Do police cars have

dannyjo22 · 24 Mar 2007 at 15:24

Rear facing cameras?

Stupid question I know but a mate was asking me because he crossed a solid white line behind a police car to change lanes. They didnt do anything at the time and he's worried they have taken his number and will just issue him a NIP?

Cant find anything on google about whether they have rear cams. Surely if they saw him they would pull him right away?

Enfield · 24 Mar 2007 at 15:26

Not sure about that one, but they can turn the one in the front around to face out the rear.

Was the Police car stationary by the side of the road?

dannyjo22 · 24 Mar 2007 at 15:29

Enfield said:
Not sure about that one, but they can turn the one in the front around to face out the rear.

Was the Police car stationary by the side of the road?

No it was moving too in slowish (20mph) moving traffic coming upto lights.

Enfield · 24 Mar 2007 at 15:31

I think he'll be alright to be honest with you.

They would have pulled him over if they noticed.

rs125 · 24 Mar 2007 at 17:03

Traffic cars do as i saw one yesterday and noticed the camera in the back window.Not sure on normal panda cars though.

Draeger · 24 Mar 2007 at 17:06

Some of the traffic police cars up here in my area have rearward facing cameras, aye.

They are however, dead easy to spot.

I wouldnt worry about it, if they had noticed at the time, your mate would most likely have been pulled if they felt the need.

What I'm not sure about is whether the cars that have rear facing cameras have either seperate screens to monitor both the front and the rear or some sort of split screen affair.

Either or, they probably record everything anyway whether they are monitored by an officer at the time or not.

dannyjo22 · 24 Mar 2007 at 17:12

Cool so chances are he would be ok then. He said it was a skoda patrol car, not sure if it was traffic or not.

Meridian · 24 Mar 2007 at 18:18

The usual is a camera which points wherever the driver/crew aim it. Usually that's forwards, so unless they had it pointing backwards for some reason - usually someone tailgaiting - then odds are they missed your trick.

Crossing solid white lines is a moving traffic offense, and if they'd seen you they would have gone after you. NIPs come from speed and other cameras only.

M

Mr Joshua · 24 Mar 2007 at 18:20

Draeger said:
They are however, dead easy to spot.

An unmarked traffic car passed me a few months back and you could easilly see a wire and the camera behind one of the head restraints. They might be a bit more difficult to spot if you're directly behind it though.

dannyjo22 · 24 Mar 2007 at 18:24

Meridian said:
The usual is a camera which points wherever the driver/crew aim it. Usually that's forwards, so unless they had it pointing backwards for some reason - usually someone tailgaiting - then odds are they missed your trick.

Crossing solid white lines is a moving traffic offense, and if they'd seen you they would have gone after you. NIPs come from speed and other cameras only.

M

So if they didnt act on it there and then he wont be getting a NIP?

What confuses me is the guy on here that got one for Careless driving when he was in hospital. He wasnt caught by camera yet got a NIP :confused:

Draeger · 24 Mar 2007 at 18:51

Mr Joshua said:
An unmarked traffic car passed me a few months back and you could easilly see a wire and the camera behind one of the head restraints. They might be a bit more difficult to spot if you're directly behind it though.

Interesting.

The ones I have seen in my area are external and roof mounted.

Usually on Volvo estates.

4ndy89 · 24 Mar 2007 at 22:53

I saw a volvo s40 yesterday driving through the ghetto section of my city yesterday.

The rear mounted camera on the parcel shelf was facing me and turning left and right.

The road split into two directions and i took the left lane, in the middle of the dash there was something on the screen that had pictures of people reg plates (anpr?)

Fr0dders · 24 Mar 2007 at 22:58

dannyjo22 said:
So if they didnt act on it there and then he wont be getting a NIP?

What confuses me is the guy on here that got one for Careless driving when he was in hospital. He wasnt caught by camera yet got a NIP

you need to be given an NIP before they can prosecute you for speeding or committing any traffic offence.

you can be given this by the officer that pulls you over, or they can post it to you. The 2 bits of paperwork are very different. The one the copper gives you is a tiny slip which says we are prosecuting you for a)driving under the influence b)exceeding the speed limit c) driving without due care and attention etc..

the one they post you requires you to identify yourself etc.. Wheras if the coppers pull you, they wont issue you it till they are sure of your identity in case your hiding that your really disqualified etc.. so a much smaller piece of paper. They do both however serve the same legal purpose. Your gonna pay ...

The coppers will allmost allways allways pull you for anything (if they're going to) and serve you the NIP then. No weasling out on the 14 day rule / it wasnt me guv it was me mum etc..

If your caught by a speed camera etc.. then they will post it you. But you will not be posted a NIP after a police CCTV footage caught him crossing white lines.

Remember, not all coppers are nazi's They could have wanted to go home and finish their shift, they could have been going elsewhere and had bigger fish to fry, or quite simply what he didnt wasnt very severe so they didnt bother.

Meridian · 24 Mar 2007 at 23:56

Draeger said:
Interesting.

The ones I have seen in my area are external and roof mounted.

Usually on Volvo estates.

Almost certainly a mobile ANPR camera.

M

InvaderGIR · 24 Mar 2007 at 23:59

All the marked cars around me (Bournemouth) have rear facing externaly roof mounted cameras, they are obvioulsy there, the are basicaly a CCTV camera slapped on the roof, unsure as to what they capture though.

Plus on a side note, there are loads of unmarked cars in Bournemouth, so if you are down here, drive sensible all the time! They use all sorts of cars, all saloons though.

InvG

dannyjo22 · 25 Mar 2007 at 08:50

MrLOL said:
If your caught by a speed camera etc.. then they will post it you. But you will not be posted a NIP after a police CCTV footage caught him crossing white lines.

Remember, not all coppers are nazi's They could have wanted to go home and finish their shift, they could have been going elsewhere and had bigger fish to fry, or quite simply what he didnt wasnt very severe so they didnt bother.

Thanks for the info, I had a look at one of those roof mounted cameras and he said it certainly wasn't driving with one of those on the roof. Hopefully he's ok and learnt his lesson.

Fr0dders · 25 Mar 2007 at 09:09

InvaderGIR said:
unsure as to what they capture though.

evidence. If your gonna prosecute somebody for dangerous driving, having video footage of them doing it is the best way

ive seen unmarked cars get tailgaited before, And the rear facing camera is brilliant for recording this sort of thing.

Meridian · 25 Mar 2007 at 09:17

InvaderGIR said:
All the marked cars around me (Bournemouth) have rear facing externaly roof mounted cameras, they are obvioulsy there, the are basicaly a CCTV camera slapped on the roof, unsure as to what they capture though.

I believe I already answered that question. But again: video cameras for traffic enforcement are mounted inside the car so that the crew can change the direction it points. Cameras on the outside roof are ANPR cameras. They point backwards to give the crew more time to go after the suspect that the system flashes up as the hit is flagged before the suspect has even passed the police car.

M