Specs cameras

[m623d]

Not sure if this is the correct place to ask this, so can a mod move it if its wrong, thx


Do the specs cameras actually work? has anyone been done by them?

The reason I ask is I find it hard to believe that 2 cameras can cover 3 lanes of constant traffic moving at 50mph and record there number plates.
I know number recognition has moved on in recent years, but with so many variables, how is it possible?
Fog,Rain,Dirty plates, Snow, Darkness, all this and reading more than one plate a second.

Or is it just a good scam to slow traffic, cause it works either way!

Also Redlight cameras, I'm VERY cautious of these.
At what point do they trigger?
If you cross the 'line' just as they turn amber, is that ok?

Thanks
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[Skippy]

[Skippy]

[Swanny-mx5]

Aparently if you switch lanes between cameras they dont get you :D

[mostdom]

[m623d]

Surely if the cameras are so advanced they can see and record number plates at more than 1 a second then how hard can it be to compare those numbers at the next camera, regardless of lane?

I'm not convinced they work, maybe they can pick out numbers intermittently, ie in perfect conditions and not every vehicle, but I think they are a very good deterent.
I cant see how they can view 3 lanes of close together traffic travelling at 50mph at every camera.
Having said that, I wont risk testing them!

Lets face it, they could introduce a tupperware box, paint it yellow and place it near the side of the road, then say it is a new kind of speed cam, and it would slow people down, because who would risk it!
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Garmin Emap, Ipaq 2210 with TomTom Navigator 5, TomTom One, Pioneer AVIC-X1R, TomTom 910 (stolen). TomTom 520, TomTom 6100 (Faulty, replaced under warranty), Currently got a TomTom 6200

[JockTamsonsBairn]

[tonys66]

SPECS

SPECS average speed camera systems utilise state of the art video system with Automatic Number Plate Reading (ANPR) digital technology. Consisting of a minimum of two cameras each fitted with infra red illuminators fitted on gantries above the road, so they can work day or night. SPECS speed cameras work out the vehicles average speed, given the time it takes to drive between the two camera positions.

SPECS average speed cameras are fitted either at the roadside or in the central reservation a set distance apart to create a speed controlled zone, or where appropriate, groups of cameras can be linked to create a speed controlled network.

As vehicles pass between the entry and exit camera points their number plates are digitally recorded, whether speeding or not. Then, by ANPR recognition, the images on the video of matching number plates are paired up, and because each image carries a date and time stamp, the computer can then work out your average speed between the cameras. There is no film used for SPECS.

SPECS are commonly used to enforce speed limits on dual carriageways and motorways. This is because one SPECS gantry can monitor up to four lanes of traffic at any one time

Quote from the manufactures of SPECS system. "The SPECS system is so efficient and user friendly that Manchester CTO processed 2,500 offences in 6 man-hours". :o

Points and Penalties

Being prosecuted in the UK by a SPECS speed/safety camera system can result in a minimum of 3 penalty points and a £60 fine. This fine amount is currently under review by the government and may increase in near future.

RED LIGHT CAMS

Traffic light cameras are triggered either by using ground loops that are cut into road surface or radar technology. When using loops, as the traffic lights turn red the system becomes active, any vehicle passing over the sensor in the road after this time is then photographed. Radar based traffic light cameras work in the same manner as fixed Gatso speed cameras.

The traffic light camera was originally used to measure red light offences. Nowadays the camera can also be used in combination with speed measurement, similar to that of a Gatso speed camera. So you could end with a speeding offence as well as a traffic light offence, if you go through a red light camera!

Points and Penalties

Being prosecuted in the UK by a traffic light camera can result in a minimum of 3 penalty points and a £60 fine. This fine amount is currently under review by the government and may increase in near future.

[m623d]

Thanks tony,

I'm guessing you got that info off the specs site.
It is in the interest of the police (or whoever runs it) that they explain how it works, so its believeable., and people slow down. After all, they aren't going to say they dont work, are they!
I think it's propaganda. That type of technology would be way to expensive.
It would be cheaper to fit a speed restrictor in every car (make the car companies fund it and say its for safety) and a road side 'trigger' that would activate the restictor in various 'safety' areas.

But then again, the police wouldn't recieve an income from it, so I guess they'll never do it.
_________________
Garmin Emap, Ipaq 2210 with TomTom Navigator 5, TomTom One, Pioneer AVIC-X1R, TomTom 910 (stolen). TomTom 520, TomTom 6100 (Faulty, replaced under warranty), Currently got a TomTom 6200

[Skippy]

[mikealder]

As an aside to this, next time you stop for fuel have a look behind the counter, quite often these days garages employ number plate recognition systems that display the vehicles registration number adjacent to the pumps number.

Have a look for your own cars plate, and then on the way out scan around for the cameras, often there is only one covering the entire forecourt, these are cheap cameras, and the system works.

Expensive cameras can resolve to a far higher degree of resolution (accuracy) and speed. A number plate is very easy to spot with software when being fed by a decent camera, computer technology using optical cameras is a science in its own right, I have even seen spark plug gaps being checked this way to less than 0,1MM at a rate exceeding 30 per second - and yes it can detect the odd few that are wrong!

The camera and software is not the limiting factor with these systems, as Skippy says it is down to the approval.
Without the correct approval the authorities cannot use the evidence the cameras are capable of providing and the computers can process ones and zeros until the cows come home, if its not approved it matters not one little bit - Mike

[mostdom]

There is a temporary specs system set up on the road works on the M3 at present, which is providing a very interesting set of observations.

Firstly in comparison to an ordinary gatso no one is generally willing to mess with the specs cameras and drive almost bang on the speed limit, unlike gatsos where some folk will push a few extra miles an hour because they know they'll get away with it.

Secondly a few braver souls are pushing the specs cameras now, to see if there is a little give in those too. Reminds me of when the original gatso were put it, we were all too frightend to test those too. I don't expect it'll be long before we'll all know a secret or two about these new cameras.

On a different note, Two specs cameras and three lanes of fast moving traffic in the right conditions is not to hard to imagine that the specs system could capture every single car that passes. Any one got text recognition software for thier computer. Same thing.
Only as stated earlier would anomilies get through (tailgating, false plates, dirty plates).

A little paraniod, can be healthy. 8O
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Dom

HERE LIES PND May it rest in peace.
Navigon 7310/iPhone Navigon&Copilot

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