Has anyone ever got a fine from an "average speed camera"

I dont know anyone that has ever been fined by the average speed cameras on the motorways.

Have any of you? and did they tell you what the average speed it was that you were doing

yeah, my mate at work got pinged on the ones on the M62…

62mph in a 50mph..

yes, i know several people who got done on the M62 and a few recently on the A1.

One of the drivers at my place got a fine through, he said…

"I slowed down for the cameras"…!

I am worried that I may have one from the M6. Day dreaming a bit and averaged about 57 in a 50, so I'll let you know.

Yup, heard of a couple now. Neilsonwheels – yup, thats the usual comment, some people think they take the average of 2 speeds rather than timing an average over a distance.

I recently did advanced driving course (a requirement from work) and the instructor said that if you change lanes in an average zone then the cameras cant get you. i:e enter in the inside lane and exit in the outside lane.

Not sure how true this is though, but i always stick cruise control onto 50 and see people doing what must be 60-65???

I've heard that the changing lanes thingy used to work but not any more – you wanna be tailgating a big truck instead 😉

yeah, my mate at work got pinged on the ones on the M62.

Which ones are those?

They fixed the changing lanes thing very early on in trials…

I can't help but chuckle at people slamming the brakes on and speeding up when they see them. It never occurred to me that they'd work any other way than taking the average speed over a distance.

The other thing that I've wondered about is where exactly it's averaging your speed. Quite often there are cameras every few hundred metres (with slip roads etc), so is your speed averaged between any two cameras, or the whole lot?

As I understand it they work in discrete pairs only. But they could of course be clever and pair camera 1 with 3, 2 and 6, 4 and 5 etc so it's pretty impossible to get around.

I just tend to stick it on cruise at 55mph which'll be about 50 in real terms. You can always tell the people doing bang on 50 and being harrased by trucks with an accurate taco that they're holding up.

I just tend to stick it on cruise at 55mph which'll be about 50 in real terms

Me too – I set the cruise to 52 as displayed on my Road Angel, 57 on the speedo

Approx 250 peoples a week through the ones on the M5, they are set at about an average of 57mph!

They are a real pain in the ass at 3am when there is nobody on the road.

my missus got pinged! told her for years that slowing down at the camera is no use lol

If you shot thru 6 cameras on the trot, would that be 3 separate offences or could you argue that as you hadn't slowed down at all it was only 1 offence?

The pairs thing is the current legislation – timing between pairs of cameras rather than timing between a set of cameras. I believe they intend to update the law, but I don't think it's happened yet. Until they do, changing lane will work, but only if the paired cameras are on the same lane…

I take the train, no average speed cameras on the East Coast mainline

I was wondering about this today as i drove through the roadworks on the A80. There are a lot of people who clearly don't know what average means, including the two cars that passed me doing circa 80mph where the limit was 40mph. I watched them slam the brakes on at the camera, then floor it again when they got past. 😆

Changing lanes dont work, also watch the mobile "revenue collection" camera vans, they can get you coming at them aswell as going away from them. I know, B**** got me last year for 1mph over the % limit.

Living in the Highlands – wots a speed camera?

sangobegger – Member
Living in the Highlands – wots a speed camera?

Try the A9 – the devils own work….

Averaging 57mph on the speedo will be fine as speedos aren't accurate. You were probably just doing over 50mph.

that stretch they were banging on about on top gear last night is horrendous – we have to drive up and back on that bit quite frequently, 16 miles of 50mph average is torture. 😡

16 miles of 50mph average is torture.

Blimey, that adds almost 6 minutes to your journey.

That's worse than waterboarding. 🙄

Your speedo inaccuracy will not be constant. Might be showing 56-57mph on the speedo at a true 50mph on worn tyres, but put new tyres on and a true 50mph will drop down to 52-53mph on new tyres. An extra 8mm or more on the radius equals a big change in rolling circumference

I understand that you are timed between the first and last camera in the sequence (the others aren't cameras, they just record a vehicle passing by) – they haven't deployed the ones that get you between any pair in the sequence yet. The switching lanes trick should still work. The companies who operate the camera are charged by the police for each prosecution, so are understandably quite lenient! 10% is the tolerance. This info comes from contacts in the traffic management industry and is accurate. Possibly.

The companies who operate the camera are charged by the police for each prosecution, so are understandably quite lenient!

I don't understand this. Can you explain further please?

Feeling argumentative this morning so:

I recently did advanced driving course (a requirement from work) and the instructor said that if you change lanes in an average zone then the cameras cant get you. i:e enter in the inside lane and exit in the outside lane.

Advanced driving instruction fail.

Your speedo inaccuracy will not be constant. Might be showing 56-57mph on the speedo at a true 50mph on worn tyres, but put new tyres on and a true 50mph will drop down to 52-53mph on new tyres. An extra 8mm or more on the radius equals a big change in rolling circumference

True, but the variation is not that great. In reality you never have 8mm change – tyres usually come with 8 and people change them at around 2. I recently went down from a 55 to a 50 on my tyres (nearly 10mm sidewall difference) and it's a 2mph change in overall speed.

I understand that you are timed between the first and last camera in the sequence (the others aren't cameras, they just record a vehicle passing by) – they haven't deployed the ones that get you between any pair in the sequence yet. The switching lanes trick should still work.

Makes no sense, switching lanes does not work (verified by someone having been caught) and why would they install the inbetween cameras in relatively short-term works locations if they didn't have the ability to use them yet? Depending on the day I travel different pairs of cameras are turned on in a set of 6, some days it's 1 and 3, some days its 1 and 2, some days its 1, 2, 3 and 5 etc. They're obviously all active, although which ones work in pairs it's impossible to know.

..critics have accused the cameras of allowing a less complicated dodge – changing lanes. Each pair of cameras covers one lane. So in theory, if you are clocked in the fast lane, and you then changed to the middle lane just before the exit camera, you would not be caught.

But Mr Davey [managing director of Speed Check Services] says this would be difficult to pull off, as each section covered has a number of cameras and drivers would not be able to see which one was paired with which.

You might be picked up by entry camera A, speed down to camera B and change lane only to find that that was also an entry camera and that either exit cameras C or D would get you further down the road.

— http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/7048645.stm

Mudpup – Technically it would be 3 offences but in reality you get can only get done once per "journey" so it would be only one fine.

mobile "revenue collection" camera vans, they can get you coming at them aswell as going away from them. I know, B**** got me last year for 1mph over the % limit.

What they fined you for 71 in a 70?? I did't think they did that – that's overly harsh. I hope you contested it.

no, he means he was dpoing 1mph over what he thought he could get away with, so probably 35 in a 30 or 77 on a motorway. If he'd stuck to the limit he wouldn't have been caught!

As for the changeing lane dodge, there's an even more obvious one, just stick to 50? I actualy quite like that section, much more relaxing when everyones doing the same speed and your not worying about tailgaters, or people pulling off stupid overtaking manouvers. The day they put up average speed cameras for the whole motorway will be a good day!

Mudpup – Technically it would be 3 offences but in reality you get can only get done once per "journey" so it would be only one fine.

Again, not sure thats true. I have a friend who got 2 tickets on 2 different cameras on teh same journey (in 2 different villages). The police were not interested as to whether or not it was one journey. And it woudl make no sense, as it would mean that you'd have nothing to lose once flashed – you could hoof it everywhere until the end of your journey. It's a different offence at each location.

much more relaxing when everyones doing the same speed and your not worying about tailgaters,

What section are you driving on? The 50's ive driven in have had everyone trying to push their own personal risk envolope and passing each other at 1mph. You get people driving right up your arse because you're now going 1mph slower than them but they can't pass you because theres a car doing the same speed as them in the next lane out etc.

Again, not sure thats true. I have a friend who got 2 tickets on 2 different cameras on teh same journey (in 2 different villages).

That is very different surely? Two independent cameras versus a series of connected ones through one limit.

That is very different surely? Two independent cameras versus a series of connected ones through one limit.

See your point, but only the same as two gatsos on the same road 1/5 a mile apart with no change in speed limit between (seen on a daily basis). It's essentially proof that you were driving fast all the way, rather than just took a while to slow down.

Vinneyh – The traffic management company involved told me that the contractors who monitor the equipment pass on the offender's reg no to the Police who then charge them a fee (About £10.00 IIRC)when they prosecute. The cost of the installation etc is paid for by the Highways agency (ie the taxpayer). I know it sounds odd but I was assured that the contractors lose out when prosecution rates are high.

I've wondered about over what distance they average your speed to. A few weeks ago on the ones on the M5 near Bristol I was wasn't really concentrating (late night, only car around but still no excuse :p ) and floored it after I saw the end of roadworks sign, unfortunately it wasn't the end of the average camera check area (nor the end of the indicated speed restriction) so I ended up passing the last camera doing 80+ (probably about 70 average between the last pair of cameras) and didn't receive anything through the post.

Not convinced they're a good idea myself, you still get idiots braking erratically as they see the cameras and you get another group of muppets that sit a foot of your bumper trying to avoid getting scanned.

Better than gatsos IMO.

they might not have had that one active, could you see it glowing?