Afternoon

Quick question, can the “spec” type speed cameras where they time you between two points get you whilst on a motorbike with no front plate?

The reason I ask is not that I want to break the law or try and do anything silly.

I was riding home in torrential rain this week and with trying to keep my visor clear, see through the glare of all the lights in the rain and sheen on the road whilst simultaneously religiously stick to 40mph (Notts ring road) I felt pretty vulnerable.

Would have been really good to have just kept my eyes on the road and adjusted speed approximately to the surrounding traffic etc without worrying about looking at my speedo every 20 seconds to avoid getting points.

Anyone know for definite which plate they snap?

Thanks in advance

This could go either way….

Isn’t it always the rear plate on a bike since it’s the only one..

Angle it funny like most of the bikers seem to do then pull wheelies through the speed limits, or weave in and out of traffic like it’s a race course.. thats what most do innit…

My thoughts are they are all front facers round Notts so you should be ok.
But what I would say is before everyone else does why didn’t you do an assumed 30mph pootle then you wouldnt have to look down especially as the weather was shit?

My thoughts are they are all front facers round Notts so you should be ok.
But what I would say is before everyone else does why didn’t you do an assumed 30mph pootle then you wouldn’t have to look down especially as the weather was shit?

Is my thought here – the speed limit isn’t a target and if the conditions were that bad, surely the OP should be driving to the conditions (ie, poor visibility due to visor cleaning and all the glare) and not just try to hit 40mph. Or if it was really that bad (and felt they had no option but to ride at 40mph) take a different route or delay the journey?

I’ve never ever seen a forward-facing SPECS camera, which stands to reason otherwise the managed motorways would be full of bikers filtering at escape velocity.

The most common forward-facers I’ve come across are Truvelo.

chilled76

Anyone know for definite which plate they snap?

Thanks in advance

To be fair, the op is asking a specific question rather than for a moral judgment. 😀

On that line, have you looked on Google Street view, if fairly recent to look which directing they point?

Though conceivably they could change the direction I guess? To catch people out on occasion?

I could have written these responses. Johndoh, I nearly wrote your exact response in a “please don’ t all just say”

Thanks for the advice, wasn’t what I asked about though.

Anyone know for definite which plate they snap?

Thanks Poopscoop- exactly

Errr they might be Truvelo or specs, sorry I thought specs was all of the ones that time between two points

I answered. The ones in Notts up on the gantries are front facers and can only track the front plate. I was there Tuesday night as I went over to Arnold from the a610. If im right i think notts were obe of the first counties to use these average speed type of cams. Been up for many years. **** hate driving round there even in perfect conditions, loads of rlj cams as well.
Anyway back to the offence, slow the **** down 😉

Can only comment that my steady speed through the 60-50-40-60-40-70-50-60-50-40-40-60 ‘smart section’ of the M6 for the last two years hasn’t resulted in any offences (motorbike with illegally but not stupidly small plate)

All of the ASCs on the A9 north of Perth point at the front number plate – except the two at Tomatin and Moy. They are all SPECS cameras.

If you look on Streetview you can see the cameras and which way they are pointing, but also the small white measurement point in the middle of the carriageway.

Alrighty then, since we’re not applying Morals to the OP’s incident lets go all technical then..

Theres a website for this kinda ting’

SPECS speed camera info and locations…..

And the Nottingham post has the latest locations and informations too..

Nottingham Post Speed Camera article

I could have written these responses. Johndoh, I nearly wrote your exact response in a “please don’ t all just say”

Sorry. Having a spectacularly shit day. Was nearly in tears this morning because my 8 yr old daughter was so nasty to me. Doesn’t make me a happy man.

wrightyson – Member
I answered

So you did, apologies. It got lost in the 30mph response you followed it up with.

In all seriousness in conditions like that I will often be doing less than 40, but if you slow down too much you’ve got cars cutting you up etc

Though conceivably they could change the direction I guess? To catch people out on occasion?

There’s a speed camera near me like that (an individual “spot” one though, not a set of average ones) – it’s in the central reservation on a dual carriageway and sometimes it’s pointing one way, sometimes the other – there’s the markings on the road for it on both sides so I don’t think it’s a bullshit one.

Errr they might be Truvelo or specs, sorry I thought specs was all of the ones that time between two points

They are. Truvelos are point-in-time, I’ve only ever seen them on A-roads.

You can be identified from other footage, traffic cameras etc, that may capture your number plate then matched to the person speeding if the number plate captured.

http://www.motorcyclenews.com/news/2009/august/aug2709-bikers-caught-by-front-facing-cameras/

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/speeding-motorcyclist-who-used-fake-10032125

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-12251801

Anyone that exceeds the speed limit causes global warming.

Craigxxl – dodgy ground there as the whole system has to be type approved.
Using other cctv, etc puts it outside of the type approval.
Multiple offences and other corroborated evidence is another level than the OP.
FYI – they had the biker on perverting the course, etc so he fessed. (In Hants with a large number of Traffic biker mates hence the info)

As a one off OP I would t worry unless you were well over the mark.

Lucky to be getting anywhere near 40mph round Nottingham these days! I consider a 20mph average a good day!

The police have in the past supplemented fixed cameras with patrols or mobile cameras- at least once, they’ve done it specifically to catch one biker who was being a ****.

Anyone that exceeds the speed limit causes global warming

Absolutely. And speeders also cause:

1) Cucumbers to grow red rather than green.
2) Reduce my ability to pick the correct lottery numbers.
3) Birds to shit on my car.

Probably.

The police have in the past supplemented fixed cameras with patrols or mobile cameras- at least once, they’ve done it specifically to catch one biker who was being a ****.

Driving through the countryside A-roads a couple of years ago, I was passed by a group of ‘power ranger’ bikers. Then just in front of me they all went through a mobile speed trap safety camera van on one wheel with their middle fingers in the air.

Maybe half a mile down the road I encountered them again, helmets off and looking sheepish whilst the second patrol van was having stern words with them. I laughed.

It’s down to how the cameras are set up isn’t it? Iirc they CAN function off either plate (i.e. face forward or back) but in recent times all the ones I can recall look at the front of the vehicle. This is I think how some drivers avoid prosecution for driving at more than the limit. Tailgate someone different to hide the plate at each camera, and speed in between them.

A large majority of forces have now switched to rear facing specifically to prevent this as its almost impossible to obscure the plate PLUS it catches motorcyclists too.
The manufacturers had to gain a new type approval for them though which for many is too expensive to switch as there are subtle differences in the systems which means they can’t just be turned around.

BTW – for those who use the M4 past Bristol – the new rear facing cameras are now installed and live and variable according to the matrix displays.