How
do they work?
When
you enter the speed trap (the area where you pass the white lines), a radar
beam is projected onto your vehicle which tracks your speed. If it senses
you're driving above the limit then it takes 2 photos, one 0.7 seconds after
the first. The first photo is usually a standard, everyday photo. The second
one is an infra red picture to see through anything people have on
their plates to hide their number.
It's
very important to know that you must be sent a speeding ticket within 14 days
from the date the photo was taken or it is no longer legal to prosecute someone.
This is because otherwise you may be driving with 12 points on your licence
(banned) without even knowing it. There can be exceptions due to postal strikes
or if you drive a company car where it may take longer to trace who was driving
the vehicle.
Learners
are exempt from speed cameras aren't they?
No
they're not! You can get points on your licence and fined just as a normal
driver would. If learners were exempt then nobody would ever bother passing a
test because as a learner they'd be invincible! That's the whole point of having your provisional
licence. If you
should get 6 points or more on your provisional then you would be banned for 2
years. You'd then have to sit an extended retest which lasts over one hour and is much tougher than the
standard test.
How
can they tell the speed from the photo's?
Each
of the white lines on the floor represents 5mph so you just count how many white
lines there are between the back of your car on the first photo and the back of
your car on the second photo. For example, 6 white lines means 6 x 5mph=30mph.
If there are 7 lines then you'd have been doing 35mph and there can be no
argument you weren't speeding, unless the camera is malfunctioning.
The
photo's taken by the camera will not always be sent out with the fine so make
sure you request them otherwise you may pay a fine for something you didn't do.
Can
i outrun the camera?
The
cameras work up to around 300mph so unless you are driving a jet powered car
then no.
How
much margin for error is there?
You're
allowed 10% of the limit plus 2 mph. The 10% allows for a difference between your speedo and theirs so for
example on a 30mph road you could be doing 33mph. The 2mph on top is because all
car manufacturers set speedos around 2mph below the speed you're really doing in an
effort to slow people down.
When
your speedo shows 70mph you're only actually doing around 64mph. You will notice that your sat nav will always give a
lower reading than the cars speedo and the sat nav is more accurate because it
works out your speed based upon the ground you're actually covering. The
speedo only works by checking the speed the wheels are turning at, you could be
spinning the wheels around on ice and not moving yet the speedo will still be
showing a speed while the sat nav wouldn't. Another way
to check this is to drive at 70mph constantly for 1 hour, after which you'll
have covered only around 64 miles, proving that 70mph on the speedo isn't really
70 miles in one hour.
This does not mean it is ok to drive at 33mph, or 77mph on a motorway.
It's not a good idea to test how much leeway the camera will give you but
realistically you could be doing 82mph on your cars speedo and the police speed
gun will only show them about 77mph, keeping you under the 79mph prosecution
limit. You
can see the official leeway margins set by police by clicking here.
This
is all a bit confusing so put it simply - make sure the cars speedo reads the
speed you should be doing and you'll be fine.
Are
they always correct?
No. They can go off when you aren't speeding or it
may be that someone next to you was and you get the ticket by mistake.
They
sometimes do not distinguish between lanes, the photo is just of the whole road
so it's up to the operators to work out who was speeding in the photo.
If you get flashed by a camera
and you were not speeding then you have nothing to worry about.
Who
checks them and when?
They
all go to a central processing plant where people look through all the films to
check them before being sent out. Because of the 14 day rule as mentioned above,
they usually check them weekly. The film in them can take 400 shots so that's
200 cars. In some areas this can be used up in just an hour or two so they're
changed daily.
Do
they work for both directions of traffic?
If
it's a standard type 24 gatso (the usual kind) then no, only vehicles going away
from the camera can be caught. The TruVelo camera works both ways and looks like this.
Who
gets the ticket?
It's
sent to the registered keeper of the car. If it wasn't them driving then they
have to declare who was and the ticket is passed on to that person. Falsely
claiming that someone else was driving is a criminal offence. There are even
gangs who take huge payments from people to accept points on their behalf,
saving them their job. Some of these gang members have had in excess of 300
points on their licence and earned thousands of pounds.
What's
the fine that i get?
You'll
normally recieve 3 points on your license and a £30 to £60 fine. If you were
driving over 96mph you get taken to court instantly and over 120mph will result
in an instant ban and further charges. The amount of points you get varies
depending on how much you were speeding by.
It
has also been known for people to face other charges, for example one man once
got flashed on a camera and although he wasn't speeding he was given a £60 fine
for swearing in public as the photo showed arm raised out of the car window with
his middle finger extended at the speed camera.
Points
stay on your licence for 4 years and will hugely increase your insurance. For
new drivers we have heard of insurance premiums rising from £1500 for having no
points to £2500 for having just 3 points.
Can
i avoid the fine in any way?
Yes,
if it's your first time being caught you may be offered a place on a driver
improvement course. This is usually a 1 day course in a classroom where you'll
learn about the dangers of speed and are shown some pretty horrific video from
scenes of crashes involving speed. By taking this course you do not gain any
points.
Can
i put something on my plate to avoid my number being read?
You
can but it would be a criminal offence. People try smearing wax or polish on so
that the flash blinds the camera and can't read the plate but it doesn't work
because the infra red picture can still read the plate. The police only have to
press a few buttons on a program like Photoshop and they'll see straight through
anything.
There
are lots of other methods to avoid being caught such as italic letters,
reflective surfaces, devices that detect radio waves from the cameras and beep
to warn you they're there. A device that warns you of a camera is usually legal,
although many are now being outlawed, but one that stops the plate being read is
illegal and you could end up with a fine and a possible criminal record if you
attempt it.
Final
thoughts on speed...
We're
all human, we all makes mistakes. Just do your best to stick to the limits and
try not to get used to speeding or it becomes a hard habit to break. If you
really don't like the cameras then move to Swindon, all cameras have been
removed in this area as the council didn't believe they were having a positive
affect on drivers.
