Rebecca

Article in today's Mirror about new speed cameras that look just like CCTV cameras. Called SPECS these digital cameras don't need film, are always on and can photograph and process a speeding ticket in 30 seconds. They take forward and rear facing photos and don't even flash.

There's also no challenge you can make in court because the evidence is supposed to be incontrovertible - two cameras are fixed between two points. If you cover the distance between them over the speed limit, they take photos of the front and back of your car then automatically transmit the registration number to the DVLA computer mainframe for identification. Another computer then prints out a summons and sends it off in the post. These cameras can photograph, identify and process 60,000 speeding tickets every hour.

They've been in trials for four years and are currently in use in Gloucester, Nottingham, Northampton, Warrington and Birmingham.

Expect to see thousands more of them soon

mutant_matt

Bex,Well perhaps not...you see Nottingham were the first and they are failing to recoup their costs because everybody knows about them and so slows down.

They thought it would be a serious money making scheme which has back fired on them so the prohibitive cost of installing could well mean that it won't go live anywhere else.......

We live in hope,

Matt

SWRTWannabe

It was quite interesting how the authorities in Nottingham said they were there as a safety device when they were installed. So, if they are there to save lives, how come they got upset when they didn't generate income? Surely they should have been looking at it in terms of accidents prevented.

Seamus300

Northampton has 4 of these over a 3 mile stretch of the A43 (past Western Favell), Bel550 Stays silent of course.

Incidentally in the local paper last night Northampton Police took £4.3million in speeding fines last year. Apparently they are complaining as the government is only giving them £1.9million of it to spend on new "saftey devices" this year. [img]images/smilies/mad.gif[/img]

Rich D

iTrader: (12)

Sorry to point this out but they have been using SPECS for a long time now!

They look like this...



(sorry, not a great pic)

High surveylance video that time you from point to point. These are designed to prevent motorists from braking at the GATSO camera and speeding up later as they calculate your average speed between points, upto a mile and if you're over the limit, you're booked.

These are normally mounted on bridges or easily identifiable ganties and can be spotted by the infra red detectors either side of the camera.


SPECS speed enforcement locations -

Permanent sites

A43 Lumbertubs Way, Northampton
Linden and Podsmead, Gloucester
Gloucester A610 and Ring Road, Nottingham

Temporary sites

M62 J 7 - 9 Roadworks, Cheshire - July 2001 - Feb 2003
M6 J6 Roadworks, Spaghetti Junction, Birmingham - July 2001 -
Autumn 2002

October 4th 2001 - A new location has now been installed on the M42 roadwork's leading up to the Belfry Junction. Jun 6 to 9 aprox. They are positioned very discretely on the overhead gantries with a small blue plate behind them.

BEWARE!!!

Nikko2

Don't forget folks these only point at the outside lane IIRC.

I am not sure if the ones in Warrington are working as I havent heard of a single person around here who has received a ticket.

Could be wrong though.

speedking

Make a strong cup of coffee, click here, find SPECS and read all about the nasty toys.

boomer

I have always wondered what would happen if lots of cars strapped (legally?) an "extra" number plate to the front of their car. e.g. "FU SPECS".

The number recognition would get awfully confused when cars were flying by at "hundreds of miles an hour" after calculating their entry and exit times.

Sure, they could work things out manually - but could they be bothered with the effort???

mb

tiggers

I travel to and from Warrington every weekday and exit the M62 in the middle of the roadworks with the Specs cameras in them. Despite working in Warrington and knowing lots of others who work and live there I too have not heard of anyone being done by these cameras which begs the question why bother putting them up. I can also confirm that a lot of vehicles travel through these roadworks at speeds well in excess of the 50 limit so it's not a case of everyone obeying the speed limit hence no offenders.

I would be interested to hear of anyone who has been done by them. I can't speed through them as the noise of the Geodsey going ballistic for a few mniles is just too annoying so it's better to stay at 50 (Oh and it's safer of course as well).

Regards,

tiggers.

pacenote

If you are travelling eastbound through these roadworks is'nt there a sign up showing how many speeding convictions.

Neanderthal

iTrader: (6)

Nikko, is that absolute fact that one SPEC camera con only monitor one lane?

Someone else told me this but I didn't take him seriously.

Matt

Rich D

iTrader: (12)

Read the link posted by Speedking!