Motors New speed camera uses satellites to measure average speed

Linky

I wonder how many cars it can track at once?
As the stsem beds and and CPU power goes up, tracking more cars on more roads becomes an option.

Could clober folks who go a bit fast (me).

eekk!

 

I don't honestly get how this works. Surely it means you need a GPS positioning device on the car or are they using cameras from satellites to track you or something?
Or is this just average speed cameras that they will put EVERYWHERE?!

 

It can't be using cameras on satellites to track you as that wont work in all weather.

 

It uses a static camera to catch the car and reg, then tracks it from space and works out your speed.

Apparently it works in all weather

Edit:
here

not quite the same, but, there are other wavelengths can penetrate cloud cover.

 

Surely it's just a GPS receiver in the camera so that it knows exactly where it is? Number plate photographed by camera A, X minutes later at camera B, distance between A and B can be calculated exactly as their exact positions are known, therefore average speed between A and B = y mph.

Doesn't sound all that revolutionary to me.

 

+1 on what alastor said.

 

In theroy apparently average speed cameras help to stop traffic jams (well on motorways anyway) as they stop cars bunching up and causing congestion as quite a heavy motorway user that sounds good to me

 

The current Average speed camera system in the UK (SPECS) only works on motorways (or dual carrigeways).

This system will use satelite to track your car, so will work on "rat runs" and work on all routes.

Basically ALL trafic going past the static camera gets logged and each car is tracked, no matter what route it takes. If you take a longer route through a built up area to jump traffic jams and speed at any time, you'll get snagged.

 

I don't get that bit...
How can it? If there are 2 routes from A to B, one of the routes being considerably longer than the other, how do the cameras know which route you take when all they do is see you at A and then at B?
I don't get what this satellite is going to do.
It can't see you on the ground and the car wont have any sort of equipment in it.

 

I still think the only way the "satellite" is involved is for knowing the position of the camera by GPS, this line gives it away:

If there's a normal route A to B, and a ratrun also between A and B that goes past C, presumably there'll have to be a camera at C as well to work out the route you've taken. This line suggests that as well:

In this case, it could work out the average speeds between A and C, C and B and hence A and B as well.

 

I can't see any way this system will be able to recognise when the driver has not taken a direct or indirect route.

 

I can see one way that this might work; the quickest route between A and B has a 30mph limit on it, therefore it must take you at least time X to get there from A so if you're captured at B before time X has passed then you've broken the speed limit regardless of which route you've taken.

The problem with this system is that they have to calculate the quickest route. Also, say for example, you have a driveway that opens onto two streets so rather than driving around the block you nip through your driveway, arrive before you "should" have and collect a speeding ticket.

Moriquendi

 

I think the telegraph's caption "Satellites could track motorists from space if trials prove successful" is just something an editor added and is wrong.

 

If it helps get rid of speed bumps, I'm all for it. Wretched things.

 

I know that speeding fines in this part of the world are a bit tickier, though:
You need to prove who was driving as well as the license plate. I.E. for some of the speed cameras, driving with the sunvisor down (dependant on car, how tall the driver is, etc) is enough to throw them a curveball and not be able to use that in court.
Is there anything like that in the UK?

 

lol @ thinking speed bumps > speed cameras

 

Its quite disturbing.......

I wonder what they will do next!!

 

I think using satellites to track speeders is going a little too far TBH

 

Yes so do i!

But its (In thier minds) the easiest/cheapest way to do it (They want full control over everyone after all)

 

not fair! we should be able to go fast as long as we keep it under 88mph.