this is the start of the nationwide road toll. Applied everywhere, everyone's (legal) car is tracked across any street in any town across the UK, charged per mile, and automatically issuing fines and points if your mean speed along your own street exceeds the stated limit. i forecast an increase in damaged cameras, cloned plates and unregistered cars.
I also see an increase in what some bikers used to do with old spped traps.
biker goes past cop no.1 at speed limit plus XXmph.
cop no.1 radios cop no2 with bike plate no and estimated speed and estimated time of arrival.
biker stops between the 2 cops, out of sight of both, has a smoke/drink/rest for 5 mins.
cop no.2 wonders where biker is.
Biker goes past cop no2 at XXX mph, but an average of about 10mph.

I think we will see an increase in obfuscated number plates, unregistered vehicles and cloning.

I think we'll see similar results as traffic calming. Initially accident reduction as people avoid the road and go elsewhere, followed by an increase as the sceme gets rolled out and people start fixating with their speed rather than looking for hazards.

We'll also see irresponsibly pedestrian behaviour as people think it's Safe because its got a magic camera.

We'll also see local residents attacking the cameras when 9/10 of them get a ticket.

The reason TFL are looking to do this is that they have a network of cameras for the congestion zone and could easily link these to the speed calculators and issue a ticket. They are desperate to do anything to increase the revenue of this failing scheme.

when they sent out tenders they estimated 300k to 6M driver per day. the scheme struggles to get 250k drivers and the payment thresholds are stacked (rightly) in the opporators favour. I believe capita get 3 pounds for every charge.

I agree. I think we're already seeing this and it'll get progressively worse the further we go down the camera route. 15 years ago when I started driving I didn't know anyone who'd suffered from fake plates, yet in the last few months I know of one person who's had his plates nicked, no doubt to be used to banjax any cameras the thief might pass, and two others who've received tickets (one for parking and one for not paying the Kengestion charge) when they and their cars were miles away. Fortunately neither are short of witnesses so it ought to blow over, but that's no solution in the long term. From what I hear Swansea won't be issuing a new number to the bloke whose plates were pinched, and if so I'm pretty sure they wouldn't for the other two, whose plates seem to have been simply copied rather than stolen. The two, and probably three, vehicles masquerading as theirs are able to pass cameras with impunity and any tickets will go to them rather than the real culprits.

Supplying fake plates is set to become a growth industry IMO. Some might go the whole hog and have two sets of plates for the old wreck - one for the week and one for Sunday best. The reliance on cameras simply encourages the use of fake plates by the lawless, and having seen the traffic police scaled back so much these lawless drivers feel that they've got good chances of getting away with it. And since they feel that they're immune from the cameras and unlikely to run into police, can we not expect them also to drive how they feel like as well (usually badly)?

_________________
Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler - Einstein

stackmonkey"]Hmmm, a trial is one thing. this scheme could be used in a very dangerous manner. this is the start of the nationwide road toll. Applied everywhere, everyone's (legal) car is tracked across any street in any town across the UK, charged per mile, and automatically issuing fines and points if your mean speed along your own street exceeds the stated limit. 10mph.

Totally...........but it is also about being 'watched/logged' at every move. It is said that with the nationwide toll scheme, that as soon as you turn the key in your vehicle, every move willbe recorded. Big Brother............or what???
It is clear that this scheme will be abused, if not 'played at', and that will only lead to dangerous driving that could have been avoided.

_________________
belladonna
'Wisdom is knowing how little we know'
Socrates

Belladonna, Absolutely! ...........The "State"......(whatever that is) would LOVE to control our every move, they ARE, "control freaks"!

Herr Hitler would have LOVED them!!!! That's why we should object..........NOW!!!!

it really IS the start of the "1984" society.

I find myself in agreement with Belladonna.

Bella donna: In Italian: Beautiful Woman....in english...Deadly Nightshade.....

Benvenuto!

maybe because I spend so much time researching for various conspiracy sites, that I look for more when reading things, but it is clear to anyone that we are controlled, and watched with our every move. If we allow this to happen with our cars, and then say yes to having a 'chip' on our bodies, then every move we make will be known.
No way..............not gonna happen!!!!!!

_________________
belladonna
'Wisdom is knowing how little we know'
Socrates

Cheers...................Deadly Nightshade if the cameras catch me

_________________
belladonna
'Wisdom is knowing how little we know'
Socrates