Just one police officer can form an opinion that you are speeding if you're traveling on a motorway. This on its own has been all that's needed to lead to a conviction.
Where the alleged speeding offence did not take place on a motorway there must be supporting evidence to corroborate the officer's opinion.
This "supporting evidence" can be a second officer. That's right, two officers who form the opinion you were speeding can lead to a conviction on any road!
These types of allegation are usually easy to defend with the appropriate legal representation.
A Mini or Mobile GATSO... disguised in a horse box.
This deceitful method was employed by two officers in north Wales, who parked it on a straight stretch of the A470 at Maenan near Llanrwst.
Despite breaking many guidelines about the site location criteria (see below) this is apparently common in north Wales.
These are usually around one meter tall, with "heads" the size of a briefcase which are sat on a tripod. They use the Ku band of radar which 99% of radar detectors cannot detect, those that can detect Ku bands do not do so reliably as far as we know.
These portable devices mean the police can set up a trap in a minutes, hidden next to unmarked cars or a gap in the hedge.
If caught, your best bet is lawyer up or accept the penalty.
These are almost the same as the fixed GATSO described in "Types Of Speed Camera And Location Criteria", except they are mounted on a trailer.
Deployable within 15 minutes these devices are growing in popularity.
As the police cannot paint those white lines in the target area every time they assemble this trap they superimpose the lines on the pictures.
There is an ongoing debating about the post manipulation of photographs which may make this device obsolete. See the loopholes section.
This involves a police officer (probably in an unmarked vehicle) following you for a set period of time/distance. After (for example) half a mile, the officer can prosecute you for speeding using his opinion (evidence #1) and the speedometer (evidence #2) with an average speed.
The police Speedometer needs to have been calibrated correctly and there should be official certification/paperwork to prove this.
Handheld RADAR/LIDAR guns (AKA " Hairdryers") are just miniaturised Doppler RADAR/LIDAR devices - see the relevant RADAR/LIDAR sections for how this technology works.
The officer needs to form the opinion you were speeding before pointing the gun at you. I.e. they are not supposed to stand there and "sweep" the oncoming traffic. This should be backed up in their notes.
They look like police, they act like police, but they are NOT...in fact ...police.
The Motorway Maintenance, AKA "Motorway Wombles" (due to the fact the are about as useful as wombles) do not have the power to prosecute you for speeding.
The Highways Agency Traffic Officers (their proper name) DO have powers to:
* Stop traffic and close roads, lanes and carriageways;
* Direct and divert traffic;
* Place and operate traffic signs;
* Manage traffic and traffic surveys.
If however they witness some dangerous speeds it is likely they will radio their big brothers (the real police) to come and pick you up.
Camera Vans are vans with a window in the back, through which a GATSO will clock any speeders.
These vans are often parked illegally, but unfortunately a ruling decided that these vans are allowed to break the road traffic safety act (such as parking on double yellow lines) in order to enforce laws such as speeding.
However, if the location guidelines have been ignored this demonstrates that the officer involved does not do things "by the book". This implies that they may not have complied with other more serious operational rules - which may makes their evidence inadmissible.
Police Vehicles Fitted VASCAR (Visual Average Speed Computer And Recorder) or RADAR can catch you even when they too are moving. This technology allows the police to monitor traffic on both sides of the road while maintaining an inconspicuous presence. Police Vehicles are also usually fitted with ANPR (automatic number plate recognition) technology.
Community Speed Watch Schemes usually comprise of people with far too much time on their hands. A ticket cannot be issued by these local do-good'ers for a single offence but if you are captured on three separate occasions the police will look in to it.
As these schemes are proving popular it's likely they will soon be granted power to submit evidence to the police for prosecution in the form of a speed reading with photograph. I.e. local residents may be able to issue speeding tickets via the local police force.
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Between 400 and 3000 metres (can be linked into a longer route strategy if more than three stretches satisfy the criteria) |
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Number of fatal & serious collisions: At least 2 in the last 3 years (not per annum) |
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Number of personal injury collisions: At least 4 in the last 3 years (not per annum) |
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85th percentile speed at or approaching collision hot spot |
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Site conditions suitable for type of enforcement |
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No other engineering solution is appropriate |
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Camera visibility: Enforcement cameras are well signed and highly visible in line with DfT guidelines |
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Handheld devices must not be used from within a vehicle unless the window is down |
Hand-held devices must be calibrated at the start and end of each shift as well as an annual calibration by the manufacturer. This calibration must be recorded.
The daily test involves driving a police vehicle with a certified speedometer through the target zone at a speed similar to what the passing traffic will be doing at the chosen site. The calibrated speedometer reading is then compared to the hand-held device. The maximum margin of error allowed is + or - 2mph.
Handheld devices can only be used "on foot" and to corroborate an officer's prior opinion that a vehicle is speeding. This means an officer cannot just stand there and 'scan' traffic with the gun, he must first visually suspect the car of speeding (evidence 1) and then verify that with the hand-held device (evidence 2). These two pieces of evidence are all that are required to begin prosecution. The order of visually suspect AND THEN verify with the device should be recorded in the officers log and could be a handy loophole.
According to ACPO guidelines your vehicle must also be in an "isolated field of view of the radar device and operator." This means you shouldn't have any other vehicles around you. If you did, the officer cannot be sure it was your speed they measured or someone else's. This is less of an issue with LIDAR devices, but is certainly relevant with regards to RADAR devices.
With RADAR devices the officer must also target your vehicle for at least 3 seconds in order to provide multiple speed readings and therefore a reliable result.
LIDAR devices can take over 50 measurements within 1 second, so there is no need for a 3 second scan.
Both RADAR and LIDAR based devices cannot be used from behind glass - such as a car window. The window must be rolled down to avoid reflection, refraction and scattering of the waves/pulses.
Handheld RADAR devices employ higher frequency waves in order to keep the antenna size portable. Older devices used waves of around 8 to 12 GH. These waves were easily identified by a RADAR detector, and garage door openers could be used as a RADAR jammer. Newer devices use waves between 27 and 40 GH.
RADAR devices are old technology and are slowly being substituted for LIDAR devices. LIDAR devices are a lot lighter than RADAR devices due to the size of the antenna and the power supply required to power them.
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