Impreza-2005

Hello All,
Does anyone know what's the distance is on a mobile van camera?
Was coming down a hill yesterday on a dual carriageway and was slightly (ish) over the limit but did see him so braked but unsure whether I would of already be had.
The thing that really bugged me is that I have Road Angel 2 and it didn't even go off!!! Not impressed.
Any advise i would apprecaited.

Varboy

I think the Angel would have gone off, but you never know. Do you know it works as a fact?

Regardless of the fact that a laser can get you from 1.5 miles away as no doubt the next 100 posters will tell you, the purpose of a laser is to coroborate the officers suspicion that you are driving in excess of the posted limit, to do this, he has to have clear site of you and number plate. According to ACPO guidelines, they are not allowed to just sit there pointing at every car waiting for one to be breaking the limit.

They will often zap you at the same point you see them, sometimes you are lucky (or have your eyes upon) and you will see them a bit earlier, giving you chance to shed some speed.

They will sometimes as well take a couple of readings and calculate an average, again chance to drop the anchors. Finally, you might get an officer that cannot be arsed doing the paper work if you are just outside the 10% + 2 limit.

Hope you've got away with it pal, I've been there before, it's not a nice couple of weeks!!

MY00PPP

if the van was an Automated Numper Plate Reader (ANPR) then it would be targeting your number plate. The Road Angel 2 has a lased detector front and back of the unit so might not have even picked up the laser signal. If I recall you get/can get an option laser detector that plugs in the back of the road angel and you feed through and mount on the front number plate for such occasions. Chances are even with this once you get the 'warning signal' its too late.

Sit tight and start counting down the 14 days till you are in the clear.

Impreza-2005

Cheers for the advice chaps, but i thought it was 6 weeks waiting time?

So have they dropped it or has it always been that?

Impreza-2005

Road Angel does usually work, was fantastic on the M25 the other day, but didn't know if it didn't go off cos the copper wasn't using it at the time ie. just got there or have a tea or crafty *** etc...

Varboy

NIPs must be posted to you within 2 weeks of offence, how long they take to be delivered is up to your postie.

I have a mobile speed unit close to where I live, I think the copper lives in there as the van is usually there when I pass.

He has a good line of site for a few hundred meters and probably sees me before I see him as I always have my lights on.

Needless to say that i travel at the limit and no more and the detector never goes off. I always make sure I give him a belm face as I go past.

John57

The RA2 will pick up a Laser ..... trust me, I know ..... it only does so though - as has already been mentioned - when the Laser is actually in the process of zapping you ! Unless the operator has problems locking onto you then you are stuffed.... you would not be able to react quickly enough to get your speed down.

The unit, even when it has a problem locking on, does so very, very quickly and the laser alert bit on these detectors is not really worth it. The laser detector is going to be made illegal eventually but isn't going to be a great loss IMO. Apparently RA will disable this feature once illegal via your next new camera location download .... so one of the dealers told me.

Impreza-2005

well lets hope Mr PC plod's lasar was having a bad day or he wasn't looking at my car. Shame they can't get real job's aint it!!!

SimonGawthorpe

Shame you cant drive to the conditions in front of you. If you got caught, take the hint, dont slag them off for doing their job.

Si

Impreza-2005

Doing there job you say. So what do you perfer a copper on the beat, stopping rape, murder, muggings, stealing your car etc.. Or a copper sitting in a layby (which your paying for plus his inflation proof pension) making money for the policemans ball, catching everyday folk driving safely but slightly over the speed limit.?

John57

I don't particularly like mobile cameras .... but as to the copper's pension ..... you will find that police officers pay alot more than normal for their pension - out of their own pocket ..... and all money from speed cameras and mobile enforcement just goes to the government or for more cameras ! This is the governments instructions; not the idea of the police.

Dave uk blue mica

forget the road angel and just get a jammer, impossible for them to get your speed for the 5 seconds the jammer is working, awesome bit of kit and gives you total piece of mind, best money i've ever spent on the car especially in the current driving conditions we face with these camera vans popping up everywhere.

dexter

Just so you understand this, Traffic Cops also go to fast response jobs, exactly like the one where the woman PC was tragically murdered a few days ago.

Get your facts right in the first place before mouthing off, and you might`ve actually got some help/advice from some of us on here that do the job, and know all about the use of lazer etc................

The Chief

**** me someones touchy!

I think the reason people have a pop because, we are sick and tired of the sneaky way we get nicked when we are a few miles an hour over the limit.
We're not saying you are all a**holes and i'm sure we respect other aspects of your job i.e. cleaning up after r.t.a.'s but why your bringing up the tragic death of the young wpc is beyond me, ffs chill out a bit will you!!!!

The Chief

If you get caught with a jammer though, you can get done for trying to pervert the course of justice, unless you get one of those that come in a box with garage opener on it!!!

Dave uk blue mica

mines a garage door opener mate so nothing can be done to me with it!!!!

The Chief

Heh heh good lad

dexter

Chief,I`ve been away for a bit, come back, and re-read my post, and you may just have a point........, can`t believe I got annoyed at what someone said on the Internet...............I probably need to get out more.


Impreza 2005, now the teddies have been chucked out the pram ( ) the lazer is (supposed to be !) accurate up to 999 metres, and the camera is probably good for about the last 300 of those, so.............you`ll probably be fine.

(BTW, I`m sure you`re cheesed off at the moment, but if you have been done, you will be, as I was when I got caught on my bike a few years back)

Anyway, chuck your RA2 in the bin because, as John57 said, if it goes off, you`ve probably already been clocked. Just keep your eyes peeled a bit more in the future mate.

Hope your licence remains clean BTW.

cookstar

iTrader: (6)

Is it not now 21 days....?

DJ73

Read in different paper's etc that by law camera van's and what not have to be visable from a 100m ? , was it visable ?

The Chief

Not having a pop btw. a good friend of mine is a senior traffic cop and a decent bloke i might add (he is honestly) and he is sick of being told (by the powers that be) That speed cams are the way forward, he's rather nick someone for driving like a tw*t and being dangerous then do someone for straying a few miles an hour over the limit or having a bit of fun 'on the tops'

Needless to say he is so disallusioned with the job - he is considering early retirement.

SimonGawthorpe

Unfortunately the Police can only work within the law which is given to them. This law as im sure you are aware is set by the government etc. If every single Police officer was on the beat then how high would RTA fatalities go? They have to Police every aspect of the law.

I hate speed cameras and cringe every time I go passed one. However if you look at it logically most of them are on 30mph limits. Why are they 30mph limits? Probably because they are inner city roads with parked cars, pedestrians, schools etc. I will admit that some 30mph roads really should be upped to 40 or 50, but again that is up to the government / local councils.

They pay a hell of a lot of money into they're own pensions, and none of it comes from speeding fines!! Nor do fines pay for the Policemans ball (whatever one of those is!!)

In this country we are "Policed By Consent" The police need the public's help to solve crimes etc. The sooner the government place the enforcing of speed limits with a seperate organisation the better!!

Si

sgcooby

I allways wondered if my snooper would detect the vans. Its older than the RA but it detects laser. Ive driven under a few vans on overpasses and its never beeped yet. He might not have been aiming at me though. Still poo myself for 2 weeks though.

Several comments about how RTA fatalities would increase if less cops werecatching speeders. Not sure how you get this as road deaths have actually gone up since all the cameras were installed. The govts own figures back this up. Not just my opinion.

Dangerous driving or excess speed for the conditions is the problem not travelling a few mph over the limit(except in built up areas) and over 90% of the population freely admit to speeding on a daily basis. If you say you dont speed you are in the minority or a liar.

My mates a bobby and even he thinks traffic cops are *****.

John57

Regarding the last comment ..... perhaps your mate would like to come out with me for a shift or two as he obviously knows nothing of what traffic police do !

What do I do ... well, aside from answering crime related calls on local divisional radio channels I go to all fatal or possible fatal collisions in my area - which covers a 1/4 of London. So far in 4 years I have gone to and managed over 120. Some are not pretty; perhaps your mate would like to come and, as I did, roll over the motorcyclist without a face to go through his pockets to find i/d. He was still warm ..... Wasn't much good to i/d him when I found his photocard driving licence! He was only 25. This is just one of many ..... my most recent this morning, a 79 year old pedestrian.....


I have replied to this just to illustrate we are not there just for speeding .... far from it ..... infact in my 4 years in traffic since leaving the world of 'normal' policing after 11 years I have only issued about 6 speeding tickets - to very, very blind drivers!

sgcooby

Its my mate who thinks you are a ****. I love traffic cops and my 9 points.

billythekid

In clear conditions the general usage is approx 300m to 500m. Its is possible to go further but you need a bigger lens and also a very good stable place to do it from, in a van with trucks going past rocking the van is no good.

NIP is 14 days if the car is in your name on the PNC and its longer than 14 days then you are in the clear. If its not in your name it may take longer but the most people see about a month on company cars etc.

The Chief

The thing is the majority of people DO think that you sit behind a camera all day and dont see the remainder of your job.
I think you could have an answer within your posting.
Instead of being issued points, serious offenders could have the option of spending a day with a traffic cop including helping clean up all the gory bits!!!
i'm sure it would make us all think (to a certain degree anyway) twice - well it would me anyway.

mart360

Itr wouldnt work as they get to do the blue lighty bit!! However spend a day with an undertaker, visit the mortuary, watch a post mortem, take the body back, prepare it , deal with all those upset relatives, and then do the funeral,

once you see just how much devastation it causes, it tends to bring it home.


Mart

movi-star

iTrader: (1)

I live in Northants and there is a Mobile Van parked on nearly every hidden bend, in Corby there are loads all the time, on dual carriageways which have a 40mph limit ( 1:Oakley Rd, 2 outside the old steelworks, 3:Corby to Kettering road 4: A6003 etc) where there is no danger to anyone. Personally I can't stand mobile vans, nothing more than ways to make money. I've never seen one outside a school or were kids play, simply because they would never catch many speeding due to heavy traffic outside schools. Corby would benefit from more Police working in other areas to be honest..........Crime Central!!!

Adrian F

Pass about the 100 metres bits but increasingly people are reporting being done for 33 in a 30 zone so it appears that ACPO guidelines are being ignored as well.

when the camera's were first introduced all they talked about were people doing 80 in 40 zones but when I asked a camera van operator on a PR exercise what the proportion of people prosecuted for being say 8 mph over the posted limit was e.g. slightly over not doing twice the limit they claimed not to be able to get this information?

I think that people see limits that have little basis for validity being enforced with a zealousness that the police fail to apply to car jacking, burglary, drug use or anti social behaviour then they lose all support from the public who ultimately they are suppose to serve.

But this is a country where the Police will detain an 82 year old who shouts "rubbish" at a cabinet minister at a political conference under Anti Terror laws so maybe all they serve are the minority who run the country who just want to milk us of money through another form of Tax?

I think since the move to loads of speed camera's driving standards have slipped as people just dont see Traffic cops any where except in camera vans. the problem is the Police have been moving away from Policing by consent for years and the Speed camera is just another nail in the coffin. they need the camera's ripping out and Traffic cops back out on the roads i dont think speed is an issue the issue is inappropriate speed which requires a human being to judge.