| GATSO. |
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| GATSO is the name given to
the Dutch-made 'Photographic Trap' system used in the UK and other
European Countries. Gatso traps are unmanned and take a photograph
of the rear of offending vehicles. |
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| Speeding convictions are
processed automatically and dealt with through the Postal system.
Normally a 'fixed penalty' is the price paid for a Gatso offence...
typically a £60 fine and 3 penalty points. Stiffer penalties and
fines [and a Court appearance] occur in circumstances where the posted
speed limit was broken by a sizeable margin. |
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| Gatso traps operate on K band
radar and are therefore detectable by most good Radar Detectors. GPS
based systems are also able to locate Gatso sites, although in a different
way. The majority of Gatso sites are inactive... the average
ratio is one 'live' camera site for every five boxes... although in some
areas it is as much as 1 in 3. Even
'inactive' sites will appear to take photographs of passing vehicles by
flashing at them. However, since no photographic equipment is
installed, no photographs can be taken. [Check out... |
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| If the Gatso system is fully
loaded it is transmitting K band radar signals constantly, monitoring the
speed of every vehicle that passes. If a vehicle passes the site
exceeding the systems pre-set limit [normally the limit is set at 10%
above the posted limit plus 2mph] two photographs are taken less than a
second apart. To an observer it is impossible to tell whether a site
is live or not. Only Radar Detector owners can tell whether a Gatso
site is active or not. |
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| In addition to the standard
Gatso system, there is also a special version that has been developed to
catch motorists who 'jump' red lights. These use induction loops in
the road surface and therefore, cannot be detected |
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| TRUVELO. |
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| TRUVELO is the name given to
another type of speed camera used on the UK's roads. Truvelo looks
very similar to Gatso but can be identified because they are usually blue
in colour... twin
lenses on the front... and by the fact that it faces the oncoming
traffic. |
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| However... unlike Gatso,
Truvelo uses induction loops in the road surface to gauge a vehicle's
speed. This makes it undetectable by conventional radar/laser
detectors... but like Gatso it can be located by any GPS based detection
product. |
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| SPECS. |
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| SPECS is the name of the much
hyped 'DIGITAL' speed camera system, currently being deployed in a small
number of locations around the country. SVDD [Speed Violation
Detection Deterrent] is the digital brain which the SPECS system is based
upon. It is a state of the art video system with number plate
recognition built in... consisting of two digital video cameras each
fitted with Infra-red illuminators. |
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| They are fitted at the
roadside a set distance apart, [perhaps many miles apart] on a special
mounting pole, bridge, or any other suitable point. Linked together
via computer... SPECS takes an image of every vehicle that passes the
first camera point... speeding or not. Then [by using optical
character recognition] the vehicle's registration number, time and date is
recorded.
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| When a vehicle passes the second camera point, the same
information is recorded. The SPECS system is then able to calculate
how long it has taken each vehicle to travel between the two fixed
points. An average speed is calculated. If the average speed
exceeds the pre-set limit a fine will be issued automatically. |
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| The computer will store the
details... and then periodically dial out to the DVLA's computer to gather
the driver's details. A Notice of Intended Prosecution is then
generated and mailed to the registered owner of the vehicle. The
"advantage" of the SPECS system [over the standard Gatso system]
is that it never runs out of film... because it doesn't use film...
instead it stores the video images digitally. SPECS doesn't emit a signal
of any kind and is therefore undetectable by conventional radar/laser
detectors. Only GPS based systems are able to inform you of the
presence of SPECS. |
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| Protection against
SPECS. Here's a little known loophole... "a prosecution can only be
valid if you stay in the same lane". The cameras are not always easy to
spot...
so if you happen to be travelling through roadworks make sure you change
lanes at least once. SPECS cameras work out the vehicles
average speed by calculating
the time it took to drive between two camera positions. However, under Home Office
rules... speeding
prosecutions are ONLY
valid if a driver is filmed in the SAME lane... from the start to
the finish of each section of road covered by the cameras. According to
the manufacturers of the SPECS cameras... the devices were approved by the Home Office in
1999...
passing strict tests for use in one lane at a time. However... there was not enough time or
finances to extend Home Office approval tests to cover the cameras' use over two or
three lanes at a time... and, strangely, since then nothing has
changed! So the message is... if you're going through
roadwork's or you see
a SPECS system... if at all possible change to a different lane.
Or, even better still... stick to the speed limit! |
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| LIDAR. |
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| LIDAR stands for Light
Detection And Ranging. This Laser Speed
Detection System uses a Laser Gun that emits infra-red light pulses just
outside the spectrum of visible light. Each pulse measures the
distance to any object that reflects the laser. The speed of the
object coming towards the laser gun is calculated by measuring how quickly
the pulses are reflected back into the gun. Unlike radar signals,
the output of the laser gun is a very narrow beam of light, so that it can
pinpoint a single speeding car within traffic. The infra-red beam
spreads out but slowly and over a longer distance. |
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| So, how can a radar/laser
detector, detect a laser beam? Well, a good quality detector will
offer both good main beam laser detection and also [and more importantly]
detection of what is called 'off axis energy'. As the laser signal
travels through the air, the beam is actually wider than the nominal main
beam. This is caused by scattering of the laser energy when it
encounters water vapour... or pockets of warm or cold air... in the
atmosphere. This scattering makes the beam appear considerably wider
than that claimed by the laser gun manufacturer. |
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| A laser gun has a maximum
effective range of about 2,000ft. [circa 600 metres] although it is rarely
used at such distances... 1,000ft. [300 metres] being the average
operating distance. Laser gun technology is now also used in the
infamous 'safety camera van' system now deployed on the UK's roads. |
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| It should be pointed out that
detecting a laser signal is not easy... and even the best equipment will
not be successful 100% of the time. There are circumstances where a
laser detector can be ineffective... such as when no vehicles are being
targeted ahead of you. Since there will be no 'scatter' to pick-up,
your detector will only alarm when the laser gun is pointed at you... and
the trigger is pressed. Although your laser detector will warn you
at this point... it will be to late... the laser system will already have
registered your speed. |
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| [Read News Story 18... The
Laser Cameras that do lie...]
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| Protection against
Laser. It has been suggested on a number of sites... that
operators tend to focus the Laser on your front number plate...
rather than other sloping parts of the vehicle... slightly tilting
it up in the air or towards the ground makes it more difficult to
get a reading. Don't actually know if this is true or not!! |
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| Pacing.
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| Pacing is perhaps the most
basic form of speed detection. This is basically, where a Police car
will follow a vehicle for a while and record their speed. Most
likely they will be following behind... but they could be up ahead... or
even travelling along side... [which you might not notice, especially if
they are using an unmarked car.] This might also be the most damning
of evidence as the offence may also have been recorded on video.
[However, if you get pulled over by normal Police... rather than Traffic
Police... they may not have a calibrated speedo or any video evidence...
so don't admit to anything.]
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| RedSpeed
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| RedSpeed cameras are digital
and transmit data via phone to a central office... which is done within a
couple of minutes. The cameras are bright yellow and mounted on the
top of 15ft poles... mainly to deter vandals. Vehicles are detected
using inductive loops buried in the road surface... radar detectors won't
pick them up.... but a GPS based system could be programmed to alert
drivers of their presence. From mid-2006... expect to see them
sprouting up like mushrooms.
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| [See the RedSpeed
website to learn more.]
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| Watchman. |
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| Watchman Speed
cameras use radar similar to the Gatso Speed Camera, a constant stream of
radar is emitted and speed is calculated as a vehicle passes through,
triggering the camera. The difference with the Watchman Speed Camera
is that it can monitor the speed of a vehicle before you pass it. |
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| There are also two
types of camera built into the head unit. One is used to take an
overview of the road and the other is used as a Number Plate
Recognition System. You will often see Watchman speed cameras
accompanied by a "speed board" which displays the speed
limit for that particular stretch of road. |
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| Speedcurb. |
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| Speedcurb speed
cameras use embedded magnetic stripes or piezo electric devices within the
roads surface to calculate the speed of a vehicle as it passes over them,
[3 white-lines in the road, painted just before the camera.] |
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| These speed cameras are
very rare at the moment. Fixed Speedcurb speed cameras are
rear facing. This is so the cameras flash does not blind oncoming
motorists. The fixed Speedcurb camera has the ability to take
up to 400 pictures and like the Gatso the film may only last a few
hours, soon recouping there cost. |
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| Peek. |
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| Peek Speed
Cameras use either embedded magnetic stripes or piezo electric devices
within the roads surface to calculate the speed of a vehicle as it passes
over them or Radar like the Gatso. |
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| Peek Speed Cameras are
also accompanied by lines on the road similar to the Gatso type
cameras. The most popular in the UK is the Radar which is
similar in design to a rear facing Gatso using a normal
double-flash. It is still possible to see Peek Speed Cameras
in use but they are becoming rare. |
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Concept digital DVD.
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Made and sold by UK company Tele-Traffic
UK. Is a mobile speed detection unit which can be set up on things
like motorway bridges. Has 'instant playback' so Police can
identify the driver... and look for any other offences like... using a
mobile phone: not wearing a seatbelt: lighting a cigarette: or even
eating a sandwich. Under new guidelines drawn up for
prosecutors... any of these type of offences can be considered 'serious'
if they seem to interfere with the driver's ability to control their
vehicle. They can carry a £60 Fine and 3 points on a Licence...
or up to 2 years in prison if the offence contributed to 'dangerous
driving'. More than 100 of these units have been purchased and
will be rolled out across the country during 2008. They are
expected to massively increase the number of drivers who are prosecuted
for relatively minor offences. In a notorious sting by
journalists, posing as potential buyers... the manufacturers described
these cameras as a 'scam'... and said that setting up one of their
machines was like having 'a blank chequebook'... and would result in
'bucketfuls' of cash.
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The IDEE
Machine...
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| which
stands for... "Innovative Digital Enforcement Environment"... is
already in use in Holland... and it is believed that the Dutch
manufacturer is now planning to bring it to the UK. The camera has
so many vandal proof features it has been dubbed the "The toughest in
the World" by the manufacturer. This monster is about 13 ft.
tall... is Smoke and Fire resistant... in order to deter the growing
number of camera vandals... it has 4 cameras which can monitor 2 Lanes in
both directions... and it operates in the Infra-red range so you don't
know when you have triggered it. [You should be able to view one on
this link... IDEE
Machine.] |
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| Traffic
Light Cameras. |
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| Traffic light
cameras are triggered either by using ground loops that are cut into road
surface or radar technology. When using the loop system, as the traffic
lights turn red the system becomes active, any vehicle passing over the
sensor in the road after this time is then photographed. |
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| Radar based traffic
light cameras work using radar signals like the Gatso speed camera
system. The traffic light camera was originally used to
measure red light offences. It can now also be used in
combination with speed measurement, similar to that of a Gatso speed
camera. So you could ultimately end with a speeding offence
and a traffic light offence. |
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| ANPR:
[Automatic Number Plate Recognition. |
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| ANPR reads your
number plates from digital images captured through CCTV Cameras. This
system is able to cross reference the data against a variety of databases,
for example the Police National Computer, and DVLA. The check takes
around 1.5 seconds to complete, the ANPR systems are able to check up to
3,000 number plates per hour, at speeds of up to 100mph. |
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| ANPR cameras are not at
present speed cameras, but could be easily used for this purpose
with the integration of SPECS software. There are also yellow
and white ANPR Cameras, the white ANPR Cameras are sometimes indistinguishable
from standard CCTV Systems although they are fixed on a lane of
traffic. |
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| Trafficmaster. |
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| Trafficmaster
is often mistaken for Speed Cameras... they have a network of
7,500 sensor sites. Fixed infra-red sensors mounted on
motorway over-bridges, they have blue covers and look like flood
lights over each lane. Passive Target Flow Measurement
cameras, they are blue cameras on blue poles with aerials, they are
situated on busy main roads, see photograph. |
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| Cat's
Eyes Cameras. |
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The camera is just 130mm in
diameter, and can protrude from the surface by just 5mm... and it is linked
to a computer that can read and decode number plates written in both
italic and cursive scripts. The idea is that you would use it in the
approach to somewhere with a lower speed limit. The camera will look at
each oncoming vehicle and measure its speed. Then you'll have illuminated
road studs that will light up on the approach to a pedestrian crossing,
say, and a sign that could light up with the number plate telling people
to slow down. |
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The camera is a logical
follow-on from Astucia's self-lighting road studs, now being trailed in
Hampshire [UK]. These are intended to give motorists advance warning about
traffic lights they might be unable to see due to fog or high-sided
vehicles ahead. When the lights ahead were green, the studs would remain
dark. But as the lights turned amber, so do the studs... flashing twice a
second until the lights turn red. The studs marking the lanes would also
flash. Used in the US, the studs are claimed to have reduced
accidents by 80 per cent. |
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| Detectors. |
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| GPS [Global
Positioning System] is a system of 24 satellites which circle 11,000
nautical miles above the Earth twice daily in a precise orbit. The
satellites transmit information back to Earth at the speed of light, which
can then be picked up by GPS receivers. By using a method of
triangulation, a GPS receiver is able to identify your exact position
anywhere on Earth, at any time. A GPS receiver needs to be picking
up a signal from at least three satellites in order to calculate its
position. |
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| When this
information is combined with a database of speed cameras, it is possible
for the device to accurately warn the user of approaching dangers... such
as accident black spots or fixed camera locations. Currently,
[within Europe] speed camera location databases only exist for the UK, the
Netherlands and Belgium. Use of a GPS based product outside these
countries is therefore not possible. |
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| Legality in the UK. |
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| It has been legal
to own and use a radar detector in the UK since early 1998, following a
ground-breaking ruling in the High Court... [although 'defusers'... or
'jammers' are illegal.] Radar/Laser detectors can give a warning...
but if you've just been 'zapped' by a Laser gun then the warning will
probably come to late... [unless your reactions are faster than the speed
of light!] |
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| Ownership and/or use of a
radar/laser detector in most other European Countries is prohibited.
Confiscation of the equipment and an instant Fine [upwards of £300 in
most cases] is the norm. |
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