| Author |
Interesting History You All Should Know |
pachy
Joined: Nov 05, 2002
Posts: > 500
PM |
@judge, UK is riddlled with speed camera's, some static in bright colours, some hidden, some disguised in plain vans parked in laybys, some at traffic lights, i have been done a few times, but the last one, (not stopping at a red light) i just told them the car was being test driven by a buyer, they believed me because it was neaar my home, but said they will not ever let me off again as i am legally obliged to name peole who drive my car.
That would have cost me £60 & 3 points on my licence (that 3 points would make my insurance go up another £200 per year, so i was lucky). now i have a car with cruise control & i dont speed.
Its important to remember that in UK, 10 years ago everyone used to drive at 100miles per hour so something had to be done.
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gelfen
Joined: Nov 22, 2003
Posts: > 500
From: Melbourne, Australia
PM |
cameras in vans? mate, we get them hidden in council rubbish bins!
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pachy
Joined: Nov 05, 2002
Posts: > 500
PM |
I got a parking bill for £40 ($110 Aus ) for stopping in a deserted area on an industrial estate, to read my road map for 3 minutes !!!!
I didn't get out the car or switch off the engine.
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masseur
Joined: Jan 03, 2003
Posts: > 500
From: Sydney, London
PM |
we do?  since when? (cameras in bins)
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...Unless I'm very much mistaken
[ This Message was edited by: masseur on 2003-12-19 07:00 ] |
pachy
Joined: Nov 05, 2002
Posts: > 500
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@masseur, did you mean me ??? about the vans ?, it's Essex, its the WORST county in my opinion, they use medium size vans now & the camera is looking out the back window, on a huge green near me, every wednesday evening in the summer hundreds of motorcyclists gather, & there will be arround 10 mobile speed traps in the surrounding areas.
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ONIONS 50p/Kg
[ This Message was edited by: pachy on 2003-12-19 07:06 ] |
judge
Joined: May 21, 2003
Posts: > 500
From: Romania
PM |
Yeap, we have those too (lately). Some friends from down under tell me that the cops there use the same techniques as here - the bastards position their speed cameras where they KNOW you'll be speeding, e.g. at the top or base of a hill. Is that true? Cause that will make the bloody cops universal bastards!
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gelfen
Joined: Nov 22, 2003
Posts: > 500
From: Melbourne, Australia
PM |
@massuer: i have seen photos of them in those green wheely bins with a square cut out of one side for the lens, so as you approach they look like a regular household bin. they've been around (although not common) for the past 12 months or so. i thought i'd saved one of the photos but i can't find it now.
@judge: i think technically the police are supposed to allow a minimum distance from the base of a hill to allow you to brake for the gravity assisted acceleration, but i've never heard of it being tested. they are also supposed to allow a minimum distance for changing speed zones.
_________________
Gee, does that beat me? I only got two pair - two aces, and another two.
[ This Message was edited by: gelfen on 2003-12-19 07:09 ] |
masseur
Joined: Jan 03, 2003
Posts: > 500
From: Sydney, London
PM |
pachy, no I was utterly surprised at gelfens comment about cameras in bins, is that just a melbourne thing 'coz I haven't lived in melbourne for a few years but definitly haven't heard of them in Sydney
cams in vans I can believe quite easily thout in west sussex where we are currently staying it doesn't seem that bad
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pachy
Joined: Nov 05, 2002
Posts: > 500
PM |
@Judge, most of the UK static camera's are on downhill sections wher the speed limit is stepping down, so even with cruiise control "ON" the vehicle can overun & NON of these cameras are at bad accident spots, i think thats almost as thieving as our fuel prices Diesel is;
ROL 43244 per Litre.
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masseur
Joined: Jan 03, 2003
Posts: > 500
From: Sydney, London
PM |
pachy, you think thats bad... I have driven a few times from Sydney to Melbourne (or back) and its the most monotonous drive and with the speed limit at 110 it takes just over 9 hours, although its prob quicker these days as they add more freeway to the route bypassing silly little towns where cops used to congregate 10 at a time to catch the speeders.
Anyway, I prefer to drive the route at night to avoid as much traffic as possible but I can tell you that sometimes I may not have seen another car for 20 minutes but you can bet if I speed there will be a cop car hiding in the bush waiting with a speed gun!
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...Unless I'm very much mistaken
[ This Message was edited by: masseur on 2003-12-19 07:23 ] |
gelfen
Joined: Nov 22, 2003
Posts: > 500
From: Melbourne, Australia
PM |
i believe the use of the bins requires council permission, since the police actually have to obtain one and all household bins are marked as to which council they belong to. since the revenue from the fines goes to state governments rather than the councils, i don't suppose the cops have a lot of luck. and yes, i do believe it is a melbourne thing but i wouldn't be surprised if it caught on elsewhere.
the problem is that the state govt's are beginning to realise how much money they can make out of speeding fines, and so they are tightening the screws, and it's a virtually unassailable position from a moral perspective. they have also been throwing more money at it (spending money to make money), resulting in a rapid improvement in speed camera technology and providing the police with a lot of unmarked high-performance cars to disguise what they are doing.
there has been a long-running discussion about it through the various motoring bodies and websites (carpoint has been running a particularly good one) regarding the real benefits or otherwise of tightening speed tolerance. there is a growing body of opinion that state govt's are purely into revenue raising. when the Victorian Gov't announced the annual budget this year there was a factor for over AU $300 million in speeding fines alone.
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Gee, does that beat me? I only got two pair - two aces, and another two.
[ This Message was edited by: gelfen on 2003-12-19 07:23 ] |
judge
Joined: May 21, 2003
Posts: > 500
From: Romania
PM |
Oh, hell, that's steep!!! Here we pay around GBP 0.45 per liter. And you guys are right, even here they consider fines as budgetary revenues so they have a PLAN for how much they need to fine in order to meet the expectations. Imagine the abuse! This generates more business for me, actually... But that's another issue.
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mad4mobiles
Joined: Dec 15, 2003
Posts: > 500
From: Ballymena
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nice find 
Regards |
701
Joined: Nov 26, 2002
Posts: > 500
From: Romania
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I think that the gov'mnt and police abuse the speed limit term as this its mainly purpose is to make u slow down not creating extra $ on budget. But here in romania u can escape paying it later(i have unpaid tickets from 1999:-D ). Of course,i'll pay an extra 50% in 2005 maybe but hell,isnt it worth it?:-)) Thats cuz the data isnt centralised properly but they'll fix it someday. But until then,i wont pay :D
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gelfen
Joined: Nov 22, 2003
Posts: > 500
From: Melbourne, Australia
PM |
It'll really come to a head next year with the introduction of 40km/h school zones. Break it there and lose your license on matter what speed you do.
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Posted: 2003-12-19 07:46
