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Speed cameras and motorbikes.

Posted: Sun Feb 14, 2010 6:51 pm
by ruadh08
As I was sitting at 40 mph in the car, for hours yesterday in the Glasgow roadworks, I was thinking about how they worked with motorbikes. I cant see anyway that they could, so whats to stop bikers just ignoring them?

When I am on the bike, I always slow down for camera vans and gatsos, but how would they ever catch me as bikes don't have front numberplates? Or is there a separate sneaky system that they have to catch us errant bikers?

Would rather find out the facts before I try speeding through one!!

Re: Speed cameras and motorbikes.

Posted: Sun Feb 14, 2010 6:56 pm
by BiggestNizzy
Front facing camera's (average speed) cannot get bikes, rear camera's can. Strangly this isn't discriminatory to car owners.

Re: Speed cameras and motorbikes.

Posted: Sun Feb 14, 2010 7:03 pm
by tut
Gun it mate, most cannot touch you, same with most Scam Vans, although down South some are now both directions.

However I believe they did an experiment and installed some rear facing ones as well on well known motorbike roads, but never seen any up here.

tut

Re: Speed cameras and motorbikes.

Posted: Sun Feb 14, 2010 7:34 pm
by Lazydonkey
In theory they can't get you - however the motorbike press is full of a case where a rider who went through a forward facing camera flickign the v's every day for months........

........and they the cops tracked him down as his bike was a bit unusual. And they prosecuted. And they won.

Good job i dont drive a white limited edition version of an american bike that no-one else owns then :oops:


EDIT
Article here
http://www.visordown.com/motorcycle-new ... o/791.html

Re: Speed cameras and motorbikes.

Posted: Sun Feb 14, 2010 8:17 pm
by Ferg
I always used to slow down for cameras much to the derision of some of my bike owning friends. The way I look at it, if you repeatedly get your photo taken but not fined, you might end up on a 'taking the piss' list, which might bring the long arm down on you for much more minor infractions. Maybe I'm just paranoid... :wink:

Re: Speed cameras and motorbikes.

Posted: Sun Feb 14, 2010 9:46 pm
by PhilA
not paranoid... sounds to me like u have the mind of a long-term thinker... coz id come to the same conclusion! ;-)

Re: Speed cameras and motorbikes.

Posted: Mon Feb 15, 2010 10:33 am
by weemark
I passed a scameravan on the A90 between perth and dundee on my bike the other day, the van had orange flashing beacons though - not blue, although it was clearly marked a camera van, the van was parked facing dundee and had a small camera suction mounted onto the front window too. I slowed down just incase :oops:

Re: Speed cameras and motorbikes.

Posted: Mon Feb 15, 2010 10:36 am
by Shug
Yup - I live off the SPECS infested A77. While I'll maybe not sit exactly on 50 for the stretch that is limited to that, I'll not take the proverbial. No good sh*tting on your own doorstep IMO.

Re: Speed cameras and motorbikes.

Posted: Mon Feb 15, 2010 11:39 am
by jason
IIRC there were some noises made (either in Brussels or Westminster, can't remember) proposing motorcycles carry front plates * in the future for this very obvious reason amongst others. Don't know what came of it, since it would obviously require major re-designing of future bikes' noses!!



* front plates as in forward facing, rather than the knife blade plates bikes used to carry of course.

Re: Speed cameras and motorbikes.

Posted: Mon Feb 15, 2010 11:40 am
by Rich H
Over the cat and fiddle pass they are installing rear facing average speed cameras specifically to catch bikers....

http://www.motorcyclenews.com/MCN/News/ ... m-Tuesday/

Re: Speed cameras and motorbikes.

Posted: Mon Feb 15, 2010 12:34 pm
by mckeann
i passed a scamera van in fife last year that had a swivel style camera mounted on the outside of the van, connected to the main camera, specifically to catch bikes as the went past.

Obvious way to avoid detection is to stop before van, obscure rear plate, then drive past. Or reverse.

Re: Speed cameras and motorbikes.

Posted: Mon Feb 15, 2010 12:59 pm
by Corranga
ruadh08 wrote:When I am on the bike, I always slow down for camera vans and gatsos, but how would they ever catch me as bikes don't have front numberplates? Or is there a separate sneaky system that they have to catch us errant bikers?

Would rather find out the facts before I try speeding through one!!
Gatsos and camera vans tend to be rear facing so would still get you?

Might also be worth noting that you clearly only slow down for the cameras as they are placed in accident blackspots / dangerous areas and you're just being cautious :thumbsup

Chris

Re: Speed cameras and motorbikes.

Posted: Mon Feb 15, 2010 1:33 pm
by tut
Camera Vans have the camera behind the rear door, so they take photos of the front of the car, so would not get a motorbike.

No point in them taking rear photos as you would have already have seen the Van as you would a Gatso, and slow down. However down South they are now putting cameras on the front as well for when they are not so visible, and they poke out of the side when they are on the overpasses on Motorways.

tut

Re: Speed cameras and motorbikes.

Posted: Tue Feb 16, 2010 7:06 am
by pete
Shug wrote:Yup - I live off the SPECS infested A77. While I'll maybe not sit exactly on 50 for the stretch that is limited to that, I'll not take the proverbial. No good sh*tting on your own doorstep IMO.

AFAIK The SEPCS system uses your number plate to measure your speed. Car is logged (reads plate) going through camera A at <time>, then again going through camera B at <time>. Then it is just velociy = distance/time. So if you have no plate you don't even exist in the system.

Pete

Re: Speed cameras and motorbikes.

Posted: Tue Feb 16, 2010 8:18 am
by Stevoraith
tut wrote:Camera Vans have the camera behind the rear door, so they take photos of the front of the car, so would not get a motorbike.

No point in them taking rear photos as you would have already have seen the Van as you would a Gatso, and slow down. However down South they are now putting cameras on the front as well for when they are not so visible, and they poke out of the side when they are on the overpasses on Motorways.

tut
I think I posted before that my brother got done by a camera van last year when he was driving towards the front of it.
i.e normally the camera pokes out of the back door so if you're heading towards the front of a van you wouldn't expect to get done.
It must have either had a camera facing towards the front of the van (which still wouldn't get a bike but could have got him in his car) or maybe the swivel type that McKeann mentions (this was in Fife too BTW).

Just a heads up about being complacent when we think a van can't get us :thumbsup