I havent got any problems with speeding but i was wondering if anyone has ever been wrongly convicted of speeding by an automatic camera. I know all about how they work but i cant beleive that nobody has ever not been wrongly convicted, surely no machine is 100% reliable, especially one left outside in all weather?
2007-02-17 21:24:47 · 25 answers · asked by The Shadow 3 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Safety
I have never been caught speeding by a camera,( touch wood, i haven't jinxed myself) however i have witnessed a camera going of when there isn't even a car on he road!!!! So i would imagine that yes it's possible for a camera to malfunction...
2007-02-17 21:32:27 · answer #1 · answered by anney 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It is possible that the camera's electronic wrongly calculate your speed.
Therefore the camera takes two photographs, two seconds apart, and there are distance markings on the roads within the view of each camera. In the event that the camera's judgement is suspected to be wrong, the distance the vehicle has travelled in the time between the two photos being taken can be measured using the position of the vehicle relative to the road markings in the photos, and the speed calculated.
I believe there have been cases where penalty notices have been withdrawn when the photos proved the camera's speed measurement wasn't accurate.
2007-02-19 00:15:27 · answer #2 · answered by Neil 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have seen a speed camera go off as a car goes by on the other side of the road f.f.s. also as an ex bus driver a lady came in to the depot to be greeted by the controller with a photo of her turning a corner at a speed of 45mph in a bus, if she had done that she would have blown the tyres or even rolled the bus, there is a way to question the ticket and that is to ask to see the callibration certificate of that camera that has done you, if this is not supplied you can appeal but a word of caution this could result in a court case and reult in fine and costs and points so be wary.
good luck.
2007-02-19 00:17:30 · answer #3 · answered by TERRY READ 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I was happily driving along a few weeks back. Driving at a sedate 45 mph past a camera in a 50 zone and it did its flash thing. I have been waiting patiently for a ticket to drop through my door but nothing has happened yet.
I seem to recall that a large number of tickets were successfully challenged when cameras were first introduced as the angle of the camera to the road made the distance travelled hard to prove. That's why they started putting the lines across the lanes.
I also heard on the traffic news about one camera causing chaos as it was just flashing indescrimately at anything that went past.
A few years back, a crisp packet was caught doing 70 mph along the seafront at Hastings in high wind!
2007-02-17 21:34:12 · answer #4 · answered by Rats 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In Australia, we had an instance where one woman was booked for speeding at 160 km/hr or something similar by a fixed speed camera. She was driving a 70's datsun 4 cylinder car, with no other cars around her. Well she contested this on the basis that this type of car could not reach that speed. The car was tested on a racetrack, and indeed she was correct. The case was thrown out, and all the cameras on this stretch of road were disconnected for while. They were eventually replaced with new ones.
2007-02-17 21:35:24 · answer #5 · answered by Michael T 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Possible but highly unlikely
They are regularly calibrated
There was a case many years back where the white dashes painted on the road were wrong and incorrect fines had been imposed I think over a period of two years and all recipients of fines had to be reimbursed and any costs involved with insurance had to be dealt with and there was one ban involved following points accumulation that had to be quashed and compensation paid
The latest cameras are far mor accurate and I think it most unlikely that calibration could be used as a defense
2007-02-18 09:01:37 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you are ever charged with a camera as the evidence ask for 2 things |a copy of the calibration certificate and the pictures of the alleged offence . then go to a specialist solicitor who will contact some one like me to check you speed from the white lines in the road using a formula
2007-02-18 02:40:58 · answer #7 · answered by The Fat Controller 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes the manufacturers admitted in an interview with "motorcycle news (MCN)" that the cameras can and do get it wrong.
Its all to do with wich part of a vehicle the camera is pointed at, one test showed a bike as travelling at forty mph when it was standing stationary because of the camera being incorrectly used
2007-02-17 21:28:43 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
yes i think they do cos if you look at the testings of the speed guns they measured a brick wall to be speeding so there's no saying how wrong the cameras could be but hey its the driver vs the law and the law always wins
2007-02-18 00:29:33 · answer #9 · answered by mcflykittykat 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
YES THEY HAVE TO BE CALIBRATED ABOUT ONCE A YEAR YOU CAN REQUEST THE CERTIFICATE. but the chances of get a satisfactory answer are slim at best, as for your own speedo it only has a reliability with in 5%+/-, the best way to check that is with a sat nav, set to avg speed, that will then tell you the correct speed of the car
2007-02-17 21:52:23 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋