Speed Cameras

[sponge]

the cameras that flash i get, but can someone explain how the others work?  do they measure your speed over a distance or what?  i mean the ones that are facing on-coming traffic....thanks

[Grunty]

Not sure which ones you mean, but some are being introduced that measure your average speed over a distance.  You pass the first camera, breathe a sigh of relief that you saw it in time, then the second one a mile or so away calculates how long it took you to get there.  Fairer if you think about it, because the usual cameras report your speed over a few inches.  Some cameras that face traffic from bridges are not for speed.  They report on traffic movement, not individual vehicles.  You can often see the pictures on morning TV.

[sponge]

thanx Grunty, that sounds like the ones here. theres one camera then another not far from it (exactly the same).  least i know what they do!

i agree they should be put in built up areas eg, schools but whats the point on main roads....oh yeah loadsa money!!

[IndieSinger]

Are (most) motorbikes exempt from forward-facing speed cameras? Motorbikes don't tend to have number plates on the front.

Also, you know the traffic-reporting cameras of which Grunty speaks? (I think the RAC ones are blue, but others exist). Well I think they have an ulterior motive... I think they can be reprogrammed to scan numberplates for when all our roads become pay-as-you-go.

[sponge]

Well Indie i thought that as well, and maybe they can check insurance and other car details too??

[Grunty]

Hadn't heard of the use in IndieSinger's second paragraph, but probably right.  I forgot to mention the ones (usually mobile) that scan numberplates and check with DVLC that the vehicle is licensed.  The first paragraph only shows one piece of unfairness in the system.

[landie]

According to the presenter on Top Gear, (not Clarkson or the small one), he has a motorbike and believes that motorcycles cannot be identified on the forward facing cameras for the reason you have given, i.e. they have no front number plate.