Just been reading about the Glasgow Airport disgrace in the papers today.

It says that the Merc was "tracked using Roadside cameras that keeps tabs on all movements on major roads nationwide in the UK."

Does this mean that there is a network of these cameras, where are they, can you spot them and, can it track your speed and are your movements really logged by some organisation?

If so, I don't remember voting & agreeing to this??

Comments most welcome.

Regards.

Alan MaC

 

They are normally on the motorway though the ones in london used the congestion charge camera's to follow the cars movements.

Tony

 

Tony, are they on the Bridges, what do they look like??


Alan MaC

 

These?



They are traffic master camera's. They just keep tracks on the amount of traffic, rather than tracking them.

These things are appearing in quite a few places in London (Not Congestion charging borders either) God knows what they do

 

Jesus Odds On, what is going on??

Alan MaC

 

lol. Thats the only pic I could find of them, they look a lot worse in real life!

I'll see if there's a pic somewhere that shows the full setup

 

Nice one.

Alan MaC

 

This network has been in the making for the last few years, this article tells it pretty well Surveillance UK: why this revolution is only the start - Independent Online Edition > Sci_Tech and it's not going to end at ANPR!!

In built up areas the cameras are existing networked cameras such as the London congestion charge ones linked into the ANPR database.
On motorways look at bridges and gantries for a pod of three square black units set in an arc over the middle lane!



Orwell was right after all, Big brother arrived a few years ago and I don't just mean the one on CH4!

 

These cameras are all over the main routes around the UK, used to identify traffic accidents and such, like now trace known vehicles. On most bridges, they do not measure speed, just watch traffic. RAC center has control of quite a few.
Big brother and all that? Not really just a sign of the times.

 

That picture of the camera gantry I posted is a bit over the top for simple traffic management don't you think?

I can't find any more pictures of them Alan. And no, I'm not going to stop near one and take a photo. I like the 'non terrorist' status I currently enjoy!

 

Good point odds on.

Seriously though, this has crept up on us, and as I said, I don't remember being consulted about my views on this.

Shameful.

Alan MaC

 

Whenever you attempt to take politicians to tak over this, the standard answer is that "we have a parliamentary democracy". This means that after you have elected us we arent accountable to you!

Roadside ANPR cameras are common but I understand that those who havent done anything wrong have nothing to fear.....

 

I understand you are concerned but if you are doing nothing wrong then you have no reason to fear these cameras. They are not used for speed enforcement but can track a vehicle from A to B and in view of events in the last 48 hours, perhaps you should view them more favourably.
Generally the surveilance information is used for major crime.

 

Harvey, I don't have difficulty being accoutable if it is a level playing field.

Like most on SN, I tax, Insure, heap lots of absurd love on my Scooby. The "dark side lot." ( THOSE WHO ARE INVISIBLE.The press estimate there may be a million of them, ( who knows the true number) don't tax, register, MOT, insure their motors and are not detectable.

Again, as Isaid, " I don't remember being asked my views on this??"

My Grandad told me years ago, there will in your lifetime be a plot to drive the ordinary man off the road, by way of cost, so it goes back to my day in that, only the Gentry could afford, horses, carriages etc.

My Grandas, ( God rest his soul) was spot on.

Regards.

Alan MaC

 

They track traffic by recognising a number plate and then recording the time when that plate passes the next camera. That gives a speed which can be compared to a norm, and determine whether there is 'congestion' or not.

I would hope that once the comparison has been done, that the data is discarded. Seems like it might not be. God help me if they decide to tie the speeds to specific vehicles

 

Exactly speed king.

 

A quick check appears your right

Traffic master camera's

Wonder when the goverment will make them hand over the info they collect??

 

FFS Odds On!

This is even more scarey than I thought!!!


What do you lot think???



Alan MaC

 

What's scarey is the stuff that's being worked on with regard to facial recognition in the same vein as ANPR.

 

Where did you think half the footage from Police, Camera, Action comes from? The stuff from what are obviously overhead camera filming people doing stupid things on motorways. Those cameras. Where do you think traffic reports come from? Some of those cameras must be twenty years old now.


M

 

There can't be that many ANPR cameras in operation nationally or more stolen cars would be quickly located.

I was joining the M6 yesterday northbound from the M61 and by the side of the road there was a white van with an flap lifted and a camera poking out of the back. I'm not sure if it was a speed camera or ANPR, there were no markings on the van at all.

 

That sounds like ANPR, usually there will be marked units nearby...

Ref the original post, as it was a Jeep Cherokee at Glasgow, I doubt they were tracking a merc!

The Mway cameras track cars between known poiints (using ANPR - but not linked to the databases) to check for traffic flow which is then used by the different alert systems, you want your satnav to alert you to holdups, it has to have some way of knowing where they are!

Simon

 

Im all for ANPR, got nothing to hide lol

As for facial recognition....Its been working for years and only gets more and more efficiant. Airports use it do they not.

 

Alan: At THE PRESENT TIME there is no relationship between speed enforcement or other motoring offences and these cameras. They can be used to historically trace the movements of a vehicle from say London to Edinburgh. The crime has to be serious to warrant the resources required or the driver/ vehicle, already has to be of interest. So if you plan to smash somebody's brains in, in Edinburgh for instance, you will be on camera on your way there.

Separately, you will see temporary equipment on tripods at the side of the road or on bridges across motorways and dual carriageways. Sometimes the equipment is housed in a van. This ia also numberplate recognition equipment but in this case they are looking for untaxed/insured/MOTd vehicles, banned drivers, drivers with outstanding warrants or people they have a definate interest in. That type of operation usually has a few marked cars and motorbikes at the next intersection/layby etc. to pull over those of interest. Sometimes Customs and Excise are involved looking for red deizle and sometimes it involves VOSA for drivers hours, vehicle roadworthiness etc.

Personally, if there is an atempt to use the existing passive cameras for speed enforcement I hope the motoring public revolt.

On Tyneside for a number of years there has been covert camera surveillance so it will also have been in place elsewhere. It is often placed in street lighting columns by guys dressed to look like local authority workers. This equipment has been a major factor in disrupting organised crime. The same equipment is in use in Belfast, Londonderry and elsewhere.

 

Thats comforting to know