MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
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Ok, anyone got a definitive answer to these two questions - no conjecture please only definitive answers (as I even got an "I think" response from the Highways agency and Brum Police FFS.
Do they flash in the daytime if you trigger them?
Do they enforce the national speed limit (70mph) when they are not lit?
Ta
OK so not definitive so ignore if you wish.
It's my understanding throughout the country that the variable speed cameras are only active when the variable speed limits are active. In the past few months fixed speed cameras have been added in various spots on motorways and these do enforce the 70mph limit. They are not in the gantries but at the side of the road on grey coloured posts.
Yup have seen them go offDo they flash in the daytime if you trigger them?
If they do, there's a fair bit of leeway 😉Do they enforce the national speed limit (70mph) when they are not lit?
Certainly not true on the M4 around Bristol. They have been enforcing the 70 limit as well as the variabeIt's my understanding throughout the country that the variable speed cameras are only active when the variable speed limits are active.
They enforce the M62 70mph limit too, though there is apparently a wider margin for error than you'd think.
I can almost guarantee that the ones on the M42 never used to go off when there was no limit displayed. I too have seen them flash in the daytime.
Variable speed limits and average speed camera are part of the reason I have just bought a car with cruise control.
Just assume they do. Better safe than sorry
They enforce the M62 70mph limit too, though there is apparently a wider margin for error than you'd think.
When did that start? Mid-last year I sailed through them at 85+
On all of them I 'assume' you are safe if you stay below 80. Plus its less stressful so that you aren't yo-yo'ing your speed etc.
I've been in a car at over 100mph on the M42 around those gantries. No ticket came through.
I wouldn't sail through the M62 ones though, partly because your mast'll get fouled by the gantries but also - WYPolice were in dispute with the government on why the local Police had to administrate/running costs and ALL the money fined went straight to the Government so they weren't enforcing the limit.
I've been in a car at over 100mph on the M42 around those gantries. No ticket came through.
oh dear i have run out of my favourite biscuits, can everyone please hold on whilst i pop out and get some! 😐
I've been in a car at over 100mph on the M42 around those gantries. No ticket came through.
name and address mate - you're nicked!
AFAIK the older gantry variable speed cameras dont monitor when there is no variable limit in place but the newer ones can and do monitor the 70 limit at other times.
name and address mate - you're nicked!
for being a passenger 😉
What @mrchrispy says seems reasonable.
The M25 gantry cameras around from A3 to M4 where inactive for 10 years even for the variable speed limits due to some local legal issues. Now switched on. Based on my experience they don't enforce the 70mph limit.
is the prosecution threshold for 70 still 10% plus 2mph?
Certainly not true on the M4 around Bristol. They have been enforcing the 70 limit as well as the variabe
Not all the time, at least. My work colleague routinely drives through them over 70 and hasn't got any notices. I always make double sure as better safe than sorry.
They do get you if you go down the hard shoulder when it's not in use though (wife works for the company who did the project).
This is how speed cameras work as a deterrent, isn't it! We have three on our ring road; two have never worked and don't even have reference marks painted on the road but everybody still slows down for them. The third didn't work for several years but does now - guess how I found out?
I can confirm the M62 ones do enforce the limit (well, flash at least) when the signs are not lit.
I cross the M62 twice a week, every week. Late on a Sunday night with cruise set to 77 I get through without a problem. People overtaking me have been flashed.
And they are rolling out nationwide under the monicker 'Smart'. You wouldn't go against something named smart would you?
One day they'll iron out the issues with the tech for 30mph/all roads and either through black box (for safety 'locating crashed cars') we'll all be monitored.
Really don't like such an idea.
I'm going to suggest that "enforcing the legal limit" means only nabbing you for >85mph (at least) otherwise the system would collapse under the weight of penalty ticket summons!
TBH, even at 5am i've struggled to do more than 80mph along the gantry'd bit of the M6 round Brum due to the weight of traffic!
1. yes, as I found out the other month when slowing, under the cars own momentum from 70 down to 60 and passing under at 65. In future I will brake sharply when the gantry 100 yards in front suddenly lights up
2. no, they are the older type rather than the M4 Bristol and M62 which are a newer type that are always on
There is now also HADECS3 cameras that are permanently on in the variable limit part of the M1 J25-28
The M25 gantry cameras around from A3 to M4 where inactive for 10 years even for the variable speed limits due to some local legal issues
They where very active in 2000/2001 I can testify to that
Camera tech explained here btw:
[url= http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/motoring/strife-fast-lane-speed-camera-tech-examined ]Autocar on Speed Cameras[/url]
Cruise Control wouldn't work around Birmingham. The other week heading round there the gantry's were ridiculously inconsistent and jumped from 40 to 60 to 50 to 40 to 40 to 60 to 50 one after the other!
And if I was you work on no more than 10%+1 for maximum speed if you wish to retain a clean licence 😆
From a post of mine 8 months ago:
Jakester - MemberFrom Hansard:
Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many types and number of cameras are in use on the M42 motorway; what information is collected or detected by them; and whether such cameras are used to detect breaches of both the national speed limit and the managed motorway limits. [186153]
Mr Goodwill: There are four types of cameras in use on the M42 which are owned and operated by the Highways Agency.
There are 16 fixed automatic number plate recognition cameras (ANPR) which are used to measure journey time reliability by detecting the movement of partial vehicle number plates between defined links on the motorway. These cameras are not used to detect breaches of speed limits and the number does not include ANPR cameras which are wholly operated and maintained by the police and are subject to Home Office regulations.
There are 190 fixed monitoring cameras. These are used by the Highways Agency Regional Control Centre to ensure that the hard shoulder is clear of stationary vehicles, debris or other obstructions before opening the hard shoulder as a live running lane. These cameras are not used to detect breaches of speed limits.
There are 35 pan, tilt and zoom cameras. These are manually operated and used by operations personnel to monitor the motorway network, identify issues and deal with incidents. These cameras are not used to detect breaches of speed limits.
There are six Highways Agency digital enforcement cameras (HADEC) which are used to detect [b]breaches of the speed limits set on the motorway at fixed points. These cameras in most part are only used when Active Traffic Management is in operation. However, all the HADEC sites are capable of enforcing speeds of up to the national speed limit. This is done at the discretion of the West Midlands Camera Enforcement Unit.[/b]
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