Hello charles43-ga,
The latest guidelines require a speed camera to be visible from a
distance of 60 metres on roads with a speed limit of up to 40 mph and
100 metres for speeds above that, the road sign aids in that
visibility.
Excerpts of the new guidelines from law on the web
"For what its worth the new rules state that:
- Camera housings must be yellow
- No camera housing should be obscured by bridges, signs, trees or
bushes
- Cameras must be visible from 60 metres away in 40 mph or less areas
and 100 metres for all other limits
- Camera warning and speed limit reminders must be placed within one
kilometre of fixed and mobile camera sites
- Signs must only be placed in areas where camera housings are placed
or where mobile cameras are used
- Mobile speed camera users must be highly visible by wearing
fluorescent clothing and their vehicles marked with reflective strips
- Camera sites must be reviewed at least every six months to ensure
that visibility and signing conditions are being met"
- However these are guidelines, and not law
Second paragraph says
"However before you get too excited the DTLR have confirmed that these
regulations do not provide a defence to any speeding prosecution which
the police may bring, but are merely a way of regulating the
netting-off scheme. Any force which does not comply could be thrown
out of the scheme, but you cannot use the breach as a defence to a
speeding ticket."
Fourth paragraph highlights
"The rules will be binding for every police force in and applying to
join the netting-off scheme, where money from fines is re-invested in
more cameras at dangerous places. Failure to comply will mean that
forces may be thrown out of the scheme. However it has no effect on
the motorist caught by an unpainted, hidden speed camera."
from "New Speed Camera Rules are worthless" Law on the Web July 30,
2002
http://www.lawontheweb.co.uk/crimertospeedcameras.htm
- Coverage of the new guidelines in the BBC News
"Speed cameras: Effective deterrent or added danger?" Dec 11, 2001
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/talking_point/1691424.stm
"Speed cameras 'will cut crashes'" Dec 3, 2001
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1688711.stm
and the way Strathclyde police force present the information.
"Cameras Cut Crashes"
http://www.strathclyde.police.uk/speedcameras/speedcamerainfo.html
If somebody is unfortunate to be caught by a camera which does not
comply with the regulations the following excerpt gives the following
advice:
"A word from PePiPoo ....
Recent Government Guidelines, which state that Speed Cameras should be
made clearly visible, would appear to be causing confusion.
Guidelines are not mentioned in the law so, if the speed camera that
flashed you, was hidden from view it will NOT affect the allegation of
speeding that has been brought against you. However, you should report
the cameras location to the Department of the Environment, Transport
and the Regions (DETR) as doing so, should result in the particular
authority being removed from the “netting off scheme” which allows
them to keep part of the revenue collected by their speed cameras.
http://www.pepipoo.com/Cameras.htm
ACPO Traffic Enforcement Guidelines are also not mentioned in the law,
but they unambiguously state that traffic officers performing speed
checks should do so from a position that is clearly visible to the
public. http://www.pepipoo.com/files/ACPO/ACPO_full.htm#Visibility
“31.2 The operator must be clearly visible to the public and the
target vehicle throughout the check.”
So, if you see a Traffic Officer hiding behind a bush or working from
inside an unmarked transit van, why not stop and ask them if they
realise that their conduct is breaching the ACPO guidelines – please
don’t forget to ask them for their name, number and the contact
details of their Chief Constable so that you can write a letter of
complaint about the officer's conduct."
from "Speed Cameras more Regulations"
http://www.roadracers.co.uk/cameras-1.htm
- Search Strategy:
signs new guidelines speed cameras yellow
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&newwindow=1&q=signs+new+guidelines+speed+cameras+yellow
speed cameras uk road sign warning
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=speed+cameras+uk+road+sign+warning
planning permission speed cameras uk
://www.google.com/search?q=planning+permission+speed+cameras+uk&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&newwindow=1&start=50&sa=N
- So concluding it isn't strictly illegal to have a speed camera
without a road sign even if it contravenes the guidelines, and even if
the camera is breeching the regulations, the poor motorist cannot use
it in their defence against a speeding ticket.
I hope that helps,
if you need clarification of the answer, just ask.
Kind regards
lot-ga |
