May 27, 2004

From a Distance

Just when you think the ubiquitous heavyhandedness of traffic control by speed camera couldn't get any worse, they have managed to add something new to the arsenal of weapons of mass driving license destruction. Having increased fine revenues and penalty points four-fold in just a couple of years, there is still more money to be made and more drivers to disqualify.

Heretofore, speed cameras have had one distinct disadvantage. If you can spot them before they spot you, you have a chance to slow down and get under the limit. In fact, with fixed cameras being housing in yellow boxes, they slow many more drivers than they actually catch. The mobile units tend to be in white vans parked on the side of the road, and though they do their best to hide around the bend to catch someone doing 10%+2mph over the speed limit (e.g., 35 in a 30 or 47 in a 40), sometimes they merely clam traffic.

So now police will be using the all-new the ProLaser III camera. It sounds like science fiction, but believe you me, it is factual enough be introduced in Dorset next month. As reported in The Times:

The policeman who operates the camera can stand on the road and point it at a car up to 2,000 metres away. The laser is then projected on to the vehicle and it bounces back to the camera, where the speed is recorded. The video in the camera then records the numberplate and the driver and the notice of impending conviction is sent through the post in the normal way.

For those of you who still measure distance the old fashioned way, the range of this camera is 1.25 miles. That's right, you can be more than a mile down the road, with no warning sign required, and you and your number plate will be photographed at the same time your speed is recorded. The first you will know about it is when the penalty notice comes through the door.

Posted by david at May 27, 2004 12:49 AM | TrackBack
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