Police hide speed cameras in tractors

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Humberside Police admits putting speed cameras in tractors and other stationary vehicles in order to catch persistent offenders who travel in excess of 100mph on rural roads

"The biker - who did not wish to be named - claims he took these photographs of a police officer with a camera inside a John Deer tractor"

Traffic officers are hiding in tractors to catch motorists speeding on country roads, it has emerged.

Humberside Police has admitted using the tactics in a bid to catch “high end” offenders, particularly motorcyclists, who they claim put lives in danger by travelling at speeds in excess of 100mph on rural roads.

But the decision to hide speed cameras out of clear view appears to be at odds with advice from the chief officers who have previously recommended that they should be clearly visible to the public.

Explaining the thinking behind the tactic, Inspector Mark Hughes, from Humberside Police Road Policing unit said: “At the moment Humberside Police are conducting Operation Kansas in the East Riding of Yorkshire.

“This Operation runs alongside the well-established and much publicised Operation Achilles, it is concerned with 'high-end' speeding offenders in the East Riding, deploying speed cameras, which are located in a variety of stationary vehicles.

“Vehicles, which are detected travelling at very high speeds, are stopped further along the road and drivers/riders are spoken to and dealt with at the roadside.

“Although the majority of offenders are motorcycles, a number of cars are also dealt with on this operation.

“We regularly record speeds in the high 90s and over 100mph, these being on country roads where the National Speed Limit of 60mph is in force.

“It goes without saying that such speeds on these roads are inherently dangerous, particularly when you consider how many side roads and field entrances there are.

“Someone pulling out onto the road does not expect a vehicle coming towards them at such high speeds, the likelihood of a catastrophic collision is raised considerably.

“This Operation is aimed at the small percentage of riders/drivers, who insist on driving at dangerously high speeds on our country roads, not only endangering themselves, but other innocent road users.”

But advice issued by the Association of Chief Police Officers, now renamed the National Police Chiefs Council, previously stated: “Operators of devices should normally do so from positions where they will be clearly visible to the public.”

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/11898960/Police-hide-speed-cameras-in-tractors.html

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