Safe Speed Forums

Hiya, just wondering i do not know how the Traffic Light Speed Cameras work but hopefully it someone will tell me. Is it that if you go through the traffic lights when just turned to orange the camera will flash you or is it when it is red and you go through it will flash you?

please reply

thanks

It will snap you if you are on the sensors when the light is red.

Just in case you dont know: amber also means 'stop' (if safe to do so), not 'be prepared to stop'

simple reason is, i was driving the van home from work and i was doing 40 in the 40 zone and as soon as i come to the lights they turned orange so i braked quickly and i was over the white line and when i stopped and just then the lights turned red, would that have taken a picture?

and where are the sensors usaully placed?

I'm not sure, but I believe if you were stationary (and on the sensors) when the light turned red then you might be alright, even if snapped (so long as it was not a yellow box junction).

na the van was around 1 foot over the white line

Usually not far beyond the white stop line. I'm afraid couldn't tell you how far over the line you have to be in order to trip the sensor (you may not even have to be actually on the sensor to trip it).

EDIT:

I've had a google, it appears that the rear wheels of a typical car are on the stop line when the camera is triggered. Treat that as indication only.

I believe that the cameras take two pictures, to make sure that you "ran" the light, rather than stopped just over the line.

Thus a foot over should be OK!

mb

The gatso red light cameras (which measure speed but don't enforce it) usually have sensors just before and just after the white line. I have seen one place where they have put the sensors both ahead of the line, like the line was meant to be further forward than it is.
I have not come across one of the RedSpeed devices, so I don't know where they place their sensors, but one before and one after the stop line makes sense to me.

I'm almost certain that when the light is amber it would only act as a speed camera, not a red light camera.

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Andrew.

I thought the offence was caused by crossing the line when the lights are red?

Also, I believe the red light cameras have something like a 1 second delay between the red light coming on and the camera being active.

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Andrew.

The sensor for the camera is usually in the road approx a couple of feet over the white line and normally the camera takes 2 photos to show that a) you crossed the line on RED and b) the second one confirms you carried on after the lights were at RED!
The reason is some drivers said they only crossed the line before stopping / straddling the line
But as with Gatsos they don,t always have a film in them but some are digitally operated from a control room (by a telephone line) this does away with the need for replacement films.
As for the offence of "crossing the line on red" yes you are right you are supposed to stop on or before the line and amber is supposed to mean stop ( I have a mate who some years ago got an endorsement long before the days of cameras, for crossing on Amber).
The reason given was that when the lights went to Amber "He had time to STOP on or before the line" the policemans words in court not my mates`
Remember as you cross the line the camera has to take your No. Plate to identify your vehicle (normally twice).

As far as I know all the Gatso red light cameas use film. It's the RedSpeed ones which have a data link to the head office.
RedSpeed devices are the only ones which are combined red light and speed cameras though.

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Andrew.