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Few Q's about a Gatso van

  • 06-05-2009 9:14pm
    #1
    TheElf
    Closed Accounts Posts: 148 ✭✭


    One of the new transit Gatso vans is doing the rounds in Kilkenny lately, the new ones with the logo and camera sign on the back.

    I passed it today and was just wondering a few things, as it's on a very wide stretch of road, with a sharp 100km drop to 80km, and I'm not sure if I was doing over 80 going past it, the road was empty.

    Does the camera take a picture of the front of the car? I mean does it take the speed of cars traveling to the rear of the van?

    Does it flash? I was driving towards the back of the van and had a good look at it, but didn't spot any flash, would it still flash during the day? This was around 7pm, so it was getting dark.

    How near does it record speed and take a snap if it needs to? I did slow down when I spotted it, but not sure to what speed.

    I usually don't mind speed camera's / gatso's, but this was in a real 'fish in a barrel' position, and I don't want to have to cough up the fine and have my license feeling a bit heavier!

    Thanks
    -Mark


Comments

  • #2
    Seth Brundle
    Moderators, Politics Moderators Posts: 41,240 Mod ✭✭✭✭Seth Brundle


    They take a pic as the speeding car approaches the (back of the) van. However, I remember hearing that they can take snaps from the front of the van of the back of the car (as usually people speed off) but I don't know if this is actually true.

    AFAK they do flash but you never know!

    As for distance, they have long range capabilities within the van but whether this is for ANPR or speed measurement, I'm not sure.

    Out of curiosity, how was it a sharp decrease from 100 to 80? Usually its a sign and on one side of it, its 100 and on the other its 80! When you cross the line from 100 to 80 you must be doing a max of 80km/h.


  • #3
    Paulw
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 13,381 ✭✭✭✭Paulw


    My girlfriend was caught by one, no flash. Details came in the post a week after the incident. She realised just after she passed the van just what it was and that she had been caught.


  • #4
    gman2k
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,076 ✭✭✭gman2k


    I'm of the understanding that they take photos via a video system, so no flash photography - i.e. the road is constantly being filmed by dv, and they get a video grab of the offenders car from the film for ID purposes.
    The picture they send out to you with your speeding fine will be zoomed in tight to your vehicles number plate. (But they have the larger image with your mug looking anxiously at the van!!!!)
    The vans work off K-Band radar (which is very similar to to automatic door openers in shops/ garages etc), and the catch zone is quite close to the van. So if you see a van, and it is safe to do so - slow down to the appropriate speed limit (which you should not be exceeding anyway :-) and you should be OK!
    There is a forward facing camera on the dash of the van, primarily to read motorbike plates.


  • #5
    Carawaystick
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,779 ✭✭✭Carawaystick


    I got caught doing 82 in a 60 on the M1, from the back of a van and it flashed in my face - just before sunrise in December or late November.


  • #6
    TheElf
    Closed Accounts Posts: 148 ✭✭TheElf


    kbannon wrote: »
    Out of curiosity, how was it a sharp decrease from 100 to 80? Usually its a sign and on one side of it, its 100 and on the other its 80! When you cross the line from 100 to 80 you must be doing a max of 80km/h.

    I was just back out the road, my mistake it's 100 the whole way, for some reason I had myself convinced the sign before the space where the van was parked was an 80 sign, I think I should be ok so!

    The van was still there, and one thing I noticed was my head light bounced off the camera in the window and it looked like a faint flash, I know it wasn't a flash because I was only doing about 70km this time, but that could have someone worried thinking it was a flash!
    kbannon wrote: »
    As for distance, they have long range capabilities within the van but whether this is for ANPR or speed measurement, I'm not sure.

    What do they check with the ANPR? Do they scan the tax,insurance and NCT of all the cars that pass? The van's would nab some amount of people if they do!


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  • #7
    spartacus93
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,453 ✭✭✭spartacus93


    kbannon wrote: »
    They take a pic as the speeding car approaches the (back of the) van. However, I remember hearing that they can take snaps from the front of the van of the back of the car (as usually people speed off) but I don't know if this is actually true.

    AFAK they do flash but you never know!

    As for distance, they have long range capabilities within the van but whether this is for ANPR or speed measurement, I'm not sure.

    Out of curiosity, how was it a sharp decrease from 100 to 80? Usually its a sign and on one side of it, its 100 and on the other its 80! When you cross the line from 100 to 80 you must be doing a max of 80km/h.

    Details seem to be a bit sketchy. As far as i'm aware it records like a video and when excess speed is detected it can take a frame grab of the registration. (This may not be true!). This also allows the gardaí to go back over the footage in the event of an unclear picture, and try to get a better angle on the plate (Again, this may not be true!)

    As far as I know, and i'm a bit more sure about this. The older ones flash, but the new 8 or 11 that they bought recently do not. (These are all 08 D high roofed white transits, anyone that i've seen has been completly unmarked with rear tinted windows)


  • #8
    spartacus93
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,453 ✭✭✭spartacus93


    TheElf wrote: »
    What do they check with the ANPR? Do they scan the tax,insurance and NCT of all the cars that pass? The van's would nab some amount of people if they do!

    ANPR can read the number plates of passing cars and alert the gardai if there is no tax or nct (and other details like the registered owner etc.). The ANPR system can not tell if a car is insured or not as of yet.

    You will not get a fine in the post for driving with no tax or nct. You could however have your plate read by a garda car and then be stopped by them and issued the fixed notice fine. You won't get done for no tax by a gatso van


  • #9
    Cuddlesworth
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 14,012 ✭✭✭✭Cuddlesworth


    gman2k wrote: »
    There is a forward facing camera on the dash of the van, primarily to read motorbike plates.

    Is this the new ones? Bollocks.


  • #10
    Seth Brundle
    Moderators, Politics Moderators Posts: 41,240 Mod ✭✭✭✭Seth Brundle


    spartacus93 wrote: »
    As far as I know, and i'm a bit more sure about this. The older ones flash, but the new 8 or 11 that they bought recently do not. (These are all 08 D high roofed white transits, anyone that i've seen has been completly unmarked with rear tinted windows)
    Some of them do have speed camera and/or garda stickers on them.
    I quite sure that I have also seen them flash.


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