Camera on m1 flashed, advice needed

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Sun 15 Apr 2018 23:54
Camera on m1 flashed, advice needed - Arron Lowley
Was driving home and on the m1 somewhere between sheffield and leeds there has been roadworks going on, i seen a sign that i thought said 60, so i slowed down, then i got towards the boards and they actually said 50 as i seen a flash, however the flash came from infront of me somewhere i didnt see exacty, do the cameras on the m1 face forward aswell as backwards and therefore can catch you front facing? My speedo is out by 3 mph and i may not have been doing 60 bang on but rather 68(65).
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Mon 16 Apr 2018 00:19
Camera on m1 flashed, advice needed - RobJP

Some motorway cameras face forwards, some face backwards.

All you can do is wait 2 weeks for the post to arrive.

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Mon 16 Apr 2018 00:34
Camera on m1 flashed, advice needed - Arron Lowley
I’m honestly gutted it was just a general accident, I dno how Ive mistaken a 5 for a 6 ???????
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Mon 16 Apr 2018 00:40
Camera on m1 flashed, advice needed - Ethan Edwards

Worst case will be three points and a couple hundred quid. They won't offer the course as it's over the threshold. You might be lucky they might not have been pointing at you or run out of film if not digital so some chance you might not get done.

It's not the end of the world. Don't hear in two weeks and you're clear.

Best of luck...slow down a bit mate.

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Mon 16 Apr 2018 09:25
Camera on m1 flashed, advice needed - catsdad
Arron so you thought a speedo reading of 68 would be OK for a 60 limit? I am not sure what margin these cameras allow but you were taking a chance anyway.

I drive the M1 a few times a year and I've never seen one flash despite being passed by speeding cars so if you are caught it'll be interesting to know what speed you have been clocked at.

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Mon 16 Apr 2018 18:22
Camera on m1 flashed, advice needed - Arron Lowley
No i was doing either 58-60 in what i thought was a 60 zone, the flash 100% came from infront of me but im not sure where exactly, it looked more towards the middle but i was concentrating on the road.
If ive been caught then il have to take it on the chin, it was an accident, not intentional.
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Mon 16 Apr 2018 14:43
Camera on m1 flashed, advice needed - craig-pd130

I haven't seen that specific set of cameras but on all the other 'smart' motorways I've driven on (M62, M42, M1 around Luton etc etc) the speed cameras are mounted BEHIND the gantries with the smart signs, i.e. they capture the rear numberplate. The road markings for gauging the distance the car travels between the two flashes are always behind the cameras too.

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Mon 16 Apr 2018 15:25
Camera on m1 flashed, advice needed - daveyjp

The latest M1 smart motorway around Wakefield/Sheffield also have cameras in full view on the large speed notification boards located to the left of the inside lane.

These can be functional 24/7 to enforce the 70mph limit and I have seen them flash, but always the rear plate.

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Mon 16 Apr 2018 17:14
Camera on m1 flashed, advice needed - Manatee

For future reference, I don't think I have ever seen a roadworks speed limit of 60 on a motorway - almost always 50, occasionally 40.

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Mon 16 Apr 2018 21:29
Camera on m1 flashed, advice needed - brambobb

I travelled north along the M1 today from Leicester to just south of Sheffield.

On the stretch between J28 (A38) to J32 (M18) it was a 60 limit all the way. This seems to be an almost permanent situation on this stretch and this limit seems to be applied even at times when there is hardly any traffic on the motorway based on the times when I have used it.

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Tue 17 Apr 2018 00:25
Camera on m1 flashed, advice needed - Smileyman

posibly to do with air quality .. make drivers drive mnore slowly to meet EU requirements ... this was discussed in the press some years ago - it's a negative action for a good outcome ...

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Fri 20 Apr 2018 09:53
Camera on m1 flashed, advice needed - daveyjp

I've seen 60 limits when smart motorway roadworks are almost complete.

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Mon 16 Apr 2018 18:04
Camera on m1 flashed, advice needed - Bromptonaut

Roadworks cameras are usually the SPECS type that read your plate at intervals and time stamp the record. If your elapsed time between sucessive readings is too short, ie you're speeding, then you get a ticket

SPECS equipment doesn't use a flash although the target area where plates are read might be floodlit which can give illusiuon of one.

Cameras in smart/managed motorway - where there is a variable limit - do flash but anecdote/evidence suggest it's hit/miss whether camera is actually working and monitored with tickets issued.

Assuming OP's car is his own and registered correctly to his current address he has a fortnight to wait. If it's firm's car or hired/borrowed then he will be on tenterhooks a bit longer.....

Edited by Bromptonaut on 16/04/2018 at 18:04

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Mon 16 Apr 2018 18:23
Camera on m1 flashed, advice needed - Arron Lowley
But yeah ive never seen a front mounted camera on the m1, so its possible it wasnt me.
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Tue 17 Apr 2018 00:52
Camera on m1 flashed, advice needed - Bromptonaut
But yeah ive never seen a front mounted camera on the m1, so its possible it wasnt me.

You may be right. The only cameras I've seen that catch approaching as opposed to receding vehicles were the Truvelo type used round here (Northamptonshire).

They've been switched off for years and were never on anything over than local roadsin time they were active.

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Tue 17 Apr 2018 01:18
Camera on m1 flashed, advice needed - Avant

Can you remember, Arron, if anyone overtook you just before the flash?

If so, there's a sporting chance that they were the one being caught.

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Tue 17 Apr 2018 14:01
Camera on m1 flashed, advice needed - Gibbo_Wirral

If someone passes me at silly mph I always give my high beams a quick flick as they're going under a speed camera gantry so they think they've been snapped!

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Tue 17 Apr 2018 22:56
Camera on m1 flashed, advice needed - Arron Lowley
Honestly mate i cant remember, i know there was someone in the lane to my right but i think they slowed down, the issue im facing is im not 100% sure where the flash came from, it didnt look like it was my side, you know the gantry cameras, they dont flash do they? Im wondering if maybe it was a car flashing. Can gantry cameras get you from the opposite side of the road

Edited by Arron Lowley on 17/04/2018 at 22:57

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Tue 17 Apr 2018 23:12
Camera on m1 flashed, advice needed - Miniman777

Based on this latest info from OP, one possibility is that the flash was from a Specs camera mounted on the side of a gantry on the opposite carriageway?

Gantry cameras may flash depending on ambient light. Road works tend to be monitored by average speed cameras - something many drivers still dont fully understand how 'average' works!

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Tue 17 Apr 2018 23:14
Camera on m1 flashed, advice needed - Arron Lowley
It was about 9 At night and dark, what colour are those cameras? Grey?

Don’t average speed cameras average out your speed over a distance and how long it would take you to go that distance depending on your speed or something like that.

Edited by Arron Lowley on 17/04/2018 at 23:19

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Wed 18 Apr 2018 00:05
Camera on m1 flashed, advice needed - Leif
Was driving home and on the m1 somewhere between sheffield and leeds there has been roadworks going on, i seen a sign that i thought said 60, so i slowed down, then i got towards the boards and they actually said 50 as i seen a flash, however the flash came from infront of me somewhere i didnt see exacty, do the cameras on the m1 face forward aswell as backwards and therefore can catch you front facing? My speedo is out by 3 mph and i may not have been doing 60 bang on but rather 68(65).

I would have thought you would have driven past SPECS cameras which measure average speed. However, the speed limits are very clearly shown, and given that you do get road crew at work, I have no sympathy for someone who can’t read a sign. Yeah I know the limits also operate when no-one is working, but there’s no excuse. You don’t know when road crew are present, and when not. As to your speedo, by law they can overestimate speed, by up to 5% I think, but not underestimate so you seem to be saying that your speedo is an MOT fail and you know it. Again I have no sympathy, if that is what you are saying. You are responsible for your car. If you knew your speedo was malfunctioning why didn’t you get it fixed?

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Wed 18 Apr 2018 14:16
Camera on m1 flashed, advice needed - Snakey

Isn't a camera that flashes into oncoming traffic more dangerous than doing 10mph over the limit?

Sorry, for a naive moment there I thought these cameras were about safety ;-)

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Wed 18 Apr 2018 14:44
Camera on m1 flashed, advice needed - Ethan Edwards

Just one more thing......pauses for effect.

SPECS cameras do not flash. The OP specifically said flashed.

Edited by Ethan Edwards on 18/04/2018 at 14:45

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Wed 18 Apr 2018 20:32
Camera on m1 flashed, advice needed - Leif
Sure ... but he said he was speeding through road works which in our area always use specs cameras so he might have been caught without realising it.
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Thu 19 Apr 2018 23:12
Camera on m1 flashed, advice needed - Arron Lowley

what are you on about leif lmao? you do know the majority of speedos are out by a few mph? no sympathy for someone who cant read a sign? just trying to cause trouble i see, give over.

you go through a 20/30 zone that tell you your speed and i can garuntee you, you will be doing 30 and the sign will say 27-28.

but as for everyone else thanks for the responses, i will just have to wait and see, the flash was like when you take a picture on your phone with flash active and it holds the light for a second then goes off.

ive noticed i put "rather 68(65) i meant rather 58(55)

Edited by Arron Lowley on 19/04/2018 at 23:18

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Fri 20 Apr 2018 01:31
Camera on m1 flashed, advice needed - Leif

what are you on about leif lmao? you do know the majority of speedos are out by a few mph? no sympathy for someone who cant read a sign? just trying to cause trouble i see, give over.

you go through a 20/30 zone that tell you your speed and i can garuntee you, you will be doing 30 and the sign will say 27-28.

but as for everyone else thanks for the responses, i will just have to wait and see, the flash was like when you take a picture on your phone with flash active and it holds the light for a second then goes off.

ive noticed i put "rather 68(65) i meant rather 58(55)

I based my reply on your first post which you now admit was in error. It suggested your speedo was underestimating your speed by a good margin. Maybe you should in future proof read your posts.

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Fri 20 Apr 2018 10:32
Camera on m1 flashed, advice needed - Andrew-T

you go through a 20/30 zone that tell you your speed and i can garuntee you, you will be doing 30 and the sign will say 27-28.

Arron - there are many threads on here discussing the fact that speedometers are made to over-read by a few percent, so that drivers have a built-in safety margin, and so do the speedo makers. They are not permitted to under-read. Roadside speed indicators usually show genuine speed, so if they show you to be speeding, you will be.

I like your earlier use of the word 'accidental'. What you mean is 'not intentional'.

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Fri 20 Apr 2018 14:16
Camera on m1 flashed, advice needed - daveyjp

A local police force have confirmed in the press today that they have full control over the M1 smart motorway speed cameras in their Yorkshire patch.

If they need to set the camera to 'police' the 70 limit they will do.

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