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

[Ssom]

Story: Driving down the Pakuranga highway, about 100 meters before Cascades Road, doing 80 km/h, the speed limit is 60 (or maybe 70 I dunno) at the stroke of midnight, as I pass the afore-mentioned point there is a blinding flash- 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, on a three lane highway, with about four cars every 500 meters at 12 o'clock, just to snap innocent motorists driving to the conditions.

On one hand, you might say "You broke the law, serves you right" Well yeah. BUT, that's running a tangent to my point- placing black vans at night on empty two and often three lane highways with traffic about as dense as weasel piss, to catch people 20 km/h in excess of the speed limit, clearly shows that those at the top of the police ladder are clearly not interested in crime anymore, they'd rather scab revenue off the tax payer for piddly offences and things that aren't even dangerous, disgusting.

Then again speed limits were always going to be retarded- It's somehow "dangerous" to travel 80 km/h in a VW Passat, that isn't even a year old on an empty three-lane highway (With almost no side streets that aren't controlled by traffic lights might I add), yet it's somehow safe to travel 99 km/h in a clapped out 20 year old SUV on a wet road in dense traffic on a poorly designed motorway. wtf????


The officer (Or two if thats how many they put in the vans) could have been put to better use in many ways, such as:

1.Sitting in a Commodore/Falcon/Vectra and chasing down drunk drivers and people doing stupid things like racing and actually speeding (I'm talking about 30-40 km/h in excess of the speed limit, where conditions don't allow- they are always overpowered by street-racing goons- this is a MASSIVE problem at that time of night, as it is just getting started.

2. Getting rid of New Zealands huge drug problems

3. Patrolling city streets for drunk/drugged idiots starting fights (There's never a cop when you need one)

The cops who have to cop it all (pun intended) are the ones I feel most sorry for.


In closing- drive to how the conditions allow, fuck speed limits and fuck whoever turned the police from a proud crime fighting unit, into the governments new revenue machine.


On the plus side though, I don't get any demerit points just the fine and I was in my dads car at the time, so the fine'll be sent to him, if he makes a noise I'll pay it, but if he says nothing, it's not my fault.

[TankMMC]

heh. I live about 2 minutes drive from the spot youre talking about. Pakuranga Highway, between Cascades Rd and Johns Lane - well known camera site (theres one there at least once a week from my observation) - except the van is usually red, which makes it stick out like a sore thumb. Revenue gathering, about as blatant as it gets. 6 lane highway, dead straight, with ~1km visibilty no matter which direction you come from (thanks to the dip in the road). And a FUCKING 60 KM/H SPEED LIMIT.


I love my Valentine 1.

[Ssom]

Oh man, I'm pretty unfamiliar with the area, I live in Wellington, but my parents are in St Heliers, while most of my mates are in Pakuranga/Howick/Highland Park, so yeah- but I hear you loud and clear otherwise. Spoilt what was a wicked night out, as well.

If the cops are going to be that sneaky then a V1 is at the top of my shopping list as well

[MagicRat]

Hey, I agree with you. Photo radar is lazy policing. Its easier to snap pics than actually pull the drunks/tokers/naked libidinous partiers over and actually check them out, for sobriety/ vehicle safety/licence/no insurance/outstanding warrants/(mayor's naked teenage daughter in back seat),etc.

[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. i saw about 8 cops in about 10 miles of road. and then the police force just bought like 7 motorcycles so now we have those everywhere. yeah, you can stop a 2 ton car that has a drunk person in it on a little motorcycel, i bet that what you are doing, ha. stupid pigs.

[-Davo]

The government do it to get your money. Just another trick they pull to fuck tax payers over even more and bring the country into even greater debt, then whinge that Australia has a lot of debt, yet are forcing us into this debt with these stupid fines.

You get a $118 fine for being in the right lane of a two or more laned highway!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, GET OFF OUR ARSES!!!
Asshole govenment just want your money. The best way to get out of it, is to not get into that situation, by obaying the law.

[Jimster]

Too bad you can't smash them up without being seen like they do in Holland


Blatant revenue gathering at its worst, ineffective at its best, retarded which ever way you look at it........

[zebrathree]

The people in the vans are not sworn Constables. They are non sworn civilains.

[Jimster]

Doesn't change a thing, they are still blatant revenue gatherers, with little other purpose.......... Not as bad as France though, I've had to buy two radar detectors because of them.......The stupid froggy cops confiscated my first one

[zebrathree]

You can thank Aunty Helen and her Cabinet. All the cops I know hate it. It reflects on them badly if they dont pull enough people over. Fucking Labour.

[arlowf]

Hey guys, know how to solve your problems. Buy one of those clear license plate covers that glare all photos taken of your license plate.

[-Davo]

It was on the news last week...That Speed camera's on police cars, DON'T WORK. It's been proven, I'll try and dig some information up about it.
But you can get clocked at 80km/h, when you're only doing 60, they send you the fine over a month later so you can't remember the exact day.

But things that effect a speed camera which will produce an inaccuate reading:
1) Cars going down a hill
2) wind
3) other moving objects
4) cars going around a bend
5) if the car zapped is greater than 8-degrees of the camera's resting spot.

There might be a few that I missed.
Also night time effects the camera, lighting (not lightning) and fog.

Basically, to get a perfect reading, you have to be travelling in a straight line, on a sunny day, with 0% wind

[boingo82]

[quote=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.

[taranaki]

maybe so in your part of the world boingo,but here they've got quotas to fill....Yup,the policing of our roads is no longer an enforcement and detterrent exercise,it's a time and motion 'xtickets per hour money collecting measure.And the LTSA [Land Transport Safety Authority,or Likes To Snatch Assets,depending on your viewpoint] Has decreed that 400,000 tickets should be issued next year...

Surely the number of tickets issued should reflect the number of offences detected,rather than the number of offences sought reflecting the quota of tickets to be issued?In a country where the total population is barely 4 million,they're saying that one in ten Kiwis should be caught and charged with a motoring offence.The sorry thing is that their cleanup rates for crimes such as vehicle theft and burglary are seemingly given lower priority.On any given holiday weekend,the roads are teeming with revenue wagons[sorry,patrol cars] but try to report a non-violent crime,and you'll wait literally days for someone to attend,due to 'holiday staff rosters'.

It's about priorities.I'm quite comfortable with the police giving chase to streetracers and drunk drivers,but a camera beside the road set up to mail a ticket to the offending speeders'last know address is just a revenue grab that demeans a very neccesary and respectable service.

[TankMMC]

Originally Posted by -Davo

It was on the news last week...That Speed camera's on police cars, DON'T WORK. It's been proven, I'll try and dig some information up about it.
But you can get clocked at 80km/h, when you're only doing 60, they send you the fine over a month later so you can't remember the exact day.

But things that effect a speed camera which will produce an inaccuate reading:
1) Cars going down a hill
2) wind
3) other moving objects
4) cars going around a bend
5) if the car zapped is greater than 8-degrees of the camera's resting spot.

There might be a few that I missed.
Also night time effects the camera, lighting (not lightning) and fog.

Basically, to get a perfect reading, you have to be travelling in a straight line, on a sunny day, with 0% wind

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.

if the car zapped is greater than 8-degrees of the camera's resting spot

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.