[116732] in Cypherpunks
Speed cameras in the UK - (big brother is watching)
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (foo@maladroit.sol.co.uk)
Thu Aug 19 13:09:25 1999
From: foo@maladroit.sol.co.uk
To: <cypherpunks@toad.com>
Date: Thu, 19 Aug 1999 17:40:28 +0100
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Reply-To: foo@maladroit.sol.co.uk
> I received this message from a friend. Be warned these poles are
> flying up all over the place. I have seen them on
> the A8 and the M80.
>
> Be aware of the new speed cameras which are being erected the
> complete length of the A90/M90/A9 They are recognised by a tall
> blue coloured pole and a small pole next to it. We may have a possible
> stay of execution, due to the privacy law up holding these unit for
> being switched on. At the moment it is being debated within the new
> Scottish Parliament.
>
> ** New Type of Speed Cameras on M1 & M20**
> Speedcheck SVVD or SPECS went on-line last weekend on the
> M1, netting 4,300 offenders in a single day. The system does not
> use instantaneous speed like the cameras we're all familiar with,
> instead measuring the average speed of every vehicle over a distance of
> about a mile.
>
> How?
>
> By reading your license plates and matching them up camera-to-
> camera. Kent and Leicestershire police are so impressed with it that
> systems are being erected in their enforcement areas too.
>
> This is a new system which has now entered service after
> successful trials on the M1 and M20 in the UK. Speedcheck
> SVDD (Sureway Video Detection Device) is a system similar in concept to
> the GATSO, but with a new twist. SVDD deploys cameras at either end
> of a measured baseline(up to 500 metres) to monitor vehicles 24 hours a
> day. Using machine vision,vehicle number plates are read, and the
> precise time of each observation recorded
> and as a vehicle passes the second camera, the numberplate
> records are matched, and an average speed for the vehicle is calculated.
> If this is above the trigger speed, then the vehicle's identification is
> recorded along with it's speed.
>
> It is also flashed up on a huge illuminated sign further down the road
> to
> embarrass the driver into slowing down. When triggered, the
> detection technology used in these cameras automatically
> records the date, precise time, location and speed of the offending
> vehicle, along with a full colour image of the front of the vehicle,
> which clearly records the numberplate, make, model and colour of
> vehicle.
>
> There's five overriding reasons for the habitual speeder to be afraid of
> this system:
>
> 1. It works 24 hours a day
> 2. needs no film
> 3. uses no flash
> 4. uses no radar....so bad luck all those of you who think that radar
> detectors work.
> 5. It's been proven to be over 99% accurate in almost all weather
> conditions.
>
> It doesn't do spot-speed checking. A GATSO can only check the speed of a
> vehicle within a certain range so the tactic most drivers use now is to
> slow down for the camera and then speed up again once past it.
> Speedcheck measures average speed over a known distance. So if you do
> 60mph under each camera and then speed up to 80mph in between, your
> average speed is likely to be near 70mph - 10 over the limit imposed -
> you're nicked. SVDD say this means that the system can impose a far
> smoother flow of traffic eliminating slow-fast driving that GATSO
> cameras provoke.
>
> Because it's automated,the system is entirely self-sufficient. It's
> hooked up to the DVLA computers, and can automatically process the fines
> and send out notices in the post.
>
> It's Big Brother. Don't believe for a moment that this technology will
> only be used to catch speeders. It could eventually be used to
> keep track of where every single car in the country is at any given
> moment in time once the network of these things becomes broad
> enough.
>
> Warning to M25 Motorists
> If you are a driver then this is important! Even if you aren't you
> know people who are, so it is still important! Please pass this one
> on to as many people as you can. There are 60 new cameras that
> started operating on the M25 on Monday 14June. These are between the A3
> and M40. They are digital and linked direct to computer, use no film or
> flashgun. They can deal with 60,000 tickets EVERY HOUR.
>
> The cameras are also (apparently) linked and can work out your
> average speed between them. So, if you speed up between them
> and slow down as you approach them, if your average speed is over the
> "legal limit+N%" threshold you may well get a ticket.
>
> You've been warned!
"using the toad address and not caring."
