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cerberus
PostPosted: Wed Jul 19, 2006 15:19 
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Some more dodgy tickets issued in Lancashire.

http://www.lep.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx? ... ID=1636568

Spokeswoman from Camera partnership due on radio Lancashire soon.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/aod/mainfram ... html?lancs
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g_attrill
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 19, 2006 15:45 
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Somehow this "strikes" me as being complete BS. Lightning either blows something up or trips the power. If the power was tripped the database should either have been left as it was or rolled back slightly. A database corruption should have caused an alert so they could have restored a backup or checked for problems. A a rule, lightning bolts don't "cause" such problems, only incompetence and poor operating procedures do.

Gareth
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SafeSpeed
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 19, 2006 15:49 
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g_attrill wrote:
Somehow this "strikes" me as being complete BS. Lightning either blows something up or trips the power.


Absolutely. The partnerships cannot recognise the truth. Lying is standard behaviour.

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cerberus
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 19, 2006 16:44 
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Missed the radio lancashire interview :evil: Nipped out to take the roof of the car and got back in and heard the last few seconds.

I'll see if there is anything on the news headlines @5pm.
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Ziltro
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 20, 2006 03:54 
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There was some lightening.
Some tickets were issued wrongly.

Two completely unconnected incidents.

A speed camera was erected.
KSIs fell.

Ooh.

I have often wondered why people like to blame hardware for problems which are obviously caused by software or damned users.

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anton
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 20, 2006 05:15 
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This case could be some fun on the fredom of information act :lol:
er, so the lightning just reprogramed the database for the one camera
on one street,
how many days were affected
did the officer enforce at any other sites that day
Quote:
"As a result seven notices were wrongly issued, showing a speed limit that was not yet in force."

So the lightning sent an officer out to detect the speed limit that was not yet in force? how did it do that?

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“It has never been the rule in this country – I hope it never will be - that suspected criminal offences must automatically be the subject of prosecution” He added that there should be a prosecution: “wherever it appears that the offence or the circumstances of its commission is or are of such a character that a prosecution in respect thereof is required in the public interest”
This approach has been endorsed by Attorney General ever since 1951. CPS Code
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anton
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 20, 2006 06:05 
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full story incase the newspaper remove it.
Quote:
'Lightning' caused speeding ticket error
Police chiefs have admitted they wrongly issued speeding tickets – because a bolt of lightning affected their computer system.
Lancashire Police have apologised after issuing speeding letters to drivers going under the speed limit.

And officials have blamed the error on a bolt of lightning which struck the office which processes speeding tickets.

This caused a computer glitch which meant drivers were wrongly told they had been caught over the speed limit.

Seven notices of intended prosecution were sent out to drivers who travelled along a Lancashire lane after they were snapped by a mobile camera.

A police spokesman said the error was due to a computer glitch caused by lightning hitting the Central Process Unit in Blackburn.

He said: "Early this month we experienced problems with our computer system relating to the mobile speed camera in Clayton-le-Woods.

"As a result seven notices were wrongly issued, showing a speed limit that was not yet in force." He added: "It appears this happened following a lightning strike at the Central Process Unit.

"This related to the mobile camera situated in Clayton-le-Woods on July 6."

And he added that all tickets wrongly issued by the computer glitch had been cancelled.

Read the full story in Wednesday's Lancashire Evening Post.
19 July 2006

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Speed limit sign radio interview. TV Snap Unhappy
“It has never been the rule in this country – I hope it never will be - that suspected criminal offences must automatically be the subject of prosecution” He added that there should be a prosecution: “wherever it appears that the offence or the circumstances of its commission is or are of such a character that a prosecution in respect thereof is required in the public interest”
This approach has been endorsed by Attorney General ever since 1951. CPS Code
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CarlP
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 20, 2006 09:02 
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Right, so who's sending in the FoI asking for the processes they will use to prevent lightning from damaging computer systems in the future, and what processes are to be used immediately following a lightning strike from now on?

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SafeSpeed
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 20, 2006 09:44 
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anton wrote:
This case could be some fun on the fredom of information act :lol:
er, so the lightning just reprogramed the database for the one camera
on one street,
how many days were affected
did the officer enforce at any other sites that day
Quote:
"As a result seven notices were wrongly issued, showing a speed limit that was not yet in force."

So the lightning sent an officer out to detect the speed limit that was not yet in force? how did it do that?


It's possible that the lightning took out a computer, and when database backups were restored, recent work was 'undone' without anyone noticing.

Imagine, for example, that a memo 'clarified' the status of one camera on one road. The content of the memo was applied to the database and the memo placed on the 'done' pile. Then lighting, then restore, and no one noticed that the content of the memo had been 'unapplied' during the restore.

That's the reason I didn't go for them as liars with a PR yesterday.

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anton
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 20, 2006 11:03 
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the police had asked for a reduced limit from nsl to 50 but it was still going through the rubber stamping process

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Speed limit sign radio interview. TV Snap Unhappy
“It has never been the rule in this country – I hope it never will be - that suspected criminal offences must automatically be the subject of prosecution” He added that there should be a prosecution: “wherever it appears that the offence or the circumstances of its commission is or are of such a character that a prosecution in respect thereof is required in the public interest”
This approach has been endorsed by Attorney General ever since 1951. CPS Code
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Zamzara
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 20, 2006 12:24 
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anton wrote:
the police had asked for a reduced limit from nsl to 50 but it was still going through the rubber stamping process


Hmm, I don't quite buy it. Didn't they check the signage? Didn't the enforcing officer think it was a bit strange that he was enforcing a 50 limit with NSL signs all around him?

(I was a bit confused at first because the newspaper shows a Gatso, when it was actually a mobile camera.)
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Ziltro
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 20, 2006 14:21 
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I wonder if they are running Startraq? Not that I know anything about it or how it's database works.

Zamzara wrote:
(I was a bit confused at first because the newspaper shows a Gatso, when it was actually a mobile camera.)

Ah those gatsos do go wandering sometimes, I've even heard of one going for a swim. :twisted:

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blademansw
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 23, 2006 12:49 
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Well, the problem I have with this is the sort of database they will be running will be transactional. Any transactions that have not been committed to the tables will be logged as such.

Additionally, servers normally run on UPS's. These would be unaffected by lightning. Additionally, office power is *normally* surge protected, so the only thing that could happen is a loss of power and work will be lost.

Taking all of these into consideration, I find it extremely improbable that tickets were sent out in error due to the alledged lightening strike. It smacks more of incompetance and they were enforcing a limit that did not exist and invented some falsehoods to cover their cock-up!

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Dixie
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 23, 2006 17:18 
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I agree with this totally, I wonder what it was that brought this to light in the first place?...Drivers complaining...?

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diy
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 27, 2006 13:55 
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this cannot be true - I can't think many people will accept this
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