Speed camera question??

[ShadyAl]

Ok, so I was coming up the A3 from the M25 into Tolworth where it drops from 70 to 50 earlier today.

There's a gatso as it goes to 50, so I slowed down, and as I came round the next corner about 400m on, there's one of those f***ing speed camera vans parked (on a pavement).

Anyway long story short, I'd creeped upto about 58-60 again, so I guess its a fair cop.

Thing is, I have never been done for speeding, so now I don't know what to expect...

How long does it take for it to come through?? (It was a work van, so not registered to me) and is there any laws or loopholes that might help me get out of it?? (And yes, I know I was wrong, but no-one likes paying fines!)

Any advice appreciated!!!:)

[Fezboy]

Are you sure it was speed camera van and not anpr van?

Not sure but it's probably brown envelope within 6 weeks?

[sharkrider]

if you were, reading 60mph on your speedo, chances are its 10% fast, so a 'real' 54 mph....

guidelines say 10% of the speed limit + 2 before they book you , so that would be 57mph. ssooooo I would say you are probably safe..

NIP needs to be sent within 14 days, will be sent to the registered keeper of the vehical, if they have no records of who was driving (they have to make all possible tries to find out) then they could ask for a photo to identify the driver... if they canno identify you, and no-one can remember who was driving , its possible to get away with it... BUT ALL attempts must be made by the company to identify the driver

but then as Fezboy said, it could have been ANPR

[Tomo1971]

but if the company cant identify the driver they could potentially be taken to court themselves, so if its mainly your van rather than a pool van..........

but as mentioned, there will be a cut off speed. In a 50, Id guess at 55 for a fixed pen and over 65/70 for court

Steve

[gadgetman]

Any company will do their up most to identify the driver, otherwise they dont give up. They simply go after the directors/company secretary and fine them instead.

Many firms will have a company vehicle policy, and should document who was driving - especially if a pool vehicle. If yours full time then obv they'll know to find you. If you borrowed without asking, then things might get nasty for you.....

[Bertee]

As stated above, they don't mess about.

A letter comes to the company secretary and unles they cough the name the company secretary gets it lol.

That van is parked at a regular spot there. They also plot up before the camera where the A3 turns into 2 lanes before the first speed camera for future ref.

[VWD]

As Sharkrider says - NIP (notice of intended prosecution , asking Registered Keeper to identify driver ) within 14 days . No real limit ,as such on company vehicles ,as RK usually gets it within 14 days .

Speed - ACPO GUIDELINES (and they're only guidelines ) are 10% +2 ( or 57 MAX IN A50).sPEEDOS CAN READ UP TO 10% OVER ,BUT never UNDER ,so COULD HAVE been doing 54 when reading 60 .

Long wait now ,I'm sorry, for firm to pass on the bad news.

And in the event of the worst -there's always peppipoo

[sms]

agree with sharkrider, min limit they would start at is 57 and above. but i reckon they would have been targetting at 60 and above.

[gadgetman]

agree with sharkrider, min limit they would start at is 57 and above. but i reckon they would have been targetting at 60 and above.

Wouldnt be so sure of that. It's in the Met police area, and a lurcritive location for them as lots of speeders.

I know someone who was done on that Gatso @ 53!

[sms]

under acpo guidelines the limit is 10% above the limit and 2mph so at 50mph the threshold is 57 and above. you could always have a read through the guidelines available on Association of Chief Police Officers, certainly take you a few days to read through and you will learn alot.

[gadgetman]

under acpo guidelines the limit is 10% above the limit and 2mph so at 50mph the threshold is 57 and above. you could always have a read through the guidelines available on Association of Chief Police Officers, certainly take you a few days to read through and you will learn alot.

They are only guidelines. They arent law

ANY force could, if they so wish, proscecute at 1mph over the limit. However many choose to follow the recomendations of ACPO to reduce paperwork caused by 'marginal' speeders.

The person I know who got his NIP doing 53mph did mention this, and was advised that the only challenge would be via court, and that it wasnt worth the risk. IIRC that was via a speeding help website.

[Rich.H]

Your probably safe given the limit plus acpo guidelines plus 1mph that that particular force usually allows combined with the few mph your speedo is likely to be out. Prosecutions are generally the route taken when you exceed any limit by 27mph with a mandatory ban (through court) if you exceed the limit by 30mph so you wont be prosecuted. Most camera vans now operate allowing quite a large margin in excess of the signed limit, with the lazer set to record speeds over 58 or 60mph in a 50 limit. Depends how skint the government is! The 'I wasn't drivin' argument will see you end up in court with a real good photo of you behind the wheel, you will still get the points but generally fines in court start about £120 to deter people arguin the tickets. - Good Luck, I passed one on the A1 at 109mph n didn't get a ticket, guess he wa making a cuppa!

[cheezemonkhai]

under acpo guidelines the limit is 10% above the limit and 2mph so at 50mph the threshold is 57 and above. you could always have a read through the guidelines available on Association of Chief Police Officers, certainly take you a few days to read through and you will learn alot.

As gadgetman says, only guidelines, it's just that there are different rule on what happens to the money if you don't follow them.

[sms]

Yusually allows combined with the few mph your speedo is likely to be out.

speedos are allowed to over read but never under read i.e. shows 33mph when you actually doing 30mph. luckily my speedo is only 1-2% out:thumbup:

[sms]

As gadgetman says, only guidelines, it's just that there are different rule on what happens to the money if you don't follow them.

Yes i know they are guidelines, however you decided to go to court then CPS wouldnt allow it as the guidelines are there to help secure a conviction thus why they give the 10% and 2mph for the reason it couldnt be confused and there would be a enough difference between your speed and the speed limit for that road.

[Scathel]

Having read the above with interest, here is what it happening to me on a frequent basis in my Renault Master based box van;

I frequently get flashed by speed cameras (sometimes a single warning, sometimes the dreaded double) in my van, even when below the limit. An example is the camera on the A1 westbound, at Tranent. This stretch is 70mph, and the first time I was flashed I was doing 60. Which, in a van, is the limit on a 70. So, the next time I turned on the satnav, and went through at a dashboard reading of 58mph, which was a satnav speed of 53mph, and the camera still double flashed.

Another example is being double flashed in a 50 doing a dash reading of 49, 47 and 45, obviously on seperate journeys, but the same camera.

The only answer anybody can come up with is this is happening due to my van having a red reflective strip around the perimieter of the rear end, and this in some way is causing the camera to misbehave.

Any ideas?

[MoggyTech]

Certain conditions will trigger a Gatso, such as low loaders, and for some obscure reason tractors. It uses radar, so if the red strip on your van uses micro prism reflectors, it is possible this would cause a dopler shift and trigger the camera.

[sms]

the gatso might be one of the newish ones that measure by the amount of radar reflected back (loads back means hgv and lower speed limit while a bit back means car). This could be triggering it and thinking you are a HGV, but on a secondary check at the speed camera hq they will see this and cancel it immediately.

[sms]

a quick question does your van have a spinny air thing on top of it?

[lawe]

Know that place, they do like to hide

If the van looked like this:

Then that was a ANPR van (which normally it is at that location, but it has been known...)

[Scathel]

Thanks for the replies.

I followed an artic through the camera last night, keeping about 3 van lengths behind him, reading about 54 on the speedo. He went through with no fuss and then......a double flash for me doing the same speed.

a quick question does your van have a spinny air thing on top of it?

The van hasn't got a spinny thing (which I think is just an air circulator :confused:) on the roof. I often wonder at what speed they would fly off anyway!

[sms]

have you done a google of your van make and speed cameras to see if anyone else has reported it? i know rover 200's use to trip the cameras if they had their sunroofs open as the plastic deflector bit use to bounce around in the slipstream. Lorrys have been known to trip the cameras when the slats on the shutters wobble about too.

[sms]

just found this that might be of use to you: BBC Inside Out - Mobile speed cameras i know its mainly on laser but its the same principle.

[cjb]

Having read the above with interest, here is what it happening to me on a frequent basis in my Renault Master based box van;

I frequently get flashed by speed cameras (sometimes a single warning, sometimes the dreaded double) in my van, even when below the limit. An example is the camera on the A1 westbound, at Tranent. This stretch is 70mph, and the first time I was flashed I was doing 60. Which, in a van, is the limit on a 70. So, the next time I turned on the satnav, and went through at a dashboard reading of 58mph, which was a satnav speed of 53mph, and the camera still double flashed.

Another example is being double flashed in a 50 doing a dash reading of 49, 47 and 45, obviously on seperate journeys, but the same camera.

The only answer anybody can come up with is this is happening due to my van having a red reflective strip around the perimieter of the rear end, and this in some way is causing the camera to misbehave.

Any ideas?

The limit is lower for some vans. Have a look here (scroll down)- the limit is only 70 for "Cars & motorcycles (including car-derived vans up to 2 tonnes maximum laden weight)". Also, as many people don't realise, the limit for a HGV on SC is 40, not 60 mph.

Could that have a bearing on it? Soem Gatsos, so I'm told, can tell large vans from cars.

[sms]

Could that have a bearing on it? Soem Gatsos, so I'm told, can tell large vans from cars.

which is the point i made. did find out something else that not many knew, on dual carriageway a panel van is restricted to 50mph:eek: i thought it was 60mph, learn something new everyday.