Originally posted by muppet
View Post
Using number plate recognition, the beauty of the system (called SPECS) is that the camera's;
- use no film
- use no flash
- operate night and day using infared light
- they can handle virtually limiteless cars per second
- they can be employed over any distance (recommeded to 10km, but can in theory be measured over any straightline distance)
- the second camera actually takes a head-on photo of the offending car and driver, thus closing the "it wasn't me driving" loophole that previously existed
- they cannot be detected by in-car radar systems
- tickets are automatically printed and issued by the system
- they cannot be fooled by the "speed up, slow down" approach
- contrary to popular belief, they cannot be fooled by changing lanes between cameras
- they can read number plates to ascertain if vehicles are stolen or, for example, if the registered owner is wanted by the police
- they will be used for proposed road toll systems (like the congestion charge)
This technology is FOOLPROOF, there's no way around it and the sooner it arrives here the better. Don't believe any of the sensationalist rubbish that you might read on UK motoring forums about dangers, police-money-making-exercise etc etc. People don't like them because they work, and you HAVE TO slow down when they are in operation.
I was on SZR yesterday, doing about 115kmph in my dad's Pajero and had traffic to my right preventing me (temporarily) from moving lanes. In my mirror, i could see a Range Rover (it's always a Range Rover ) coming up behind me. He got to within about 1ft of my bumper before he started flashing his lights and moving left and right in an attempt to get around me. You know exactly what i'm talking about, because we've all had that experience, and probably on more than one occasion. It's intimidating, and it's dangerous. To be honest, i couldn't care less if this guy wants to kill himself, but i do take issue when he's playing with my life too. When i did eventually get the chance to move over, he sped off at about 200km/hr, doing much the same to every driver in his way.
These camera's will rid Dubai's roads (via the blackpoints system) of these total maniacs, and the accident and death rate will come down immediately when they are introduced. Frankly, i don't care how much money they generate for the police and government, they will be saving lives, and you can't put a price on that.
If you are wondering where this passionate speech comes from, i have had known friends who have been both killed and seriously injured because of their own stupidity (meaning speed) and because of the stupidity (meaning speed) of others.
Comment