New M50 speed cameras

T-Square

Some gatso lines went down just before the Firhouse exit (heading north)

Is the camera in place? I didn't see it.

Just about here
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=firhouse+exit,+m50,+dublin,+ireland&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=31.426353,79.013672&ie=UTF8&hq=firhouse+exit,+m50,&hnear=Dublin,+County+Fingal,+Ireland&ll=53.27589,-6.316409&spn=0.011573,0.038581&t=h&z=15

Redsoxfan

T-Square wrote: »

Some gatso lines went down just before the Firhouse exit (heading north)

Is the camera in place? I didn't see it.

Just about here
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=firhouse+exit,+m50,+dublin,+ireland&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=31.426353,79.013672&ie=UTF8&hq=firhouse+exit,+m50,&hnear=Dublin,+County+Fingal,+Ireland&ll=53.27589,-6.316409&spn=0.011573,0.038581&t=h&z=15

No sign of it yet-looks like it will be mounted behind the signs for the Firhouse junction

bazzachazza

Stark wrote: »

The roadworks have finished on the M50.

Except at the Blanch exit. Which is still a 60k zone

Stark

Which doesn't exactly justify a speed camera at Firhouse.

Tabnabs

Redsoxfan wrote: »

No sign of it yet-looks like it will be mounted behind the signs for the Firhouse junction

The lines on the road are located beside the '200m to off ramp exit' or whatever those signs are officially called, at junction 12 - Firhouse, northbound.

Sean9015

Stonewolf wrote: »

These cameras are not on the works areas, they're on the completed motorway which in theory should be a very safe place to drive.

<sigh>

I am aware of that - I was just using it as an example of the blatent disregard many seem to have of speed limits....

I'll try again for the hard of understanding.

STICK TO BELOW THE POSTED SPEED LIMITS AT ALL TIMES AND THESE CAMERAS WILL COST YOU NOTHING. IF YOU CANNOT DO SO THEN YOU SHOULD NOT HAVE THE PRIVILEGE OF HOLDING A DRIVING LICENCE.

Yes motorways are (relatively) safe as the the speed bands (should be) narrower than on other roads, BUT the higher speed at which such accidents take place lead to more serious consequences.

Are we clear now????

Stark

Motorway accidents generally tend to take place at much lower relative speeds, hence why they're so safe. If you're doing 120km/hr and hit a car doing 100km/hr, the speed of that impact is 20km/hr. If you're doing 60km/hr on a single carriageway and hit another car coming against you 60km/hr, the speed of that impact is 120km/hr.

Wibbler

Stark wrote: »

Motorway accidents generally tend to take place at much lower relative speeds, hence why they're so safe. If you're doing 120km/hr and hit a car doing 100km/hr, the speed of that impact is 20km/hr. If you're doing 60km/hr on a single carriageway and hit another car coming against you 60km/hr, the speed of that impact is 120km/hr.

This may not do you much good, if the next thing you hit is a concrete barrier or barrier.

Stark

The vast majority of the car's momentum is in a direction that's parallel to the concrete barrier. Even if you're significantly deflected from an impact with another vehicle, your speed in the axis perpendicular to the barrier is never going to be significant. The major danger with hitting the barrier is on motorways with wire barriers/grass medians where you could cross over into the other carriageway and end up in the head on situation. But that's not an issue on the M50 with its concrete barrier. The barrier is also stepped so if you hit it, it's not absorbing the full momentum of the car all at once and more than likely your wheels will bounce off it without even suffering bodywork damage to the car.

Believe it or not, motorways are safe roads.

Paparazzo

I always find it funny when driving on a bad bendy N road with a terrible surface somewhere in the country that has a 100kph limit, and think that it's rated with the same speed limit as the M50

axer

Stark wrote: »

If you're doing 60km/hr on a single carriageway and hit another car coming against you 60km/hr, the speed of that impact is 120km/hr.

Thats not true. The speed of the impact is 60km/hr.*

* Newtons Third Law

sesna

Stark wrote: »

Motorway accidents generally tend to take place at much lower relative speeds, hence why they're so safe. If you're doing 120km/hr and hit a car doing 100km/hr, the speed of that impact is 20km/hr. If you're doing 60km/hr on a single carriageway and hit another car coming against you 60km/hr, the speed of that impact is 120km/hr.

Good point, shows importance of central median crash barriers.

However, impact speed would be ever so slightly less than in the examples you cited as outlined in Special Theory of Relativity.

GizAGoOfYerGee

Stark wrote: »

If you're doing 60km/hr on a single carriageway and hit another car coming against you 60km/hr, the speed of that impact is 120km/hr.

That is incorrect.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GuqiAHGGT4

Nephew

Can anyone tell me if the camera before Firhouse is active yet?

Davy

Nephew wrote: »

Can anyone tell me if the camera before Firhouse is active yet?

Both this one (Firhouse) and the one at junction 3 (M1) aren't in as of today

celticbest

Stark wrote: »

If you're doing 60km/hr on a single carriageway and hit another car coming against you 60km/hr, the speed of that impact is 120km/hr.

A common misconception is that this over-representation is because the relative velocity of vehicles traveling in opposite directions is high. It was previously thought that a head-on crash between two vehicles traveling at 50 is roughly equivalent to a vehicle hitting a stationary vehicle at 100 Km/h.

However, experimentation in 2010 showed that due to Newton's Third Law, the actual result of such a collision is equivalent to hitting a stationary near-immovable object at 50 Km/h.

For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

Stark

Okay, fair enough. But a stationary near immovable object would be something like a tree and we all know the damage hitting one of those can do compared to hitting something like a brick wall or the back of another car.

Stonewolf

It doesn't matter what the impact energy of two vehicles colliding head on is (and that argument is moot unless we all drive carbon copies of each others vehicles), to argue that a roads safety is not improved by preventing a vehicle travelling in one direction from striking a vehicle travelling in the other direction is foolish.

The simple fact is that a dual carriageway of more than one lane with fully grade separated junctions, clear sightlines and gentle bends is massively safer than a normal road especially where generous provision of median and verge are provided. Head on collisions are eliminated, collisions due to crossing traffic are eliminated, loss of control incidents are reduced, the distance at which hazards can be detected is increased and the extra lane(s) mean that faster vehicles can overtake slower vehicles with considerably greater safety*. All of these factors combine to make motorways exceptionally safe at high speeds especially where drivers use correct driving discipline and etiquette. If our roads have a design speed limit of only 120km/h then their designers have been remarkably short sighted and have left us with a network of roadways which will inevitably be looked upon as we now look at the winding old victorian built rail lines**.

* Faster travelling vehicles being stuck behind slower travelling vehicles produces impatience and road rage which causes the faster vehicle to take risks which can lead to accidents, as a case in point I know a family that nearly lost a son when an oncoming vehicle pulled out to overtake an overtaking car in front of his motorbike. His friend who was riding with him wasn't so lucky.

** What's with all the bloody bends in the Irish motorway network, has nobody at the NRA heard of a ruler?

Cherryfizz

Can anyone tell me if this speed camera is in operation? It was round Firhouse! Thanks

bazzachazza

Didn't see any sign Yesterday or today of cameras on overhead gantry or by side of the road.

Davy

Cherryfizz wrote: »

Can anyone tell me if this speed camera is in operation? It was round Firhouse! Thanks

They weren't installed at friday evening, I haven't passed by since then

Töpher

I went by earlier and don't think they were in yet.

Cherryfizz

Thanks for the reply. Just whizzed by and it got me by surpirse!

dubhthach

So have either of the camera's been installed at Firhouse/M1 junction? Went for a spin last night and reckon I was doing 105kph when i went over the lines.

Keith186

No sign of it yet I don't think.
Went through it yesterday at 120 and there was no flash.

I presume the cameras will be on the overhead gantry and capture rear plates. Anyone know if they are ever set up to capture rear plates.

schemingbohemia

should they not be set up to photograph the front of the vehicle to help identify the driver? otherwise 'sharing/transfer' of penalty points could happen.

Stonewolf

If they took a photo of the front of the vehicle they wouldn't be able to tax motorcycles as well.

Stark

schemingbohemia wrote: »

should they not be set up to photograph the front of the vehicle to help identify the driver? otherwise 'sharing/transfer' of penalty points could happen.

That happens anyway. The photograph is only there to jog the car owner's memory so they know to transfer the points if they need to.

I.S.T.

Keith186 wrote: »

No sign of it yet I don't think.
Went through it yesterday at 120 and there was no flash.

I presume the cameras will be on the overhead gantry and capture rear plates. Anyone know if they are ever set up to capture rear plates.

I think the camera will be a fixed Gatso t the side of the road judging by the location of the painted lines on the road.

Lumen

Whatever about sight lines, lane widths, limits vs targets and the balance between personal responsibility and idiocy prevention, the fact that the motorway around our capital city is not capable of supporting speeds above 100kph is a national embarassment.