Safe Speed Forums

The police van that traps motorists with speed cameras on the front, back AND sides
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 9:50 PM on 22nd May 2010

If you're one of those drivers who just can't keep it under the limit, consider yourself warned.
This sophisticated machine uses no fewer than four cameras to snare every speeding motorist it sees - and at a range of more than half a mile.

The vehicle is converted from a traditional speed camera van at a cost of £28,000.
All four cameras are circled on Bedfordshire Police's Cammander Van which catches drivers on film in every direction simultaneously
All four cameras are circled on Bedfordshire Police's speed camera van. The front camera, second from the left, records the back of the car after it has gone past, the side cameras simultaneously picture vehicles passing alongside, and a policeman with a laser gun, second from the right, captures the speed the motorist is driving approaching the van from over half a mile away
The older vans could catch speeding cars from one direction but they would struggle to identify drivers who contested tickets and motorbikes without front number plates.

The latest vehicle can register a vehicle as it approaches from either direction. It then records front, rear and side images as it passes by.
A police officer sits in the back manning a laser gun and monitors feeds from the cameras.
Bedfordshire Police is believed to be the first force to use the 'Commander Vans' and claims they will help reduce 'hazardous driving'.
But motoring organisations said the police were only interested in making speed cameras more lucrative.
- View from the speed camera van -

The view from the four cameras taken at exactly the same time, showing, top left, a car approaching, top right, cars that have passed pictured from the front of the van, and, bottom left, a motorcyclist passing the van, and, bottom right, the hedge alongside the van where it is parked

Roger Lawson, for the Association of British Drivers, said: 'As an organisation we would like to see these kinds of camera prosecutions done away with altogether.

'Statistically the idea that speed cameras stop speeding is a load of cobblers, they are just a way of raising revenue.
'This kind of investment is a waste of money. They should be scrapping vans rather than improving them.

'In the economic climate when cuts are likely to be made police and politicians should be concentrating on major crime issues, not motorists.'
Don't be fooled by the open back doors! The van looks like any other speed camera van... but it can snap you through its front windscreen AND from side-mounted cameras
The Bedfordshire force now has four Commander Vans, which began to be introduced last year as vans were replaced.
The cameras are the latest digital technology and the vans are equipped with LTI UltraLyte 1000 laser guns.
They are made out of aluminium and steel and can catch drivers travelling at up to 200mph at a range of 3,280ft.
A spokesman for Bedfordshire Police said: 'It's all about keeping our roads safe.
'We don't want to catch people, we want people to slow down.'