What those cameras on A13 near Barking/Dagenham?

[jasonyw]

Been using the Blackwall tunnel today. Noticed they installed average speed cameras traveling north in the tunnel with a yellow sign "under test".

Is this necessary? You can never exceed the max speed of 30mph consider we are following the cars in front like motherhen and chicks. Sometimes in an accident, it crawling at 5mph.

When is this going live?

This is the first time I noticed my Garmin still receiving signal inside the tunnel. Only a small section of the tunnel about a third is under the river or is this the figment of imagination of my Garmin. Traveling along the Limehouse tunnel signal was lost half way through.

What are they doing most nights the Blackwall tunnel is closed between Thursday to Sunday?

 

[Pappilo]

As per your Garmin it could be due to what is called Tunnel mode Guidiance. At least that is what it is called on my Copilot program. It looks like you still have a signal but in reality you do not. The difference here is that the program already knows the tunnel is there and takes that into consideration when determinng things like ETA.

Those average speed cameras have been there forever and I have never received a ticket for speeding. We were recently told such cameras will be used to enforce the 20MPH limit for northbound traffic travelling through the southbound tunnel on work nights.

 

[jasonyw]

What the update?

Summer has arrived. I have been away. Are the average speed cameras live yet?

I drove to and fro yesterday but a bit edgy neither do I want a speeding ticket. The 40mph signs are still there and others are still driving like a maniac over 50mph.

Anyone caught exceeded the average speed camera driving northward at Blackwall tunnel?

 

[buccal]

Don't think they are live yet.....

 

[Pappilo]

Summer has arrived. I have been away. Are the average speed cameras live yet?

I drove to and fro yesterday but a bit edgy neither do I want a speeding ticket. The 40mph signs are still there and others are still driving like a maniac over 50mph.

Anyone caught exceeded the average speed camera driving northward at Blackwall tunnel?

Nope, not just yet. Cameras are still 'under test'.

 

[DITTRICH]

The A13 is a dangerous road for three reasons:-

1 There are many slip roads on and off and restricted visibility flyovers
2 The speed limits are far too low for normal driving conditions.
3 There are a number of GATSO's set at these low limits.

The A13 also runs through east london, parts of which are home to many people who aren't insured and aren't legally allowed on the road. It is also home to many professional drivers who do know what they are about.

The A13 can be free flowing one minute and a car park the next though it depends on the time of day and direction of travel.

If they are going down the SPECS route then the GATSO's need to be removed as they make the road dangerous.

Personally, I don't think the GATSO's will deter a certain section of the population, and there will still be accidents.

What will improve safety is to increase the limit to 50 full stop. It will reduce the difference in speed between the fastest and slowest vehicles.

One final question.
It used to be that SPECS was authorised for single lane use - ie - if you change lanes during the measured stretch of road then you can't be done. Maybe this is an urban legend but based on previous discussions here, people believed that SPECS was a one lane system. But the layout of cameras on the A13 implies multiple lane. So my question: is SPECS on the point of going multilane?

Les

 

[NormanC]

The A13 also runs through east london, parts of which are home to many people who aren't insured and aren't legally allowed on the road. It is also home to many professional drivers who do know what they are about.

And just as many who don't!!

 

[DITTRICH]

And just as many who don't!!

I was trying not to be completely one sided

 

[NormanC]

I was trying not to be completely one sided

I take your point. Perhaps what I should have said was....

And just as many professional drivers who don't!!

 

[Mr E]

One final question.
It used to be that SPECS was authorised for single lane use - ie - if you change lanes during the measured stretch of road then you can't be done. Maybe this is an urban legend but based on previous discussions here, people believed that SPECS was a one lane system. But the layout of cameras on the A13 implies multiple lane. So my question: is SPECS on the point of going multilane?

Les

I believe that SPECS is now multi-lane - this link describes SPECS 3 and confirms that it can cope with vehicles using different lanes between entering and exiting the controlled area.

 

[jasonyw]

Nope, not just yet. Cameras are still 'under test'.

Is your CGI any better and thirsty than Kompressor engine?

Is CGI another form of turbo?

When I test drove a W204 at the end of 2007, it was under power with a C180 no sure whether it got a CGI or conventional engine.

Am I right to say CGI was introduced from 2009?

 

[DITTRICH]

I believe that SPECS is now multi-lane - this link describes SPECS 3 and confirms that it can cope with vehicles using different lanes between entering and exiting the controlled area.

Well there goes the end of driving as we know it.
I can however see many arguments about precisely WHICH route a driver took between 2 cameras and hence what their average speed REALLY was. They will have to be really careful where they site them or they will disappear under a mountain of appeals.

 

[jasonyw]

Well there goes the end of driving as we know it.
I can however see many arguments about precisely WHICH route a driver took between 2 cameras and hence what their average speed REALLY was. They will have to be really careful where they site them or they will disappear under a mountain of appeals.

Good wishes.

The only ever good wish we ever get was to get the speed cameras painted bright yellow.

 

[nick mercedes]

Well there goes the end of driving as we know it.

And freedom as we know it:

"SPECS. Not only is it a Speed camera, but it is also ANPR, plugged into PNC 24/7"

"The "linked systems" (database systems) that ANPR links to are primarily the Motor Insurance Database Application System (MIDAS) and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) database. But a 2004 study listed other local or other ad hoc databases that include:

– Customs and Excise databases, for example tobacco bootleggers
– outstanding speed camera tickets
– regional stolen vehicle databases, for example ELVIS which covers Merseyside
– PIKE, a national database of LGV and commercial vehicles of interest
– Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) databases

By linking surveillance camera images of vehicles to the details of the vehicle's owners via the DVLA database allows those with access to ANPR to track citizens' movements around the UK. The standard excuse for this level of surveillance is that such systems are "denying criminals the use of the road". The theory goes that criminals can use roads to move around, so if we monitor all vehicles some will be driven by criminals and so we'll catch criminals and reduce crime. Once again law abiding citizens' rights are being discarded supposedly in the fight against crime. To make matters worse the data collected by ANPR cameras is stored for several years - at least two years but perhaps up to five years"

See "police state"

 

[markjay]

What I usually do in average speed camera areas.... is use the cruise control to limit the speed to 50mph. This way I can drive however I want and know I want get into trouble.

My previous car did not have this option.... so while they had the roadworks and average speed cameras on a very long stretch of the A2/M2, I used to drive at 'whatever speed I felt was safe', then stop half way through the controlled area at the Esso petrol station for a refreshment, then continue the journey at my chosen speed... works a treat with average speed cameras, and avoids the boredom

 

[DITTRICH]

The more I think about it, the more problems I see.
If speeds are calculated by the central computer based on a specific route between 2 nodes, and there is more than one way of travelling between the two nodes, and these ways have different speed limits along different stretches of roads, then the central computer is going to have to know the speed limit on every single bit of road between the nodes. The database is never going to be that accurate!
What it will do is force drivers to obey the speed limits at all times within the areas covered by the nodes - for better or worse. - less they cover the distance between 2 nodes in less than the allowed time - and get a ticket and 3 points in the process.
Given that the vast majority of the population tend to travel at the speed they feel most appropriate which often exceeds the speed limit I predict an even greater backlash against cameras - I mean everybody on the M40 in Oxfordshire will get a ticket except for the HGV drivers!

 

[markjay]

All those I have seen so far were on motorways between junctions so you can't get off (other than stopping at a petrol station...).

 

[jasonyw]

Going to drive along A13 today.

Is the average speed in force yet? Anybody any update?

 

[Bear]

The test signs were still up on friday.

 

[jasonyw]

Confirm, the test signs are still up toward central London.

Noted on the way back, away from London, drivers are respecting the overhead cameras slowing down to 40mph with cautious. One motorcycle sped by at over 70mph