There was a time when fixed and average speed cameras didn’t exist, and the most likely way of accruing endorsements (now better known as penalty points) on your licence was to miss seeing the local policeman pointing a ‘speed gun’ at your car as you edged above the posted limit.
Those days have long since passed, and the rise in digital technology now means that drivers are faced with a plethora of different roadside devices.
How can I be caught speeding?
There are a variety of different speed-detecting technologies on British roads today. Here are the most common.
Truvelo
All speed cameras have to be coloured bright yellow by law and the Truvelo is no exception. Most commonly mounted on a pole at the side of a single or dual carriageway, the Truvelo uses a front-facing camera to record your speed, backed up by a matrix of small squares painted on the road. (Secondary evidence of speed is required with all fixed-position cameras.) While images of motorcycle numberplates can be tricky to capture, due to their lack of front registrations, the Truvelo can identify drivers of other vehicles, adding a further layer of evidence if a prosecution is disputed. More recently, a Truvelo D-Cam has been launched for motorway applications, with front- and rear-facing capabilities.
Gatso
The name that most of us are familiar with, the Gatso first graced our road scene in 1991 and is a rear-facing camera, meaning that it records your vehicle after it’s passed the camera unit, with two images taken in quick succession. Like the Travelo, the images are supported by secondary evidence of speed provided by painted ‘dashes’ on the road surface. These dashes may be found on both sides of the road next to the camera, but the Gatso will only record your speed in the direction in which it is facing.
SPECS
SPECS (average speed check cameras and speed enforcement) units measure your speed over a set distance, via two banks of cameras. Most commonly found through roadworks, or where there is a lower than normal speed limit, they use automatic numberplate recognition (ANPR) to identify vehicles. As you pass the first set of cameras, your vehicle’s details are recorded, and if your average speed before reaching the second cameras is above a set threshold, a notice of intended prosecution (NIP) will be automatically generated. (See below.)
HADECS 3
The catchily named Highways Agency Digital Enforcement Camera System 3, or HADECS 3 for short, is most commonly found on smart motorways, mounted on the overhead gantries that carry variable speed limit alerts. The camera’s limited use of yellow cladding and the fact that it is a fraction of a Gatso/Travelo’s size mean that it can be easily missed, especially if you’re travelling at 70mph. HADECS 3 is rear facing, and once again it uses painted dashes on the road as secondary evidence of a vehicle’s speed. It also adapts to posted, mandatory speed limits that can vary depending on road conditions.
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Driving standards have been going down for years, you name it I ve seen it!, under passing on motorways, using roundabouts to pass slower inside lane traffic going the same direction, speeding?, yeah, some see it as a challenge,it seems to some that a twenty limit is a forty limit and so on, and as for the road going F1 drivers, the only thing that'll make them think twice is?....take there licence off them for five years,and, put there pride and joy through the crusher, might save a few, might.
I recently had to do a course as a cop with a camera tracked me (high performance motorbike) doing 40 on a 40 dual carriageway then I accelerated slightly too early as it became a 60 and I have the video of me doing 47mph for 1 second before the 60 sign!!! OK, I did go above 40 but the other driver who nearly swerved into me 100metres later whilst texting gets nothing!