SPECS Average Speed Detector Cameras
 

Evening all.

A bit of advice please. This evening I joined the motorway down a continous slip road that runs into another motorway and, you don't actually join the main one.

I am doing around 60 and notice that everyone is going slower than me in the 3 lanes to the right of me.

Then, I spot it, a Roadworks sign saying 40 and an average speed detector system in operation.

I went through 2 cameras in the 1 mile slip road then left the motorway.

As soon as I saw the 40, I braked and upset the guy behind me.

Question, with this SPECS thing, are you assessed over the whole of the roadworks, ( I am told it is 6 miles long with several cameras every so often)

or, is it between the 2 cameras that I covered??

It is the Walsall M6 north/M5 Soth Junction.

Advice please.

Kind regards

Alan MAC

Im assuming that if it was the average speed throught the whole lenght of the roadworks, only two cameras would be needed.

Not sure if they give the same % over speed though :wonder:

What I have been told is that in every group of 8 or so cameras there are only actually two that are working, the rest are dummies. So as long as you didn't go past the two 'real' ones you should be ok.

Check this site, I found it quite informative, its the government's explanation for them.

http://www.speedcheck.co.uk/installations.htm

HTH,

Dan.

as i understand it then if you had say 6 camera's then the first one will be linked with the third one and the second with the fourth and the last two will / could possibly be the dummy ones as they never wire up all sets of them in any particular stretch of works being carried out ,

Just what i've heard though and i'm sure the speculation will continue :thumb:



Dave.

Thanks Dan & Sparky.

I will go there tomorrow to have another look. It is very sneaky the way it is set up.

If anyone knows the area I am talking about, to get onto this bit of motorway is a bit of a lottery.

There are about 3-4 lane changes whilst negociating a large gradual curve. Everyone seems to need to be in any lane other than the one they are in.

When you do manage to get in the sliproad you go with the flow of traffic.

Once you do get down the sliproad onto the filter lane to leave the motorway without joining the M6 you are nearly leaving it before you notice the signs.

Anyway, perhaps I should give up driving a Scooby and take up Burglary apparently, thats OK and the chances of getting caught are slim v's registering the ownership , Taxing, Insuring and paying a bit of tax on your 98 Ron Petrol.

Rant over and I hope everthing is OK.

Thanks for listening and for everyone offering advice. Good old Scooby nEt!

KInd regards


Alan MAC

It is so easy for the armchair critics to say you shouldn't speed however, I think 60 is a reasonable and responsible speed to join a motorway.

60's fine to join the motorway, usually you'd need to be doing more than that!

Were there no speed restrictions on the slip road, then you joined the motorway which was running at 40 mph, then? As long as you didn't drive through or past a 40mph sign at anything over 40, you should be OK. It'd be damned unacceptable to expect you to know the motorway was under a 40mph limit if nothing appeared saying so on the slip road. I doubt psychic powers are a requirement to comply with the highway code after all.

Alan,

I would prepare for the worst just in case...and hope they were all/some were dummies.

One of the selling points speed check services ltd use when getting the highways agency to agree to having these temp cameras through a section of roadworks is worker safety. By having, or appearing to have, a way to keep drivers at a safe speed over the duration of the roadworks, this provides the workforce (should they actually be bothered their a*se to get out of the big yellow wagons and do some digging) with a more effective method of slowing drivers down rather than having say a gatso that everyone slows down for, then goes back up to 80mph.

with the SPECS system, there is a lot of associated technology, I would SUSPECT that if the roadworks are for a short period, some bean counter in a day glow jacket would think that having dummies were just as effective and not bother with a full install.

hope you get lucky...but worth remembering, as we all know already, 60 in a 40 means a trip to see Mr. Judge and his freinds.

Cheers
Rich

Thanks both,

I am going to revisit the place again tomorrow and, if stuff looks iffy, no 40 on approach to slip road etc.

I am going to take some pics.

It was a frightener especially when I clocked the 40 sign and braked as i said, the chap behind me wasn't a happy person & couln't see why I braked.

But he waved to me in a cheerful manner as he overtook me.

I hope he hasn't been done as well as that proves that there at least 2 of us who were confused on the day.

Thanks once again for all your helpful comments.

Kind regards

Alan MAC

I know the bit you mean, around junction 7 and 8, it is really confusing around there at the best of times, never mind when there are roadworks on!!!

TBH I think you should be ok if you only went through the one, as they will have nothing else to check your speed against. If you understand my meaning?

I'll have a wander down there soon (not been down that way for couple of weeks) see what i can find with my snooper. Better update it first tho!!!

Dan.

Nice one Dan.

Thanks.

a friend of a friends tha my uncle knows went through at 60, and he got fined, then the judge 'threw the book at him' and well.. 3months later hes out of the coma...



;) harsh if you do get caught... make sure to contest if the worst happens. if there were no signs on slip road\in view of slip road > motorway bit then how the hell does anyone know about the speed limit until its too late... typical british government ;)

I wouldn't worry too much about it as you haven't actually done anything wrong, technically, but it is a good idea to get some photos of the area just in case and to note down the positions of the cameras and the speed signs in relation to your entry (or not) to the motorway.

When I used to commute in London along Upper Thames St they put SPECS in a section there during roadworks then forgot to take them down. They were bringing in 40,000 pounds a month or something. A few times early morning and late at night I'd forget they were there until I was past the second camera, but touch wood never heard anything...................

Good luck.

iv been through this set up going to manchester from liverpool in my 172 at 1am i never even new it was thier till the next day on my way home and i must ave been doin 120-130 mph and never heard a thing from it so dont worry

Has anyone actually ever got points and a fine based on SPECS cameras? You hear plenty about GATSOs and scamera vans, but I have never heard of a SPECS prosecution. Is it all based on hype? As most drivers IME don't seem to know what SPECS is then they have little deterrent effect.

PS I have seen the post #12 "40,000 pounds a month", but that is secondhand 'official' figures that may not be real.

Nope. I don't know of anyone either. But you're right about people not knowing - have to educate the missus every time we go up the M6 ... in these cases, though, cruise control is a wonderful device. You still people speeding and braking sharply at every specs scamera though ...

Dave

yep I know a whole load of folk done on these cameras, i live between junc 6 and 7 of the M6 and friends with detectors on these roads say that the trigger on their detectors alter, on different days, different cameras trigger, seems likely they are all wired up and the proverbial bean counter switches on whichever ones they fancy.

I wasnt aware SPECS would trigger a detector ? as they dont transmit anything, they register the reg number of the car and mark how long it takes you to go to the next camera in the chain, hence average speed check (like a glorified number plate recognition system), they do not do instant speed checks, and dont use laser or radar ?

SPECS would trigger a road angel 2 say with its gps location rather than a radar signal. as long as road angel people have updated the database, and the user has the latest downloads.

my RA2 is in a cupboard upstairs. got bored of it flashing and shouting at me for cameras (m42 roadworks) that had moved 6 weeks earlier.

Rich

I found last weekend in Lincoln that they are using Specs in residential areas, bit of a trapper if you are not careful.

Les

I am going to have to clench my cheeks for a few weeks too.

The M25 has the SPECS cameras around the Enfield area. I was travelling anti clockwise at about 38mph (40 limit) on cruise control late last night.

Saw the national speed limit sign about 200 yards ahead and booted it, only to be greeted with yet another SPECS right by the sign!

7 years of scooby ownership and no points and 2 days of RS6 ownership and maybe points!! DOH:rolleyes:

Phil

RS6 eh? very nice :)

Yes. It's great :D

Will post some pix when I get a chance to take some.

You can't 'detect' SPECS.

The locations can however be uploaded on GPS Road Angel type devices. Tells you where they all are - not which ones are working.

Evening All,

I revisited the site today. There are NO signs on the slip road. I retraced my steps aaaand.... the very first Specs Camera is about 30 yards from where I turned off the Motorway.

It is also where I first braked after seeing it. the next Camera is 1 mile away.

Do you think that the first Camera on it's own and not passing any others in the link, will be OK?

I have to say that, again tonight ( after being wiser after yesterday) people got miffed with me sticking to 40 and 4 cars overtook me.

Again, I hope that they are OK too.

Dan is going to test run this bit with his Snooper on.

Any other bits of advice greatfully received.

Thanks to all who have contributed to this.

KInd regards

Alan MAC

Hello DANWRX,

Could you give me a shout when you go there and tell me what you think please.

THanks

KInd regards

Alan MAC

Passing one camera only they can't do you as SPECs calculates average speed between two cameras.

Phil - I know the cameras you mean and got close to making the same mistake over a month ago now. Fortunately I'd been going under 40, had left it off-boost in top for cruising up to speed once the roadworks had ended, so only got up to 48 or something before seeing the last camera and slowing back down to 35. Never heard anything. I did think it's out of order the way roadworks finish, and several hundred yards later it's still a 40 limit with a camera before it goes back up to 70. Speed limits a long way after the end of the roadworks have b9gger all to do with "worker safety"

Nice one Hades.

Your sure it's definitely between 2 Cameras minimum?

I agree with you about it not having a lot to do with safety but getting as many motorists to have a large hole in their wallets.
THanks again.

Alan MAC

My Snooper warns me about Specs without fail, but the detector can't see infra red so you don't know if it is working, best to assume it is of course.

Les