This shows how sneaky the camera vans are getting?

[beermunster]

This was on the A34 - north of Stone today. I thought they had to be in clear view!

And before anyone says - I wasnt caught for speeding and have a perfectly clean license. I just thought this was a sneaky attempt to hide from view !

 

[henryscat]

They should be completely hidden and unmarked IMO.

The van is also nicely clear of the foot/cycle path, so that pedestrians and cyclists aren't inconvenienced.

 

[Florence]

If Joe Public had parked there he'd have been ticketed before he'd turned his lights off.

Although I do agree with you Henryscat about speed cameras of all descriptions being hidden from view. We should all drive at the correct speed limit all the time, writes a smug person with zero points on her licence.

 

[dylanf]

They are a bunch of young men. The police are there to catch bad guys. Why then are the police in affect being used against the general population. They are as bad as Gaddafis soldiers.

 

[Withnail]

They are as bad as Gaddafis soldiers.

Christ alive! Are speeding motorists being shot now?

I'm definitely sticking with the bike then.

 

[tek-monkey]

Good plan, execute all speeding motorists

 

[harri2000]

I sure hope they didn't catch you taking a picture while driving!!!!

 

[shoes]

They should be completely hidden and unmarked IMO.

What is your views on making it compulsory for all new cars to be equipped with cruise control? I think it's a very good idea, and would certainly prevent people who are unintentionally drifting above the speed limit from doing so, providing they turn on the damn thing, of course.

Cruise control options on cars vary from about £400 - £1500 based on 10 minutes of googling, so in reality the cost would be, at a guess, around 1/3 of that if it were included as standard on the car (whilst allowing the feature to turn a profit for manufacturers). Adding £133 onto a basic car which would still cost you somewhere in the region of £8,000 isn't going to kill the motor market.

I wish my car had it actually, especially for the average speed zones and the variable limit on the M6 which I travel through an awful lot (birmingham way).

 

[harri2000]

I have cruise Control in my Picasso, but it doesn't operate at the lower speeds i.e. 30mph. But love using it on the A- Roads and Motorways. It certainly stops me from drifting over the speed limit especially on longer journeys!

 

[supernova]

The police are there to catch bad guys

.

Correct, and that is exactly what they are doing.

Why then are the police in affect being used against the general population. They are as bad as Gaddafis soldiers.

No they're not. That is such a pathetic statement that I can only assume you're joking. They are being used to catch speeding motorists who are a menace on our roads, and who should be caught and prosecuted every time. You don't know anyone who has had their life taken away and had their family's lives ruined by a motorist driving too fast, do you?

And I don't need two guesses to know who's just taken a stafford point off me because he thinks I'm talking out of my backside.
Unbelievable!

 

[Clarkey]

Sneaky yes, but they always have been. I hate it but at the same time don't really mind. I don't know that section of road but judging by the bus stop and telegraph poles It's in a populated area, 40 limit I guess. If you were speeding at that time of day, with that level of traffic on the road then you deserve a dickhead ticket tbh.

 

[henryscat]

They should be completely hidden and unmarked IMO.

What is your views on making it compulsory for all new cars to be equipped with cruise control? I think it's a very good idea, and would certainly prevent people who are unintentionally drifting above the speed limit from doing so, providing they turn on the damn thing, of course.

Cruise control options on cars vary from about £400 - £1500 based on 10 minutes of googling, so in reality the cost would be, at a guess, around 1/3 of that if it were included as standard on the car (whilst allowing the feature to turn a profit for manufacturers). Adding £133 onto a basic car which would still cost you somewhere in the region of £8,000 isn't going to kill the motor market.

I wish my car had it actually, especially for the average speed zones and the variable limit on the M6 which I travel through an awful lot (birmingham way).

Along very similar lines I think variable speed limiters linked to GPS are a good idea, the technology is there and proven. Essentially its Satnav plugged into a limiter on the car. Like you say the costs are pretty minimal. In the longer term if variable road pricing happens (different discussion!) that would need GPS as standard on cars too.

Sadly the only thing stopping variable limiters is politicians scared of losing votes.

 

[wmrcomputers]

Sneaky yes, but they always have been. I hate it but at the same time don't really mind. I don't know that section of road but judging by the bus stop and telegraph poles It's in a populated area, 40 limit I guess. If you were speeding at that time of day, with that level of traffic on the road then you deserve a dickhead ticket tbh.

It's a 60 zone, the main dual carriageway between Stone & Stafford. I saw it today so kept deliberately doing 65 as I know that my speedo (like most cars) is deliberately set around 10% out anyway - and my Sat Nav plus roadside digital speed notifiers have confirmed this

No matter what you all seem to agree on though, the law itself states CLEARLY VISIBLE as far as I'm aware and this was not in my opinion. Hey... don't shout at me... I don't write the law books!!

 

[proactive]

I agree the van wasn't in clear view, but anyone who regularly drives on that road ought to know well enough there are regularly scamera vans there and drive accordingly. Anyone unfamiliar with the road should be driving with care as well.

I have no problem with scamera vans providing they are where there really is a danger. I am continually perplexed as to why they station a van at the top of Radford Bank during evening rush hour though, when achieving 20mph would be a minor miracle, never mind exceeding 30!

Also it would be nice to see the vans on less profitable roads such as the Wildwood perimeter road where speeding is a real problem, ditto Porlock Avenue, to name but two.

When I bought my current car it came equipped with a speed limiting function for the cruise control. I thought this was a gimmick but have found I use it all the time in built up areas and it's worth its weight in gold through motorway roadworks monitored by Specs. I can press the accelerator as hard as I like and I can't go over the pre-set speed. Means I can concentrate on the road and not the speedo. I'd like to see that fitted to all cars.

 

[Tinkerbell]

No matter what you all seem to agree on though, the law itself states CLEARLY VISIBLE as far as I'm aware and this was not in my opinion. Hey... don't shout at me... I don't write the law books!!

Totally agree - I think thats all Beermunster was trying to say. They keep saying they want to make places safe so why are they hiding their van in a hedge. They should be in full view - I wonder if the people they have ticketed today would be able to null and void their ticket ... it has been done.

 

[wmrcomputers]

I had a ticket thrown out once off a fixed speed camera. My argument was that a tree branch was overgrowing so much that it was partially hiding the camera from view - and on that basis they did indeed null my ticket. The next week the branch was removed and they had even re-painted the yellow on the back of the unit as it had faided somewhat

(how they knew that was next weeks excuse is beyond me!!!!)

 

[mickyboy]

Think they will need to do more than repaint the one at Yarlet bank, lookin a bit black from the three arson attacks on it (an no it wasnt me who did it honest)

 

[mickyboy]

This was on the A34 - north of Stone today. I thought they had to be in clear view!

And before anyone says - I wasnt caught for speeding and have a perfectly clean license. I just thought this was a sneaky attempt to hide from view !

http://tinyurl.com/49yaftg

A few weeks back they tried a similar ploy on the Wolverhampton Road.

They parked the van behind the fixed Speed camer, yes fixed speed camera, just after Heenan Grove (just before the houses built where the garth was)

Cheeky beggers...... tryin a double whammy

 

[shoes]

They should be completely hidden and unmarked IMO.

What is your views on making it compulsory for all new cars to be equipped with cruise control? I think it's a very good idea, and would certainly prevent people who are unintentionally drifting above the speed limit from doing so, providing they turn on the damn thing, of course.

Cruise control options on cars vary from about £400 - £1500 based on 10 minutes of googling, so in reality the cost would be, at a guess, around 1/3 of that if it were included as standard on the car (whilst allowing the feature to turn a profit for manufacturers). Adding £133 onto a basic car which would still cost you somewhere in the region of £8,000 isn't going to kill the motor market.

I wish my car had it actually, especially for the average speed zones and the variable limit on the M6 which I travel through an awful lot (birmingham way).

Along very similar lines I think variable speed limiters linked to GPS are a good idea, the technology is there and proven. Essentially its Satnav plugged into a limiter on the car. Like you say the costs are pretty minimal. In the longer term if variable road pricing happens (different discussion!) that would need GPS as standard on cars too.

Sadly the only thing stopping variable limiters is politicians scared of losing votes.

It wouldn't win my vote. I appreciate i would never get another speed ticket, nor unnecessarily endanger a persons life any more than legally necessary, but I don't like that imposition of control. I would rather have the choice to selectively use the restriction on the understanding of the risks associated.

I can't actually give a good argument against what you're proposing other than I would...err.... like the ability to speed if i wished. Not convincing I admit, but that level of control over my actions seems wrong to me.

 

[Rikki]

Think they will need to do more than repaint the one at Yarlet bank, lookin a bit black from the three arson attacks on it (an no it wasnt me who did it honest)

Saw that one myself today, didn't notice the van in the picture when I went past about 9.