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PostPosted: Wed Aug 24, 2005 11:14 
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http://news.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=1832482005
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A FORMER Celtic footballer escaped a driving ban yesterday due to a mistake by traffic police.

Stephane Henchoz, 31, was clocked at 109mph by traffic police in his £60,000 Cadillac Escalade 4x4 on the A74 (M), but his lawyer proved that the speed gun had not been correctly calibrated.


The Swiss internationalist, who now plays for the English Premiership side Wigan, smiled as he escaped with his licence - but walked out of court to find he had been landed with a £30 parking ticket for leaving his BMW X5 too long in the 30-minute bay outside Dumfries Sheriff Court.

The court had heard that Henchoz was travelling south on the motorway near Gretna on 1 February when two police officers travelling in an unmarked Mercedes had estimated his speed at over 100 mph.

PC Hughes said he and his partner had calibrated the machine that morning.

But Rod McKenzie, defending, revealed that the calibration was incorrect.


Sheriff Kenneth Barr threw out the case, saying that the evidence was "totally wrong".


I think we need to find out a bit more about this. How can we get calibration data checked?

Since the calibration issue must have been known to the Police, is someone going to admit to perverting the course of justice by proceeding with the prosecution.

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PostPosted: Wed Aug 24, 2005 14:57 
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Last edited by camera operator on Sat Sep 23, 2006 17:34, edited 1 time in total.

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PostPosted: Wed Aug 24, 2005 19:00 
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camera operator wrote:
PC Hughes said he and his partner had calibrated the machine that morning.


Maybe he lied.... :o

I would be interested to know how they found out it was out of calibration though.

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PostPosted: Wed Aug 24, 2005 19:42 
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camera operator wrote:
with the LTI20/20 the equipment is sent to teletraffic for annual calibration, at the beginning and end of each enforcement each time i use the equipment the devices carries out its internal checks signified by visual markers and audible beeps, all these checks are then logged on the operators summary sheet

The equipment performing its own checks always strikes me as a load of rubbish. Surely if it has a defect it can incorrectly report that it is functioning correctly when in fact it isn't. And if this never happens, why does it need annual calibration, why can't it just operate reliably indefinitely provided the internal checks indicate it's okay? The fact that it is deemed to need annual calibration is effectively an admission that it can be working incorrectly when it passes its internal checks, therefore the internal checks are not a guarantee that it's working correctly.


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PostPosted: Wed Aug 24, 2005 20:42 
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stevei wrote:
The fact that it is deemed to need annual calibration is effectively an admission that it can be working incorrectly when it passes its internal checks, therefore the internal checks are not a guarantee that it's working correctly.


Not necessarily. It's more than likely that the annual calibration is a legal requirement.

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PostPosted: Wed Aug 24, 2005 21:09 
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More on the story....http://www.cumbria-online.co.uk/viewarticle.asp?id=275420
Quote:
We informed him that his speed had been calculated at 109.66 miles per hour on the ProVida speed measuring device.”


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the two police officers who caught him appeared to have wrongly measured the distance over which their speed camera was set.


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Caroline Chisholm, spokeswoman for Brake, said: “If you break the law you ought to accept the punishment, getting off on a technicality does not protect the public from future dangerous behaviour


So if you are innocent you are still guilty.....go figure :?
Forget speed cameras then, just bust drivers at random on the off chance they are breaking the law.

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PostPosted: Wed Aug 24, 2005 22:52 
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Ahhhhhhh, the wonderful logical sense that is Brake! Silly tossers, do they understand other road safety factors other than speed? They spout out some rubbish don't they, tailgating whilst being blindfolded is probably ok in their eyes if drivers are doing 20mph! :roll:

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PostPosted: Thu Aug 25, 2005 13:28 
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http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/tm_ob ... _page.html

Quote:
"We informed him that his speed had been calculated at 109.66mph on the ProVida speed measuring device."

PC Hughes said he and his partner have to calibrate the device every day and had done so that morning.

He said they calibrated the machine on a stretch of road which he believed to be exactly half a mile long.

On several occasions, he and his colleague had used a 150ft length of steel tape to confirm the distance was exactly half a mile.

But he said each time the measurement had been 26.4 lengths of the steel tape RodMcKenzie, defending, told thecourt that wasnearer to three quarters of a mile, rendering the calibration totally wrong.


Am I right in thinking that the error would have been in favour of the driver, ie. he could have been going faster?

G


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PostPosted: Thu Aug 25, 2005 15:00 
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g_attrill wrote:
Am I right in thinking that the error would have been in favour of the driver, ie. he could have been going faster?

G

doesn't it mean he was going almost 50% faster? ie he covered what the machine thought was 1/2 mile in 16 seconds (roughly 109mph) but in fact he'd actually covered 3/4 mile in that time (roughly 168mph!!!).


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PostPosted: Thu Aug 25, 2005 15:09 
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Looks to me like they calibrated it correctly with a 100ft steel tape. Then cocked up in court and said it was a 150ft tape.

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PostPosted: Thu Aug 25, 2005 15:20 
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johnsher wrote:
g_attrill wrote:
Am I right in thinking that the error would have been in favour of the driver, ie. he could have been going faster?

G

doesn't it mean he was going almost 50% faster? ie he covered what the machine thought was 1/2 mile in 16 seconds (roughly 109mph) but in fact he'd actually covered 3/4 mile in that time (roughly 168mph!!!).


That s a bit optimistic for a vehicle with a quoted top speed of 130mph !! :)


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PostPosted: Thu Aug 25, 2005 16:03 
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greengoblin wrote:
That s a bit optimistic for a vehicle with a quoted top speed of 130mph !! :)

it's a bit optimistic for anything on an A road.


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PostPosted: Thu Aug 25, 2005 16:29 
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Does this mean that all NIPS sent out where the calibration took place on the stretch of road used should be cancelled?


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PostPosted: Thu Aug 25, 2005 16:43 
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Herbie wrote:
Does this mean that all NIPS sent out where the calibration took place on the stretch of road used should be cancelled?


If it was a cock up in court, then no. If it was a cock up with calibration then yes.

The court ruling carries no force as case law. (Only higher court rulings do that) A Sherrif Court in Scotland is similar to a Magistrates Court in England and Wales.

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PostPosted: Fri Aug 26, 2005 20:21 
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so


Last edited by camera operator on Sat Sep 23, 2006 18:16, edited 1 time in total.

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PostPosted: Fri Aug 26, 2005 21:17 
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camera operator wrote:
so it is evident then that this vehicle was speeding.


So the CPS were unable to bring enough evidence of the correct quality to prove he was breaking the speed limit to a judge, however to scammer it is evident? A wild assumption don't you think?

camera operator wrote:
i don't think everyone realises that speed enforcement by a SCP and the divisional traffic police even though doing the same job the guidelines
are veryt different. The SCP criteria is strict for enforcement but the traf pol or even divisional units is different


We all know it is completely different, that is why we call for more traf pol, and less parasites, because they are good at policing the roads and making them safer, whilst the parasites do what they do best.


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PostPosted: Fri Aug 26, 2005 21:53 
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Last edited by camera operator on Sat Sep 23, 2006 18:12, edited 1 time in total.

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PostPosted: Fri Aug 26, 2005 22:52 
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camera operator wrote:
parasite . i am paid to do a job, which in some quarters is appreciated in others it is not. my actions by pulling a trigger on a LTI 20/20 can i know have severe consequences on a driver exceeding the speed limit, but i am not the one in the vehicle driving, i do not have the power to make a driver exceed the speed limit that is the drivers remit.


But you must know that all drivers exceed the speed limit from time to time. Do you think all drivers deserve punishment because they are dangerous?

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PostPosted: Fri Aug 26, 2005 23:18 
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camera operator wrote:
gopher:

i would like to think that i have posted in her long enough to be able to state my views without going back to petty name calling.

parasite . i am paid to do a job, which in some quarters is appreciated in others it is not. my actions by pulling a trigger on a LTI 20/20 can i know have severe consequences on a driver exceeding the speed limit, but i am not the one in the vehicle driving, i do not have the power to make a driver exceed the speed limit that is the drivers remit.

has there been a severe drop in traf pol in wales , i was in tenby week b4 last i saw plenty, saw a few SCP vans as well no NIP yet buti had a blonde wig on (lol).

as for the CPS i totally agree



I’m sorry you take the use of the word parasite personally, I’m sure if we were to meet you would find me quite agreeable, and I welcome your input and views here, however I feel the camera partnerships are no better than a parasitic vermin because they take without giving, you know like huge amounts of money and reduction in freedom for an increase in deaths.. You know where I’m coming from.

I know you are paid to do the job, and I know the Govt appreciate your efforts, it’s a shame that the people whom you affect directly (road users) do not appreciate you, is there a way you could address that?

I appreciate you are not the driver when you click your button, and no, no – one told the driver to exceed the limit, but if it is safe to exceed the limit (like in the area that the parasites hang out) what is the issue? Is it that they are breaking the law?

Is it that you have nothing to do with road safety and are only interested in “upholding” The Law? Please tell.


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PostPosted: Mon Aug 29, 2005 08:22 
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Gizmo wrote:
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Caroline Chisholm, spokeswoman for Brake, said: “If you break the law you ought to accept the punishment, getting off on a technicality does not protect the public from future dangerous behaviour


So if you are innocent you are still guilty.....go figure :?
Forget speed cameras then, just bust drivers at random on the off chance they are breaking the law.


I'd fully expect Ms Chisholm to turn herself in at the nearest police station every time she exceeds the speed limit, even by 0.0001 mph as she is breaking the law. She never thinks "I got away with it this time" - nope, she drives straight to the nick - "put the cuffs on, I'm guilty"

Or maybe she has a direct debit set up with the camera partnerships to pay the CFPO.

What she is saying is that normal standards of proof don't apply to speeding offences. Struth - what has this woman got between her ears. Why don't we apply this to every crime? - "he looks guilty to me, send him down"


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