New speed camera in my area. What IS it?!

I'm pretty clued up with speed cameras - I can quite confidently identify the majority of devices in use in the UK at the moment, and to an extent, explain how they operate. But this one's really bothering me...

This week, my local council has installed something (made by Gatsometer BV) at an existing Gatso site. I've looked quite extensively for an answer as to what it actually is - there's nothing about it on the Gatsometer BV website...

I have managed to find a couple of pictures on the Pocket GPS World forum:

Does anyone have any idea about what it is? It's installed in the same way as it appears in the first image; in front of the existing Gatso. It also has an aerial coming out of the top.

Rep for any leads... because this is bothering me, and I'd quite like to avoid having to put in a FoIA request to the local Safety (S)Camera Partnership.

Reply 1

Sync

14

I'm 99% sure they're known as 'secondary flash poles'. The idea is just that they light the car from a different angle and allow a clearer picture to be taken. There's a few around me in Hertfordshire. Have a look at point 7.4.3 in this report and it makes mention of them and also this post on MSE pretty much confirms it.

Reply 2

Dante786

11

It might be registration plate recognition camera, to track movements of stolen/suspected cars.

Reply 3

Mad Vlad

OP

19

Sync

I'm 99% sure they're known as 'secondary flash poles'. The idea is just that they light the car from a different angle and allow a clearer picture to be taken. There's a few around me in Hertfordshire. Have a look at point 7.4.3 in this report and it makes mention of them and also this post on MSE pretty much confirms it.

That looks pretty likely. It would make sense as the camera is pretty much only ever triggered by the emergency services coming into the town - every 10 minutes. Making the existing Gatso digital would make a big cost saving in the long run.

Good work! :biggrin:

Reply 4

Sync

14

Mad Vlad

That looks pretty likely. It would make sense as the camera is pretty much only ever triggered by the emergency services coming into the town - every 10 minutes. Making the existing Gatso digital would make a big cost saving in the long run.

Good work! :biggrin:

Yep, I assume there'll be more and more of them popping up as everything's switched to digital. Cheers for the rep!

Reply 5

Jay Deeee

11

Naffy

It might be registration plate recognition camera, to track movements of stolen/suspected cars.

They generally look like this:

Spoiler

Reply 6

dh00001

16

who cares what it is, they all burn the same :wink:

Reply 7

yesioo

15

who cares what it is, they all burn the same

:highfive:

Reply 8

m_spiers

6

At leasts its not a camera which can work on its own without the yellow one. Would be a really sneaky way of caching people since its grey.
I remember giving a lift to my driving instructors wife and she said watch out on the road there is a speed camera.
There was a camera like that, fixed to a lampost at an angle, would of never seen it if she didnt tell me.
Also saw a van just after a speed change and a corner the other month. Robbing *****

Reply 9

Cj-Tj

15

Still seems daft to me, could understand it if it was facing the other way, IE to get a picture of the driver at the same time as the Gatso got the number plate, but why need 2 cameras taking a photo of the back?

Reply 10

Antipannenkoek

OH MY it's a monster!

Reply 11

Revd. Mike

17

It's just a secondary flash, as sync said. They trialled them just down the road from me!

Reply 12

Leon Trotsky

3

Ah yeah, they had an article about these in the local paper the other week. I don't know the first thing about speed cameras but I remember the article saying they were positioned in areas that suffer from lots of speeding cars at night time. The thing on the pole is just a light and it's designed to shine on the car from an angle that would give a good picture for the camera which is in a different position. Hope my amateur

Reply 13

Minardi

12

More info here...

http://www.lingscars.com/speedcamera.php

Spoiler

Reply 14

diischma

it is a secondary flash because I have seen it were some speed cameras such as the truvelo have no internal flash so they mount an inferred on a pole.

Reply 15

diischma

Original post by Revd. Mike

It's just a secondary flash, as sync said. They trialled them just down the road from me!

me too.

New speed camera in my area. What IS it?!

Related discussions

Articles for you