Safe Speed Forums

And even the reflective ones can easily be lost in the brightly lit visual clutter on many urban roads after sunset. Ever tried to spot a gatso right next to a Jet garage, for example? Yellow reflective paint on camera against a background of the bright yellow illuminated signs of the garage makes pretty good camouflage...

In general, there are some urban roads on which I'm amazed any driver is able to pick out the reflected or emmited light from things that directly concern them (e.g. traffic lights) given the sheer number of non road-related lights, and their encroachment into the visual envelope of the road ahead.


I've also noticed an increasing number of reflective yellow-backed square roadsigns going up, which from anything more than a few 10's of metres at night, when caught in your headlights, look uncomfortably similar to Gatsos-same shape, roughly the same size and height, and only when you get close enough to notice the text on the sign, or realise that it's just a flat plate rather than a box, can you relax.

Oh that sounds like London whee they have some really wide roads with shops (with all their lights) and lots of pedestrian crossings without the white reflective border so they don't even look like traffic lights!


Oh yes... I remember seeing a yellow "for sale" sign up high on a hedge, if I'd remembered the name of the company I might well have complained at it's positioning because it looked very much like a camera!
At least the partnerships would never use these signs to hide cameras behind...
http://www.dorsetsafetycameras.org.uk/images/insets/inset1.jpg

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Andrew.

I was thinking of the stretch of Green Lanes between Manor House and Turnpike Lane when I wrote that

Brake!

People automatically brake when they see a revenue raiser (Speed Trap) why? May be because the speed limits are constantly changed and it has been proven that there is a driver overload due to confusing signs and unapproved speed limit signs.
As for Mr camera operator person, I will expect to see you soon on the horlicks TV advert soon.
(How dos he sleep at night)

well i dont brake for any camera within my force area or elsewhere

how do i sleep at night - get undressed, go to bed close my eyes snuggle up to the wife if its her night off, and count cars til i go to the land of nod, pretty easy really, thanks for the concern though

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now retired

Driving within the unnaturally low speed limit on an empty motorway usually does it for me

IMO motorways and duals need to be addressed in a different context from 30mph areas

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now retired

Cameras dont cause collisions, speeding in attentive motorists do stick to a reasonable speed limit and when you see one all you will have to do is use accelaration sense knocking off a couple of mph not slamming the brakes on and causing a massive pile up, then saying it wasnt my fault there was a camera over there.
Stephen

It's fantastic just how far from the point this discussion has strayed. While possibly interesting to know, the reason why people brake for cameras is surely not the point, it would seem that they do, and anecdotal evidence from the OP suggests that that act of braking, allied with the general numptie's tendency to tailgate is causing accidents. Accidents that would not be happening if the cameras weren't there. That surely is the point, it's all very well bemoaning the driving skills of the people who do it, and indeed the standard of the average driver in this country could be improved, but at the end of the day we currently have the driving population that we have, and it would appear that the presence of cameras is causing these chumps to have prangs that they otherwise would not be having - so how does that aid road safety?

I would guess that these people who are braking for cameras are those on 9 points like me. When you're one flash away from losing your licence and your job, priorities tend to shift a little.

If I see a Talivan or hand-held laser, I apply the brakes immediately. I have trained myself to do this instinctively, to the point where I can respond in a fraction of a second. Once you're in visual range of an LTI20/20, the 2 seconds it takes to remember the speed limit, check your speedo and consciously work out whether you need to brake or not is 1.5 seconds more than they need to ping you.

Since conscious thought has been removed from the operation, it obviously means that a lot of the time I'm braking even when I'm not above the limit. Sometimes I even brake for innocent contractor's vans.

However, it beats losing my licence and my livelihood for that one occasion I AM doing 36 rather than 33.

The problem is that with the vans or hand-held laser, you don't know where the enforcement point is. There is no indicative line in the road like there is for GATSOs & TRUVELOs. They could be snapping cars 50m away or 500m away, you just don't know. In the absence of this information you have to assume you're "on the line" as soon as you see them. Speedo checks and slowing down gradually are two luxuries you can't afford.

Police forces bragging about new hand held laser guns that can zap cars 2km away etc. just adds to the paranoia.

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“For every complex problem, there is a solution that is simple, neat, and wrong.” - H. L. Mencken

What! Sorry couldn't make sense of this post.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/tyne/4779632.stm

Crash right next to mobile scammer.

So its ok to go over the speed limit as long as you have presence of mind to use engine braking to slow down for the camera!

Regardless of whether or not a driver is going above a posted limit, if the net result of a grey box at the side of the road is that one or more drivers are distracted, or brake, (rightly or wrongly), then the grey boxes are the problem. NOT the act of exceeding or possibly only believing that you may be exceeding a number on a lollipop.

Given that ridiculous limits are often placed on perfecty good stretches of A road and dual carriage ways, its hardly suprising for drivers in unfamiliar ares to suddenly get all defensive about losing there license.

I along with most reasonable drivers could quite safely drive from Lands end to John o Groats in a spirited manner without the use of a speedo. Only speed enforcement makes it impossible to do, aand not any risk to life or limb.