speed cameras- slowly deteriorating a once-proud police force since 1993

[TankMMC]

[quote=boingo82]

Originally Posted by freakonaleash1187

there was this article about police given more tickets out than ever in my local newspaper. the last quote from a policeman said something on the lines that they don't like giving citations out, but they do it to hopefully stop people from speeding. i call bs on that quote. if you dont like giving citations out, then why do you sit in a little spot with your radar haning out the window....QUOTE]

DUH, because most people see them and then slow down. Therefore, less speeders.

Of course they don't really like giving citations...they have to actually get out of the car, oftentimes in inclement weather, and then deal with some jackass. Hence why they don't usually bother for less than 10 over the limit.

Here's a little extract from a news article here, just to give you a clearer idea of thie situation here

Estimates in the police's annual statement of intent put the number of tickets to be issued during the next financial year at between 350,000 and 400,000, compared with between 275,000 and 325,000 this year.

The latest projection means ticket numbers will have almost doubled in just two years. Police announced last year that tickets issued were set to increase by a third.

Figures announced in last week's Budget showed that total traffic fines collected by police this financial year would have added $105.2 million to government coffers over the past year.

They don't even seem to be trying very hard to disguise this revenue collection anymore.

[ghostguy6]

that comes from a black Mitsubishi van, naturally, I've been snapped speeding. Yes, the fucking assholes had put a black van, in the pitch black night,

Hell here Ive seen them on the side of the road in a densely treed area clocking people from under the cover of a camo net! THE DAMN THING LOOKED MORE LIKE AN ARMY BUNKER RATHER THAN A SPEED TRAP! I rode by it on my bike so I could see it but anyone driving could not see it at all! Then down the road there are 6 motorcycle cops and 3or 4 cruisers waiting for people just off the main road in a parking lot! I thought they could only ticket you once per offence? If you get the photo radar ticket why would they bother to pull you over and give you another ticket? They even have vans with advertisments on the side so it looks like someone parked their van on the side of the road (parked sideways for visibility) as a movable billboard. Anyone whos ever driven the Sherwood Park freeway just as you enter Sherwood Park knows this van! The florist one.
FUCKING PIGS SHOULD START DOING SOME REAL POLICE WORK, INSTEAD OF SITTING IN SPEED TRAPS EATING DOUNUTS!!!!

[boingo82]

I wasn't talking abt. speed cameras, those are pretty low indeed.
I was responding specifically to the comment about cops sitting parked on roads w/ a lot of speeders.

Mr. T, I agree that sounds ridiculous. 1 ticket for every 10 drivers?!

[-Davo]

Originally Posted by TankMMC

Over here youre able to request a photo that the camera took of your car, if you have doubts whether you were driving that day.
As for the accuracy of the reading, speed cameras use normal doppler radar which is basically unaffected by weather and lighting ( unlike laser, which should not be operated in anything other than perfectly clear conditions). The radar used in them is also extremely low-powered - about 2.5mW, compared for instance to 50mW Hawk radar (which is why even with a Valentine 1 the detection range for cameras isn't all that great) - consequently they're very short range and very directional, which means the chance of them picking up the wrong car is pretty low.The standard way cameras are set up (from memory) is at 22 degrees to the road.

That being said, there's plenty of room for error in all the speed-measuring equipment, which is why the cops are required to have a current calibration cert for all of it (including their speedometers, if they use them as basis for their judgement of your speed by following you over a certain distance). And Lasers have a very high potential to give false readings in bad weather - as far as I know in this country a ticket issued using a Laser in rainy weather cannot be enforced in court.

All I was saying is information that was on the news. And the information I said, as far as I know, is highly accurate to Australian Radars. These do not include trip-wire fixed camera's, and red light camera's.

http://aca.ninemsn.com.au/stories/1697.asp

According to Bruce, who found the information through the Freedom of Information Act, the document outlines some compelling evidence that trees, wind, billboards, even birds can cause an inaccurate reading. The document also states that even heavy rain could affect the correct patrol speed.

The document he's talking about is the Radar camera's instruction manual. He has 1 of 4 ever released to the public.

Bruce has drawn the conclusion that unless you have a straight flat road in good weather with no other cars on it, radar is not going to give an accurate reading.

That's what I said.

[taranaki]

Originally Posted by boingo82

I wasn't talking abt. speed cameras, those are pretty low indeed.
I was responding specifically to the comment about cops sitting parked on roads w/ a lot of speeders.

Mr. T, I agree that sounds ridiculous. 1 ticket for every 10 drivers?!

Suggest you re-read the stats,Emily.One ticket for every 10 New Zealanders. Includes children,geriatrics,tree-huggers,and sundry other non-motorists. brings the odds closer to one in seven.

[boingo82]

Originally Posted by taranaki

Suggest you re-read the stats,Emily.One ticket for every 10 New Zealanders. Includes children,geriatrics,tree-huggers,and sundry other non-motorists. brings the odds closer to one in seven.

That's insane!

[l33tc4k30fd00m]

Originally Posted by Moss1O6GTi

at the stroke of midnight, as I pass the afore-mentioned point there is a blinding flash

Ooooooh! Blinding flash in the middle for the night! Now THERE is a good idea!

I'm willing to bet that you were at the biggest risk of crashing at that single point than at any other point on your trip. Madness.

[Prelewd]

Originally Posted by l33tc4k30fd00m

Ooooooh! Blinding flash in the middle for the night! Now THERE is a good idea!

I'm willing to bet that you were at the biggest risk of crashing at that single point than at any other point on your trip. Madness.

Not to mention the people brake checking when they see a cop with radar. It ALWAYS causes congestion around here, and we have terrible traffic.

Police tend to cause more problems with their greediness than they solve. If they really cared about people not speeding (which they don't, because that'd put them out of business), they would send people to traffic education school instead of fining them.

I propose that if you have a little extra time, and find a speedtrap somewhere, that you sit up the road from it with a sign that you carry around in your car that says "SLOW DOWN! Greedy police ahead."

I also propose a month of boycotting speeding. Everyone obeys the law, and the police can't write tickets. We spread this through email, forums, chat, word of mouth, etc.. so it reaches a vast amount of people. Maybe even try to get it televised. Hit them where it hurts.. The pocketbook.

[TankMMC]

Originally Posted by -Davo

All I was saying is information that was on the news. And the information I said, as far as I know, is highly accurate to Australian Radars. These do not include trip-wire fixed camera's, and red light camera's.

http://aca.ninemsn.com.au/stories/1697.asp

I wasn't saying you were wrong, I'm just somewhat skeptical of the "info" in that article, it makes a whole lot of rather questionable claims without offering any proof. Trees and birds affecting the radar reading? I wonder how

[zebrathree]

Originally Posted by Prelewd

Police tend to cause more problems with their greediness than they solve. If they really cared about people not speeding (which they don't, because that'd put them out of business), they would send people to traffic education school instead of fining them.

I propose that if you have a little extra time, and find a speedtrap somewhere, that you sit up the road from it with a sign that you carry around in your car that says "SLOW DOWN! Greedy police ahead."

Do you always talk from your arse, or is this a fine occassion for humanity?

also propose a month of boycotting speeding. Everyone obeys the law, and the police can't write tickets. We spread this through email, forums, chat, word of mouth, etc.. so it reaches a vast amount of people. Maybe even try to get it televised. Hit them where it hurts.. The pocketbook

Well, how about that. Obey the law and not get tickets.

Interesting concept. Did you come up with that all on your own?

[-Davo]

Originally Posted by TankMMC

I wasn't saying you were wrong, I'm just somewhat skeptical of the "info" in that article, it makes a whole lot of rather questionable claims without offering any proof. Trees and birds affecting the radar reading? I wonder how

yeah, i'm on the same boat. But when It's printed in an instruction manual that the government are trying to hide, it makes you wonder.

[Prelewd]

Originally Posted by zebrathree

Do you always talk from your arse, or is this a fine occassion for humanity?

Well, how about that. Obey the law and not get tickets.

Interesting concept. Did you come up with that all on your own?

I usually just talk out of my ass.. no occasion.

And I had some help with the "Interesting concept".