Safe Speed Forums

I put this here because it's Ernest territory.
The Newspaper.com



So calibration certificates mean nothing.

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Useless laws weaken necessary laws.

More confirmation, if confirmation were needed, of the disreputable way in which the Speedfinder-General and his accolytes run their apology for a road safety organisation.
They have taken no account of the stress being 'flashed' by such devices causes to drivers even when those drivers know they were within the speed limit, especially in view of the well-publicised inaccuracy of the LTI 20/20 'Dodgyscope'.
It seems as though the CSCP is acting as part of the development team for a commercial organisation whose aim is to sell as many of these nasty and spiteful units as possible.
I couldn't use the word which best describes them on here, but to give a clue, it begins with 'W' and ends in 'Anchors'. 'Nuff said?
Perhaps someone should lodge a formal complaint with the Cumbria Constabulary. At least that would help 'Homebase' to sell more whitewash!

CSCP should be investigated/prosecuted for causing a public nuisance (I think there is such an offence!)

But then again the Pratnerships are not legal entities so presumably they would have to prosecute the individual partners

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That's how Nazi Germany started. They'll be burning books next. (Brian Noble, Wigan coach - updated 20/4/06!!).

Go on. It's your turn to make the complaint!
I did the last one about Callaghan and his band of scammers.

Already covered here!

See the Westmorland Gazette this coming week for a letter on the subject (I hope!)

The original Gazette article said it was Ings, but the editor contacted me to say it was the A590 at Witherslack. He did not reveal the cause of the discrepancy however.
However, I have been flashed at Ing three times without so much as an invitation to lunch from the operators, and on Tuesday, I found out that on a Sunday in June, a LONG queue of slow moving vehicles, (30 + mph) were getting flashed as they passed - ALL of them!!!

I contacted the editor of the Gazette, and urged them to come clean to the public on Callaghan's antics, and let the people know the truth - which I feel the Gazette have sat on for too long.
It would appear that he intends to publish my letter - not sure if he will edit it as every previous letter!

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Time to take responsibility for our actions.. and don't be afraid of speaking out!

Lancashire had a similar problem a few months back on the A59 somewhere. Every vehicle that passed for a few hours got flashed regardless of speed.

Something doesn’t seem right here, from Ernest’s quote they say it was only that the flash had been left on, however from the above quote it’s been sending out tickets. Surely if it was only the flash that had been left on it wouldn’t be sending out tickets.

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Useless laws weaken necessary laws.

AIUI the flash records the vehicle details, and alerts the operator to a potential offence, which should then be checked before an NIP is sent out in the post.
I guess some are not too careful about checking - like the 80 mph tractor in Wales, or the motorcyclist who was prosecuted when the camera was triggered by a bus!

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Time to take responsibility for our actions.. and don't be afraid of speaking out!

Some time ago i got flashed in my face with a gatso - phoned in - got feisty " braeking type approval"--"so rry sir " came back - mentioned local paper and next thing - phone call apologising and telling me tech was on his way at spped of light - so sees worthwhile mentioning press as possibly the bad press could have them refunding for months ??

And yes - i did love every moment , turning the screw ,hearing them squirm - especialy when they said all photos taken on that day would be destroyed - ( probably in case press castigated them)

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lets bring sanity back to speed limits.
Drivers are like donkeys -they respond best to a carrot, not a stick .Road safety experts are like Asses - best kept covered up ,or sat on

Something smells here Ernest. I thought the flash is only a flash. The camera must have taken a photo for the information to be sent back to control, and tickets sent out, this would mean the camera must have been in operation. This camera had a calibration certificate meaning it was supposed to be accurate, and yet it was flashing people driving below the speed limit. It was only when people started complaining when this was looked into. Something isn’t right surely.

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Useless laws weaken necessary laws.

Has it stopped now or are vehicles still getting 'flashed' whilst within the speed limit?

Cooperman - i found when flashed in face by a Gatso - a simple phone call " this gatso is not in accordance with it's type aproval " and " i wil inform the local press of it's failure, if i get a ticket ( all front photos to be cancelled) " were sufficient to get a panic phone call from Warks police ( lest the local press give local solicitors ammunition , i suspect) and a high speed technician to attend.

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lets bring sanity back to speed limits.
Drivers are like donkeys -they respond best to a carrot, not a stick .Road safety experts are like Asses - best kept covered up ,or sat on

When an ordinary Gatso with it's bright flash hits you when you're driving towards it, it's surprising how distracting it can be. The first time it happened to me I was on an A-road at about midnight and making progress home from Cambridge. I knew the camera was there to monitor (cash-in on) vehicles travelling in the other direction, but the flash, when it happened, was very bright.
What a fine contribution to road safety, I must say. But then, that applies to all the cash-cameras, whihever way they are pointing and whatever time of day or night.
It seems the lies and obfuscation used to justify them gets more bizarre as well. Still, anything to keep the cash rolling in.

Many years ago now I had a nasty experience like this on the A9. It's totally dark (maybe about 1am) and I'm overtaking a truck. An oncoming gatso flashed at maybe 150 to 200 feet away. Well you're very much in a state of heightened awareness when you're overtaking and I'm looking to understand the flash when the second flash goes off. This time I'm looking straight at the bloody thing and it's MUCH closer. I'm half blinded and still overtaking. That's very bloody dangerous.

It probably was a dummy flash unit, of course, and later equipment does not do this. It was also long before the days of Safe Speed or visible cameras - maybe about 1997.

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Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

An engineer was at Ings this week, with the control boxes open.... and they now flash well below the limit.

I suspect it's an attempt to browbeat motorists into slowing down.
It works - a vehicle behind me last Monday night had tailgated me almost from the moment I pulled out onto the A591 at Staveley, despite my speed of 55-58 mph, and had continued to do so as I negotiated the Ings 40 limit at 42-44 mph thinking he'd back off.
Then, as I slowed to an indicated 40 mph at the camera site, the flash went off, and the car behind me must have performed an emergency stop, because he got left behind, and took over a mile to catch me up and resume tailgating!

As soon as I get time, I am going to take pictures of the vehicles braking hard at the camera - even when they are well below the limit already! Because the cameras are in the CENTRE of the road, and a slight brow hides the lines on the road from view, a lot of visitors to the area are taken by surprise, and panic (see my post in the Gazette thread!).

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Time to take responsibility for our actions.. and don't be afraid of speaking out!

Really?

These tactics will breed more resentment against the SCPs. Having a camera flashing the innocent will cause them a lot of anxiety: "I'm sure I wasn't speeding - I think. Is my speedo correct? This is unfair"

Regulars to that camera would slow right down way below the limit to avoid being blinded (which is of course what the SCPs want).
Couple this with RTTM at the camera site and the SCPs will soon be spouting:

"motorists who remain below the limit have 40-70% less accidents"

This bit's just caught my eye -




So much for secondary checking then - seems more like "send out the NIPS ,and see who complains --if none do we've made more profit"

This is the site in question:

As you can see, the two cameras face each other, either side of a crossing where the cycle/pedestrian route changes from one side of the road to the other (between the two grey control boxes).
Because of the proximity of the cameras on the same sight line, if an oncoming vehicle triggers the flash, it goes off in your face, on the drivers side of the vehicle.
It's not obvious in this picture, but the crossing point is on the brow of a slight rise, which hides most of the lines on the road, and most visitors dont expect to look for cameras on the right of you instead of the left.

Underlying all this is the fact the 40 limit here is totally unecessary and the accidents which justified the original mobile cameras here were NOT speed related.
In one instance, a driver heading away from the photographers position, had a heart attack, at the point in the distance where the road dissapears around a curve, and went off the road, ending up upside down over a ditch on the right.
The driver and passenger were saved from drowning by two workmen, who held up the vehicle until the FireBrigade arrived.
Fatal accidents have occured outside the limited area, NOT speed related, but were used to whip up support when calling for a limit to be introduced.

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Time to take responsibility for our actions.. and don't be afraid of speaking out!