Another use for Gatso cameras

[Mr_Sukebe]

Apart from being a good spot to put a Xmas tree, I was thinking whilst driving back to London of some of the things that really annoy me on the road, and it did occur that with a bit of work, a Gatso might be able to do the following:
- Calculate gaps between cars and their actual speeds, then automatically send a fine to anyone caught tailgating too close. I personally believe that this is one of the biggest causes of accidents on the roads.
- Spot cars with blown bulbs. Should be able to work on the number plate to identify whether that single light is a car or bike, if it's a car, send them a fine.
- Spot cars with their fogs on when it's not foggy. Would need more work on the optics to define whether it's foggy when the picture is taken, but I'm sure it's possible.

Thoughts? Should we suggest the above?
I personally would advocate only fines for the two light scenarios, and a single point on the license for everytime a person is caught tailgating seriously close.

 

[Mr_Sukebe]

On both light ideas, a max of one fine a day would make it rather more easy, and I'm not suggesting massive fines, say £25.
As for the bulb just having gone, I don't really think it's a great excuse. For one thing, would encourage people to actually have some spares around and check their car more thoroughly before driving it.
With regard to the fog, yes I do expect people to turn off their fogs on the way out of fog.

 

[Mr_Sukebe]

Also, how would it work out what was a foglight and what was a driving light?

Lets assume you're only working on the rear fog lights. Should be possible to differentiate between the type of lights.

Actually, might be possible on the front lights aswell. Imagine this scenario, car numberplate gets scanned, as such, the type of car is known and also the layout of the lights on that model. Would be possible to check which lights should and shouldn't be shining. So technically there is a way to do it.

 

[Mr_Sukebe]

Hey, come on guys, be more positive.
So many people moan about gatso's and how they don't actually prevent accidents, which is NOT something I'd argue with.
I'm just throwing around a few ideas that might actually reduce the instances of accidents. How about being creative and not destructive.

Put it another way, if the above ideas reduced the chances of your beloved motor being rear-ended because it encouraged people to have realistic braking distances and also yourself to make sure that you had a full set of working lights to help the situation. Wouldn't that be a good thing?