This weekend I did the journey Manchester to Stoke to Bolton (via St Helens) and the following grabbed my interest about the journey.
Princess Parkway, in Manchester, just after the underpass at the G-Mex end, police man with no vest, in unmarked car, with speed trap, just as you come out of the underpass. Thoughts sprung to ACPO guidelines, 31.2, which state hi vis vest, and no hiding away, which being at exit to underpass constitutes in my view.
M6 J19-18 (and back) roadworks. They seem to have done away with cones. Instead there is 3 miles of solid, temporary steel barrier, separating the active carriage way from the work area. Must have taken ages to bolt all of that together. Seems far more sensible than cones from a worker saftey point of view.
SPECS cameras in place, played my usual game of sticking at the posted limit until some tailgater gets impatient and then let them roar off into the sunset, with fine in tow.
Just after roadworks on Thelwall Viaduct (another SPECS hotspot) a totally different approach to mobile speed traps. A very obvious white police van park on bridge, with "Mobile Speed Safety Van" in mile high letters on the side of it, along with speed camera symbols. Commanded much more respect from me for the officers than the guy hiding away at the end of an underpass.
At start of roadworks on M6 at St Helens exit, the sign "Roadworks monitored by CCTV. In event of breakdown, stay with vehicle." This sign was attached to a SPECS camera. False sense of security?
All in all, a very interesting journey. Well, for me at least.
I'll get me coat.
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Did you also notice that the fluorescent paint on most of the Specs cameras on the Thelwall has now faded to an almost uniform 'sky grey' ?
I wonder how many people don't see them ?
I have to grow old - but I don't have to grow up
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Add to that the fact that those at Thelwall are on the overhead gantry, and look like a CCTV camera, then I guess a lot of people who look out for Gatso cameras will have been stung.
I love being smug and watching them all speed by, oblivious. I just hope that they are active, else that smugness is wasted.
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Mobile Police "Safety" Camera vans are also in operation on the flyovers on the A46 south of Coventry... Look up..
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I drove through those road works on Saturday around lunch time and was amazed at how narrow the lanes were! It would only have taken a minor slip up for a couple of cars to take each others wing mirrors off.
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Wally
narrow lanes
adverse camber
high traffic flow
high winds
busy junctions either side of the bridge
I hate driving over ot and I'm suprised there aren't more accidents
I have to grow old - but I don't have to grow up
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Re the unmarked check on Princess Parkway, how do you know it was a speed trap?
Why not checking VRN vs tax records?
Why not, shock horror probe, someone out checking the 85% percentile speed?
The latter used to be a regular job for plod prior to any limit changes, send someone out and report back.
Don't need your coat its a nice warm day round here.
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OK so I made an assumption it was a speed trap because of the location. It seemed to me that he was positioned so as to give the traffic emerging from behind the high wall no chance to see him. Over the years I have also been stopped for speeding 3 times, so I recognise the cameras. That, coupled with maturing over the years, is why I no longer speed.
There was just one camera too. All of the ANPR checks that I have been through have a camera covering each lane. There was also a lack of officers further up the road to stop any vehicles with dodgy tax records. I have been stopped several time on APNR, as the registration plate I have was on a vehicle which was stolen once upon a time, and it seems that the DVLA and police computers still can't agree that the vehicle was recovered.
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"so I recognise the cameras"
so it could have been a check on 85th perecentile speed then?
just strikes me they're wrong or they're wrong.
Don't do the 85th percentile check and accused of dereliction of common sense. Do the check and accused of being tax collectors!
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"Princess Parkway, in Manchester, just after the underpass at the G-Mex end, police man with no vest, in unmarked car, with speed trap, just as you come out of the underpass. Thoughts sprung to ACPO guidelines, 31.2, which state hi vis vest, and no hiding away, which being at exit to underpass constitutes in my view."
-Or heaven forbid trying to catch some Drug Dealing crooks.
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-Or heaven forbid trying to catch some Drug Dealing crooks.
They are pretty good at that around our way. Reported some neighbours we suspected of being dealers via a friend of mine in Birmingham CID (so as to put as much distance from myself to the report) and next day armed police went in. Guys are in jail now.
But that's off topic.
Wether it was a 85% percentile survey, speed camera, or BBC TV crew, I was just commenting on the observations that captured my attention yesterday.
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