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Is it possible for a speed camera to get speed wrong?
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Is it possible for a speed camera to get speed wrong?

I havent got any problems with speeding but i was wondering if anyone has ever been wrongly convicted of speeding by an automatic camera. I know all about how they work but i cant beleive that nobody has ever not been wrongly convicted, surely no machine is 100% reliable, especially one left outside in all weather?


    




anney
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I have never been caught speeding by a camera,( touch wood, i haven't jinxed myself) however i have witnessed a camera going of when there isn't even a car on he road!!!! So i would imagine that yes it's possible for a camera to malfunction...


Gene L
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In most states and most courts, as long as the speed camera/gun is properly calibrated by a certified calibration specialist and has an up-to-date calibration sticker on it, the results will usually hold up in court.


Lou
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if they are calibrated wrong then i suppose they could get it wrong, but seeing as it is the only evidence then it probably won't be disputed


Neil
It is possible that the camera's electronic wrongly calculate your speed.

Therefore the camera takes two photographs, two seconds apart, and there are distance markings on the roads within the view of each camera. In the event that the camera's judgement is suspected to be wrong, the distance the vehicle has travelled in the time between the two photos being taken can be measured using the position of the vehicle relative to the road markings in the photos, and the speed calculated.

I believe there have been cases where penalty notices have been withdrawn when the photos proved the camera's speed measurement wasn't accurate.


wheeler
Nothing is perfect and it would be possible but you'll have a hard time proving it.


mt982000
In Australia, we had an instance where one woman was booked for speeding at 160 km/hr or something similar by a fixed speed camera. She was driving a 70's datsun 4 cylinder car, with no other cars around her. Well she contested this on the basis that this type of car could not reach that speed. The car was tested on a racetrack, and indeed she was correct. The case was thrown out, and all the cameras on this stretch of road were disconnected for while. They were eventually replaced with new ones.


Rats
I was happily driving along a few weeks back. Driving at a sedate 45 mph past a camera in a 50 zone and it did its flash thing. I have been waiting patiently for a ticket to drop through my door but nothing has happened yet.

I seem to recall that a large number of tickets were successfully challenged when cameras were first introduced as the angle of the camera to the road made the distance travelled hard to prove. That's why they started putting the lines across the lanes.

I also heard on the traffic news about one camera causing chaos as it was just flashing indescrimately at anything that went past.

A few years back, a crisp packet was caught doing 70 mph along the seafront at Hastings in high wind!


Bardic
Rating
The hand-held ones can and certainly do; much less likely with the big fixed ones, they're serviced & checked regularly and there's no operator to **** things up!


Sharmil
Not always...


leicester_north_station
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No they cant be wrong if there set up correctly but they dont seem to take photos of speeding motorcycles or scooters for some reason


fred405
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Possible but highly unlikely

They are regularly calibrated

There was a case many years back where the white dashes painted on the road were wrong and incorrect fines had been imposed I think over a period of two years and all recipients of fines had to be reimbursed and any costs involved with insurance had to be dealt with and there was one ban involved following points accumulation that had to be quashed and compensation paid

The latest cameras are far mor accurate and I think it most unlikely that calibration could be used as a defense


ufo18
YES THEY HAVE TO BE CALIBRATED ABOUT ONCE A YEAR YOU CAN REQUEST THE CERTIFICATE. but the chances of get a satisfactory answer are slim at best, as for your own speedo it only has a reliability with in 5%+/-, the best way to check that is with a sat nav, set to avg speed, that will then tell you the correct speed of the car


CA_Burn
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In san diego the cameras (some) got taken down because of inconsistency


86er
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The hand held cameras are particularly prone to giving false readings.

A number of cases have been disputed and thrown out of court in the UK, recently.


simon
Yes, take a look at this link and decide for yourself.


The Fat Controller
If you are ever charged with a camera as the evidence ask for 2 things |a copy of the calibration certificate and the pictures of the alleged offence . then go to a specialist solicitor who will contact some one like me to check you speed from the white lines in the road using a formula


TERRY READ
I have seen a speed camera go off as a car goes by on the other side of the road f.f.s. also as an ex bus driver a lady came in to the depot to be greeted by the controller with a photo of her turning a corner at a speed of 45mph in a bus, if she had done that she would have blown the tyres or even rolled the bus, there is a way to question the ticket and that is to ask to see the callibration certificate of that camera that has done you, if this is not supplied you can appeal but a word of caution this could result in a court case and reult in fine and costs and points so be wary.
good luck.


tartanbeastie
Rating
Yes the manufacturers admitted in an interview with "motorcycle news (MCN)" that the cameras can and do get it wrong.
Its all to do with wich part of a vehicle the camera is pointed at, one test showed a bike as travelling at forty mph when it was standing stationary because of the camera being incorrectly used


Mick
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A lot of people have questioned the speed camera,and have gone to court and won there case ,when they know that they have not been speeding .


mcflykittykat
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yes i think they do cos if you look at the testings of the speed guns they measured a brick wall to be speeding so there's no saying how wrong the cameras could be but hey its the driver vs the law and the law always wins


DMD
YES they almost certainly do get photo work out speed with the white stripes!! they get lots of refelctions off other traffic we got doing twenty by overtakin car on wrong side of road he clear before flash happened photo showed stunned instructor and pupil.......... No charges brought


Jellicoe
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You wouldn't think so! One of those things once clocked a brick wall at 40mph.


brien123
My husband got a ticket when driving at 3am in his lorry. The ticket said he was doing 48mph but his tacograph said he was doing 45mph - so it does make you wonder.


rose_merrick
Rating
no, the camera never lies. Pay up





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