NIP likely?

Just come down the A23 near Bolney and noticed a lovely yellow van on
a bridge with little chappie and tripod set up. Sparse traffic all
doing the same speed (our Honda Jazz was showing 82 on the speedo).

What are my chances, do you reckon?

 

Pass, but I had similar recently. Driving down a hill at about 80 then
I notice the camera on the bridge. BUT, the 'operator' was just
standing there with his arms folded. Don't they have to track a car to
get it's speed? It could be ANPR I suppose.

 

Or waiting for someone who is obviously taking the piss, which 80 in a
70 is not (especially given speedo error margins (+10%?))

IIRC, plod have to have "reasonable suspicion" that you are speeding to
measure your speed, so they can't just sit there with a radar measuring
everyone, although a lot of the time they do. I could also be
misremembering total bollocks as well though....

 

On a Sunday morning recently the plod had a camera on a tripod over the bridge
at M5J6, Worcester North, pointing at vehicles driving south. And there were at
least three police cars on the hard shoulder, having stopped offending vehicles.
I assumed that it was ANPR and looking for more than just speeding, or they wouldn't
have needed to actually stop anyone.

 

Yesterday afternoon as I was waiting for a bus in Yiewsley High
Street there was a van parked up in a parking bay opposite with something
like "Mobile CCTV Unit" writ upon it. It had some weird circular thing on
a gimbal sticking out of the roof near the back, with two "ears" poking up
above it. All in a mattish black so it was hard to see against the dark
background of the advertising poster behind it. I walked down the
footpath a bit but couldn't get a better view; thought I'd better not
cross the street as overt interest may not have been in /my/ best
interest...

--
Ivan Reid, School of Engineering & Design, _____________ CMS Collaboration,
Brunel University. Ivan.Reid@[brunel.ac.uk|cern.ch] Room 40-1-B12, CERN
GSX600F, RG250WD "You Porsche. Me pass!" DoD #484 JKLO#003, 005
WP7# 3000 LC Unit #2368 (tinlc) UKMC#00009 BOTAFOT#16 UKRMMA#7 (Hon)
KotPT -- "for stupidity above and beyond the call of duty".

 

The circular thing would have been the rotors. They are using a disc
shaped affair on all of the later model black helicopters now. Cuts down
on rotor noise also along with slightly uneven blades for noise
reduction. The rabbit ears are the camera mounting. With IR and heat
sensing capabilities. The brainwave readers are stashed in the body of
the aircraft. They are using vans for deployment now due to government
cutbacks.

They're keeping an eye on you Dr Reid.

Remember even if you are paranoid they may still be out to get you. So
dig out the tin foil hat

 

I had a good nose as we passed under, and it was deffo a Sussex Safety
Camera van.

 

I'm fairly relaxed about it, worst case scenario being my first 3
points and £60.

I'll be watching the post tentatively for the next few weeks. Laura
would be furious.

 

Speaking of which. Got a bit of a shock last week, out cycling when
I heard the thwop thwop of a copter approaching at low level. I looked
round expecting to see the cops out on their usual sunny day in the
Corvedale jolly. Only to be confronted by an apache coming straight
at me, nose down and pointy bits sticking out everywhere.

First time I've seen one in the flesh. Fucking menacing looking bits of
kit, I'd hate to confronted with an angry one.

 

Might be OK - probably mot much more than 75mph, true speed with a bit
of luck!

On the A31 from Alton towards Farnham yesterday, I'm doing 80ish when a
Saab going the other way is all flashy headlights, so I slowed down a
tad. A mile or so later I spotted the van on the central reservation.

The Merc coming down the outside lane at considerable more velocity
than I, slammed on his anchors at the last minute but the van must have
got him.