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Has Anyone been "caught" by a SPECS camera

 
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Harry06
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 25, 2009 11:19 pm    Post subject: Has Anyone been "caught" by a SPECS camera Reply with quote

Just wondered if anyone has actually been caught speeding by one of these yellow motorway cameras. The reason I ask is, when ever I travel through roadworks lots of people seem to completely ignore them. Do they know something I don't?
I have some experience of ANPR cameras and they can be extremely difficult to set up and align. Some tend to have very narrow fields of view and are very height restricted. So surely mounting a camera on a great big yellow pole on top of a three lane highway watching all sizes of vehicles must prove a difficult commision.
Don't get me wrong I'm not advocating "zooming" through roadworks. Just curious.
Thanks
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TheBrit
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 28, 2009 1:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I always set my cruise control in such zones so as not to accidentally go over. Some people obviously dont know the meaning of 'average' though as I still see people speeding between the cameras then slowing down as they pass them. Confused
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JockTamsonsBairn
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 28, 2009 1:57 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Laughing Great minds...?
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glo-worm
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 03, 2009 12:04 pm    Post subject: Anyone caught by SPECS Reply with quote

I also set cruise control when going through them, but I was very sceptical that the ANRS would not be effective enough to scan the image process it and get the number plate and then repeat it effectively half a mile later with enough accuracy to work.
However a collegue of mine got caught by the SPECS system on the road works at the top of the M1 in mid-2007 since then I am a convert and believe SPEC's would appear to actually work. By work I mean generate revenue from motorists, not reduce accidents in roadworks! Rolling Eyes
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Videodat
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PostPosted: Sat Apr 04, 2009 5:47 am    Post subject: Re Specs - do they work Reply with quote

Hi all
The latest News Letter from PGPSW asked whether anyone had actually been caught by SPECS - one of my drivers was (in the company van!) but it was on the permanent 10 mph section by Tower Bridge and he was doing just under 30 mph!
Like a lot of people I've seen many people whizzing through roadworks so I wonder if they work at all temporary sites...... Question
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Darren
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 09, 2009 10:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

In last week's newsletter I asked for people who had been caught by SPECS installations to contact me and contact me you did.

I'm saddened to say I was flooded with emails from readers who had fallen foul of the average speed cameras.

I was also contacted by an installer who explained the calibration process and who assures me that they work!

One unlucky driver was fined for driving at an average of 52mph through a 50 zone. So whilst some may not be switched on, they do work, ignore them at your peril.
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perussell
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 09, 2009 2:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

a comment and a question.....

I have been told that SPECS cameras are lane sensitive i.e. they work in pairs but only on the same lane e.g. first camera in lane 3 of an M-way would be linked to the next camera in Lane 3. Consequently while not condoning the concept of speeding through these things in any way I have always changed lanes between cameras if I have inadvertently let my speed drift slightly over the limit between cameras (or think that I might have missed a camera). Of course this isn't going to work on single carriageway roads. I'm told that the "next generation" cameras will be multi-lane sensitive.

My question however is this - do they work at night? i.e. can they read number plates in the dark - in fact does ANPR technology work in the dark at all. Somebody tried to suggest to me that infra red detection can determine the difference between the white background and the black letters/numbers albeit I can't personally see how this would be (and I am not about to go belting through one of these at night time to prove or disprove the theory Smile )

Has anyone been caught by a SPECS in the dark?
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druck
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 09, 2009 2:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The cameras operate in the near infra-red which gives a very similar image to a black and white camera using visible light, rather than far infra-red which sees heat. The have infra-red lamps which aren't visible to drivers, but provide sufficient illumination to recognise plates in the dark.
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perussell
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 09, 2009 2:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
The cameras operate in the near infra-red which gives a very similar image to a black and white camera using visible light, rather than far infra-red which sees heat. The have infra-red lamps which aren't visible to drivers, but provide sufficient illumination to recognise plates in the dark.


Ok, makes good sense but wouldn't the "heat" from the headlights blind the cameras from seeing the number plate or is this filtered out i.e. the "near" infr-red just doesn't see the headlights?
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Darren
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 09, 2009 2:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

As has been said, they operate in the dark by virtue of the iR illuminators. They are also capable of monitoring multiple lanes although not type approved for that mode (last time I checked).

I wouldn't rely on changing lanes to avoid a ticket if you're speeding through a SPECS zone.
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perussell
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 09, 2009 2:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
I wouldn't rely on changing lanes to avoid a ticket if you're speeding through a SPECS zone.


As suggested above I wouldn't knowingly speed through a SPECs zone so, so far so good, although I did have a nasty turn a few years back when driving around the Northampton ring road for the first time ever, and in the dark, I suddenly noticed some blue posts which I eventually realised were topped by SPECS cameras. I had thought they were all mounted on yellow posts but obviously not......
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druck
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 09, 2009 2:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

perussell wrote:
Ok, makes good sense but wouldn't the "heat" from the headlights blind the cameras from seeing the number plate or is this filtered out i.e. the "near" infr-red just doesn't see the headlights?


The near-IR camera is less sensitive to visible light and don't see heat, so they aren't dazzled by the glare of the headlights, particularly when viewed from above which is where the cameras are mounted.
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Darren
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 09, 2009 2:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

perussell wrote:
I suddenly noticed some blue posts which I eventually realised were topped by SPECS cameras. I had thought they were all mounted on yellow posts but obviously not......

Nope, both blue and yellow are in common use.
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JockTamsonsBairn
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 09, 2009 2:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Darren wrote:
In last week's newsletter I asked for people who had been caught by SPECS installations to contact me and contact me you did.

I'm saddened to say I was flooded with emails from readers who had fallen foul of the average speed cameras.
I'm not surprised to hear this, but as I posted elsewhere:

JockTamsonsBairn wrote:
...
Every time I pass through a Specs area (usually @ limit-2 MPH on GPS) there is a continuous stream of people shooting past and then slamming on the brakes when they get to the cameras. I'm no great arithmetician but surely this peak/trough driving can't bring their average down below the posted limit? Surely these drivers are getting points and presumably slowing down the next time they hit a Specs area? Given the number of Specs areas there are nowadays, surely the whole of the population of drivers who don't understand Specs will have been hit soon and been educated?
...

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