Average speed cameras on the Cat and Fddle

[Yammi Dodger]

HIGH-tech speed cameras are to appear on the notorious Cat and Fiddle road as part of a project to cut road deaths. I belive that they will be up and runing next march 2010. The rear-facing cameras will scan number plates, and measure average speed over many miles, meaning those who just hit the brakes as they pass signs and cameras can still be caught.

I normally ride this road two or three times a year and stick to the speed limits. There is always unmarked police cars and a camara van at weekends during the summer months but now i seem to be put off just by knowing that there will be average fixed camaras there. Dont get me wrong if they save lives then thats great, Just like to see what your views on these camaras.

Phil.

 

[GastonJ]

These must be the SPECS3 that have been planned for a while? I didn't realise they were to be rear facing though, I thought front facing, but capable of being networked so that they would communicate with other cameras that were on other roads. Which means even if you turn off the 'main' road and speed you'd still get caught by the rest of the network.

Tax raising by any other name...

 

[grommit]

Speed cameras are self defeating, especially avg speed ones; you spend more time looking at your speedo and less time looking at the road. In the cage I just set the cruise control to the speed limit and smile.

 

[fast blue one]

I'm with Gaston on this, it's just stealth tax.

 

[Discofrank]

Tax raising by any other name...

thats what us aussie call them

Speed cameras are self defeating, especially avg speed ones; you spend more time looking at your speedo and less time looking at the road. In the cage I just set the cruise control to the speed limit and smile.

agreed

these avg speeds are going to be installed here in perth next year

****ign PITA

as there has been zero significant reduction in the road toll


unfortunately there will be deaths on the rd regardless ( as a % of the population it is the same ie the number of deaths can go up but the % stays the same due to population growth )


the govts needs stricter driver training and education

oh and here in Perth the love that SPEED was a factor in every accident
when FFS it is AS ALL ACCIDENTS are happing at speed

we are never told if they are speedING!

 

[Cloggy]

Speed cameras are self defeating, especially avg speed ones; you spend more time looking at your speedo and less time looking at the road. In the cage I just set the cruise control to the speed limit and smile.

The worst thing is when inexperienced cagers put on the brakes real hard (whilst they are well within the limits) unnecessarily causing other people to brake, this can create some pretty hair raising moments

 

[fast blue one]

The worst thing is when inexperienced cagers put on the brakes real hard (whilst they are well within the limits) unnecessarily causing other people to brake, this can create some pretty hair raising moments

I'll go along with that, a familiar scenario is travelling on a 60mph road following someone doing 50; he sees the camera and then drops to 40-45mph and then you come into a 30mph residential road and his speed stays the same.

 

[Yammi Dodger]

The first average-speed cameras capable of catching motorcycles are to be installed on popular riding routes under plans announced last week.

The cameras will be funded by the government with the intention of targeting bikers.

They will be rear-facing so they can read our number plates and will measure average speed over many miles, meaning speeders who slow down as they pass cameras will still be caught.

They are to be installed on single-carriageway rural roads starting with the famous A537 Cat and Fiddle run from Buxton, Derbyshire to Macclesfield, Cheshire, in a scheme costing £1.9 million.

A Cheshire East Council spokesman said: “The plan is to put some average-speed cameras along the road in a joint venture with our counterparts in Derbyshire.”

Lee Murphy, manager of the Cheshire Safer Roads Partnership, added: “We will be seeking an average speed camera that can capture rear-facing images.

"At the moment the plan is to install the units on the A537, and possibly a small bit of the A54 which joins onto the A537.”

A Derbyshire spokesman said the cameras could also be used on other routes.

A DfT funding announcement said the cash was for ‘a project to reduce the disproportionately high numbers of motorcyclist casualties on the A537 “Cat and Fiddle”’.

Neither region would say how many cameras are planned or when they will be operational, although Robert Hill, manager of the Derby and Derbyshire Road Safety Partnership, said the plans were to address a “problem” on the Cat and Fiddle “from Easter”.

This story is taken from....Bikers to be targeted by average-speed cameras - | Motorbike reviews | Latest Bike Videos | MCN

 

[Yammi Dodger]

Work will begin installing seven of the devices from Tuesday. They will also be put on a stretch of the A54 which joins the A537. Both roads have a 50mph limit.
All of the cameras will be linked together and vehicles constantly monitored within the speed control zone. Riders who progress between any two of the devices too quickly will be issued with a prosecution notice.

In the past average-speed cameras have only been linked in pairs, measuring speeds from one to the next along a single lane of traffic. The new cameras are expected to be operational before motorcycle traffic increases in April.

Full story form...Average-speed cameras installed on Cat and Fiddle from Tuesday - | Motorcycle News | Bike News | Motorbike Videos | MCN

 

[Gilo-FZ6]

£1.9 Million ...so im assuming all our schools,hospitals,and govenment funded training schemes and our state pensions are all sorted now.. oh and not to mention All the millitary hardware thats been lacking in Afganistan..thats why we can throw £1.9 MILLION at catching bikers on one stretch of road.

I weep for the future of this country ,i really do

 

[Geoff]

Dont we have better things to spend $$$$ on, or maybe save?

 

[YamahaMAXdRPMs]

£1.9 Million ...so im assuming all our schools,hospitals,and govenment funded training schemes and our state pensions are all sorted now.. oh and not to mention All the millitary hardware thats been lacking in Afganistan..thats why we can throw £1.9 MILLION at catching bikers on one stretch of road.

I weep for the future of this country ,i really do

id bet my own bike that they make that 1.9 mill back the first month :thumbup:

 

[wely324]

you could always stop sometime before the next camera

 

[FuriousGeorge]

They don't need to actually show you were operating the motorcycle with a picture of your face? No presumption of innocence? Sadly it looks like that's where the US will be in a few years too.

 

[Jonno271]

I already have to deal with two 8-10 mile stretches of SPECS cameras on my daily commute to work along the M4...

The first lot are earlier generation SPECS, all front facing cameras which means I can pick my way through traffic no problem (although I do wonder if I keep getting flagged up every day if they'll put a patrol car out to pull me!?)...

The second lot however are SPECS3 Of the dozen or so, twin camera installations, only one has one rear facing camera. That's all it needs as they are all networked so they can pull up your licence plate and a picture of your face ...

I assume, or at least hope, that the SPECS3 network can't be used to prosecute a speeder in the earlier generation SPECS stretch. They're in different counties, for that matter, countries anyway!...

Anyway, back to my point. Of the six months or so that these cameras have been up and running, all I have witnessed is worse and worse driving by other road users. 3 cars sat abreast across all 3 lanes doing 45mph, not budging an inch for miles. Middle lane hogging at 40mph. Some people who obviously don't know/care speeding up behind other drivers at 80mph. Frantic lane changing by lorries as not to have to lift of the throttle and lose that 1 precious mile per hour. Drivers jumping on the brakes as they approach each camera, thinking they work the same as GATSO's. The list goes on...

The 3 abreast really bugs me. The limit is 50, not 40 or 45 so get out of the way. Add into that the threshold speed of the cameras (10% +2mph = 57mph seems to be the most accepted rule) and speedo error (around 2-3mph @ 70 mph in my car and on the bike) and you could quite feasibly do 59mph-ish without having to worry, although I tend to stick to 55mph. Haven't been done yet but I know someone who has for averaging 60mph...

Total waste of tax payers money and another tax in itself I reckon. They encourage bad driving and as far as I can see do not ease congestion (as was the reason for installing them on my route claims the council). Next to come is a variable speed limit and would you belive, traffic lights on the M4. Yes, they intend to have stationary traffic on the motorway! Check it out M4 Variable Speed Limit, can't wait!

Oh and this little lot will cost £7M!

 

[Yammi Dodger]

What a Joke!...The following article was taken from M.C.N.

Motorcycle News UK | Motorbikes | MCN

The £800,000 speed camera ****-up

High-tech new speed cameras on one of the country’s most popular bike routes are useless due to an apparent oversight.

The new cameras are aimed at catching motorcyclists on the A537 Cat and Fiddle road from Macclesfield to Buxton, Derbyshire.

They have been installed at five points along the road and riders are timed between them to calculate their average speed.

But camera bosses have apparently failed to take into account that between two of the sites there is a shortcut with a higher speed limit.

The cameras depend on a distance-over-time calculation to determine speed. But the shortcut shaves a third of a mile off the distance, rendering the calculation inaccurate.

The shortcut also has a 60mph speed limit whereas the A537 is a 50mph zone.

The Cheshire Safer Roads Partnership has spent £800,000 installing the cameras.

Partnership manager Lee Murphy said the cameras were functioning but no-one had yet been prosecuted.

He acknowledged the flaw but denied it was an oversight.

“We’re looking at that now as an issue for us,” he said. “There are a couple of calculations to be made and we’re just testing it out now and we’ll have a view on it.”

 

[deeptekkie]

Interesting read. Sorry about "Big Brother" discriminating against bikers. I have got to run now and collect my duct tape.

 

[Fz6Daveg]

What a Joke!...The following article was taken from M.C.M

Motorcycle News UK | Motorbikes | MCN

The £800,000 speed camera ****-up

High-tech new speed cameras on one of the country’s most popular bike routes are useless due to an apparent oversight.

The new cameras are aimed at catching motorcyclists on the A537 Cat and Fiddle road from Macclesfield to Buxton, Derbyshire.

They have been installed at five points along the road and riders are timed between them to calculate their average speed.

But camera bosses have apparently failed to take into account that between two of the sites there is a shortcut with a higher speed limit.

The cameras depend on a distance-over-time calculation to determine speed. But the shortcut shaves a third of a mile off the distance, rendering the calculation inaccurate.

The shortcut also has a 60mph speed limit whereas the A537 is a 50mph zone.

The Cheshire Safer Roads Partnership has spent £800,000 installing the cameras.

Partnership manager Lee Murphy said the cameras were functioning but no-one had yet been prosecuted.

He acknowledged the flaw but denied it was an oversight.

“We’re looking at that now as an issue for us,” he said. “There are a couple of calculations to be made and we’re just testing it out now and we’ll have a view on it.”

The short cut is the lane just past the Cat & Fiddle on the left when leaving the carpark. The MCN Reporter did a timed check and if he stayed within speed limit of this road he could effectively get caught for speeding when he gets to the next camera on the main road because this road has a 60mph limit and is more of a faster flowing road.
There is a large parking bay just before the camera, so you can sit and wait a bit if you think you have gone too quickly:thumbup:

An absolute waste of tax payers money !! IMO

 

[spine]

I love the Cat and Fiddle run! I never get up to 50mph though, i'm too busy looking down. lol

 

[Cloggy]

.........

An absolute waste of tax payers money !! IMO

Apparently even the local councils seem to agree :thumbup: :MCN