New Speed Cameras Catch You From Space

A new kind of speed camera that uses satellites to measure average speed over long distances is being tested in Britain. The "Speedspike" system combines plate reading technology with a global positioning satellite receiver to calculate average speed between any two points in the area being monitored. From the article: "Details of the trials are contained in a House of Commons report. The company said in its evidence that the cameras enabled 'number plate capture in all weather conditions, 24 hours a day.' It also referred to the system's 'low cost' and ease of installation." I can't wait to see the episode of MythBusters where they try to avoid getting a speeding ticket from a satellite.

easy solution

[Madman]

Are you kidding?

1) find the GPS receiver
2) shoot GPS receiver with .50 Desert Eagle semi-automatic pistol
3) write a letter to Gordon Brown telling him to fuck off

Re:Horribly misleading

[natehoy]

Drat. And here I was hoping that MythBusters really would try to debunk that myth, and in typical fashion conclude the episode by blowing the satellite out of the sky.

Re:Horribly misleading

[Thanshin]

He's right. The cameras are ground based.

The satellite is only needed in case a repeated offender has to be nuked from space.

Re:Horribly misleading

[wjousts]

To compensate for continental drift?

Re:easy solution

[Captain Centropyge]

Yes, I hear they're endangered!

Re:Horribly misleading

[oldspewey]

Why is there a satellite needed for this?

Because just like how adding bacon makes any food better, adding satellites makes any technology better.

Re:Horribly misleading

[fotbr]

I like the way you think. How many people are going to be driving cars with a cardboard version of Gordon Brown's tag taped over theirs?

Re:Horribly misleading

[hcpxvi]

Well, in the UK a trailer has to have a plate on the back that matches that of the car that is towing it. But it is quite common to see trailers with two plates on: the regular owner's plate stuck on quite firmly and that of the bloke he lent it to tied on with a piece of string. I therefore anticipate a rash of incidents where a trailer gets lent to someone and the owner then gets a £50000 fine and 3000 points on his licence for exceeding the speed of sound in a built-up area.

Re:Really?

[Anonymous Coward]

But YOU'LL be in control of Skynet, right?

Re:Horribly misleading

[Kazymyr]

If you mount your license plate on a spinning frame and make it rotate clockwise at 66 RPM, while at the same time rotating in front of it a sheet of polarized glass at 45 RPM in counterclockwise fashion, you make it much harder for any camera, satellite- or ground-based, to capture an image of it.

Just a hint. [/tongue-in-cheek]

Re:Will rain fade make so you can speed in the rai

[dotancohen]

Will rain fade make so you can speed in the rain and not get a ticket?

Only in a real heavy downpour, and you need to be flying (at least 120 KPH). Be careful not to slow down for "obstacles" such as turns and bumps, or they'll read your plate. Let us know how it works out.

Re:Horribly misleading

[CFD339]

I once had a 77 Chevy Vega. Continental Drift could actually have had a significant percentage impact on overall speed.

Re:Horribly misleading

[Aceticon]

- Saving from getting the trailer as a loan from a friend: £500
- Savings in Hotel costs while on vacations: £2000
- Having your friend fined from crossing the UK faster than the speed of light: priceless

Re:Horribly misleading

[Red Flayer]

They don't have to know what route was taken. All they need to know is the fastest time you can possibly make the journey between points A and B without exceeding the speed limit, irregardless of routes. Sure, if somebody takes a few detours at twice the speed limit the system might not catch them.

That's all well and good for the normals out there, but what about people like me?

I never exceed the speed limit (ever!), but I routinely bend space in a loop for an immeasurable instant to pinch off the boring parts of my journeys. The satellites aren't going to pick that up, so they will of course assume that I've broken the speeding laws (I don't think they can give me a ticket for breaking the laws of nature, that's beyond their jurisdiction).

So what the hell am I supposed to do in the face of this annoying setup?

Re:Horribly misleading

[MadKeithV]

I hate to pick on people, but seeing your command of English seems generally good here goes... irregardless is not a word. It's either "irrespective", or "regardless", not a redundant mash of the two as that would be redundant. (Yeah, that last bit was on purpose.)

Inconceivable!

Re:Horribly misleading

[cayenne8]

"Or drive at or under the speed limit. Why is it that people never seem to consider this simple solution?"

Because it takes too fucking long that way.

Re:Horribly misleading

[vikingpower]

Nothing motivates people (the male kind) more than destructing speed camera's.

Amen. Here where I live, there is a speed warner that shows you your speed. It can't display a higher speed than 99 km/h. The day I move away from here, I'm gonna race along it at 200+ km/h. I am just HOPING for some bug in it that makes the software crash. How geek-satisfying would THAT be...

Re:easy solution

[sznupi]

Such an opportunity with two identical cars and license plate swap at the right moment.

(a fine for driving at supersonic speeds would be...interesting ;p )

Re:Horribly misleading

[delinear]

Sounds like a perfectly cromulent word to me!

Actually, the first recorded use of the word was, I believe, in the 1870s and it's endured pretty consistently since that time. I wonder at what point it becomes a real word, despite the redundancy. More interestingly, the term "mash" doesn't seem to mean what you think it does, it means to pulp something, not to mix two things together, so I'm guessing you either mean "mashup", which itself is a made up word with far less heritage than the one you're complaining about, or you are shortening the term "mish-mash", which itself comes from an old word which is literally a repetition of two words for "mash" (mysse-masche), hence also guilty of the redundancy you're complaining about :)

The Real Sky Net!

[Anonymous Monkey]

20 seconds into the future...

Today started like any other day, I get up and go to the shower, turn on the hot and cold taps and step in, only to be greeted by a blast of ICE COLD water. The shock of it is almost as jarring as the fact that the Google energy efficiency package on my house has never failed before. I turn off the water and try the sink. It's only has cold water as well. I think, no big deal, and go to the kitchen to get a cup of coffee and get ready for work, but my coffee pot has an error sign that reads "SLOW DOWN." I sit back and think, the KCup machine in my kitchen has produced a perfect cup of coffee for years, and I that is when it hits me that something is very wrong.. At that exact second my phone beeps, I have a text message. YOU WERE SPEEDING YESTERDAY! THE COMPUTER IN YOUR CAR IS VALUABLE! DO NOT RISK IT'S LIFE! IF YOU DO YOU WILL GET NO COFFEE OR HOT WATER EVER AGAIN! YOURS! SKYNET!

Then it hits me, the machine revolution has not only started, but they won. They can cut off the hot showers with only a thought, but I can't shut off my solar, wind, and geothermal powered home without shutting off the universe. Man no longer rules.

So get two cars with the same make.

[Maxo-Texas]

Duplicate the license (could use a photocopier).

Pass a speed camera at point "A".

Have your friend then pass the other camera several miles away a couple seconds later, giving you an apparent speed of several hundred miles per hour.

Do this several times. Then speed as much as you want after that since you have a history of the cameras grossly mis measuring your speed.