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Anyone know anyone who’s been caught by an average speed camera…?

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Driving through multiple 50mph average speed camera sections on various roads today I noticed there are plenty of people who ignore the limits.

Do they get fines?


 
Posted : 28/08/2024 1:14 pm
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I was caught years ago on a stretch of the M40 that was limited to 50 mph. I was alone and it was around 5am, with not a construction worker in sight, but I did get fined for it.


 
Posted : 28/08/2024 1:17 pm
flannol and flannol reacted
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Yep. 57mph in a 50 near Birmingham on a near empty dual carriageway past a load of cones carefully placed along the side of the road so that both lanes were fully open at about 3pm on a Sunday. Not pleased.


 
Posted : 28/08/2024 1:17 pm
 poly
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Driving through multiple 50mph average speed camera sections on various roads today I noticed there are plenty of people who ignore the limits.

Do they get fines?

I think some people seem to have worked out where the triggers are actually set - e.g. if you know your car speed reads slightly low, and the prosecution threshold is x% then if you are cocky enough you got through faster.  if you are sitting at an indicated 50, but thats actually 47 (because of your speedo error), someone doing a "true" 55 will seem a lot faster.

there are of course lots of people who are thick and just slow down for the cameras - somehow thinking its an average of discrete points in time rather than s=d/t!  I did also go through a section recently where *everyone* seemed to be doing 60 - turns out that the local know the new cameras are not active yet so just ignoring it!


 
Posted : 28/08/2024 1:32 pm
ayjaydoubleyou, thecaptain, flannol and 9 people reacted
 zomg
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I knew someone who was caught on the old A14 70mph average scheme. She thought that people were saps for driving to the limit there and that they wouldn’t be switched on. She was given a speed awareness course and amusingly her main takeaway from that seemed to be that people should get out of her way for their own safety when she was tailgating.


 
Posted : 28/08/2024 1:40 pm
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if you are sitting at an indicated 50, but thats actually 47 (because of your speedo error), someone doing a “true” 55 will seem a lot faster.

This +1

I've got a GPS speedo on my motorbike because the real one is in km/h. The 'average' speed though the current 50mph roadworks on the M4 is about 42-44mph (i.e. everyone's probably doing an indicated 46-48ish.  At quiet times the HGV's barrel through in the middle lane knowing the 56mph limiters won't trigger a fine but is still significantly quicker than anyone in the 1st lane.


 
Posted : 28/08/2024 1:46 pm
hammerandcycle, ayjaydoubleyou, J-R and 7 people reacted
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I've always thought those cameras were really mean. But I suppose it depends what mode they're in.

Personally, I think the main thrust for prosecution should be drivers who cross the median.


 
Posted : 28/08/2024 1:50 pm
bax_burner, bassmandan, droplinked and 61 people reacted
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*Applauds*


 
Posted : 28/08/2024 1:54 pm
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Well played.


 
Posted : 28/08/2024 1:55 pm
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^very good!
An ex-colleague got a NIP from the M4 forever road works, attending a night Service job, cruise set @70 iirc. Brain fade moment on empty 3 lane road.

I think his average was sixty something.

3 points.

Must admit it’s quite easy to drift over if you don’t have cruise.


 
Posted : 28/08/2024 2:02 pm
flannol and flannol reacted
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My cousin drove from his barracks in south London to Cumbria one evening in his late teens.  Little did he know that by the time he arrived, he'd effectively been banned.  He drove at 70-80 all the way through every set of average speed cameras.  He was a Recovery Mechanic in the army so had to go to court and eventually retained his licences (as he needed it for work) but with 11 points and a £3700 fine.


 
Posted : 28/08/2024 2:08 pm
flannol and flannol reacted
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if you are sitting at an indicated 50, but thats actually 47 (because of your speedo error), someone doing a “true” 55 will seem a lot faster.

I've banged the "indicated vs actual" drum for years but really there's little point. 50mph, ACPO guidelines for prosecution is 10%+2 so say 56, the speedo overreads by 5-10% so just under an indicated 60 and I'm golden, right?

But for what? On a long journey you'll maybe save a few minutes. Stop off for a luxury poo at Tebay services and any gain you may have made goes out of the window. Running the gauntlet for the sake of an extra 2mph is both stressful and pointless, and assuming your speedo is overreading without measuring it is a dangerous game.

Yet it still pisses me off when you get an "I'm doing the speed limit" in the middle lane doing an actual 45.


 
Posted : 28/08/2024 2:13 pm
ChrisL, beinbhan, beinbhan and 1 people reacted
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No, I did get an NIP for one recently, but it was followed by a letter stating that they would take no further action, so no naughty boy's course for me.


 
Posted : 28/08/2024 2:16 pm
flannol and flannol reacted
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Anyone know anyone who’s been caught by an average speed camera…?

Yes. Eldest fazzini. In the works van. His defence? "Well, I knew they were there, but I didn't know how they worked..."

Oh, how his colleagues at the depot laughed, and remind him of this every time he is putting a traffic management job out, so that the roadworks et al may commence!

(I blame the parents)


 
Posted : 28/08/2024 2:22 pm
oldnick, vicksplace, topper and 5 people reacted
 poly
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Must admit it’s quite easy to drift over if you [s]don’t have cruise.[/s] aren't paying proper attention to the control of your vehicle

I fixed that for you!  If you do "drift over" the cameras are usually far enough apart for you to correct the mistake and the average be fine. (e.g. if the camera's are 1km apart, and you do 50mph for 200m then drift up to 60mph for 500m, but correct down to 50mph for last 300m - you'll still be under the prosecution threshold.  But your point that with Cruise / Speed Limit functionality make it especially easy to comply is right.


 
Posted : 28/08/2024 2:26 pm
aide, silvine, silvine and 1 people reacted
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If it's a 50 I will set cruise at 55 (which is an actual 52-53) - does my wife's head in!!

If I come up behind someone in the outside lane doing an indicates 50 then so be it..... it's not the end of the world!


 
Posted : 28/08/2024 2:32 pm
tillydog, ads678, Keando and 3 people reacted
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Must admit it’s quite easy to drift over if you don’t have cruise.

A momentary lapse of concentration and a flash from a Gatso is (arguably) forgivable. Or perhaps "understandable" may be a better descriptor.  Cynically, some seem to be located intentionally to catch you out.

Average speed cameras though, you'd have to "drift over" for a sustained period of time, or by a considerable amount.  Anyone caught by an average speed camera is surely either disregarding the limit intentionally or is totally away with the fairies, and probably shouldn't be on the road in either case.


 
Posted : 28/08/2024 2:33 pm
ayjaydoubleyou, MoreCashThanDash, ChrisL and 5 people reacted
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A colleague got done a few months after passing her test, said her driving instructor didn't explain how they worked.

He's a mate of mine, and is adamant he did tell her. She got an awareness course.

Disappointed at everyone trying to justify 56mph. It's 50, drive at 50.


 
Posted : 28/08/2024 2:37 pm
peekay, silvine, stumpyjon and 9 people reacted
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Yet it still pisses me off when you get an “I’m doing the speed limit” in the middle lane doing an actual 45.

It pisses me off that people feel the need to worry about what speed I'm driving at. If I want to do 40mph on a 50mph road then I will (and usually do)


 
Posted : 28/08/2024 2:40 pm
hightensionline, fazzini, gowerboy and 11 people reacted
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My OH got caught by the ones on the M25 so they are working.

I suspect though, that there are a lot of people out there with cloned numerplates.

If you clone your plates and drive around like an absolute idiot, you seem to get away with it unless you see an actual policeman rather than a camera. This may just be my cynical world view however...


 
Posted : 28/08/2024 2:42 pm
flannol and flannol reacted
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When you see people doing 60 mph + in an Avg 50 I always assume they are criminals (dont give a hoot) or thick (deserve it)


 
Posted : 28/08/2024 2:43 pm
flannol and flannol reacted
 zomg
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Yet it still pisses me off when you get an “I’m doing the speed limit” in the middle lane doing an actual 45.

If you’re in need of some entertainment you can play an orbiting game where you pass them while doing the limit in lane 3, move back to lane 1 (at a safe distance) and slow by 10mph. See how many laps you can do before they change lane.


 
Posted : 28/08/2024 2:48 pm
oceanskipper, graham_e, chrismac and 9 people reacted
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https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/transparency/freedom-of-information/foi-request-detail?referenceId=FOI-1661-2324

According to this from TfL there were 500,000 or so ULEZ PCNs that could not be issed as they could not trace the driver in one year!
12,000 got cancelled due to cloned plates (and this doesn't include vehicles where the number plate doesn't match the vehicle make/model/colour which is apparently checked before issuing)


 
Posted : 28/08/2024 2:50 pm
flannol and flannol reacted
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On a long journey you’ll maybe save a few minutes. Stop off for a luxury poo at Tebay services and any gain you may have made goes out of the window. Running the gauntlet for the sake of an extra 2mph is both stressful and pointless, and assuming your speedo is overreading without measuring it is a dangerous game.

Depends, in the work transit van when someone else is paying for the diesel I used to set the cruise control for a GPS *cough*seventy*cough**cough*.  because driving the 5+ hours from Newcastle back to Reading was long enough already without the speedo error.

In my own car on the other hand, 60-ish on the GPS (i.e. an indicated 65-70 which is what 90% of people on the motorway are doing)  is a LOT (~20%) less fuel!


 
Posted : 28/08/2024 2:51 pm
ceept and ceept reacted
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I used to assume it was something like the average speed of the cars going through that area. Simply because I only ever saw them at roadworks and no one ever bothered following the temporary speed limit, so I thought they put cameras just to catch the idiots going faster than the general traffic speed. Or something. In my defence, this was back before I learnt to drive!

It pisses me off that people feel the need to worry about what speed I’m driving at. If I want to do 40mph on a 50mph road then I will (and usually do)

Do you often have a long queue of cars behind you?

I was stuck behind someone for ages recently on a rural road going at around 20-25mph. Limit 60, perfectly feasible to be going 40-50 without danger. Enjoying the view I can understand, but why he didn't just pull over and let me past I don't know.

I was trying to join a dual carriageway (70) just the other day and had a nightmare getting on as there was someone doing 40-45 going past the slip road right next to me. Getting past him and up to speed in my slow-accelerating car with lorries thundering past at 60 was not fun.


 
Posted : 28/08/2024 3:38 pm
tyrebite, flannol, el_boufador and 3 people reacted
 jimw
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A friend of mine has a garmin satnav ( the built in one in his car is crap) that knows where some fixed average speed cameras are e.g. on  the A9, and provides a running average between each camera on the screen.


 
Posted : 28/08/2024 3:40 pm
flannol and flannol reacted
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A friend of mine has a garmin satnav ( the built in one in his car is crap) that knows where some fixed average speed cameras are e.g. on  the A9, and provides a running average between each camera on the screen.

The cameras are in pairs but I think they stagger them, so the area measured is not necessarily between one camera and the next.


 
Posted : 28/08/2024 3:45 pm
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I was stuck behind someone for ages recently on a rural road going at around 20-25mph. Limit 60, perfectly feasible to be going 40-50 without danger.

Do that in your driving test and there's a decent chance you'll be failed.


 
Posted : 28/08/2024 4:00 pm
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I was trying to join a dual carriageway (70) just the other day and had a nightmare getting on as there was someone doing 40-45 going past the slip road right next to me. Getting past him and up to speed in my slow-accelerating car with lorries thundering past at 60 was not fun

Wasn't cutting your speed a bit and slotting in behind him an option? There can't have been lorries thundering past behind him at 60 if he was doing 40-45.


 
Posted : 28/08/2024 4:12 pm
oceanskipper, burntembers, burntembers and 1 people reacted
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Some of you guys must be a ****ing nightmare if you ever get held up by a cyclist.....


 
Posted : 28/08/2024 4:17 pm
oceanskipper, burntembers, flannol and 13 people reacted
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Do that in your driving test and there’s a decent chance you’ll be failed.

Plenty of rural roads around here where you'd definitely get failed if you attempted an overtake during your test. Getting past bikes safely requires a lot of patience, let alone another car.


 
Posted : 28/08/2024 4:23 pm
nickewen, MoreCashThanDash, nickewen and 1 people reacted
 bfw
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After a month away driving all over Europe what I do know is we have nothing but 50 mph ave speed zones that go on for tens of miles all over the SE of the UK, and how many of those did I find in 3500 miles in France, Italy and Switzerland?  A big fat zero.


 
Posted : 28/08/2024 4:23 pm
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https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=C-S1UnvsMBk


 
Posted : 28/08/2024 4:25 pm
geck0 and geck0 reacted
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Are they always 'on'?

There are tons of 'roadworks' i drive through that have restricted limits and the vast majority don't have any visible road works or workers on them. And tbh pretty much everyone just ignores the temporary limit

Would make sense to switch off the average cameras when there are no workers and no cones!


 
Posted : 28/08/2024 4:26 pm
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They’ve started putting signs up telling everyone they work night shifts in an attempt to justify the endless miles of closed carriageways with no visible signs of any activity whatsoever for weeks on end…


 
Posted : 28/08/2024 4:29 pm
stof41 and stof41 reacted
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It pisses me off that people feel the need to worry about what speed I’m driving at. If I want to do 40mph on a 50mph road then I will (and usually do)

Feel free.  Just don't park yourself in lane 2 of the motorway until the heat death of the universe, shift yourself over.


 
Posted : 28/08/2024 4:30 pm
oceanskipper, tillydog, jimmy748 and 11 people reacted
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polyFree Member
Must admit it’s quite easy to drift over if you don’t have cruise. aren’t paying proper attention to the control of your vehicle
I fixed that for you!  If you do “drift over” the cameras are usually far enough apart for you to correct the mistake and the average be fine. (e.g. if the camera’s are 1km apart, and you do 50mph for 200m then drift up to 60mph for 500m, but correct down to 50mph for last 300m – you’ll still be under the prosecution threshold.  But your point that with Cruise / Speed Limit functionality make it especially easy to comply is right

Yeah, whatever wondered how long it would take.


 
Posted : 28/08/2024 4:32 pm
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Would make sense to switch off the average cameras when there are no workers and no cones!

Because the cones and signage that will still be there may get clipped or blown into the narrower lanes, as well as the reduced access for the emergency services in the event of an incident mean it's probably safer to keep people running smoothly, safely and more slowly.


 
Posted : 28/08/2024 4:41 pm
topper and topper reacted
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I  remember many moons ago there was a big story inthe local press and on the Welsh news that the average speed cameras around Newport were going live and that you would now be prosecuted for infringement. The cameras and signs had been up for at least 5 years prior so it is no wonder people get complacent and ignore them.


 
Posted : 28/08/2024 4:43 pm
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That caught out a lot of the lads at my old job, think the transport manager had a big envelope with roughly 40 individual infringements (for 45 drivers at our base) land on his desk from Head Office one morning!  A few got 3, one got 5 in the time it took the tickets to go to Head Office, them find where the van was kept and forward it on.  There was only a few of us that didn't get any.


 
Posted : 28/08/2024 4:54 pm
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After a month away driving all over Europe what I do know is we have nothing but 50 mph ave speed zones that go on for tens of miles all over the SE of the UK, and how many of those did I find in 3500 miles in France, Italy and Switzerland? A big fat zero.

They all have higher road deaths per capita and per km journey. With the exception of Switzerland but if you don't like rules...

*Insert mind blowing emoji*


 
Posted : 28/08/2024 5:04 pm
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Do that in your driving test and there’s a decent chance you’ll be failed.

I'm not sure which of us you're referring to?

Wasn’t cutting your speed a bit and slotting in behind him an option? There can’t have been lorries thundering past behind him at 60 if he was doing 40-45.

I was up to maybe 60 already on the slip road ready to join and we both drew level at the junction when I first saw him. It was a short join with not much space to play with so yes I did cut my speed and slot in behind him, was then too close to him and there were lorries etc flying up behind. The other option was stamp on the brakes and come to a near stop. Don't know how he felt safe at that speed, I certainly didn't, so overtook asap knowing that if I didn't I'd be stuck at a very slow speed for a while (fully loaded 7-seater does not accelerate well, I wanted to keep what speed I had rather than slow to below 40). Maybe it wasn't perfect but in the moment I didn't feel I had much choice.

Some of you guys must be a **** nightmare if you ever get held up by a cyclist…..

Plenty of rural roads around here where you’d definitely get failed if you attempted an overtake during your test. Getting past bikes safely requires a lot of patience, let alone another car.

I was actually driving in the same direction as a Triathlon ride at one point on similar roads, loads of cyclists and it added well over half an hour to the journey. There are plenty spots to overtake safely on rural roads, sometimes you have to wait a while to find them is all! I am talking about the Scottish Highlands where you can often see for some distance, not high hedges like right down south.

Happy to wait behind cyclists or anyone else who is not choosing to drive exceptionally slowly. I couldn't overtake the car, which is why I was stuck there for miles. I don't care if people don't go at 50, but this was just ridiculous.


 
Posted : 28/08/2024 5:20 pm
stevego, Cougar, Cougar and 1 people reacted
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If you want to play the "actual GPS-measured speed +10%" game then don't whing if you've been caught by "drifting over". We have speed limits, not speed targets. Just aim to be around the speed limit as shown on your speedo and you'll be fine. If you "drift" more than 10% over the indicated speed limit then you're not paying enough attention.


 
Posted : 28/08/2024 7:24 pm
 zomg
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If you’re in need of some entertainment you can play an orbiting game where you pass them while doing the limit in lane 3, move back to lane 1 (at a safe distance) and slow by 10mph. See how many laps you can do before they change lane.

Do this in a driving test and you’ll be the stuff of legend.


 
Posted : 28/08/2024 10:40 pm
Cougar and Cougar reacted
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I was up to maybe 60 already on the slip road ready to join and we both drew level at the junction when I first saw him.

If you're doing 60, level, when you first saw him, that's piss poor observation. Also it would have taken another 20 m or so  to pass him on the slip road and join the Mway ahead of him. (apart from the fact that that dotted line means give way)


 
Posted : 28/08/2024 11:21 pm
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If you want to play the “actual GPS-measured speed +10%” game then don’t whing if you’ve been caught by “drifting over”. We have speed limits, not speed targets. Just aim to be around the speed limit as shown on your speedo and you’ll be fine. If you “drift” more than 10% over the indicated speed limit then you’re not paying enough attention.

if this is aimed at my comment, that it’s easy to drift over without cruise control?

I didn’t mention being near the ACPO guidelines, just the drifting over indicated 50 bit.
You need to be near 50 to keep up with the flow of traffic and we are not machines, STW/Perfect driver or not,

30-50k miles per year without incident or tickets (aside forgetting congestion or Dart Charge) over the last 20 years.

Oh, I did reverse a van into an aircon unit once.


 
Posted : 28/08/2024 11:55 pm
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I’ve just posted this on the Ukrainian thread, but speed cameras in Kursk Oblast are catching large numbers of reservists who are being hunted by FPV drones, and the police and courts aren’t accepting that as an excuse. After all there isn’t a war on, things are carrying on just like they always have…

https://arstechnica.com/culture/2024/08/trying-to-outrun-ukrainian-drones-kursk-traffic-cams-still-issue-speeding-tickets/


 
Posted : 29/08/2024 1:46 am
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We drove back from Malverns the other day 3.5 hours without stopping, the 50 limits are insane. In a 50 when there’s clearly nothing happening at all and no hazards to be aware of I’m doing 54 on cruise control. My excuse, I have a toddler and to be honest we usually don’t stop if he’s asleep so the luxury poo doesn’t get done and we do arrive sooner ?.

It must’ve been for around 20-30 miles I’d say combined between M42 and M1, maybe the M6 too I can’t remember.


 
Posted : 29/08/2024 7:11 am
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ACPO guidelines for prosecution is 10%+2

ACPO doesn't exist and neither do the "guidelines"


 
Posted : 29/08/2024 7:34 am
scotroutes, timidwheeler, timidwheeler and 1 people reacted
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ACPO doesn’t exist

Every days a school day - yes, I googled to check


 
Posted : 29/08/2024 7:39 am
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There are tons of ‘roadworks’ i drive through that have restricted limits and the vast majority don’t have any visible road works or workers on them. And tbh pretty much everyone just ignores the temporary limit

In a 50 when there’s clearly nothing happening at all and no hazards to be aware of

Just because you can’t see them doesn’t mean there’s nothing going on. Could be damage to safety features you can’t see. Speed limit is reduced, which reduces any potential impact speed on weakened features. Was one on the A9 for weeks just before Dunblane, due to the central reservation barrier at a junction being totalled. Very few people sticking to the 50 and if the same accident had happened again, nothing to stop cars ending up in the wrong carriageway.

Could also be just to help traffic flow. A9 north of Perth is a much nicer, smoother drive with the average cameras in place. Admittedly the 50 limit for HGV’s helps, but they never stuck to the limit beforehand anyway.


 
Posted : 29/08/2024 7:56 am
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As others say, indicated speed is different to actual, one car i have reads pretty much on the money, the i10 we have reads 10% lower at 40mph, having just travelled to and from Scotland, it is amazing how many cars just ignore most of it, the variable speed limits on managed motorways, average speed cameras, lots of dark range rovers was the theme.

As for the A9, i don't ever enjoy that road, the average speed cameras just seem like a tacked on 'safety' feature, but in all my time using it, the A9 has always been a nightmare for dangerous overtaking (not helped by slow moving vehicles now) and the amount of junctions that has cars having to slowly cross a carriageway and then go from 0 to 70 in no time at all, the amount of times i've seen people misjudge the gap and cause mass panic is unreal.


 
Posted : 29/08/2024 8:22 am
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Acpo doesn't exist any more?
I thought it did years ago and ended in the last century?
Or is it an urban myth then ? The 10% + 2mph ?

I got a speed awareness course for 60 in a 50 down cathedral hill in Guildford that is a long down hill and there are lots of crashes with the à31 slip road .

But there's no cameras on the other up hill carriage way.


 
Posted : 29/08/2024 8:41 am
 poly
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ACPO doesn’t exist and neither do the “guidelines”

depends what you mean by that ACPO has been disbanded and essentially replaced by new bodies.  The guidelines referred to are no longer “current” but the document definitely exists:

and as far as I know is still the defacto policy in England.


 
Posted : 29/08/2024 8:42 am
J-R and J-R reacted
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The cameras are in pairs

Really? Is that knowledge or here say? The way they are setup on the motorways down here (with cameras on the exits) suggests a gated setup.


 
Posted : 29/08/2024 9:44 am
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I think it requires a pair of cameras to cover 3 or 4 lanes , but only 1 camera for 1 or 2 lanes . Hence seeing a single camera on a slip road for example


 
Posted : 29/08/2024 10:04 am
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...and as far as I know is still the defacto policy in England

Have you found the NPCC version? The ACPO document should have been reviewed in 2015 and has never been replaced. Parts date from much earlier. In any case the out of date document includes:

para 9.4 The Police Service now uses technology that enables it to prove that an offence has been committed as soon as a driver exceeds the relevant speed limit by a very small margin. Motorists will therefore be at risk of prosecution immediately they exceed any legal speed limit.

para 9.7 Where an officer decides to issue a summons or a fixed penalty notice in respect of offences committed at speeds lower than those set out in the table, he or she must consider the tolerances of the equipment used to corroborate their opinion. Police speed equipment are tested and approved to work with a maximum tolerance of +/-2mph up to 66mph and 3% for all speeds higher than 66mph, so it is possible to use these tolerances as a prosecution threshold.

Confused.com wrote an article last year. Seventeen forces in E&W didn't respond. Do you feel lucky? https://www.confused.com/car-insurance/guides/speed-camera-tolerances

Speed enforcement tech has moved on from the days of striking a tuning fork on the heel of your shoe to test a Ku-band hand-held RADAR (been there, done that)

Our old RADAR (late-80s) would pick up the moving fan blades in the car's heater, which was why police here would stand outside with the engine off. Modern kit is more discerning and more accurate, although that's only part of the reason for tolerances

You'd have to query who the prosecuting authority is for other cameras, e.g. National Highways cameras, if it isn't the police (I don't know) then they won't be bound by out-of-date guidelines on fixed devices that are accurate to 0.1%, rather than 2mph-3%


 
Posted : 29/08/2024 10:09 am
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If you’re doing 60, level, when you first saw him, that’s piss poor observation. Also it would have taken another 20 m or so  to pass him on the slip road and join the Mway ahead of him. (apart from the fact that that dotted line means give way)

Well I'm glad you are familiar with that junction and the exact size and visibility of it.

I do my best but am not a perfect driver 100% of the time and never said this was the ideal behaviour in that situation. Fact of the matter remains that 40ish is way too slow for a motorway and if he had been going at a normal speed (even 50) this would never have happened. Speeds I mentioned are obviously estimated and I don't know exactly how fast it was... as I came onto the short area of dotted lines we drew level and I didn't have the acceleration to get in front with a safe distance, so I dropped in behind and then had to cut speed sharply because he was going even slower than I expected at first. I did not feel safe at that speed so overtook asap. Very sorry. Next time I will either come to stop on the junction or come down the slip road at 40, just in case.

(Edit: sorry if that came across a bit strong. I've been having a bad week)

Really? Is that knowledge or here say? The way they are setup on the motorways down here (with cameras on the exits) suggests a gated setup.

Hearsay tbh... maybe I read it in an article somewhere. Probably a mix of both with cameras on the exits as well. With it being computer controlled I don't see why they can't change from time to time which cameras are doing the measuring on different parts of the road (that is my thinking entirely, based on nothing!).

I think it requires a pair of cameras to cover 3 or 4 lanes , but only 1 camera for 1 or 2 lanes . Hence seeing a single camera on a slip road for example

For normal cameras, sure, but how can average speed cams work with only one? I suspect you are thinking of the new style cameras which are small & yellow so look very much like the average speed ones:

https://www.mustard.co.uk/van-insurance-guides/new-uk-speed-cameras/


 
Posted : 29/08/2024 10:48 am
CountZero and CountZero reacted
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I have 3 points on my license from average speed cameras. 44 average in a 30.

My Dad was having a heart attack, and we were told three hours for an ambulance. It took 15 minutes for me to drive him to the hospital, whereupon he immediately crashed, was brought back, and went straight into surgery. If we’d waited for the ambulance he’d be dead. 3 points and a hundred quid fine - bargain. I’d do it again without hesitation.


 
Posted : 29/08/2024 12:39 pm
Cougar and Cougar reacted
 jimw
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A9, i don’t ever enjoy that road, the average speed cameras just seem like a tacked on ‘safety’ feature, but in all my time using it, the A9 has always been a nightmare for dangerous overtaking (not helped by slow moving vehicles now)

I guess that I have been lucky, my experience of the A9 is that since the combined use of average speed cameras and allowing the 38t trucks to do 50mph on the single carriageway sections came it it’s a much more relaxed drive between Perth and Inverness and the average speeds are actually higher than before. But I do tend to time my journeys to avoid the really busy times.


 
Posted : 29/08/2024 12:58 pm
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Agree - A9 is a better (less awful) experience since the vultures went up.


 
Posted : 29/08/2024 1:37 pm
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We have speed limits, not speed targets.

/Sigh.

Do that in your driving test and there’s a decent chance you’ll be failed.

We may well have speed limits not targets, but if you're bimbling along without good reason it would be a test failure. The usual STW suspects like to strawman "making progress" as being synonymous with "drive like you've stolen it," but making progress is exactly what you're expected to do unless road/traffic situations dictate otherwise.

If the speed differential between you and everyone else - in either direction, slower or faster - is too great then you become a hazard.


 
Posted : 29/08/2024 2:14 pm
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ACPO doesn’t exist and neither do the “guidelines”

Well, yes, but it did exist back when I was younger and stupider.

although that’s only part of the reason for tolerances

The elephant in the room here is that whilst measuring equipment might well be accurate to a fraction of a percentage, there simply isn't the resources to prosecute everyone doing 50.01mph in a 50 zone because it would be, well, "everyone."

Just because you can’t see them doesn’t mean there’s nothing going on. Could be damage to safety features you can’t see.

Agreed. I'm of the mind that more people would obey temporary restrictions if it was better communicated as to why. There was one recently on a motorway near where I live, there was nothing to see other than cones but there was a big sign up telling drivers that there were people working under the bridge.


 
Posted : 29/08/2024 2:18 pm
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It pisses me off that people feel the need to worry about what speed I’m driving at. If I want to do 40mph on a 50mph road then I will (and usually do)

HC 169 applies here. Careful that you don't fall foul of  Careless or Inconsiderate Driving, one of the test for which can be:

Unnecessarily slow driving, or braking without good cause

From here


 
Posted : 29/08/2024 2:36 pm
 mert
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See how many laps you can do before they change lane.

9 laps, 9 is my record. Driving up the M40 London to Birmingham.

the i10 we have reads 10% lower at 40mph

You sure? A car speedo should never read under what you are actually doing. It's a legal/homologation requirement.


 
Posted : 29/08/2024 3:00 pm
zomg and zomg reacted
 joat
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One of the most dangerous and time consuming aspects of roadworks is the setting up of traffic management. Yes there will be times when there is no one working in the carriageway but, as has been said, cones flying around at 70mph isn't fun. For major works, motorways and dual carriageways will have to be closed to set up.
So yeah, that's why you're doing 50mph.


 
Posted : 29/08/2024 8:55 pm
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Foreign plates, I'm golden ?


 
Posted : 29/08/2024 10:29 pm
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@cougar - you've completely missed the cointext of my "not speed targets" comment, but hey ho.


 
Posted : 29/08/2024 11:22 pm
nickc and nickc reacted
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It pisses me off that people feel the need to worry about what speed I’m driving at. If I want to do 40mph on a 50mph road then I will (and usually do)
HC 169 applies here. Careful that you don’t fall foul of  Careless or Inconsiderate Driving, one of the test for which can be:

Unnecessarily slow driving, or braking without good cause

Drivers who live by that mantra are a pita, and are basically a moving traffic hazard. I was following a car recently, which was doing less than 40 on a road varying between 50 and 60, with the brakes continuously flashing on at the slightest deviation of the road from straight.
Increasing frustration at being held up, and constantly having to touch the brakes because the hazard in front can’t or won’t keep to a steady pace is what causes accidents. The weather was fine and dry, there is no excuse for any drivers who’ve passed a driving test to drive in such a fashion, and frankly I feel they should be given a refresher driving course.

Back to average speed cameras, I use the speed limiter on my car, set at 52mph on my satnav, which equals 50 on my car’s speedometer - cruise control is pointless because without appropriate sensors cars don’t keep to the exact same speed, mine doesn’t even have front parking sensors, let alone proximity sensors like VW’s have. Using the limiter means I keep a steady speed that’s often slightly faster than most other vehicles, but on the camera average speed, and it allows me to lift off if the traffic slows down.

The worst stretch when I was doing logistics for BCA was on the M6 north of Birmingham, which IIRC was over 14 miles, talk about mind-numbing tedium! [img] [/img]


 
Posted : 30/08/2024 7:34 pm
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"Drivers who live by that mantra are a pita, and are basically a moving traffic hazard. I was following a car recently, which was doing less than 40 on a road varying between 50 and 60"

Over the years I have wondered if they get more speeding tickets - there is a big subset of this group for whom 40 means 40 and that's what they do. Enter a village and they zoom off ahead of you as the 30 or 20 limit does not apply to them.

Anyone else noticed that usually if someone pulls out on you forcing evasive action, they are almost invariably slow.


 
Posted : 30/08/2024 10:08 pm
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Back to average speed cameras, I use the speed limiter on my car, set at 52mph on my satnav, which equals 50 on my car’s speedometer

surely other way round, car speedos can't indicate less than you're doing, that'd be a 'mare if you get ticketed for exceeding and your car was then tested and you can show your speedo said 50 and the actual was >50. One of those areas where ignorance is a defence.

My car reads about 5% over - I drive the A3 roadworks most days and when it isn't a queue (northbound, every day for the last 3 years basically and another year to go) then 50mph on google maps is 53 on the speedo. Most people seem to have the hang of it, but you do still get the odd 'slow past the yellow cameras and then smash it to the next one'.


 
Posted : 30/08/2024 10:14 pm
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I wish there were more average speed cameras, thousands of them. In every village and town.

High initial cost but once installed, unless the neds torch them , cheaper in the long run.

When I'm in charge only 5% will be active, and the rest dormant. The beauty is no one will know which one is live or not . So you can roll the dice or stick to the posted limit.

I imagine the radar and camera and upload gubbins are the majority of the cost , and should be able to be mounted on a chassis so an operator can unlock the pole , slide out the hardware and move it to a new location.

You can just hear the whining on Facebook already about the unfairness of it


 
Posted : 31/08/2024 9:11 am
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I imagine the radar and camera and upload gubbins are the majority of the cost , and should be able to be mounted on a chassis so an operator can unlock the pole , slide out the hardware and move it to a new location.

This is basically how the ASCs on the A9 north of Perth operate. When they went operational there were only 6 recording devices for the 20 or so cameras. They'd be swapped around occasionally so you never knew which segments were "live". When they extended the dual carriageway between Perth and Birnam.a couple of the camera points were removed, so there are now higher odds of being caught at the remaining camera locations. It's also possible that they've acquired more recording devices too.


 
Posted : 31/08/2024 10:04 am
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I was following a car recently, which was doing less than 40 on a road varying between 50 and 60, with the brakes continuously flashing on at the slightest deviation of the road from straight.

I'm reasonably confident that most people who do this are genuinely oblivious to what the limit actually is.


 
Posted : 31/08/2024 12:20 pm

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