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Two flashes while driving?

I was driving home on a road I know very well and as far as I’m aware there are no speed cameras/red light cameras etc. Anyway it’s a 30mph road I was going about 25-28 and passed through a flashing amber light, so everything was fine but as I passed the lights two flashes about a second apart went off. I drove back around to check this out and the flashes didn’t happen again and I’m certain the lights haven’t been fitted with a red light camera? Any idea what this could have been? Could police have been hidden with a handheld camera? Would that flash as bright?

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 1

LuigiMario

hopefully, could be youths taking selfies?

I was flashed exactly a year ago driving (@about 52km/h) down the moyen Corniche into Monaco, luckily nothing has yet arrived with a nice foreign stamp on it. Maybe you can start saving spare change for a "red light education fund" just in the unlikely case that speed robot thinks you were doing something wrong.

In the medium to long term, Cameras will eventually be in the cars, in USA they have E911 which can send telemetry in real-time to the "police" as well as informing crash recovery teams where in GPS terms did a few airbags go-off. Quite a useful service, probably.

Some GPS navigator software companies have been found repeatedly guilty (in the court of public opinion) for selling the aggregated data of exactly on which stretch of exactly which road do most TomTom/Garmin drivers slightly exceed the speed limit (due typically clear-road, less distractions , safe area etc etc) then the Police (purchaser of aggregated data) try and put mobile radar/laser systems at these exact GPS 'hot-spots'. Shooting Fish in a barrel?

In Europe, one company was busted for this trick of trying to get its customers fined, they promised never to do it again, now supposedly treating even our aggregated data as private, but then they allegedly pulled exactly the same $$$ trick in Australia.

Reply 2

ctchannah

maybe your seatbelt?

Original post by chloe132

Reply 3

RoyalSheepy

Original post by chloe132

Street-view link of the area please.

Reply 4

meddad

Original post by chloe132

To be legal for prosecution in the UK, the type of traffic offences you are concerned about need to be notified to the registered keeper within 14 days - so if you're that worried you can find out at that point.

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 5

RoyalSheepy

Original post by meddad

To be legal for prosecution in the UK, traffic offences need to be notified you within 14 days - so you will soon find out

No, no, no. Stop advising people this - this is not the same for all circumstances. Please note in your future posts, that there are some exceptions to this rule.

Reply 6

RoyalSheepy

Original post by chloe132

https://www.instantstreetview.com/@55.91532,-4.405322,133.34h,6.77p,1.73z

These traffic lights here

Nope, no camera there - you were correct. So nothing to worry about.

Probably reflection of the sun on glass from a house or that bus stop.

Reply 7

meddad

Original post by RoyalSheepy

No, no, no. Stop advising people this - this is not the same for all circumstances. Please note in your future posts, that there are some exceptions to this rule.

So OP is talking about potential marginal speeding offence ie: just over 30 mph, or going through traffic light signals on amber without dangerous driving. What are the exceptions in that context ?

Happy to be corrected.

Reply 8

RoyalSheepy

Original post by meddad

I know what you’re talking about and that’s the “14 day NIP rule.”

An example of one exception: if the vehicle registered owner can’t be found, yet there has been a valid attempt to contact them.

Even if it did come after 14 days, without the exceptions, it’d be up to the registered keeper to prove that they received it after 14 days of the alleged offence.

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 9

meddad

Original post by RoyalSheepy

So in the context of the original post, which appears to be from a worried law abiding citizen who is likely to be easily contactable, and is concerned about a potential minor motoring offence, my response is most likely correct ?

Reply 10

IWMTom

Original post by meddad

And if they are not the registered keeper?

Reply 11

meddad

Original post by IWMTom

And if they are not the registered keeper?

Again in the context of law abiding citizens, the registered keeper will know who was driving their car and will tell the driver immediately.

Too many lawyers on this thread. The question was posted under entertainment: cars and motoring, not under Law.

All I indicated to the OP was that if she's potentially guilty of a minor traffic offence then she's almost certainly going to know about it within 14 days.

If people want to be picky about the legal technicalities of that response then please don't involve me in that discussion .

Reply 12

IWMTom

Original post by meddad

You don't know a thing really, do you?

If the NIP is sent to a leasing or finance company, it'll take significantly longer than the 14 days.

Plenty of "law abiding citizens" drive cars they are not the registered keeper of.

Reply 13

meddad

Original post by IWMTom

Yeah, I made the assumption that the OP is either the registered keeper or that the registered keeper will tell them immediately.

You are correct that's too broad an assumption. There may be lots of people on TSR driving around on expensive lease or finance agreements, where the driver is not the registered keeper, and therefore not the person notified in the first instance. If they're that worried about it, they would need to check with the registered keeper after 14 days whether a NIP has been received - or just wait until they are told.

Thank you for saying that I don't know a thing. I found the comment very useful, and I'm sure it will help me in life.