Speed camera detectors/laser warnings

Hope you get put away.

quote:

Leaving aside the moral debate around speeding I will often be commuting at 4am when there's hardly anyone around and so am rather keen to find a way to keep up a steady 80 or 90 while minimising the risk of accumulating points!

I think you will struggle to leave this aside.

It will be interesting to see what other replies you get.

ATB from George

Jonathan
If you have cruise control, set it to 75 on the motorway and allow yourself a few minutes longer to get there. Why go online and admit an intention to break the law? If you insist on speeding you will end up getting caught, whatever device you have installed to save you. Is it really worth it? I bet you are a stickler for the rules once you get to "the office"!

Jonathan,

Even at that time you will be lucky to make much progress. It is busy beyond belief even before 5.30am and the increases in train fares will put a few more on to the road.

So much for wanting people to take trains.

I've just completed 10 years commuting half way round the M25 with no points. Stick to 80 or so top, and you won't have any problem.

My biggest frustration was with the "middle lane morons" causing unnecessary tailbacks. They are, of course, driving within the law.

Steve

quote:

Hope you get put away.

Why?

A two hour commute in unregulated traffic chaos and then a day flying - kind of makes a mockery of the limits to how many hours a days that a pilot should fly.

I assume your back has recovered - <g>

Is Mr Gorse an airliner pilot?

If so I find the approach to breaking the speeding law even more worrying. I wonder if any of his superiors look in here? It is open to the public after all ...

ATB from George

quote:

My biggest frustration was with the "middle lane morons"

Sorry Steve, but I was listening to Basia Bulat and quite forgot to change lanes.

quote:

Originally posted by ROTF:

quote:

My biggest frustration was with the "middle lane morons"

Sorry Steve, but I was listening to Basia Bulat and quite forgot to change lanes.

If you're listening to that, you do well to stay on the road.

Hi,
which roads will you be using?
Is there a reason for speed detection devices on those roads?
Are they there for a perception of earning revenue, or is it because of high speed attributable crash rates?

I have speed limiters on both vehicles we own - very useful for speed over distance issues, bearing in mind the 10% plus two rule.

The other option is to get decent sat nav with up-to-date speed camera info there on - you won't be using an illegal device then, will u?

To be honest I sometimes use the middle lane [of three on a Motorway], and if I am overtaking a lorry doing 66 miles an hour it does take a while to get passed at 70, which it seems to me is quite a respectable speed given what the signs tell you as you join the road! Or am I wrong?

Similarly on very rare occasions I have used the third lane, when overtaking a lorry doing 66 MPH while he overtakes one doing 65.5 MPH, once again at 70, which it seems to me is quite a respectable speed given what the signs tell you as you join the road! Or am I wrong?

I have even had someone catch up with me whilst carrying out such a manoevre. Can I possibly be blamed for ignoring there protestations, instead of fulfilling their desire for me to break the law for their wish to do the same? Some people, hey! Really!!

Perhaps not surprisingly my license is still virgin clean.

I don't listen to music in the car. I consider that dangerous in my case! George

quote:

Originally posted by GFFJ:
70, which it seems to me is quite a respectable speed given what the signs tell you as you join the road! Or am I wrong?

Yes

Very


Nigel

quote:

I don't listen to music in the car. I consider that dangerous in my case! George

George, you don't have to conduct!

Dear Steve,

The last time I listened to the radio in the car was one summer Saturday in 1982, when there was deferred relay of a Wagner opera from Bayreuth, and it has started to rain. Apparently auto-pilot had put the wipers on, but I failed to realise how slippery the road was. I spun the car on a quite sharp bend [on the A 49 going towards Shrewsbury from Ludlow] without hitting anything, but facing the wrong way round exactly on the other side of the road facing Ludlow again. Quite a moment, and in a Renault 12, quite a chance I could have tipped the car over.

I have never listened to music in a car since!

Since then I have gave up Wagner too!

Dear Bananahead. I am not sure how to take what you wrote! LOL!

Dear Frank, you nutter!

ATB from George

Jonathon, if you're looking for something when you are comuting at that time you'd be as well to get one of the satnav systems with the camera placements loaded in. Just pdate it every month or so via a computer for new cameras.

Laser detectors will only pick up laser guns and there's no way there will some copper out with his toy at that time of the morning. They are good though and if you really need one I recommend one by Snooper. I had one for a while until some scally little shit unburdened me of it.

The laser detectors don't work if you have a heated front screen. I mounted mine in the engine bay beind the front grill. Also they work on reflections so if you're the only car on the road the likelyhood is that you will be done.

If you want any more info then mail me.....its in the profile.

All the best

Ryan

A friend of mine has a road angel, which gives traffic warnings & speed camera warnings. It doesn't give warnings for the mobile "hairdryer" speed traps, but if you are travelling over the limit, the reaction time needed to slow down sufficiently is normally very little, so detectors which incorporate that type of warning are of little practical use.
The "honest guv, its for opening my garage door" laser jammer thing is, I believe already illegal, & if not, may soon well be.
www.speedtraps.co.uk may well be worth a look.
Be careful.
Matt.

Well chaps, I thought this might provole a mixed response to be honest but I'm afraid I fall into the camp that likes to drive sensibly according to the conditions i.e. if the motorway is wet I will always slow down well below the prevailing speed limit - perhaps 50mph etc on motorways. Similarly if the motorway is busy I do the same. On a clear motorway in good conditions however yes I do tend to drive at about 80, on rare occasions when overtaking getting up towards 90. I expect however that I'm far from alone in this. I have a friend who was booked for doing 74mph and that's the kind of thing I'm keen to avoid and I'm afraid I subscribe to the view that evidence suggests that speed cameras are a form of taxation not a genuine attempt to improve road safety on motorways. I am however fully supportive of them in urban areas or on A roads where pedestrians and cyclists are at risk. I always drive within speed limits in urban areas or where pedestrians might be about.

Looks like a speed camera GPS would be my best bet and keep below 80.

And incidentally it's not my intention to commute on a daily basis but stay in a B&B sometimes to ensure I get sensible rest before work, but I'm afraid there are plenty of pilots like me who are forced to operate from an inconvenient base for a period of time and I am very much hoping that this will be a short term solution.

Jonathan

I sympathise with your dilemma Jonathan; trying to stick at 75mph on an empty motorway at 4.00 am is a real challenge.

I would like to see a variable speed limit as used on the M25. Like you, I am happy to potter along at 50 when things are busy or the weather is bad; but in return it would be sensible to be allowed to do 80 or 90 when the road is clear and conditions safe.

I regularly drive at 120mph here in Germany in a car designed to do so safely (it does rather more than this but I'm chicken!) and quite often the traffic will be flowing nicely at around 90 -100. You just have to keep a good safety margin and anticipate the actions of others. In some respects our motorways are better than Autobahns, so why can't we do the same in UK?

PS...I've used a TomTom for a couple of years with camera warnings - very useful. But the TomTom camera database is not the best - I'd recommend this one:

http://www.pocketgpsworld.com/modules.php?name=Cameras

Jo I think you have raised some very valid points.........but I am guilty of really going below 70 on the motorways.

Ryan

two sides to the variable speed limit debate:

Some can't stick to 70 even when there is medium volumes of traffic on the road...nor do they comply with speed 'limit' signs etc...

I'm for variable limits, as I don't think its that difficult to stick to a limit - I think it's more taxing to drive to prevailing conditions...

quote:

Originally posted by GFFJ:
To be honest I use the middle lane [of three on a Motorway], and it does take a while to get passed George

Why does this come as no surprise?

Dear Doc,

Amazing how leaving out a few words can transform what a quotation means, but it is quite funny. I have a job interview next week, for which a clean driving license is required as a starting point. I am quite happy to admit that 70 is my top speed on a motorway. This does not mean that I do not sympathise with those who would seek a modification of the rules, perhaps, but until the law is changed, I am content to stick to the what is there! Plus the Volvo is significantly interesting to drive over 70 mph. Twitchy is one word! But up to 70 she is rock solid as to handling!!!

ATB from George

I have a Talex camera detection unit. It warns of fixed camera sites and also those commonly used by mobile units. It's good value (IMO) around £100 for the Lite version and approx £20 a year for camera database updates. Always worked well for me and only missed fixed cameras which are very recent eg on new roadworks. If you take note of the warnings about possible mobile sites it should help avoid getting caught by one of these. Its the best protection I've come across short of fitting a laser jammer as well which block/jam the signal from the police mobile laser unit but are illegal under the criminal law.

quote:

I have a friend who was booked for doing 74mph and that's the kind of thing I'm keen to avoid

The general guideline from the Association of Chief Police Officers is that you have limit + 10%*limit+2mph before you attract a ticket. This would mean that you should not attract the attention of the law at speeds below 79mph on the motorway.

In the past I used a Bel Euro 550 radar/laser detector and currently I have a TomTom Go 720 GPS. My personal feeling is that Radar/Laser detectors are of limited value. The signal emitted by static cameras is at the same frequency as the infra-red signal from automatic doors (like the sort you get at petrol stations and supermarkets) and a police officer with a laser gun will get a lock on you before you have time to react to the warning. Probably the only real positive is that it can detect dead or inactive cameras, but you need to be very careful as many now are passive devices that do not emit and signal.

I would therefore get a decent satnav device, keep it up to date with traffic camera information and, more importantly be very observant when approaching bridges, slip roads or vans parked in odd road side locations.
John

Nobody's bothered to mention that the indicated speed per your speedo is usually inaccurate - my last couple of cars have exaggerated the true speed by around 7%. (This is identifiable by using a GPS sat nav or camera database such as Road Angel.) Up to 10% exaggeration is legal I think. So 80 indicated is actually nearer 74

A GPS unit is very helpful in indicating precisely what speed you are travelling at - can't recommend any current models as I don't have one, although have in past used Road Angel

The "10% + 2mph" is I understand a recommended guideline, so not any kind of hard and fast rule. The motorways are by far the safest roads and exceeding the limit on them is not the heinous activity some seem to consider it to be. The limit was only introduced (by Barbara Castle I think) as a temporary measure during the 70's oil crisis and has no scientific basis

30 limits however are massively more important and sticking to them is a seriously good idea