Radar/laser jammers

NewApproach

Kaiser2000 wrote:

My Airis 920 GPS supports this, but only has the data for the UK cameras.
Has someone released an update for the Irish ones?

Would this not be useless, as most cameras in Ireland are mobile as opposed to fixed in the UK

Terrontress

galwaytt wrote:

...also known as 'accordian driving'...........brake/accelerate/brake/accelerate, all in tune to the location of speed camera's etc........

On the M1, between Dunleer and Monasterboice, there are drivers who slow down to 50mph in the outside lane because there is a speed camera. To my mind, that makes the camera a dangerous distraction and should be made illegal.

MrPudding

Terrontress wrote:

On the M1, between Dunleer and Monasterboice, there are drivers who slow down to 50mph in the outside lane because there is a speed camera. To my mind, that makes the camera a dangerous distraction and should be made illegal.

The argument against making the camera illegal, and I think it is a good one, is that drivers should be capable of driving to a standard that will allow them to safely pass a speed camera or indeed any other hazard, in a manner that is safe and does not inconvenience other road users.

I think most of the problems associated with Irish driving could be addressed with training. People need to realise that they can safely pass cameras at the actual speed limit safely. They do not need to pass them 10 kph below the limit. That and the fact that general driving standards are fcuking atrocious.

I also strongly believe that knowing well in advance the location of the cameras will stop the dangerous last second reactions to them.

MrP

tuxy

Ya you are right, it would be less dangerous if people knew the locations.
But they would still promote breaking(just not as hard breaking) then accelerating. Which may still make the road more dangerous than when there are no cameras.

OKenora

Which camera will have a more immediate effect on road safety, the one drivers know about 500 yds before a dangerous junction/corner that forces them to slow to a more proper speed for that junction/corner or the one in the middle of the M1 catching people doing 130kph on an empty motorway ?

Which one do you think you are more likely to see being used in Ireland ?

Which one do you think will be quoted as a massive success in improving road safety by the authorities based on the number of catches it makes ? (remember the one at the junction/corner needs make 0 catches to be 100% effective, the one on the motorway can make 50 catches a day but may actually make no difference to road safety at all)

Road safety should not be measured by how many people you catch speeding but by how many people you stop speeding, even if only temporarily for a known black spot.

Nobody has ever been killed or injured by simply driving too fast...<<<< SOUNDS MAD BUT TRUE. Loads of people have been killed by driving too fast at the wrong times, surely the way to protect them from themselves is to stop them driving too fast at the wrong times ? The guy who gets done for 130 on the M1 is still going to approach the bad corner or junction where he knows there is no camera too fast.

OK so in the end they all lose their licence with excessive points, wow is that the solution ? If it is then why did we ever give them a licence in the first place, why didn't we bother with proper driver training at the start......and what happens when these guys lose their licence ? Well they probs get another somehow (not as hard as it sounds) and if they cannot now afford the insurance, they simply drive on fake discs or without any.....has the situation improved at all ?

MrPudding

tuxy wrote:

Ya you are right, it would be less dangerous if people knew the locations.
But they would still promote breaking(just not as hard breaking) then accelerating. Which may still make the road more dangerous than when there are no cameras.

You seem to be implying that the reaction to the camera, whether it is known or not is what is actually dangerous. If this is what you are saying, that the act of brakng before and then accelerating after a camera is dangerous, then surely you have to admit that the road would be safer overall if the camera was not there?

Roads, in and of themselves are not dangerous. Neither is speed. What is dangerous is certain combinations of features of road coupled with inappropriate speed for those features.

What benefit, safety wise, does a camera on a straight piece on road have? If you have a long section of straight road with no hazards, this is where most people have a problem with the cameras, a camera, hidden or not, will not really add anythin to the overall safety of the road.

How dangerous is it to do 130 in a 120 zone on a perfectly straight piece of road? Not much I would think.

I am more interested in using cameras to shape driver behaviour make the roads safer, notjust collect money.

MrP

Blitzkrieger

Caliden wrote:

So how true is it that hanging a blank CD from your rear view mirror is enough to screw the laser?
Also can't you get special reflective number plates?

Both shown to be useless by Myth Busters.


For all you conspiracy fans : were Myth Busters actually working with the police to deter people from trying to avoid laser traps? The trouble with being paranoid.......

blastman

There was an episode of Road Wars recently in Sky One where a guy was pulled over because although his rear number plate looked normal, when the camera in the cop car looked at it, it appeared blank. I presume this was a specially made plate rather than a spray job, though.

Balfa

OKenora wrote:

A sat nav system with a speed camera database is technically not legal under that law as it is "capable of being used to indicate the existence of".

Yeah, and my eyes are illegal because they're capable of interpreting a camera flash as the existence of a speed trap.

Seth Brundle

Not quite!
In post #4 I stated part of the law and your eyes would not be classified as a 'device'

SDK

CreepingDeath wrote:

As far as I know, they are illegal.
Not sure what good a laser detector is.... by the time the laser hits your registration plate it's too late unless you stand on the brakes.

If you want to be warned about fixed cameras, then you can quite legally download the speed camera locations from the net, plug then into your satelite navigation system and get it to give you a warning before you approach them.

what is the link of that page?

TychoCaine

CreepingDeath wrote:

If you want to be warned about fixed cameras, then you can quite legally download the speed camera locations from the net, plug then into your satelite navigation system and get it to give you a warning before you approach them.

Nope, they're illegal too. In the UK detectors are illegal, but GPS-based devices are fine. In Ireland any device which "indicates the presence" of a camera is illegal, regardless of the means used.

I used to work for a company that manufactures and sells GPS-based camera warning devices, and they are illegal to sell and use over here. So much so that the first batch from China were impounded by customs as soon as they came off the boat. They were only released after being tested by the gardai. Having the coordinates stored in your sat-nav would be very hard for your average guard to twig, but it is technically against the law.