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Paul80 Regular Visitor
Joined: Aug 25, 2005 Posts: 246
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Posted: Thu May 25, 2006 10:06 am Post subject: Possible new camera Types |
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Hi all
There have been some new cameras put up along the A249 in Kent anyone know if these are a new type of speed camera.
They are mounted on green poles under a couple of the bridges. there are 4 in total and they consist of two cameras side by side and each camera has what looks like a sensor mounted on top, they are also set to look along the road.
Anyone know what they are.
Thanks |
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Oldboy Pocket GPS Moderator
Joined: Dec 08, 2004 Posts: 10642 Location: Suffolk, UK
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Paul80 Regular Visitor
Joined: Aug 25, 2005 Posts: 246
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Posted: Thu May 25, 2006 9:21 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks for the link.
They are definetly not Traficmaster.
I will try and take a photo and get it uploaded. |
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Nickwolf Regular Visitor
Joined: Apr 01, 2005 Posts: 219
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Posted: Thu May 25, 2006 10:24 pm Post subject: |
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They sound like automatic number plate recognition system (ANPRS) cameras to me.
Nick. |
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peterc10 Frequent Visitor
Joined: Aug 21, 2005 Posts: 1761 Location: Kent, England
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Posted: Thu May 25, 2006 11:30 pm Post subject: |
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I think the most likely explanation of these can be found in the new bridge being built over the Swale on this road.
The bridge is built on a DBFO (design build fund operate) basis. As I understand it the consortium are funding the construction and getting paid for the traffic that uses the bridge and also the new road on the Island. I think the amount they are paid also depends upon how well the traffic flows (average sppeds).
I think these cameras are to monitor the flows, both in terms of numbers and average journey times so that the amount they get paid can be calculated. _________________ Peter
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Paul80 Regular Visitor
Joined: Aug 25, 2005 Posts: 246
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Posted: Fri May 26, 2006 1:07 am Post subject: |
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Thanks for the reply,
That may be the possible explanation, although where the cameras are positioned they will only see traffic on the A249 and not the traffic that actually uses the bridge, anything coming onto the A249 from the surrounding area will be picked up.
Or is that just a scam to get paid for more cars than what is actually using the bridge. |
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peterc10 Frequent Visitor
Joined: Aug 21, 2005 Posts: 1761 Location: Kent, England
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Posted: Fri May 26, 2006 10:25 am Post subject: |
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Paul80 wrote: | Thanks for the reply,
That may be the possible explanation, although where the cameras are positioned they will only see traffic on the A249 and not the traffic that actually uses the bridge, anything coming onto the A249 from the surrounding area will be picked up.
Or is that just a scam to get paid for more cars than what is actually using the bridge. |
I think you will find that the Highways Agency are not THAT stupid. I understand the agreement is quite complex and paick up several trypes of traffic movement. My guess is thta ANPR may be used. In fact the cameras extend on both sides of the bridge. _________________ Peter
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Paul80 Regular Visitor
Joined: Aug 25, 2005 Posts: 246
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Sema_4 Pocket GPS Verifier
Joined: Jun 06, 2006 Posts: 40 Location: Madrid, Spain
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Posted: Thu Jul 06, 2006 1:54 pm Post subject: |
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Your picture shows the automatic number plate recognition system (ANPRS) cameras, Nickwolf was right in his earlier post.
As luck would have it, I just read an article on these cameras last night and for the benefit of anyone that has not read about these devices yet, I will post a little about what they are for and how they work.
The camera's physically comprise of a high quality, full colour 'cctv' type camera, situated in a 'front facing' location so it can take pictures of the occupants, and in addition to this colour camera, there is a 'pulsed infra-red' camera which is used for the number plate recognition part of the system.
The IR camera system takes 'a number of pictures' of approaching vehicles and adopts a 'best guess' approach to work out your number plate, which is then compared to a database of known 'hot' plates, for the purpose of identifying cars that don't have tax, MOT, insurace, or that might be stolen, or even to track the movements of vehicles used as 'get-away cars' in crimes.
Vehicle movements along with occupants faces are stored on a national computer system for up to 5 years and although access to the data is very restricted, if they have a reason to look for your number plate, they can and will.
The system is not without it's limits thanks to the light requirements of 'colour CCTV camera' but the IR number plate camera will not usually have any trouble regardless of the conditions.
The future development of the system will see 'radio tags' implanted in to the number plates of all new cars, a bit like the 'chip' you can get for your pet dog, so that a scanner can be passed near to the chip to read the data. The next generation of ANPRS will have induction loops in the road and all cars will pass the data from the microchip in the licence plate, to the ANPRS system to prevent licence plate tampering. The cameras will still be used, but any plate that does not match the info in the chip will receive special attention...
At present, they say they do NOT use this system to monitor the speed of a vehicle, but clearly the technology exists and if they truly are not doing it yet, I can't help but think it's only a matter of time. |
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peterc10 Frequent Visitor
Joined: Aug 21, 2005 Posts: 1761 Location: Kent, England
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Posted: Thu Jul 06, 2006 5:51 pm Post subject: |
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Nope I don't think that is strictly correct.
The bridge over the Swale and new approach roads has just been opened and there is a design build finance and operate contract whereby the operator gets paid on a complex formula of vehicle numbers, type and average speed over certain sections of the bridge and approach roads. This operates all the way from the Stockbury viaduct (A2 junction) through to the outskirts of Sheerness (finishes by the docks).
As I said before I believe these cameras are there to record the traffic movements and speeds so that the payment to the operator can be calculated. In order to do that they need to record the number plate of the vehicle to calculate average speeds, but this is not the same as the Police operated ANPR cameras. _________________ Peter
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Sema_4 Pocket GPS Verifier
Joined: Jun 06, 2006 Posts: 40 Location: Madrid, Spain
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Posted: Thu Jul 06, 2006 6:21 pm Post subject: |
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You could well be right about the reason for them being in that location peterc10, I don't know anything about the road in question, but the camera's they are using are identical to the photo I saw in the ANPRS article I quoted in my last post. |
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will_ Occasional Visitor
Joined: Jul 11, 2006 Posts: 1
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peterc10 Frequent Visitor
Joined: Aug 21, 2005 Posts: 1761 Location: Kent, England
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Posted: Tue Jul 11, 2006 10:23 pm Post subject: |
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Yep it could - so please everybody note cos we don't want any false alerts! _________________ Peter
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Paul80 Regular Visitor
Joined: Aug 25, 2005 Posts: 246
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Posted: Thu Jul 20, 2006 4:22 pm Post subject: |
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So they can read your registration number and record your time taken over a fixed distance but they are not speed cameras.
Obviously only time will tell, but remember if you get a ticket in the post you read it here first. |
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robby3 Occasional Visitor
Joined: Jul 29, 2006 Posts: 3 Location: sittingbourne, kent
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Posted: Sat Jul 29, 2006 8:16 pm Post subject: |
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hello all, just had to join up to let you all know that these cameras on the a249 on the high poles just as was described earlier ARE speed cameras as the 60 pound fixed penalty notice i recieved from the 14th july will testify,,, 3 points for 74 in a 70 im gutted.
there have been speed camera signs in place for over a year and they have just been turned on,,, in conjunction with then opening of the new bridge i believe.
im so off that stretch of motorway is not known for rta's and it is almost impossible to see them as a recognised speed camera,,,im now terrified that i will be recieving another 1 or 2 as its quite common to be doing 80 or 90 on this stretch of road. money grabbing bastards,, i spose they have to pay for that nice new bridge somehow!
be warned and beware
rob |
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