|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
Tailgating Worries Following Speed Camera Introduction
Article by: rob brady
Date: 3 Mar 2015
A local councillor has expressed concern that lorries are tailgating cars because of the introduction of average speed cameras on a stretch of the M4 in the Port Talbot area. The cameras were activated between junction 40 and 41 in January this year.
Councillor John Warman said, "I’m concerned that since these cameras have gone up, there has been quite a bit of tailgating with lorries. It is very dangerous. You get these lorries going right behind you, so closely, when the average speed limit is in force. You can’t go faster because it is 50mph. It’s intimidating people." He acknowledges that cars also tailgate through the camera system.
Warman intends to alert the authorities of the problem and would like the police the patrol the stretch of motorway.
The Go Safe Partnership commented: "Work is currently ongoing to provide a technical enforcement solution to those that are breaking the law by driving too close, although police can give on the spot penalty notices to those that are driving carelessly."
Source
Get Speed Camera Warnings For SatNavs
Get Speed Camera Warnings For iOS
Get Speed Camera Warnings For Android
| | |  |
| Comments
|
 Posted by Bunty1948 on Tue Mar 03, 2015 1:06 pm |
 |
This is of course what happens when you replace marked police cars with cameras. Speeding becomes the only offence recorded where as with marked cars driving behaviour improves. There is a very long stretch of "Specs" through road works on the A1 in North Yorkshire. Thankfully I use my sat nav to allow me to travel at more than an indicated 50 mph on my speedometer and that usually allows me to creep away from HGVs sat no more than a car's length behind my boot lid. But of course there is always the "bright" HGV driver who does exactly the same thing leaving me with the thought of 44 tonnes of HGV rearranging the metalwork of my car. But as long as HM Government and the police can earn money from speed cameras, why would they ever consider putting police cars that we can all see back on the roads. I travelled the best part of 700 miles at the weekend, mostly on motorways and dual carriageways and saw not one marked police car. I did however see at least 5 unmarked vehicles, notable by the fact that they were travelling just under the speed limit. As I was perhaps just over the limit they didn't bother with me, no doubt not wishing to uncloak themselves for a motorist travelling a few mph above the limit.
|
|
| Posted by Kremmen on Tue Mar 03, 2015 2:38 pm |
|
This is one situation where I put cruise control on and 'do the limit' regardless.
I've personally not been bullied in specs zones but I can see how lorries may want to shield their front number plates by tailgating as specs face forwards don't they?
Satnav:
Garmin 2599 LMT-D (Indoor test rig)
DashCam:
Viofo A119 V3
Car Average MPG :
 |
|
| Posted by chrissuk2000 on Tue Mar 03, 2015 5:10 pm |
|
| Kremmen Wrote: | This is one situation where I put cruise control on and 'do the limit' regardless.
I've personally not been bullied in specs zones but I can see how lorries may want to shield their front number plates by tailgating as specs face forwards don't they? |
Agree with the cruise control solution. Trouble is latest TomTom shows average speed and if you have not synchronised in time it can be misleading.
In Germany they do have cameras for recording tailgating. It records the distance between vehicles and the speed. There is then a simple look up chart that says distance this, speed that, fine this much. Pay up! That has been in place for at least 20 years.
|
|
| Posted by DennisN on Tue Mar 03, 2015 7:11 pm |
|
I think this is because lorry speedometers are calibrated accurately, therefore when they are doing 50, YOUR speedo holds you back at less than that.
It's not a tailgating problem unless there are cars blocking two lanes so that lorries can't pass them.
Dennis
If it tastes good - it's fattening.
Two of them are obesiting!! |
|
| Posted by Kremmen on Wed Mar 04, 2015 4:54 am |
|
I'm sure all the specs zones I've used are a wide inner lane and 2 narrow outer lanes which does stop the trucks overtaking.
Satnav:
Garmin 2599 LMT-D (Indoor test rig)
DashCam:
Viofo A119 V3
Car Average MPG :
|
|
| Posted by DennisN on Wed Mar 04, 2015 7:06 am |
|
No. The three lane ones are invariably signed for lanes 1 and 2 'Any Vehicle', and lane 3 for 'Vehicles under 6' 6"' (or something like that). The only slight variation is for vehicles over xx wide to straddle first two lanes.
Dennis
If it tastes good - it's fattening.
Two of them are obesiting!! |
|
| Posted by Privateer on Wed Mar 04, 2015 11:47 am |
|
| Bunty1948 Wrote: | | This is of course what happens when you replace marked police cars with cameras. Speeding becomes the only offence recorded where as with marked cars driving behaviour improves. |
I think that that is a fair observation, certainly in my 20+ years of driving, I have noticed a gradual decline of marked police vehicles on the M40 and trunk roads in Oxfordshire and the surrounding counties, in fact I don't know the last time that I saw a marked police vehicle that was just patrolling as opposed to using "blues and twos" to get somewhere fast. I'm sure that an immediate "ticking off" by a stern policeman at the time of an offence is far more effective that a NIP 14 days after the offence took place - but tickings off don't raise revenue while NIPs do! 
| DennisN Wrote: | | I think this is because lorry speedometers are calibrated accurately, therefore when they are doing 50, YOUR speedo holds you back at less than that. |
I tend to drive to the speed indicated on my SatNav/CamerAlert and in SPECS zones I generally drive in lane 1, i.e. the widest lane where lorries mainly go. I have found that some (noticeably the foreign registered) lorries do want to go faster and they will overtake.
Mind you, there are always some rogue drivers (and not always HGV ones) so it might not be a bad idea to have a rear facing dash camera.
Regards,
Robert.
iPhone 6s Plus, iOS 14.0.1: iOS CamerAlert v2.0.7
TomTom GO Mobile iOS 2.3.1; TomTom (UK & ROI and Europe) iOS apps v1.29
Garmin Camper 770 LMT-D |
|
| Posted by exportman on Wed Mar 04, 2015 6:28 pm |
|
Many HGV drivers depend on their speed limiter in the road works
Although the official limit is 56 mph for factory set ones many fleet companies drop this to 52 or 53 mph so the drivers just sit on their limiter and get right up your boot if you are not moving as fast as they would like.
|
|
| Posted by Bunty1948 on Thu Mar 05, 2015 10:44 am |
|
| DennisN Wrote: | | No. The three lane ones are invariably signed for lanes 1 and 2 'Any Vehicle', and lane 3 for 'Vehicles under 6' 6"' (or something like that). The only slight variation is for vehicles over xx wide to straddle first two lanes. |
I think (carefully) that you are both saying the same thing. There has always been confusion with the naming of lanes ever since the Highways Agency decided that we couldn't use Slow, Middle and Fast lanes on three lane motorways.
As a designer I had to think lanes 1,2,3 and sometimes 4. Inner and Outer lanes are respectively 1 and 3/4 but of course some people call the inner lane the one next to the central reserve barrier, which it is not. Thank God I retired before they brought in Managed Motorways or are they now Smart Motorways, with the part time lane, which was and should be the hard shoulder. How do they number/name that lane?
Anyway having gone completely off topic now, I would still like to see more marked Police cars to allow common sense to return to the policing of our highways and hopefully the bad drivers, no matter what they are driving spoken to when they drive inappropriately.
I'd willingly pay a little more tax to be able to relax and enjoy my driving as I did for many years.
|
|
|
| Click here to view more comments... |
|
 |
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
