A letter from the Dorset Police Central Ticket office arrived on our doormat recently - uh-ho. Our daughter, currently away at university, had been snapped by a fixed speed camera driving at 36mph (30-limit) - ugh. Now I have no problem with the fine, you do the crime, you pay the fine (or in this case I pay the fine!), but I do have an issue with these Driver Awareness Courses they conditionally offer, as an alternative to the 3 point endorsement. These courses (which in this case costs £110) make vast profits for a few select companies, ones which the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) has very close links with. And, perhaps more worryingly, people choose the courses because they naturally think that as it avoids points it will also avoid a rise in insurance premiums. Unfortunately insurance companies treat these courses in the same was they do penalty points and failure to declare attendance could invalidate your insurance. Why is there no mention of this on the police paperwork? Could it be because many would not choose the course if they knew this?

Darren Griffin

India successfully launches final INRSS navigation satellite

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched the seventh and final satellite in the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) earlier today.

IRNSS-1G launched atop Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) PSLV-C33 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andrha Pradesh, India. This satellite completes the space segment and will provide a regional navigation service to users in India.

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European Satellite Navigation Competition 2016 launches

Beginning in 2004 with three partner regions, the European Satellite Navigation Competition (ESNC) has grown into a network of innovation and expertise in the field of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS). Each year, the competition seeks services, products, and business innovations that use satellite navigation in everyday life

The 2016 Satellite Navigation Competition prizes are being awarded from the European Space Agency (ESA), the German Aerospace Centre (DLR), and the German Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI) with a prize pool valued at approximately EUR 1 million.

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Speed Camera Data Updated - v14.044 - 27 Apr 2016 & This Week's Subscriber Award Winner

This week we have 128 static and mobile speed cameras added, removed or modified in the live database. Of the 30 unique submitters that were the first to submit qualifying reports this week, the following nine members have won a 1 year subscription extension:

akkipaa, bertxuk, mateybass, Monkey0Magic, MooseGVA999, Oscargrouch, pyromaniac, sussamb, Wheeliedoc

The congratulatory emails should be with you by now.

Subscription Winners: please act on the email, you MUST cancel any PayPal recurring subscriptions to avoid auto renewal and benefit from the free 12 month subscription extension.

Nine users missed out because they did not hold a valid subscription. The remaining 16

qualifying submissions came from lifetime members and 12mth subs extension winners. They are:

adpierce, Aua, dgwatts, Gando, goodstone, hudsonl, ochiatto, Oldboy, Pantsari, PHILIP2908, shepthe1andonly, somalley.

The rewards for successful camera submissions have changed, see here for full details.

If your subscription is due to expire, please note that PayPal subscriptions auto-renew and if you do not wish to continue you must cancel it via your PayPal account. A post in the forums explains how to check (see here).