Speed cameras

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meow
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#1266374 24-Mar-2015 07:01

Zippity:
michaelmurfy: I can see the flashes from the speed cameras they use these days quite clearly (even from the corner of my eye) - are they really that invisible?

Bet you won't see the flash on the new cameras being set up in Wellington.

You can - they still leak non-IR light.

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coffeebaron

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#1266385 24-Mar-2015 07:45

Michael has Mosquito vision to seek out those IR flashes.

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#1266556 24-Mar-2015 10:26

When there are posts about speedcams one would expect to be some useful things like the GPS coordinates (in csv file) of all stationary/mobile RED Light Cams in NZ, being recently updated.
Can't see any here. Suggest you have a feed...

Money gathering machines, as everyone knows, almost always installed on those slopes where the car unintentionally accelerates from below 50K to slightly above (if you are not intentionally apply brakes) - and, bang, - you may well become proudly contributing to the system :( As if the tax you pay is not good enough.

I personally have never had ticket from Red Light Cameras, although I pass them regularly and see how cunning they could be. They do not contribute IMHO to safety at all and just push me to pay more attention on my ODO and slow down - just in case they are poorly calibrated and would read my 49km/h as perhaps 52km/h :(

More and more "under cover" vans bearing no "system" markings and operating red light cameras can be observed here and there in Auckland, e.g.

SH16 - parked at construction sites (SL = 80km/h)
Kumeu (SL = 60 km/h)
Road to Piha at the section where SL = 70km/h and you are going down the hill on a straight line.

That is all sad considering that when it comes to doing real Police job - they are not there.

I talked to central Police Station in Auckland in person about dangerous section of one particular road in Auckland where drivers regularly (every day) overtake road island on the wrong side of the road - they have not reacted. Never ever saw police presence there, although near miss head-on are happening almost every day.

But same boys are hiding with their radar at the corner of Hopetown St & St James St (where your car may go down the bridge accelerating under its weight from 50 to perhaps 53 if you do not break consiously) and happily collecting "donations" from unsuspecting people who just finished their hard day work and heading home. :(

I want to know EVERY whereabouts of where they are hiding next time and make sure my Dash Cam is operating and my GPS logger (capturing my speed) is operating - so that if needed to prove their readings are wrong I am well equipped with data...

I am not going to pay a buck on top of my 33% Tax. They still own me $150 back for wrongly issuing ticket for alledgedly not wearing seat belt. I forgave them but will never forget that..:(

I would not accept any arguments that if whereabouts is known - somebody may use that for their benefit.
For the argument NZ Police has been given whereabouts of the place where they can issue hundreds of fines daily. Have not seen a single cop with a video camera there yet.

Of course it is less work and safer to set up unattended van with red light cam, collect fines and have no interaction with drivers... who may remember their badge number, which can be easily identifiable with their name...

Drive safe...

P.S. Ask me to donate politely in person e.g. to the Police Dog Squad or something similar useful - I wil happlily give you couple of hundreds $$ in donations.
Issue me a ticket wrongly again one more time - and I will find ways for them losing their job ....

keewee01

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#1266566 24-Mar-2015 10:35

This interesting opinion piece was on Stuff a couple of days ago... Speed camera money not wanted in some countries

Says a lot about the governments true intentions for speed cameras IMO...

RUKI

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#1266660 24-Mar-2015 11:53

keewee01: This interesting opinion piece was on Stuff a couple of days ago... Speed camera money not wanted in some countries

Says a lot about the governments true intentions for speed cameras IMO...

Very good article by DAVE MOORE comparing British and NZ practice. Must read...

In that context and with respect to stealth cameras widely employed here, New Zealand becomes more and more like Moscow with the only one difference - in Moscow they ask for cash on the spot.... giving you the option of your DL being confiscated.

I wonder if NZ would go extra mile and for "improved customer service" will start offering fines via FPOST mobile terminals on the spot to "speed up" account receivables....and confiscate your car if your credit card can't be processed....

DravidDavid

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#1266720 24-Mar-2015 12:47

I saw a facebook video of someone with a flippy numberplate surround with a fake plate on the back. James bond sort of deal. I'd love to make one just for the challenge!

RUKI

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#1267291 25-Mar-2015 08:46

New official report from Moscow:

Number of stationalry cameras increased to 847 that, according to officials have reduced speed limit offences by 43% (those are stationary, visible and not covert cameras);
FYI speed limit there in different places in the city could be as low as 40km/h, on some roads (in the city) 80Km/h and 100 km/h on the beltway.

Point is - stationary cameras acheive it's purpose - they raise awareness on the road sections where accidents are most likely to happen, and frequently are complimented by CCTV HD cameras with the license plate recognition software; on the contrary - covert mobile cameras (aka money traps) are located in questionable locations where incident is most unlikely to happen (from personal observations and over 35 years of driving experience).

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#1267338 25-Mar-2015 09:49

I've never been involved in a moving vehicle crash, yet, but for me the absolute most dangerous revenue tool that I'm sure will kill me is the introduction of orange light cameras. In all my hundreds of thousands of kilometers of driving experience every near miss has been stopping for yellow lights and nearly being wiped out by vehicles behind. The odd thing is it would be far cheaper/safer when approaching traffic lights to speed up to 65-70 and risk a ticket for speeding than doing 45 and risk the lights changing orange and getting a $150 ticket, or worse being killed from rear end collision.

jaymz

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#1267383 25-Mar-2015 10:38

Please excuse me if any of the following appears as an attack, i simply feel quite strongly about some of the comments made below:

kingdragonfly:

Since 1993, New Zealand's gone from 13 speed cameras to 200. I know when I pass one, I stop looking at the road and concentrate on my speedometer.

As part of learning to drive a vehicle on the roads, you learn to look at three main places while driving. Your speedometer, rear view mirror and the road ahead. Never spending more than a few seconds on the speedometer and rear view mirrors and the rest of the time on the road ahead. To say that you have to concentrate on your speedometer when passing a speed camera sounds like an excuse for poor driving or an excuse to have a go at these cameras.
For me, I can "feel" the speed of the car and know roughly how fast i am going at any time. An exception to this would be if you are using different cars daily.

kingdragonfly:
I think it's safer to have more police on the road rather than revenue-generating machines.

There is that term again "revenue-generating machines". So many people are upset that they have to pay fines and they default to blaming the the police, or the government, or the speed cameras. How about simply slowing down? You know the rules don't you? At the end of the day, are you upset at the speed camera or that you got caught out for breaking the law?

All in all, any topic I see or hear about has the same groups of people. The ones saying that speed cameras are all about generating money for the police, and the ones saying that people should obey the road rules and not speed.

I am in the latter group.

Technofreak

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#1268216 26-Mar-2015 10:44

IlDuce: In all my hundreds of thousands of kilometers of driving experience every near miss has been stopping for yellow lights and nearly being wiped out by vehicles behind.

This would indicate to me that you're in the habit of stopping suddenly when the orange light illuminates.

There is nothing that stops you from proceeding through the intersection with an orange light illuminated. The timing of the orange light is such that with a driver paying proper attention to the traffic lights there is sufficient time/distance for a driver travelling at the speed limit to stop without having to brake excessively, (thus allowing those behind to stop without the need for sudden braking). If there isn't sufficient time or distance to stop without sudden braking there is sufficient time for that driver to continue through the intersection before the red light illuminates.

This is what I do at traffic lights and have never had a situation where I've been in danger of being rear ended.

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Technofreak

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#1268238 26-Mar-2015 11:04

jaymz:There is that term again "revenue-generating machines". So many people are upset that they have to pay fines and they default to blaming the the police, or the government, or the speed cameras. How about simply slowing down? You know the rules don't you? At the end of the day, are you upset at the speed camera or that you got caught out for breaking the law?

All in all, any topic I see or hear about has the same groups of people. The ones saying that speed cameras are all about generating money for the police, and the ones saying that people should obey the road rules and not speed.

I am in the latter group.

I think you are confusing some of the arguments being made.

Just because someone says speed cameras are revenue gatherers it doesn't automatically mean they don't think road rules shouldn't be obeyed.

The point being made by many on here is there are better ways/places to use the like of the speed cameras. The placing of them in many instances is more to do with gathering fines than improving road safety.

I drive the Waikato Expressway quite a bit and regularly see speed cameras placed along this route. The expressway is a dual carriageway of good surface and contour, with a median strip and barriers between the opposing traffic flows. Basically the safest type of road we have in this country. It's a piece of roadway that by overseas standards could have a much higher speed limit, yet we have, again by overseas standards, a high concentration of speed cameras and high way patrol vehicles policing a 100 km/h limit.

There are plenty of other stretches of road that deserve more attention yet don't get it. You have to ask why.

It's no wonder some people see speed cameras as a revenue gathering exercise.

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jaymz

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#1268289 26-Mar-2015 11:27

Technofreak:
I think you are confusing some of the arguments being made.

Just because someone says speed cameras are revenue gatherers it doesn't automatically mean they don't think road rules shouldn't be obeyed.

The point being made by many on here is there are better ways/places to use the like of the speed cameras. The placing of them in many instances is more to do with gathering fines than improving road safety.

I drive the Waikato Expressway quite a bit and regularly see speed cameras placed along this route. The expressway is a dual carriageway of good surface and contour, with a median strip and barriers between the opposing traffic flows. Basically the safest type of road we have in this country. It's a piece of roadway that by overseas standards could have a much higher speed limit, yet we have, again by overseas standards, a high concentration of speed cameras and high way patrol vehicles policing a 100 km/h limit.

There are plenty of other stretches of road that deserve more attention yet don't get it. You have to ask why.

It's no wonder some people see speed cameras as a revenue gathering exercise.

I can see the point you are trying to make, but I simply cannot agree with it.

As you mentioned, there are road ways here in NZ that "could" have a higher speed limit, but just because they could have a higher speed limit does not entitle the road user rights to break laws that are in place for everyone. I am reminded of the instance recently where a driver was clocked doing 240Km\hour (http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11379738).

Speed cameras are used to help enforce the speed limit on roads around the country. Using the argument that police could be better used elsewhere, one can say that the speed cameras on roads are doing just that. Freeing up highway patrol cars to other areas of the country.

There used to be signs around for fixed speed cameras saying "Speed camera area" which used to slow people down, but everyone gets complacent. I recall the same signs were on the Auckland motorway during roadworks on one of the flyovers, but it didn't slow anyone down to the posted speed limit. I had cars in all lanes pulling away from me.

I return to the simple fact of the whole argument, if you are prepared to disobey road rules and get caught, be prepared to pay the fines for it.

Geese

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#1268330 26-Mar-2015 11:51

Technofreak: This would indicate to me that you're in the habit of stopping suddenly when the orange light illuminates.

Well yes, when I approach traffic lights I am paying attention, and thus when the lights change I apply the brakes moderately to stop. I don't rip up the handbrake, or test the ABS out every set of lights as a matter of course.

But how come in all the scenarios I am referring to, I can stop safely, but I hear tyres squealing from behind, look in my mirror to see smoke pouring out from following car's wheel arches, then invariably they manage to swerve to miss the impact and blast through the by now then red light?

Perhaps it the following drivers are to blame for not applying the correct following distance, or perhaps they are simply not paying attention? Traffic lights change, that's the nature of them, so one should be thinking "I may have to stop here, I better be alert".

Technofreak

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#1268334 26-Mar-2015 11:55

jaymz: I can see the point you are trying to make, but I simply cannot agree with it.

As you mentioned, there are road ways here in NZ that "could" have a higher speed limit, but just because they could have a higher speed limit does not entitle the road user rights to break laws that are in place for everyone.

Where did I say it was acceptable to break the speed limit. I might not agree with the limits on some roads but I never said it was OK to break them.

jaymz: I return to the simple fact of the whole argument, if you are prepared to disobey road rules and get caught, be prepared to pay the fines for it.

I agree. However that's not the point of my argument, nor that of some others on here either I suspect. It's not about the use of speed cameras but how or where they get deployed.

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Technofreak

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#1268341 26-Mar-2015 12:03

IlDuce:
But how come in all the scenarios I am referring to, I can stop safely, but I hear tyres squealing from behind, look in my mirror to see smoke pouring out from following car's wheel arches, then invariably they manage to swerve to miss the impact and blast through the by now then red light?

Your description of events makes them sound quite extreme/dangerous, not something that's seen very often if at all in my experience.

From what you wrote in you first post you seem to attract more than your fair share of these events. I had to wonder why.

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