George Dredd Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 Today I was driving uphill on a dual c/way it was national speed limit area, I had one car in front of me and we were overtaking two articulated lorries, as we reached the brow of the hill there was a camera van pointing towards us, (I was doing 60 on the dot set on cruise control)naturally we both slammed the anchors on and dropped to 50 just incase, as I got closer to the van I saw some smaller than normal 40 signs attached to the lamp posts I was approaching so dropped the speed to 40 but I was thinking I never saw the signs change from 60 to 40 so I decided to drive around the roundabout and go back and past the camera van again, this time about 50 meters before the camera van i see the sign where the speed limit changes(that was previously hidden by the lorries I was overtaking) but there is only one sign on the left of the road instead of one on the left and right. So what I want to know is: 1. Is the van likely to be trying to catch you the second it sees you so you don't have a chance to react and drop your speed to the legal limit? 2. Can a cam van that is sat in a 40 zone film you in a 60 zone or does the cam have to get you once you are inside the 40 zone? 3.if I was above the limit when I entered the 40 zone would I have a leg to stand on as the one speed limit sign was hidden behind the lorry I was overtaking therefore I had no chance of spotting the change in speed limits? 4.there was 2 police vehicles behind the camera van, would they have pulled me over straight away and issued me a fine on the spot? Thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zugara Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 these camera vans can take a photo upto 1 mile away, several guys from work have been done on the M74 heading down from Glasgow, at that distance The picture quality from that distance is really bad though. You can be done at any time, and distance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vik54 Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 Yup Zug's right...anytime any place - but they can hardly prosecute you whilst in the 60 though so I wouldn't sweat :headhurt:I've only got two days to go until my fornight waiting for a NIP is up ...don't tempt fate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Dredd Posted July 25, 2011 Author Share Posted July 25, 2011 Yup Zug's right...anytime any place - but they can hardly prosecute you whilst in the 60 though so I wouldn't sweat :headhurt:I've only got two days to go until my fornight waiting for a NIP is up ...don't tempt fate Thanks for the reply guys, but its not the 60 bit I'm bothered about as I know I wasn't speeding, its the bit where I entered the 40 zone without seeing the 40 sign and didn't know I was over the limit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vik54 Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 Think you'd have a problem proving it - but dunno the ins and outs of requirements for signs on both sides of the road - maybe one of our resident policemen can shed some light? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Dredd Posted July 25, 2011 Author Share Posted July 25, 2011 Think you'd have a problem proving it - but dunno the ins and outs of requirements for signs on both sides of the road - maybe one of our resident policemen can shed some light? I could always appeal I suppose, after all the worst they can do is reject the appeal and issue me the punishment they were going to give me anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricey Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 I think there is some sort of requirement where your just expected to know what the speed limit is too......you don't see 30 signs down every street but you can be reasonably sure when your one one. Bugger mate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ebized Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 Hope this helps: http://www.abd.org.uk/speed_limit_signs.htm and this quote taken from it: "Thus drivers entering the new 30mph limit from the existing one have only one chance (if that) to realise that the limit has changed — if they miss seeing that one sign, assuming there is one, they may continue at 40mph in ignorance of the change. This in our view is indefensible, and even more so if no sign is installed at all. There was a case in Kidderminster in 2002 where a 40mph limit was reduced to 30mph on the A449 and no signs warning of the change were installed. A large number of drivers were caught exceeding the new limit and one of them went to court, where it was agreed that the highway authority had acted unreasonably by not making drivers aware of the change. The police had to refund all the fines." If you feel the law is not complied with I would go back and take a video of the relevant section of road just so you have a record of the signage, in case it gets altered Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Dredd Posted July 25, 2011 Author Share Posted July 25, 2011 I think there is some sort of requirement where your just expected to know what the speed limit is too......you don't see 30 signs down every street but you can be reasonably sure when your one one. Bugger mate I see what you're saying but it is much easier to spot when you're in a residential area as opposed to a dual c/way changing to a 40 for no particular reason. Just gonna have to play the waiting game. I would take it on the chin if I had genuinely been carelessly speeding but I had every intention of obeying all the speed limits if I were able to see them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Dredd Posted July 25, 2011 Author Share Posted July 25, 2011 I have just realized there was no speed camera signs either and the blacked out window on the cam van was up not down, although I could see the camera inside, do either of these go in my favor? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ebized Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 4.there was 2 police vehicles behind the camera van, would they have pulled me over straight away and issued me a fine on the spot? Thank you Just a thought. You don't normally have police vehicles with a camera van. It may be that van was checking for insurance/tax dodgers as that is when police are normally in attendance to chase after the dodgers when the signal comes through. Fingers crossed for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Dredd Posted July 25, 2011 Author Share Posted July 25, 2011 4.there was 2 police vehicles behind the camera van, would they have pulled me over straight away and issued me a fine on the spot? Thank you Just a thought. You don't normally have police vehicles with a camera van. It may be that van was checking for insurance/tax dodgers as that is when police are normally in attendance to chase after the dodgers when the signal comes through. Fingers crossed for you. Hmmmm that could explain why there were no speed camera signs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roo Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 Speed camera vans have to be clearly marked if no speed camera signs are up i believe. also i believe the speed type cameras are normally not shot thru glass ANPR may not have that problem. I agree about cop cars. You may be lucky and it was an insurance/tax sting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Watshot Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 FYI, the national speed limit on a dual carriageway, unless marked otherwise, is 70mph. Still, good to know that there could be a twenty mph differential caused in an instant by a 'safety' camera, by those that are aware of the highway code and everybody else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The G Man Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 I hope that it turns out ok for you as it sounds like it would be really unfair if you get a NIP. In saying that, a much quoted saying is "Ignorance of the law is not an excuse", is always bandied about. I have no idea though, if there is any truth in this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jixaman Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 Innocence is no excuse... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Dredd Posted July 26, 2011 Author Share Posted July 26, 2011 Today I was driving uphill on a dual c/way it was national speed limit area, I had one car in front of me and we were overtaking two articulated lorries, as we reached the brow of the hill there was a camera van pointing towards us, (I was doing 60 on the dot set on cruise control)naturally we both slammed the anchors on and dropped to 50 just incase, as I got closer to the van I saw some smaller than normal 40 signs attached to the lamp posts I was approaching so dropped the speed to 40 but I was thinking I never saw the signs change from 60 to 40 so I decided to drive around the roundabout and go back and past the camera van again, this time about 50 meters before the camera van i see the sign where the speed limit changes(that was previously hidden by the lorries I was overtaking) but there is only one sign on the left of the road instead of one on the left and right. So what I want to know is: 1. Is the van likely to be trying to catch you the second it sees you so you don't have a chance to react and drop your speed to the legal limit? 2. Can a cam van that is sat in a 40 zone film you in a 60 zone or does the cam have to get you once you are inside the 40 zone? 3.if I was above the limit when I entered the 40 zone would I have a leg to stand on as the one speed limit sign was hidden behind the lorry I was overtaking therefore I had no chance of spotting the change in speed limits? 4.there was 2 police vehicles behind the camera van, would they have pulled me over straight away and issued me a fine on the spot? Thank you Thanks for all the replys peeps but I just had to call them and ask if I had been caught, so now I can answer my own q's 1. Yes, if they want to. 2. If the van is in a 40 zone then they will only be enforcing the 40 zone. 3. No, but would require further legal representation to dispute this. 4. The police never work with the camera vans. So, the nice lady said she would just check to see if they were filming at that time.... It turns out that there was no speed cameras operating in that area at all that day, it was an ANPR team Also if anyone didn't know they can't film unless that back window is down. But anyway I don't have a ticket coming after all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rabbitstew Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 Phew, sounds like you have a lucky escape there! In my experience the mobile speed vans or cops with radar guns dont tend to be very lenient. I remember years ago I was cruising along at 45mph in a 60mph zone. I was in no rush, just pottering along, listening to my music on a nice summers day. As I started entering a village I eased off the accelerator to slow to do the 30mph speed limit, and got caught straight away by a police man with a radar gun. I was doing 36 in a 30. No consideration was given to the fact I clearly was not deliberately speeding, having just driven 15miles at well under the speed limit and was de-accelerating. It was just a case that i hadnt de-accelerated quickly enough and should have really reduced my speed prior to the 30mph sign. There was no schools, kids or anything else about so in my humble opinion the copper would have been better placed sitting outside a school or public area, where motorists driving dangerously would be a hazard, rather than trying to catch motorists just entering a 30mph zone and slowing down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JetSet Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 4. The police never work with the camera vans. Yeah, there's a lot of mobile cameras here in North Wales and I've yet to see a police car accompanying one, so that pretty well confirmed what I thought Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoff-r Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 I completely sympathise with ANPR vans. The less illegal drivers on the road the better. On the other hand mobile speed traps are the work of the devil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iwantone Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 Phew, sounds like you have a lucky escape there! In my experience the mobile speed vans or cops with radar guns dont tend to be very lenient. I remember years ago I was cruising along at 45mph in a 60mph zone. I was in no rush, just pottering along, listening to my music on a nice summers day. As I started entering a village I eased off the accelerator to slow to do the 30mph speed limit, and got caught straight away by a police man with a radar gun. I was doing 36 in a 30. No consideration was given to the fact I clearly was not deliberately speeding, having just driven 15miles at well under the speed limit and was de-accelerating. It was just a case that i hadnt de-accelerated quickly enough and should have really reduced my speed prior to the 30mph sign. There was no schools, kids or anything else about so in my humble opinion the copper would have been better placed sitting outside a school or public area, where motorists driving dangerously would be a hazard, rather than trying to catch motorists just entering a 30mph zone and slowing down. This is the exact situation I was in. I'd come around a bend and was confronted by a 30 mph sign. I can recall looking at the speedo and seeing nearer to 40 than 30 as I passed the sign. I don't speed through villages and decided to let the car deccelerate naturally to 30 mph. Big mistake! I'm doing the course on the 15th August, day after Zed Feast. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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