Scooby Snacks 23

Whilst on the way to work this morning, I passed one of those police camera vans parked up in the layby of a dual carriageway getting photos of the cars coming head-on towards them (i.e. speed trapping them from the front). It was a 50mph limit, although I know I was doing at least 60mph.

However, as soon as I saw the van (and subsequently started to brake) a motorbike came flying past me and was doing at least 80mph when it passed the van.

As they would identify me through my front number plate, I am now expecting a NIP. However, how would they identify the biker/owner? It's worth me pointing out here that there were NO police cars beyond the van (i.e. that could see his rear plate).

One would assume, therefore, that the biker could (probably already has) got away with it.

Am I being discriminated against for having a front number plate and (potentially) being prosecuted for speeding when a biker may not???

Any comments?

SteveScooby

iTrader: (2)

It's the same with fixed Truvelo camera's too

rossi_classicwrx

it is very unfair to be honest. I used to ride an 03 R1 before my scoob and i loved the fact that i could and often did fly past these vans when there facing straight at you. I often accelerated to make a point of it. Now i'm in a car i see it as really unfair. I think they should only allow these traps to catch the rear plates.
I have heard that a lot of these vans now have cameras on the front of them too. Just recording every car that goes past to get the number plates and nothing else to overcome this.

ian_sadler

What policeman? It'll be some dogooder member of the public with a laser, a bacon sarnie & his feet up.

brybusa

I cant see how you can whinge about it just because you may have been caught and someone else wasnt

Dont speed if you dont wanna get caught..

It is true they can write you plate down but if your accelerating and swerving and/or your number plate is mounted on spring washers its a lot harder to read...

In the mean time, its another advantage to having a bike.

jono300

iTrader: (8)

Surely its not just a case off the cam operator logging your plate down by pen and paper if you pass them on a bike ??!!

small plate, accelerating hard and all that ??!!

so if he reads the plate wrong and you end up getting some other bikers points then its all down to the operator reading the plate wrong ??

surely is video / photo camera evidence only off the actual plate is it not ??


nope find that very hard to believe !!!

brybusa

Its hard to believe but its fact!

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

Of COURSE it's discriminatory. But it helps them to identify the CAR drivers, so that's what they use.

See, it's NOWT to do with road safety, and ALL to do with revenue. This just proves it.

When motorbikes make up less than 4% of the vehicles on the road, but are involved in 38% of the fatalities, SURELY, if cameras wer about SAFETY, they'd target this group? (and no, NOT all that 38% are SMIDSY's)

Oh, and I LOVED the comment about bacon slicers. Can you imagine the government's response to a CAR manufacturer who asked them for permission to sell a certain model of car in the UK, adding that they were sorry, but owing to it's design, they couldn't fit a safe number plate ?

Bikes should be modified to carry a small, FLAT plate on the front forks, or get off the road Simple, eh?

Alcazar

Leslie

Very selfish to deliberately increase your speed in a restricted area because you know they can't book you! Shows a certain lack of responsibility.

Les

lightning101

Like popping a wheelie past a revenue camera ?

scoobynutta555

Same as I would do, but I'd give the finger at the same time.

Nido

Surely it's not discriminating as you too could also ride a bike and aviod the scamera vans?!?

lightning101

So if I temporaily covered my plates each time I pass a camera, that would be OK with the police

Paul3446

The difference being that it's illegal not having a front plate on a car, but it's not on a bike.

As above, if you don't like it buy a bike!

Nido

As long as you can drive your car on two wheels whilst covering your front plate, can't see they can have a problem with it then

Scooby Snacks 23

I think you've missed the point.

dtriggs

Forward facing cameras have been shown to be too inaccurate on bikes anyway due to frontal area (or lack of). So they wont even bother. It's not fair at all is it ? But if Police turned the camera round they wouldnt catch so many people, as they would have more chance to slow down....that's not fair either...

PeteBrant

Not fair on who? Surely the whole idea is to slow people down?

The primary purpose of a speed camera/speed trap is road safety - As far as I am concerned, there should be big neon sign 500 yards before the camera saying "WARNING POLICE SPEED TRAP AHEAD" - In order to encourage people to slow down through the accident blackspot the speed camera is supposed to be making safe.

Hiding in bushes/not being highly visible/foward facing incase people slow down too much, is doing nothing to promote road safety whatsoever.

OllyK

Not at all otherwise they would do as you later suggest.

No it's primary purpose is revenue generation.

Exactly, as it is not about road safety.

brybusa

thats because I ride a bike......

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

Ah, but the static ones relay on Piezo sensors set in the road, and a bike will set these off just as much as will a car.........

Cue large numbers of folk now destroying these sensors with a well placed chisel and a hammer.......... Allegedly

Alcazar

brybusa

Whilst it is true that cameras have been shown to be inaccurate on bikes(an MCN investigation showed a camera to trigger a speed of 60MPH on a parked Fireblade) the police choose to ignore this evidence and they will still convict you so its not something that you can solidly rely on.

However there is a gap between the end of the sensors and the road/kerb...aim for this gap and you wont trigger the camera .

It just keeps getting unfairer and unfairer .....

Leslie

I ride a 'bike as well Scoobynutta and I would hate to slice a pedestrian up with a front numberplate.

Les

Longjing

Bikers suffer discrimination too - they get killed by drivers who don't use indicators or mirrors. Swings and roundabouts. No need for sour grapes.

Scooby Snacks 23

On the basis that other car users are killed by car users, that's not discrimination.

r32

Ah but you havent seen the latest ploy by HM Government on compulsory fitting of front numberplates. They are working with the motorcycle industry to force manufacturers to provide a horizontal front facing area for fixing a number plate................

r32

[QUOTE=PeteBrant]Not fair on who? Surely the whole idea is to slow people down?

Not so, when Nottingham installed the specs cameras (average speed) they actually factored in a number of prosecutions to pay for the equipment, installation and running costs. They then bleated publicly that the specs system wasnt paying its way (or as they had hoped making a profit) because they werent getting the level of prosecutions they were hoping or planned for.

jjones

if you can't beat them join them, instead of biting your nose to spite your face.