The Student Room Group

Have I been caught speeding?

Today i was driving up a road and I saw the 40 sign past the speed camera. Me being an idiot I assumed it was a 40 zone and was doing about 37 (I guess? It was definitely over 30 but under 40). I drove past the speed camera which was on the other side of the road facing towards me and it was a Gatso camera. It flashed as i went past. I'm so nervous right now, I'm 17 and passed in November, never been caught speeding / doing anything illegal before. I'm on addition driver insurance with my dad being the main driver.

What will happen?


Here is a pic of the camera, the only thing changed now is that it has the grey external flash next to it?
Screen Shot 2014-04-07 at 19.09.25.jpg
(edited 9 years ago)
Reply 1
Sit back, wait for a month, if nothing comes through the post to the registered owner of the car, then you got off free. If a fine does come through, you can either pay it and take a hit on your insurance, or if you honestly think it was bad signage, you could attempt to appeal it.
Original post by biggles1
Sit back, wait for a month, if nothing comes through the post to the registered owner of the car, then you got off free. If a fine does come through, you can either pay it and take a hit on your insurance, or if you honestly think it was bad signage, you could attempt to appeal it.


I get what you mean, and I've heard I could take speed awareness course to lift the points. But I want to know why this camera flashed me when I was coming towards it? I'm sure these camera are only meant to capture cars that are going past it on the same side of the road?
Reply 3
I'm not certain. Was there another car going past it on the right side of the road?
Original post by biggles1
I'm not certain. Was there another car going past it on the right side of the road?


There wasn't. But it just seems weird that it would flash facing me when they're not meant to do that as it's pretty blinding!
I've been flashed by a speed camera like that facing towards me. It flashed once and I didn't get fine.
Original post by SummerAnthems
I've been flashed by a speed camera like that facing towards me. It flashed once and I didn't get fine.


This is reassuring :smile: thanks for the info.
Reply 7
I know that camera well, it's a GATSO and only type approved to work from behind but it's very touchy and will go off if you're speeding towards it.

For some reason most GATSOs in brighton do it, the ones on the A23 and the one on the A259 are the same.

But don't worry you won't be fined.
Speed cameras only monitor traffic coming from behind them, so you're fine.

In actual fact speed-camera paranoia is quite common :biggrin:
Not entirely relevant to the OP but I just thought I'd let people know to watch out for red light cameras. They can be used as speed cameras and don't flash. My mum just wracked up 6 points never getting caught for speeding before because she didn't realise they work as speed cameras.
Reply 10
The horizontal white dashes on the road indicated the area that the speed camera is monitoring. If you're not driving there, then you have nothing to worry about, the camera can't prove anything outside the marked bit. Being machines rather than human they are prone to make mistakes like this, even low flying helicopters can sometimes set them off.
Original post by Camoxide
Not entirely relevant to the OP but I just thought I'd let people know to watch out for red light cameras. They can be used as speed cameras and don't flash. My mum just wracked up 6 points never getting caught for speeding before because she didn't realise they work as speed cameras.


Only if it has the relevant road markings to go with it. There's one like that - a speed camera over a traffic light stop line - in Swansea, but it's pretty obvious because of the speed markings on the road.
Original post by Nuffles
Only if it has the relevant road markings to go with it. There's one like that - a speed camera over a traffic light stop line - in Swansea, but it's pretty obvious because of the speed markings on the road.


They also have to be yellow, don't they?
Original post by Nuffles
Only if it has the relevant road markings to go with it. There's one like that - a speed camera over a traffic light stop line - in Swansea, but it's pretty obvious because of the speed markings on the road.


They're small and easy to miss compared to the Gatso ones.

It's only 3 small dashes on the road compared to the long strip of lines you get with a Gatso
Original post by Camoxide
They're small and easy to miss compared to the Gatso ones.

It's only 3 small dashes on the road compared to the long strip of lines you get with a Gatso


This is the bad boy I'm on about:
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.605611,-3.983739,3a,75y,56.55h,60.73t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1seXYi5CZU8T3xZM-kWiNl3g!2e0

Compared to this one, which will only do you for red lights:
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.607485,-3.978633,3a,75y,329.36h,73.22t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1s3rc4hZSOoXJCmu2ZDkg-sA!2e0
Reply 16
you can't be flashed driving towards a Gatso, they only photograph the cars from behind. However they do still trigger if you are driving towards them.

The forward facing ones are called Truvelos or something, they flash from the front.

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