Traffic Lights with a camara - When do they take a picture ?

[Ian (GPX)]

Just wondering if anyone knows when these cameras that are sighted near traffic lights take a picture when you jump the lights ?

Is it when they are amber

or

is it when they are red

I was out yesterday and it was chucking it down with rain, I was going along at about 25mph and the lights at this junction changed to orange from green about 100 yds before I got to them, I decided in a split second that I was not going to stop in time due to the wet conditions and ran the orange light.

I did not see the camera flash in my mirrors, so was wondering if it took a photo at all.

Can anyone throw some light on these cameras ?

[R1stu]

there are gen 1/2 flashes of the camera.

1 when it turns red and another just after.

It then works out how long into the red you were and if greater then x you get a ticket.

Or if you see two flashes you been caught! I think this is the case has I had to go through an amber into red once before and it flashed me once and I heard nouthing.

This however I cannot grnt, its just what i've heard.
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[Danny]

Different cameras have different settings. Some only go off on red, some go off on late amber.
Oh and most now have a built in speed camera. I'm not sure if the speed camera only works when the lights are red/amber or if they are on all the time.

I'm 99% sure of the above, but could be wrong.

[Ian (GPX)]

OK, I did some research and found this info (follow the links)

https://www.leconcepts.com/radar/Web%20Site/news/news7.htm

https://www.stvincent.ac.uk/Resources/Physics/Speed/road/redlt.html

Based on the info in both these links I may be OK.

I checked up on the speed camera versions, and Danny is correct, some are set to record speed too.

[Korn]

London Traffic Lights (cars):
Green = Drive through, preferably at 60mph
Amber = Drive through, telling the person you're on the phone with to "hang on a second"
Red = Drive through, dropping your mobile and frantically looking everywhere for police cars

London Traffic Lights (bikes):
Green = Ride through, after checking the junction for 3 ton mercs jumping the lights
Amber = Consider stopping, after checking your mirrors for 3 ton mercs jumping the lights
Red = Consider stopping, after checking your mirrors for 3 ton mercs jumping the lights

Completely no help I know but, isn't amber supposed to mean "stop if it is safe to do so", i.e. not an absolute STOP! meaning you couldn't be told off for it?
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[Major_Grooves]

It seems that to most people, amber means "if you speed up you've still got a chance of getting through before it turns red." Impatient ba**ards!
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[1cyl]

yeah i thought amber baically means, "by the way, the lights are about to go red, so you might wanna consider stopping, or if your to close kain it before they do,"

just to check i haven't been doing this wrong for 2years, when you pull away you can go on red and amber, can't you
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[Ian (GPX)]

Hmmm ! Strange, I've just got back from said traffic lights, I decided to go and watch them to see when they flashed, and it never did ! I stood at these lights for 30 mins and watched them and the camera, 18 cars passed over at amber in that time and 28 at red ! Could it be that the camera does not need to flash ?

[Kickstart]

Hi

Normally there is a delay after they go red before the camera will flash. That delay can easily be 2 seconds.

All the best

Keith
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[chunkielad]

When I got done for a TS10 (not conforming to traffic sinals) the officer said they are set to 1.2 secs after red and if you are over that tough (this is for a 30 zone and the time increases as speed limit does) Some have speed cameras some do not (you will never know which ones as the units are the same on the exterior.

In daylight you will not likely see thw flash but the peeps in the other direction will.

They work out from the two photos, the time you went through the lights after red (1st photo) the distance you traveled (between the to points on both photos) the time you took to travel that distance (time between photos is a constant) and hence your speed so they know if you had enough time to stop. They consider the speed limit of the road and the conditions - was it wet, was there a vehicle up your arse etc... and if tey believe it was safe to have stopped, you get a nice letter explaining what you have done.
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Mark Harrison R.I.P - 26th March 2003.
Remember you always and will ride in your honour.
Big revvs up for Mark!

[T.C]

Although the majority of Camera's are set to activate on red only, there are a number which are set to activate on Amber, bearing in mind that amber means stop and is bookable in any case. There is a statutory defence to going through on an amber, but it still means stop, and certainly in my area (Reading) there are quite a few set up this way.

It comes down to local authority policy depending on what sort of problems have been encountered in particlular areas.
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[MarJay]

[chunkielad]

I think you mean as it turns RED AND AMBER - Amber only is for stopping.
____________________
Mark Harrison R.I.P - 26th March 2003.
Remember you always and will ride in your honour.
Big revvs up for Mark!

[T.C]

[Ian (GPX)]

T.C,

I've been back to the said junction a few times and have noticed that the camera does not flash at all, not even in the dark (street lamps on and around 9pm !), what gives here, I saw 3 cars go over it at amber and 2 on a red and the dam thing did not flash ! The speed limit is 40mph on this road, and there are markings like this '^' three times before the white line, at the white line there are lines that are parallel with it on either side. I take it that these are the magnetic loops in the road ?

OK, you might not know the answers to the following, but it's worth a shot in the dark (not pun intended).

If this is the case, either the camera's flash bulb has blown or the magnetic loops / camera is not working.

OK, based on the fact that the roads speed limit is 40mph, how many seconds need to pass before the camera becomes active ?

And will it be active so many seconds after amber, or when red (remember, it's a 40mph road) ?

I don't understand why so many cars have managed to slip through this Camera Light Trap on amber or red !

[chunkielad]

Maybe the film has finnished or the camera is out for repair/servicing/in another box.

Not all boxes have cameras in - I know GMP has 3 cameras for 150 boxes in the early days of speed cameras!!! They used to move the innards around so you never knew where they were!!!
____________________
Mark Harrison R.I.P - 26th March 2003.
Remember you always and will ride in your honour.
Big revvs up for Mark!

[monkeyman]

Are speed cameras fire proof now.
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[monkeyman]

Those radar snooper are well ace.

My dad has one it can detect all of the traps used except for the type that uses 2 parallel wires in the road. About 70% of speed cameras that we pass aren't actually on i think its because they run out of film. The only bad thing is that other things set it off by things like automatic doors and bugler alarm sensors.
____________________
Im not the best, but im in the top one
RM 250, Husky TE610, K1 GSXR 750

[T.C]

The chances are the camera may be de-activated as someone has already mentioned.

In Berkshire which has the highest percentage of camera's in the UK, only about 4 are active at any one time, and this is decided on a daily basis by the policeman (well civilian these days) who installs the film. The local authority fund the camera's without having to consult the Police, but the Police decide which sites are activated with film.

There is never any guarantee that a site is inactive, so, if you get away with it, then count your blessings and move on.
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It is better to arrive 30 seconds late in this world, than 30 years early in the next

[Danny]

Do the Police/local authority turn speed cameras around to face another direction/other side of the road?

I saw a camera that had been turned around to face the other side of a dual carriage way. Both sides of the road had speed camera markings.

[T.C]