Speedo / Speed camera advice PLEASE!!!

[PDR]

Can any of you guys offer me advice please?

The other day I was on my way to an out of town Retail Park (for computer stuff) and I took a slightly different route. Came off the M56 and on to the A41……. Anyhow driving towards a camera that has been there for many years and covers the traffic from the other direction, I saw a red glow or flash, instantly looked down at my Speedo and it read 40 mph (which is the correct speed limit for this road).

Went home and found this on the net:
http://www.speedcamerasuk.com/database/NWM/nwm013.htm

Now hand on heart I WAS ONLY doing 40 mph according to my Speedo.I have checked the reading against an old Garmin GPS I have and as far as I can judge there is a 4 ½ to 5 mph difference between the Speedo and GPS….with speedo reading 40 mph the GPS reads 45. But how accurate is GPS?

So the important question is:

If I get a letter from the police is it worth saying that I thinks my speedo might be wrong?

I fitted new tyres a few months back (31x10.5x15) but they are the same size as where on the Surf when I bought it.

[Gamedawn]

What sort of camera is it? If it's an old gatso then it takes a pic of the rear of the car and you should be ok. If it's got Truvelo written on the post then it takes a pic of the front so you could be famous. Gps should be reasonably accurate unless you were going up a steep hill when you checked it, after all it gets cruise missiles into the right country (sometimes). One possibility is that someone going in the opposite direction might have tripped it

[BUSHWHACKER]

31" tyres give the most accurate speedo readings, especially 31" muds.

[mrsurf]

sorry to say but it sounds like the needle wasant set corectly on the speedo i presume your truck was a new shape one? if so dipending on its age and when it was registerd ` it wil have had a sva test and the speedo accuracy is part of the test' but if if the trip and mph was converted with a chip then these tend to go faulty with time somtimes the wire comes off aniway i recon its the speedo wasant set right or needle taken off and put back on incorectly at some time had the same problem manny times' if you do get done i dont think you would evade the punishment`i think they would say its your own fault but hey' cheer up it may not be you

[dieselboy]

there is a good chance you will be lucky and nothing will come of it.
i think.
the exact same happened to me when i was in wales years ago. it was a standard camera. my speedo was out and i didnt know so i got flashed. i was gutted, i had only just passed my test a few months previous. nothing come of it though.
round here they usually just set fire to them. but i dont advise it.

[mrsurf]

there is a good chance you will be lucky and nothing will come of it.
i think.
the exact same happened to me when i was in wales years ago. it was a standard camera. my speedo was out and i didnt know so i got flashed. i was gutted, i had only just passed my test a few months previous. nothing come of it though.
round here they usually just set fire to them. but i dont advise it.

i dont understand mate if you set a speed camera off your done! only way your not done is if there isant any fillm in it' am presuming this is what hapand to you` because thers just no way they just dont do anything i did 46 mph in a 40 zone on my way to hospitel with a guy in a bad way ' they wanted writen confirmation from the doctor that this was the case the doctor left the uk the same wk and gess what i had to go to court and get evidence that i was teling the truth and it made the news`hard to belive but true

[pirate-storm]

sometimes speed cameras go off but nothing in them to have the picture anyway so sometimes they just go off on purpose just to make you think a bit about your speed only one i have had a prob with is the one that tell you to slow down but i got that sussed now

[BUSHWHACKER]

sometimes speed cameras go off but nothing in them to have the picture anyway so sometimes they just go off on purpose just to make you think a bit about your speed only one i have had a prob with is the one that tell you to slow down but i got that sussed now

Do they actually need film nowadays?
I thought they would all be digital now, photo downloaded with a pre-printed form ready to post out.

[Spoggle]

Not sure about the way speed cameras work, but in the good old days when radar was the preferred speed trap we used to allow for a 10% speedo error. But anything over that you got done mate. Never mind. it's only money

Spoggle

[pirate-storm]

Do they actually need film nowadays?
I thought they would all be digital now, photo downloaded with a pre-printed form ready to post out.

yes m8 even those ive been told just flash sometime just to make you think with the old system they couldnt always afford to put film in as it would cost them big time but even the digi ones just flash though or so ive been told but dont ask who told me as then id have to kill you lol

[PDR]

To quote from the link I posted above:

“This speed camera has been modified to capture forward facing traffic in exactly the same way a Truvelo”

The tyres are General Grabber AT2 (all terrains) 31x10.5x15

This Surf was imported 2 years ago (March 2005) I will have to ask Bob (Hilux) if he can remember what size tyres it came in with. I have not had the dash apart or tampered with anything.

I do know where all the other cameras are on the way to and from work and do make an effort to drive well within the limit… It was just this sneaky (forward facing camera) that may have caught me out.

If I do get any points it will be the first time in 25 years (got 3 points aged 19) and I won’t feel guilty because it was not deliberate and if anything it would be a “technicality”.

[TOYOTATONY]

Rest Easy I Say.

Hi everyone,
I'm a new member to this site so please...be gentle!

I think you're all missing a point in the original query from PDR.
He states that the camera is set for "traffic coming from the other direction".

That being the case, what is the problem?
I am told that speed cameras are set to deal with one side of the road only. They are calibrated for accuracy to a givenpoint, the distance of which escapes me, but is quite short. Also, the camera lens have a narrow view field, so as to read number plates and/or drivers clearly, depending on whether the camera is forward or backward facing.

If PDR did get a letter, (I think highly unlikely,) he would have very good grounds for dismissal of the alleged offence, as the camera would be over the calibration distance set point, for accurate speed reading.

I would say however, that PDR would be well advised to check his speedo. Allowances are made for speedo inaccuraces by the "system", but there is a limit obviously. Even some new cars today, like Vauxhalls, can have pretty poor speedo accuacy! Not all speedos are the same, as the saying goes.

PDR. Get someone with a quality newish car to drive at 30mph and 70mph and pace him/her to see if your speedo is ok. If your readings are about the same as theirs, you should be safe enough. This is a cheaper way that having it tested in a garage!

No guarrantees of course, but I hope the above helps you to relax a bit!

Regards to all

Tony

[coolsv650]

Can any of you guys offer me advice please?

The other day I was on my way to an out of town Retail Park (for computer stuff) and I took a slightly different route. Came off the M56 and on to the A41……. Anyhow driving towards a camera that has been there for many years and covers the traffic from the other direction, I saw a red glow or flash, instantly looked down at my Speedo and it read 40 mph (which is the correct speed limit for this road).

Went home and found this on the net:
http://www.speedcamerasuk.com/database/NWM/nwm013.htm

Now hand on heart I WAS ONLY doing 40 mph according to my Speedo.I have checked the reading against an old Garmin GPS I have and as far as I can judge there is a 4 ½ to 5 mph difference between the Speedo and GPS….with speedo reading 40 mph the GPS reads 45. But how accurate is GPS?

So the important question is:

If I get a letter from the police is it worth saying that I thinks my speedo might be wrong?

I fitted new tyres a few months back (31x10.5x15) but they are the same size as where on the Surf when I bought it.

For what it's worth, my 2p worth.

An inaccurate speedo is no defence, according to our scamera partnership, as the camera should have a built in margin to allow for speedo differances. As I understood speedo's are allowed 10% +1mph error so you would expect to be flashed at 45.

If you rely on an innaccurate speedo as a reason for the speed you might actually be committing an offence under the construction and use regs

However if the letter arrives and you do find youself in the smelly stuff you might be able to get some leanancy if you provide evidence that your speedo was faulty (together with an assurance you'll get it fixed!)

good luck!

[Gamedawn]

PDR. Get someone with a quality newish car to drive at 30mph and 70mph and pace him/her to see if your speedo is ok. If your readings are about the same as theirs, you should be safe enough. This is a cheaper way that having it tested in a garage!

No guarrantees of course, but I hope the above helps you to relax a bit!

Regards to all

Tony

We have a newish Hilux at work and the speedo is out by around 8%. That's straight out of the factory, original spec. The best bet for calibration is a gps or a lorry with a tacho.

[d1now]

Of course, what the camera people fail to tell you is that the registered keeper must receive a "notice of intended prosecution" after no more than 14 clear days from the alleged offence. Of course on rear facing cameras, there is always a chance that the vehicle is a "dupe". I.E. If you can show that you were elsewhere, and the back of your vehicle is different (stickers, dealer name on plate etc.) then you will have the ticket cancelled. If it is front facing, then you of course have not a lot of chance, unless the "N.I.P" falls outside regulations...