i was on the m1 near wodhall services when on the opposite carridgeway i noticed a camera van parked in the police bay.
does anyone know what the legal stance is on using these on a motorway because there are no speed camera signs on there and i thought that if they are using them proper signs have to be used.
the same thing with the a449 fom monmouth to newport there is a camera van on there nearly every day and the signs are only temporary ones like the workmen put out.
does it really matter?
if you are not doing anything wrong, you have nothing to worry about,
its about time people started taking responsability for themselves instead of blaming everyone else for the things that go wrong. so what if there was no sign there?
I agree with you jonboy I thought there had to be signs for the cameras to be legal also a lot of these camera vans are operated by PRIVATE companies and are contracted out the local police forces,if this so in this particular case then surely they are breaking the law by parking on the side of the motorway in the first place.
As for flatbed mans comment which is true up to a point but if they park at the bottom of a long hill and you have let it run on to save your brakes and a couple of hundred meters past the van the road levels out and so you carry on at a speed within the limits is this such a crime as to deserve points on your licence with the added insurance costs involved?
Also why is it that these camera vans seem to think they are allowed to stop anywhere they want (knowing full well the are never going to be prosecuted).
there is one that parks on the grass on the side of the A14 just as you approach the haugley bends which is not only illegal but it is also only about 100meters from a fixed camera so is pointless as well.
Has anybody else seen these camera vans parked illegally/dangerously?
flatbedman:
does it really matter?
if you are not doing anything wrong, you have nothing to worry about,
its about time people started taking responsability for themselves instead of blaming everyone else for the things that go wrong. so what if there was no sign there?
regards
paul
i total agree if your not doing anything wrong .but im sure that there is legislation stating that if they are being used there should be proper signs. if we have to obey the law then so do they.
There is no such legislation. However if the police force is part of a nationwide scheme that allows them to keep some of the revenue then there are certain requirements, such as visible cameras & signs.
Thers one often parked on a perch on the eastbound M180 just before the M181 turn-off…
If you’re not breaking the speed limit, you’re OK.
Strange though, they never seem to get the foriegn trucks that go whizzing past me, doing in excess of 65mph.
They can’t give the foreigners a ticket, thats why they never stop them.
Dealing with foreigners for a motoring offence goes something like this.
Driver has to be reported for the offence as he can’t provide a UK address.
As no UK address available, driver has to be arrested to avoid driver doing a bunk.
Truck then has to be recovered and stored at Police expense (costs cannot be reocovered from haulier or driver as the rules stand).
Court file has to be produced for next working day (police overtime incurred)
Driver goes to court and is fined in accordance with preset lmits.
Driver pays fine, is release and returned to truck.
So can you blame them for turning a blind eye when its oh so easy to give you a ticket and make £60 out of the matter??
I passed one on the M6 near Carlisle a couple of weeks ago parked ON THE HARD SHOULDER. Now we all know that’s illegal, and I know he hadn’t broken down cos I saw him come up a slip-road onto the motorway and pass me. I then passed him a bit later on sitting on the shoulder setting up.
To make things worse one of the guys started to walk out from in front of his van to get into his cab as I was passing me and he gave me a gesture to move over so he could walk alongside his van safely. I just gave him a rude gesture of my own.
There’s usually one parked on the side at Runcorn,when you’re coming from the M56 down the hill towards the Runcorn Bridge,no warning signs.
As for giving foreign drivers tickets,that will be changing in the near future,there is going to be more co-operation between the DVLA and their respective counterparts within the EU.
There was a report on that last year on the local TV news in Kent,saying how many foreign vehicles were caught on camera but the police were unable to issue tickets.
The Dutch authorities have just announced that they are to introduce a points system similar to the UK in which after a certain number of points are obtained then a ban comes in to force.
Not long after the new stretch of the A1 opened at Sawtry, I passed a Police car parked on the hard shoulder 2 or 3 weeks consecutive, I remember an article being printed in Commercial Motor because somebody complained to Cambridgeshire Constabulary about it, the Chief Superintendant did comment that he was stopping this as police cars were only permitted to stop on the respective bays that are away from the main hard shoulder.
I dont remember anything being quoted about warning signs having to be used though.
There is a Speedcamera website which states that mobile cameras must be used from clearly marked vehicles and the vehicle must have Speed Camera mobilie unit clearly marked on it, or words to that effect.
But then again, Police have always used hand helds without the need to put signs up, so was it in fact a camera or a portable speed detector, you’ll normally find that plod sits with the detector recording the speed then radios ahead to another car or motor bike who moves in for the kill
as said before if your not speeding on the motorway then why worry at 56mph i don’t think you’ll get done for speeding.don’t know why you’s are worrying about cause they ain’t put up sign’s does the traffic police have a sign on there cars saying that they have a built in camera which if i’m not mistaken catch your speed and everything else you do wrong.
Kitkat And Flatbedman, does it mean that if you are not doing anything wrong you should ignore some one doing something illegal?, and if one of these vehicles parked on the hard shoulder was hit (god forbid) how would the driver that hit it stand, feel, surely right is right and wrong is wrong?.
abs1, if a van was parked on the hard shoulder, how the hell is a sign going to stop it being hit? and surely three lanes is enough, we shouldnt be driving on the hard shoulder anyway.
The hard shoulder is the most dangerous part of the motorway. If the Police allow camera vans to park there they are putting their oprators lives at great risk and going against all the advice about the hard shoulder they give out.
Flatbedman,are you really trying to miss the point,the copper,s are bound by the same law as everyone else,ok they get away with a lot of thing,s, parking on the hardshoulder unless in an emergency is offence,BUT they can still do someone for what ever and the courts will convict because an offence had taken place.You can complain to the local chief cons,about the cop that nicked you being illegal etc and the police comp auth,and if you are persistant might get somewhere,the one and only time a traffic copper can break the the law is when showing blue flashing lights and dont let any one tell you differant!!!
which if i’m not mistaken catch your speed and everything else you do wrong. 
