Motorway Speed Cameras - anyone get done?

Jim99

Jim99

Jim99

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So, I drive the M25 a fair bit, and it's littered with speed traps (although not sure how many of them are actually tagged to cameras).

Now, nearly everyone seems to shoot through them at 80mph indicated, probably more like 76mph actual, and a few hurtle through even faster than that.

Has anyone here actually been done? And how fast were you going? I get the feeling that it isn't triggering at 78mph, though I could be wrong.
 
80MPH indicated will not see you get caught unless there is a reduced VSL displayed. I do the whole southern section of the m25 twice a day and always set the cruise at 80.

The vast majority of the gantries do not have cameras installed in them - if you have a radar detector it will show you which ones are active. IIRC there's only around 4/5 on the southern section, and all bar one are the newer HADECS3 cameras which are mounted at the side of the gantries and are quite easy to spot.

An easy way to check if a camera is active is to look for a little pole with a few small, white cameras mounted on top of it, about 50 metres before the camera. These cameras take pictures of the VSL sign to prove that you were speeding whilst the VSL is active - chances are, if there's one of them before the gantry, it's active.

When no VSL is displayed, I reckon the threshold to set the camera off is about 90MPH. I know a few people who have been caught, and the slowest speed I've seen ticketed was 93MPH. Personally I never go over 80 indicated with no VSL, or over 10% of the VSL when it's active under the gantries that I know to be live.

Outside the few active gantries, I tend to cruise at quite a bit more than 80 with no issues.
 
geekman said:
When no VSL is displayed, I reckon the threshold to set the camera off is about 90MPH. I know a few people who have been caught, and the slowest speed I've seen ticketed was 93MPH. Personally I never go over 80 indicated with no VSL, or over 10% of the VSL when it's active under the gantries that I know to be live.

Outside the few active gantries, I tend to cruise at quite a bit more than 80 with no issues.
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They're installing new HADECS3 cameras between J2 and J3 note as well. My source tells me they will be set to a default activation threshold of 95mph if the VSL isn't active. However, the same source doesn't have any involvement for the southern sector so can't speak for those cameras...your estimate of 90mph could be correct.
 
Anyone know if the M60 / M62 one's actually work? Always see people tanking it without a care in the world but I never risk it or are they just dumb?

Unless I'm on my bike...
 
Last time I used the M25 in July I didn't get anything through and I was a *cough* little above 70 on my bike.
 
Conscript said:
They're installing new HADECS3 cameras between J2 and J3 note as well. My source tells me they will be set to a default activation threshold of 95mph if the VSL isn't active. However, the same source doesn't have any involvement for the southern sector so can't speak for those cameras...your estimate of 90mph could be correct.
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Interesting - I've seen them putting the side mountings on for the HADECS3 cameras at several junctions, including J2/3 as you said.
 
I'd like to know if the SPECS average speed cameras are ever set up to work in motorway roadworks. Every time I drive along the M3 (and subsequently want to drive into the ditch and end it all since it's so hateful now) I see people hurtling past me well in excess of 50mph - either they know something I don't, they don't care, or they don't know what "average" means.
 
Howard said:
I'd like to know if the SPECS average speed cameras are ever set up to work in motorway roadworks. Every time I drive along the M3 (and subsequently want to drive into the ditch and end it all since it's so hateful now) I see people hurtling past me well in excess of 50mph - either they know something I don't, they don't care, or they don't know what "average" means.
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Some roadworks SPECS definitely work, but I'm not convinced the M3 ones do - I experience exactly the same thing as you and I struggle to believe they're all getting tickets.
 
geekman said:
Interesting - I've seen them putting the side mountings on for the HADECS3 cameras at several junctions, including J2/3 as you said.
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Yup, that's what prompted me to question my friend. He reckons it'll be quite a while before they're active though - they have to go through a lot of calibration, testing and verification checks before they are live and active.
 
Yeah I've wondered about the M3 ones too. It's getting quite ridiculous with the stretch of average cams all the way from the M25 to Fleet services, then another set of average cams again across the two Basingstoke junctions and almost up to Hook. Every time I'm on that stretch of M3 I see people doing crazy speeds.

However, there have been two average cams in place on the M3 for years - just on the sliproad as you join the M3 from the M25 heading southbound and another a mile or so down the road enforcing a 50 limit. I know someone who got done there doing 80 through them because she was a fool and just didn't pay any attention. So those two cameras do/did work at least. But no idea about the newer roadwork stretches.
 
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