wrighty69

My wife was driving home last night and was doing 40 in a 30 limit, as she approached a speed camera on the oppostite side of the road, the camera flashed twice!

I thought that the normal Gatso speed camera's take pictures of the back of the car not the front, and calculated the speed as you passed through it, not travelling towards it when the gatso is on the opposite side of the road!

I know the Trevello cameras take pictures as you approach the camera, but the camera is still on the same side of the road as you are travelling.

Would she be able to contest this if she gets a speeding ticket.

Luminous

iTrader: (3)

Fines are issues (afiak) just like you say.

However you cannot change the physics of operation of a Gatso. The radar beam is going to be emitted all the time. They have not made it clever enough to tell whether your car is coming or going, and will therefore flash accordingly. However, no ticket should be issued.

Better electronics can be used to ensure that a flash is not fired should a car be coming towards the unit. Strong rumours have floated about that the real Gatsos do distinguish, and it is only the fake flasher units that flash in both directions.

It does sound like this is one of the fake flasher units, but I would not be so brave to speed through it in either direction

wrighty69

Thanks for the help, my wife had been out with the girls and apparently needed to wee really badly!

Will have to see what the postman brings.

Brun

She might get a NIP for doing -40mph

wrighty69

Whats an NIP?

Brun

Notification of intended prosecution

trails

iTrader: (41)

you can set gatso's off by exceeding the speed limit when you are coming in the opposite direction by driving on or very close to the white line; one of my mates sets off the one outside his house everyday to try and use up the film...if you get good at it you can time it so it takes pics of oncoming traffic

CooperS

I got flashed by one driving towards it, never got anything through in the post, I was of the understanding that Gatso's couldn't get you coming towards them, only the truvelo's

pslewis

Travelling at 40 in a 30 she should be sent down ...................

I hope she now starts to act sensibly and stops putting childrens lives at risk!!!

Pete

Nick100

Origin B2 database doesn't warn you when travelling towards front of Gatso's. It knows it's there and puts a little symbol up to tell you it only applies to traffic on the other side, so should be OK.

Have heard previously, they often only flash once when going the wrong way.

Abdabz

Sentiments Echoed

carl

Why should this be? AFAICS there are two ways the radar could work:
1) Doppler shift. Send out a beam at a fixed frequency. If it's reflected back it will be Doppler shifted (downwards, i.e. lower frequency) by an amount related to the speed of the car. If the car's coming towards you it will be Doppler shifted upwards. Unless they heterodyne the return signal with the emitted signal.
2) Pulse train. Send out a sequence of pulses. Gap between the return pulses will be related to car speed. If they are closer together, the car is coming towards you. If they're farther apart, the car is going away.

So, I can't really see a mechanism by which you could determine the speed without knowing whether it was coming towards you or going away.

wrighty69

It was 2:30 in the morning, on a straight road with a cemetry on one side and woods on the other side, you should know by now "saftey cameras" are positioned no where near anything that should cause you to slow down, if it was in a residential area or near a school then fair play!

Besides are you telling me you've never hit 40 in a 30 limit?

I doubt it very much.

trails

iTrader: (41)

his mx5 has a cutting edge GPS linked speed limiter

not that i'm condoning speeding in a 30 limit...

GC8

GATSO devices are able to detect/record both following and on-coming violations; but theyre on approved by the Home Office for following violations. This hasnt stopped the odd Camera Partnership from trying to prosecute on-coming violations though.....


Simon

Scooby Snacks 23

If it's on the other side of the road, and it took a picture of the front of her car, I don't think she would be prosecuted. If she does, claim discrimination as motorbikes don't have front plates so could never get prosecuted.

Fantom

Thay cant prosecute if you are going towards it as there will be no markings on the road for them to prove that you were speeding.

Thats what I reckon anyway

GC8

It wouldnt matter if there were markings; they arent approved for use in that manner by the Home Office.

wrighty69

thanks for the help, another point is that she had her headlights on so it may not have been possible for the gatso to capture the number plate as the flash would have been cancelled out.

Thanks for the help, I'll let you know if anything comes of it.

MattN

bit of an **** if there was a car on the other side doing 30 when she set it off!

Milamber

iTrader: (2)

Corner

Leslie

They can't touch you for it!

Les

wrighty69

There were no other cars on the road at the time so no one else will get a fine for it.

Luminous

iTrader: (3)

That just goes to show why you should always contest a speeding fine!!

I know of someone who was placed in that situation as *cough* someone accidentaly set off a speed camera a few years ago.

I just hope they had the common sense to contest it...

Dracoro

They wouldn't anyway. The camera takes 2 pics and measures the distance between to establish your speed. The 'trigger' radar thingy ONLY serves to make the camera take the pics in the 1st place.

Luminous

iTrader: (3)

That is what they say. As we all know, people do not always do their jobs correctly. There have been many examples of speed camera partnerships doing things incorrectly, hence the success of so many appeals.

I would honestly not be surprised if they did not always check. I forget which partnership it was, but they were getting a computer to auto sign witness statatements for the officers that were present with mobile speed cameras. The officers themselves never even saw the forms that they were supposed to have signed. This was all exposed in court....if they cannot be bothered to even sign the paperwork, why would they examine all the photos in detail...