Also say you have a brake light out or something, how many times in your average journey do you light up that extra filament (sp?) within the bulb... plenty. What are you wanting people to do? Stop and check them after every press? Yes tailgating is bad and annoying but the ideas conveyed are ott.
Another use for Gatso cameras
- Thread starter Mr_Sukebe
- Start date
Soldato
I think we should spend the development costs for these ideas on more policemen tbh.
Adjusting Gatso's to do any of this stuff would not be feasible. It could be done by developing a new camera though. The blown lights could be detected and logged digitally on a central computer. Then a period of, say a month, could be given for the bulb to be changed and then if after that, it was detected by another camera, a fine issued. This would force people to do regular checks on their car, but would not be overly harsh.
The tail-gating would I think be difficult to implement on the radar technology used in Gatsos, but could be archived with sensors in the road linked up to the the camera. I think the fogs one would be difficult and not worthwhile to do.
All of this is unlikely to ever be done though. What is more likely is a GPS tracking system fitted to all cars that reports back to the police, and possible is also linked into a car's ecu to report things like blown bulbs too. This system could potentially detect all these offenses and speeding and much more, and also be used for PAYG road taxing.
The tail-gating would I think be difficult to implement on the radar technology used in Gatsos, but could be archived with sensors in the road linked up to the the camera. I think the fogs one would be difficult and not worthwhile to do.
All of this is unlikely to ever be done though. What is more likely is a GPS tracking system fitted to all cars that reports back to the police, and possible is also linked into a car's ecu to report things like blown bulbs too. This system could potentially detect all these offenses and speeding and much more, and also be used for PAYG road taxing.
Soldato
i bet it would be easy for the manufacturers to use fibre optics from the lights to a small set of warning lights on the dash to show what lights are on n which are out.
I'm sure years ago there was something like that on a car, but i cant remember what make it was now.
I'm sure years ago there was something like that on a car, but i cant remember what make it was now.
Soldato
Mr Joshua said:Because they're a bunch of idiots who drive around with sidelights and fog lights on. How about cars that won't allow the foglights to be activated when you only have sidelights on?
I'm sure my Astra only allows the rear ones on when headlights are selected (maybe not though, I haven't had to use them yet).
the rear fogs on my rover 600 will only work if the head lights are on.
didn't know that when i got the car and thought they didn't work lol
also they didn't stay switched on after you have turned the ignition off
that way you cant forget to turn them off and end up driving around with the fogs on for days, i aways see that after we have had fog and it drives me nuts when your following people with there fogs on and its not foggy just because some idiot hasn't remembered to turn them off.
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Soldato
Gilly said:
Ah so do you leave your indicators on when making 2 turns in succession?
Seriously tho, if its 50 years betwen patches leave em on, if its a mile turn em off..
Soldato
I thought about the tail gating one before and although it might be a good idea to begin with, I soon thought of a flaw.
Many times I leave a large enough gap for a good braking distance only for some numpty overtaking to slot into the gap making me have to slow down to increase that gap. If momentarily, when that numpty slots in my braking distance gap and we pass that camera, I could get done for tailgating, yet was the one that was trying to drive safely. This sort of thing happens a lot to me when Im driving on the motorway.
Many times I leave a large enough gap for a good braking distance only for some numpty overtaking to slot into the gap making me have to slow down to increase that gap. If momentarily, when that numpty slots in my braking distance gap and we pass that camera, I could get done for tailgating, yet was the one that was trying to drive safely. This sort of thing happens a lot to me when Im driving on the motorway.
Soldato
i've considered and posted before about the idea of a tailgating camera, obviously it would be a much more complex system, simply because there's more variables to take into account, and it would have to work on average measurements over a set period, probably reasonably simple to do using the chevrons where they have them
the benefit of such a complex system would be that it could also penalise other areas of bad driving, i wouldnt suggest anything to do with lights, but it could monitor speed relative to conditions, simple enough to have rain/fog sensors, i'm sure with as much effort as has gone into developing speed cameras a lot more dangerous driving traits could be monitored/penalised by a more complex system working on reasonably complex formulae to prevent erroneous fines
the benefit of such a complex system would be that it could also penalise other areas of bad driving, i wouldnt suggest anything to do with lights, but it could monitor speed relative to conditions, simple enough to have rain/fog sensors, i'm sure with as much effort as has gone into developing speed cameras a lot more dangerous driving traits could be monitored/penalised by a more complex system working on reasonably complex formulae to prevent erroneous fines
Soldato
i posted this months ago mate.Mr_Sukebe said:
it wouldn't be too (relatively that is) difficult or expensive to implement either IMHO.
a car goes past and the camera detects its speed to determine whether to take a snap or not.at the same time a timer starts.regardless of the vehicle in front speeding or not....the camera knows exactly what speed he is travelling at therefore when the second car goes past the cam and stops the timer,it can compare the gap/speed relationship with what's been pre-programmed as a safe distance to follow other vehicles.
it would be a good measure IMHO as i see "rear-end shunts" every day.
once it had filtered down to the masses that they'd be fined for it,it'd have a noticeable effect IMHO as,in general,a large section of the motoring public only play by the rules when there's a very real danger of being caught and prosecuted for it.
Soldato
and rightly so as you'd have been too close to him in the first place ie tailgating.NathanE said:
Agent_Smith357 said:
Edited for greater accuracyMr Joshua said:
development costs are a one-off...more police officers adds to their budget permanently.andi said:
the money is barely available for the former and simply isn't there to pay for the latter.
my 1983 XR4i displayed which lights were and were not working.ShakenNstirred said:
i'm not an auto electrician but surely if the light is blown then it's not consuming any current,therefore if you monitor the current around the lighting circuit you can tell which lamps function and which don't without resorting to exotic solutions like fibre optics etc?
Soldato
not really as if you'd been driving at the speed limit then the other driver would need to break said limit to pass you,thus being snapped by the cameras primary function...speed cam.Bear said:
it wouldn't be too difficult to have the photograph displaying the speeds of both (or 3) vehicles in shot.if you were doing 60 in a 70 limit and leaving a safe distance,then someone did as you described then you could use that in your defence.if you were actually driving AT the limit then the scenario i described above would come into place.
Soldato
fibre optics are not an exotic solutions though, thats the thing.The_Dark_Side said:and rightly so as you'd have been too close to him in the first place ie tailgating.
Edited for greater accuracy
development costs are a one-off...more police officers adds to their budget permanently.
the money is barely available for the former and simply isn't there to pay for the latter.
my 1983 XR4i displayed which lights were and were not working.
I'm not an auto electrician but surely if the light is blown then it's not consuming any current,therefore if you monitor the current around the lighting circuit you can tell which lamps function and which don't without resorting to exotic solutions like fibre optics etc?
put a light at 1 end and you can see it at the other end with out any electronics in between(look at the fibre optic Christmas tree, its just a bulb and a coloured disc at 1 end)
so all that would be needed it a length of fibre optic from each light, to a display in the dash
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Soldato
i don't doubt it'd work.ShakenNstirred said:
the point was it has been possible for decades to show which lamps are and are not working.
Soldato
i know what he was saying (and i did say in a post before , that i thought there was a car that showed if the lights are working), but in 83 fibre optics were an exotic solution.The_Dark_Side said:
the point i was making is it isnt an exotic solution now and you dont need any electronics to make it work
Soldato
there are many cars in production today that display non functioning lamps.ShakenNstirred said:
AFAIK non of them use fibre optics (although i'm open to correction on this).
there must be a reason why manufacturers use this method rather than yours.
i'd imagine it's cost.
I recently had to drive over 100 miles home from a customer with both brake lights out due to an electrical fault (I still had the high one). Whilst this was not exactly desirable I had no choice as replacing the bulbs wouldn't have helped and it was too late to go to a dealer and have it fixed (which I did first thing the following day).Mr_Sukebe said:
Legally I suppose I should have called the RAC and had it fixed or towed home but can anyone here honestly say they'd have done that in my place? A £25 fine on top of this would have been rather galling to say the least.
Those warnings can be a pain in the backside! On the occasion mentioned above, upon starting the car I was greeted with:GT3 said:
BEEP!...left brake light failure
BEEP!...right brake light failure
BEEP!...please refuel
BEEP!...washer fluid level low
BEEP!...service due in 300 miles
Give me a break!