New police speed gun tactic?

[Jim 1]

As I was trundling down the A45 on the way to buy some speakers off Blue Joe today I came towards your average A road overpass and noticed a bright yellow Fiat Cinqucento or Punto or something parked above the A45 on this overpass, lined up slap bang over the middle of the two lanes.

 

As I got closer I was almost certain the occupier was wearing something bright yellow (ie one of those hazard jacket things the police wear) - but by the time I got that close I couldn't see which way he was looking.

 

So does it seem likely the police are trying to be cunning by using brightly coloured cars (to cover the aspect of the vehicle / camera being clearly visible) or am I just going nuts? I assume the camera gear required to nail drivers is way too chunky to fit in a little Fiat..?

[daves16v 1]

I wouldn't put anything passed the law :x

[coolrado 0]

sounds more likely to be one of those traffic counters, i often see groups of people with hi vis vests holding clip boards standing on bridges.

 

something to do with highways agency and volume of traffic surveys :|

[chubbybrown 0]

Heres hoping it was just that jim,

 

They are into using lasers in small white vans up our way the ******************ers :cry:

[Jimbo 0]

I assume the camera gear required to nail drivers is way too chunky to fit in a little Fiat..?

 

I wouldnt trust anyone or anything parked at the side of the road :mad:

 

Dont forget plod have got handheld VASCAR units which they can track you with and get a speed readout so the gear would easily fit into a fiat van. :mad: :mad: :mad:

 

Yes I am speaking from far too much hexperience and yes they do stand up as evidence in court :cry:

 

...........and No dont turn down a fixed penalty & 3 points if your offered them, and dont use the immortal lines "your equipment must be wrong, I'll see you in court!" trust me that one does NOT work at all, what-so-ever, not one bit no no no!!! :mad: :( :cry:

[Kevin Bacon 5]

You get a lot of Highway maintenance vans parked on overpasses that look like 'safety camera' vans from a distance but if the police are starting to hide cameras in civilian type vehicles, then surely there are grounds for deception lawsuits? By law, speed camera signs have to be clearly on display on roads where they are used, mobile or fixed. So if an unmarked fiesta sights you on an unwarned road with a camera, they can feck off - I think!

[dr_mat 0]

They don't *have* to. IIRC, the law just says that fixed camera sites *should* be marked up, and mobile camera sites should to be marked up too, but only in the *majority* of cases, and that's only so that the police force can claim the revenue from the cameras. If they don't want the revenue there's no need for them to actually mark up the camera sites at all.

Or has that stuff changed recently?

[godskitchen 0]

CAR SPOTTERS!

[Reggit 0]

They used to use an unmarked Ford Galaxy (may still do, haven't seen it for a few months), usually parked on a bridge near J24 on the M6 southbound. You could see lasergun lens through partially open back window.

 

I wouldn't put anything past them when it comes to raising revenue!

[JBOB 0]

...........and No dont turn down a fixed penalty & 3 points if your offered them, and dont use the immortal lines "your equipment must be wrong, I'll see you in court!" trust me that one does NOT work at all, what-so-ever, not one bit no no no!!!

_________________

 

I was told not so long ago buy a copper that all the hand help laser guns have to be calibrated everytime they are used, and if there not it wont stand up in court.

Does anybody know if that’s right?

[dr_mat 0]

I was told not so long ago buy a copper that all the hand help laser guns have to be calibrated everytime they are used, and if there not it wont stand up in court.

Does anybody know if that’s right?

 

They have to be calibrated once per shift....

[Jimbo 0]

...........and No dont turn down a fixed penalty & 3 points if your offered them, and dont use the immortal lines "your equipment must be wrong, I'll see you in court!" trust me that one does NOT work at all, what-so-ever, not one bit no no no!!!

_________________

 

I was told not so long ago buy a copper that all the hand help laser guns have to be calibrated everytime they are used, and if there not it wont stand up in court.

Does anybody know if that’s right?

 

Yep I tried that one, challenged him, took it to court and instead of 3 points and a £60 fine they gave me 4 and a £250 fine + court costs! :mad:

 

Advice is just shut up, bend over, and take the right royal shafting! :cry:

 

.........even if you do think your not in the wrong! :mad: :mad:

[JBOB 0]

Ive never been done by a camera but i get pulled over all the time. The day i moved to Huddersfield from London i was pulled over 6 times in my Mk2 Golf on the Huddersfield ring road, I wasnt speeding or driving like a muppet they just saw a new car in the area and wanted to see who it was :x

When i bought my C it started again but it gets to a point where every copper has seen me and some wave now :lol:

[hutchyvw 0]

Suprisingly its the opposite for me, i used to get pulled at least once a week when i had the mk2, just for random things like using my rear view mirror too much ( no really ) but on the producer form he put vehicle check, then he put the date as two years before he pulled me, so i actually wasted my time producing :mad: total toss bag :mad:

 

But in the rado i've only been pulled once and then i deserved it, he caught me at ninety on the slow down from........lets just say more than that. so i suppose i was lucky to just get three points and a sixty quid fine.

At first he was chattin away about the car an i thought he was gonna let me off.......but then he got his little book out :(

 

 

hutchy :twisted:

[quikstu 0]

I was told not so long ago buy a copper that all the hand help laser guns have to be calibrated everytime they are used, and if there not it wont stand up in court.

Does anybody know if that’s right?

 

They have to be calibrated once per shift....

[quikstu 0]

I was told not so long ago buy a copper that all the hand help laser guns have to be calibrated everytime they are used, and if there not it wont stand up in court.

Does anybody know if that’s right?

 

They have to be calibrated once per shift....

 

Might be different in England, but north of the border it's a weekly check.

[StuartFZR400 0]

A45... where abouts?

Most of A45 has slowed right down now anyhow, cameras everywhere. The sneakiest being Cov - Rugby.

The A46 into M69 is renown for unmarked cars & T5's. Those BMW drivers will never learn.

 

My first trip in the rado [recently] onto the M69 had me followed by one of these unmarked cars, at night, at the terrible speed nearing 75 - gosh! This car hurtled up on me at say 85-90mph, it swung in behind me into the inside lane, suspicious. After a couple cars went by at 90-ish, it soon pulled out behind the speeding T5 which flew by.

[Guest]

They are getting more devious. I went to Japfest at Castle Combe this summer. Great event, but on the way out, just pulling onto the M4, there was a Pulsar being pulled over by a brand new unmarked Accord Type R. That's pretty clever by the police i think. You just dont expect them to be using a bright metallic blue accord. Normally it's a Volvo, or a Scooby. Of course, everyone coming out of the circuit was in boy racer mode, they see a flash new Type R Accord, they're gonna want to race it!!

 

Cheers

Steve

[Jim 1]

Yip - local police here have, amongst other things, an unmarked Accord Type R - they even have crafty things in it not to give the game away like stickers for local radio stations and stuff. Crafty buggers.

 

Stuart - it was just on the way out of Cov on the A45 heading towards Brum - kinda between the Land Rover dealers and the Texaco and Mumbai Blue balti house...

[Rob_B 0]

down at southend the other week the plod had a honda NSX, audi RS6, audi TT and lotus elise!! not bad i think. thats where all those speeding fines are going! nice to see its being spent well

[Jim 1]

And this is why i'll never ever sympathise with the police when they do stupid crap like that.

 

Hm lets see... around £170,000's worth of cars there.. and for what? One fast derestricted Audi would have taken care of the 'high speed pursuit' aspect of things. Why not spend some money putting coppers on the bloody streets!!

 

This country.. honestly.

[Guest]

Why not spend some money putting coppers on the bloody streets!!

 

Absolutely!

 

I cannot stand police using unmarked cars. To me it's just as sneaky as hiding speed cameras behind roadsigns... Well now they have to be visible from a distance, so why are the police still using unmarked cars? Think about it, if they want to slow people down, just drive around in a marked up patrol car. I mean, what is the first thing you do when you see a patrol car of any sort whilst out driving? Well, i'm sure im not the only one on here when i say that my gut reaction is to check my speed.

 

Oh god, i don't want to go off on another rant. Think i'll leave it there :x

 

Steve

[Jimbo 0]

Why not spend some money putting coppers on the bloody streets!!

 

Absolutely!

 

I cannot stand police using unmarked cars. To me it's just as sneaky as hiding speed cameras behind roadsigns... Well now they have to be visible from a distance, so why are the police still using unmarked cars? Think about it, if they want to slow people down, just drive around in a marked up patrol car. I mean, what is the first thing you do when you see a patrol car of any sort whilst out driving? Well, i'm sure im not the only one on here when i say that my gut reaction is to check my speed.

 

Oh god, i don't want to go off on another rant. Think i'll leave it there :x

 

Steve

 

Totally! :mad: :mad:

 

Im with you on that one, in fact Wiltshire/Somerset plod have got an ex panda car that they just move around the county and park up, leaving it at the side of the road.

 

I must admit I drive like a kitten these days but I still check my speed etc as soon as I see either its Jam sandwich stripe or its Chevron'ed arse poking out from behind a bush or garage forecourt!

 

JP :x

[StuartFZR400 0]

Jim - be careful there on A45, there are cameras all down there; odd considering the straight road and lack of traffic. I know there is a relatively new overpass of a minor B road going over A45, where you suggest, that comes from a small place Meriden (near to Berkswell). Sneaky Civic-R...... you know colour ???

[StuartFZR400 0]

They've had a Lotus Elan (or Esprit, i forget) on M3 years ago. Nice car.

 

The worst thing about those unmarked lot are they egg you on...... come on

 

Doesnt matter, im happy at 70 (ish) on those major roads. Bring on the windy A roads please...... see ya !!!!!! :wink: