Police Camera Van Disguise

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Mad Scientist
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#1201018 20-Dec-2014 11:41

Jase2985:
kingjj:
Jase2985: i think there should be a 10% tolerance for your speed while on the roads. This accounts for inaccuracies in your speedo and in the measuring equipment police use. anyone outside those tolerances gets a ticket.

Unlike the vast majority of speedo's out there, Police actually have calibrated equipment. There should not be any 'inaccuracies' in 'the measuring equipment police use' and you can request to see the certification if you recieve a ticket (speedo/radar/operator).

As for individuals speedo 'inaccuracies', perhaps people should compensate for that when driving (speedo's are generally set to over read not under read so if you are going 100 on your speedo, you're probably sitting closer to 95).

calibrated for something coming straight at it, not something coming at a slight angle. but moot point everything has a margin of error

funny thing is, at any angle other than dead straight in front, the police radar would UNDER estimate your speed ie you are going faster

gzt

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#1201039 20-Dec-2014 13:05

Reanalyse: On the Northwestern Motorway this afternoon in the other lane I noticed a dark blue speed-camera van. Complete with magnetic orange light above the drivers door to fit in with the surrounding construction cars. I applaud the marked van they use, and can understand the need for unmarked vans but feel a step too far has happened when the camera vehicles are "disguised"

It is not a good precedent. But there may be another explanation for this one. If the construction work area is subject to some kind of safe site certification then it is possible the site manager required it.

RogerMellie

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#1201069 20-Dec-2014 14:21

bigal_nz: Something just occured to me : it might be a OSH requirement for the Speed Camera Van to be fitted with a orange flashing light when in a "work zone" as a opposed to any attempt to disguise the van.

Thats kinda funny really if thats the case.

was just going to post the same thing. Pretty sure that would be the case. They'd need to have it turned on when approaching or leaving the site, I imagine.

MikeB4

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#1201098 20-Dec-2014 16:03

I was driving between Featherston and Greytown this morning doing 100KMH (by GPS) and was passed by a car going so fast it was like we were standing still. It also made the car rock due to wind turbulence. This is why we need more cameras etc to get these lunatics.

SirHumphreyAppleby

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#1201109 20-Dec-2014 16:14

KiwiNZ: I was driving between Featherston and Greytown this morning doing 100KMH (by GPS) and was passed by a car going so fast it was like we were standing still. It also made the car rock due to wind turbulence. This is why we need more cameras etc to get these lunatics.

That lunatic probably doesn't have a licence. The car is probably unwarranted and unregistered, if not stolen. Cameras do not stop the worst offenders on our roads.

IMO, cameras should be used to identify problems with people and road design, not generate fines.

It'd be far better to contact drivers taking risks on our roads, request that they shape up, and then force them to undergo further driver training if they persist with risky behaviour.

EDIT: Notices should not be sent to everyone who is 'speeding'. We should be focusing on the outliers. Those who never stop on amber lights, follow too closely, or are regularly driving at a rate faster than the flow of traffic that is statistically significant . If the new equipment the police have is as good as they claim, being able to identify cars in lanes, and small cars versus trucks (different speed limits), then they should be able to put the technology to use finding people who are driving too close to the car in front for example.

Batman

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#1201113 20-Dec-2014 16:31

Cameras don't catch these lunatics. It catches those doing 5 - 11 over the limit

These lunatics avoid cameras and cops somehow.

TLD

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#1201127 20-Dec-2014 17:04

KiwiNZ: I was driving between Featherston and Greytown this morning doing 100KMH (by GPS) and was passed by a car going so fast it was like we were standing still. It also made the car rock due to wind turbulence. This is why we need more cameras etc to get these lunatics.

Did you *555 it?

http://www.police.govt.nz/advice/driving-and-road-safety/report-bad-driver

I believe the police take those reports seriously, and always give chase if distances and positions of police cars allow. I did hear that two *555 reports for the same offender on the same day would lead to a prosecution even if the police don't catch the culprit at the time.

I guess the logistics of that might be tricky on the West Coast with just 30k people living over such a long stretch of coast.

We've only used it once when following a Naked Bus down SH1 which had diesel pouring out of the back.

Trevor Dennis
Rapaura (near Blenheim)

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MikeB4

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#1201129 20-Dec-2014 17:09

I didn't get the registration it was going way too fast.

TLD

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#1201149 20-Dec-2014 17:40

I've lived in NZ for ten years now after emigrating from the UK, and ISTM that the police are _very_ different here, and especially regards driving. I did three Advanced Motorcycling courses with police instructors, and was astonished at the speeds we were expected to do, regularly reaching 120mph on B roads. You'd be treated like you'd just done murder if stopped doing that here. I'm not saying it was right or clever doing those speeds — just saying that's what the police instructors expected us to do. One one of these days there were four police riders and four civilians, and none of them even mentioned the speeds we'd been doing when we stopped for lunch! :-(

If you seen that Emergency Bikers show (on CI or BBC Knowledge) you might have seen them stop four bikers in Essex who'd been riding at over 140mph. I thought 'Here we go. They are going down big time', but they were actually let off providing they agreed to attend a police riding course. With my first paragraph in mind, can anyone see the irony in that?

The interaction between cops and the people they stop in that Motorway Patrol program on TV1 also amazes us expat Brits. The lads all laugh and do gang signs, and the cops are laughing and joking along with them. In the UK the cops would most definitely NOT be laughing. In the USA the cops would have their guns out, and would shoot perps who thought it a bit of a joke.

The UK is now awash with average speed cameras, so you can't get away with speeding on main roads and motorways, although I don't know what leeway they allow. Most cop traffic cars now have number plate recognition cameras that flag vehicles without tax (rego), MOT (WOF), and even insurance (insurance). The third party insurance requirement would make it near impossible for anyone under 25 years old to have, say, a Subaru Impreza or similar. ISTR Jeremy Clarkson saying he was quoted £25,000 (NZ$50,400) to insure his Escort Cosworth (I suspect that was third party only). That would have to slow down NZ hoons!

Here you go:
http://www.carpictures.com/vehicle/07I39032004255/Ford-Escort-Cosworth-Jeremy-Clarkson-1993

Trevor Dennis
Rapaura (near Blenheim)

afe66

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#1201271 20-Dec-2014 21:56

TLD:
KiwiNZ: I was driving between Featherston and Greytown this morning doing 100KMH (by GPS) and was passed by a car going so fast it was like we were standing still. It also made the car rock due to wind turbulence. This is why we need more cameras etc to get these lunatics.

Did you *555 it?

http://www.police.govt.nz/advice/driving-and-road-safety/report-bad-driver

I believe the police take those reports seriously, and always give chase if distances and positions of police cars allow. I did hear that two *555 reports for the same offender on the same day would lead to a prosecution even if the police don't catch the culprit at the time.

I guess the logistics of that might be tricky on the West Coast with just 30k people living over such a long stretch of coast.

We've only used it once when following a Naked Bus down SH1 which had diesel pouring out of the back.

I have a radio scanner which I took to the warbirds over Wanaka in easter. After the airshow, I would eavesdrop on the police and was very surprised at how many people were reporting bad drivers and the police intercepting them. About 5 separate interceptions over 3 hrs.

Highlight was the tourists who stopped their car I think in the middle of the crown range road to take photos of the view and blocked the road in the process. Operator mentioned to the police that they had received a lot of *555 calls and that the backlog was 30 cars.

A.

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#1201273 20-Dec-2014 21:59

afe66:

Highlight was the tourists who stopped their car I think in the middle of the crown range road to take photos of the view and blocked the road in the process. Operator mentioned to the police that they had received a lot of *555 calls and that the backlog was 30 cars.

A.

How do people see that as an acceptable thing to do?

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Dratsab

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#1201278 20-Dec-2014 22:50

networkn:
benokobi: It shouldn't matter if you follow the speed limit.

Well this is the same argument as "it shouldn't matter if the government is spying on you, if you aren't doing anything wrong?

Only if you've had a lot of 'shrooms...

networkn

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#1201279 20-Dec-2014 23:03

Dratsab:
networkn:
benokobi: It shouldn't matter if you follow the speed limit.

Well this is the same argument as "it shouldn't matter if the government is spying on you, if you aren't doing anything wrong?

Only if you've had a lot of 'shrooms...

Well that's how I feel when people make the opposing argument about having their "rights" taken away :)

davisg

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#1201290 20-Dec-2014 23:27

Just over in Greece on holiday. Speed limit is up to 130km/h in places. Similar car fleet to ours in NZ. Similar roads. Didn't see a single accident.

I really don't think 102 km/h could be called dangerous on NZ roads.

I also noticed in NZ that you get the same fine and points deduction if you are doing 109k that you get when doing 101k.
So why bother going slower if you are going to be caught anyway?

firewire

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#1201293 20-Dec-2014 23:43

Don't speed and therefore obey traffic law.

It's not rocket science.

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