http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/7994449.stm

totally unrelated story

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/new ... ls-1984-by-the-Queen.html

they could have used descent cars instead of that thing. Snot Box comes to mind.

Another step towards a Big Brother state.. woohoo..

Just watched the video -

So what, I'm going to get 3 points and a £60 for scratching my hair while driving? Next thing, it'll be illegal to talk to a passenger when driving, and they'll have microphoned up all our cars.

they should make windscreens so camera's cant see the person inside, so if it takes a picture it just reflects whatever is in front of the car.

Quote from trebor901 :

so if it takes a picture it just reflects whatever is in front of the car.

Not possible. A camera is just a shitload of tiny light sensors crammed onto a circuit board with color filters over them. It doesn't emit anything so it's not possible for the windshield to reflect it. Unless of course you make your windshield a one-way mirror. Which, still may be penetrable by other kinds of imaging such as x-ray, infrared, etc.

Unless you mean reflect the flash of the camera (if it uses a flash) so that it whites out the image. But at a far distance, and with the curvature of the windshield, that's pretty much impossible also.

Quote from S14 DRIFT :

So what, I'm going to get 3 points and a £60 for scratching my hair while driving?

Yup. Or changing the radio station. And no doubt there'll be no process of establishing crime, such as a traffic cop following you in an unmarked car to capture beyond all reasonable doubt whether you are in sufficient control of your car or not. It'll be some bored jobsworth reviewing footage, and if you even look distracted (regardless of whether you actually are or not) then I'd hedge my bets on being issued with a fine.

For a change, this isn't our criminally inept, corrupt, power-hungry, surveillance-obsessed government at work. It's a regional police force.

Guess we need to hang them in the revolution too.

At least they won't be able to see me masturbating while driving, or the drugs in my lap.

they are trying to use all these cameras and stuff to try and replace the traffic cop and it doesnt work, a traffic cop has descresion and has the ability to deal with a wide range of matters, but these camera do not, they are dumb devices recording things things that will be view by more dumb devices( the people sitting there looking at it all) with no knowledge of the context in which the event they are looking at happened

Holy crap - just watched the video on the BBC site, and it's not even being adminstered by a cop in any shape or form. It's a friggin PCSO snooping on everyone and dishing out fines for straightening your hair while at the wheel!

Speed cameras often get attacked and torched. How funny it would be if someone came up and set fire to one of these things while it was doing it's filming duties.

Odd that we're not allowed to photograph the police, yet they're allowed to snoop on us from half a mile away claiming that "if we're not commiting any offences, they won't look". Doesn't that work both ways?

I suppose it's much cheaper to hire a shit car and fit it with a camera on a mast and get a fat pretend-cop to sit in it and dish out arbitrary fines, than it is to train a couple of traffic bobbies and purchase & equip a Volvo T5 and then fuel it to go out and, oh, y'know, police the ****ing traffic properly. Grrrrr.

Quote :

The small Smart cars, which have a 12ft (3.6m) mast with a camera attached, are parked at junctions to monitor traffic.

To be very honest, it's going to be hard not to be distracted when there's a midget car with a 12ft chimney on it in front of you

Quote from dougie-lampkin :

To be very honest, it's going to be hard not to be distracted when there's a midget car with a 12ft chimney on it in front of you

thats a good point, someone should fine them for distracting drivers.

i lol when a truck rams it. Fat chick will get thrown out of car

Quote from STROBE :

Yup. Or changing the radio station. And no doubt there'll be no process of establishing crime, such as a traffic cop following you in an unmarked car to capture beyond all reasonable doubt whether you are in sufficient control of your car or not. It'll be some bored jobsworth reviewing footage, and if you even look distracted (regardless of whether you actually are or not) then I'd hedge my bets on being issued with a fine.

For a change, this isn't our criminally inept, corrupt, power-hungry, surveillance-obsessed government at work. It's a regional police force.

Guess we need to hang them in the revolution too.

Oh didn't you know? It is an offence to retune your radio now, whatever is on when you set off has to stay on.


The biggest problem I have with this is I do scratch my face a lot in hot weather, it doesn't make any difference to my driving (bar the fact I can't change gear) as I don't cover my eyes. But I assume that is enough for me to get 3 points and a fine.

Let us not forget it is ****ing Props (Pretend Cops) doing the sitting around in a car handing out fake fines. If I was given a fine by a real traffic cop I wouldn't be as pissed off, but at the same time they will say "your car smells of weed, I want to search you and it now" again, regardless of the fact it doesn't.

I'm I the only one laughing at the sheer subtleness of the car. Honestly it's like throwing a brick through a window then asking for it back.

Hang on, most of the "distracted" drivers in that clip were stationary at junctions... When I'm stopped at lights and my engine's off, am I still "driving" the car?? What's so dangerous about changing track on the radio when I'm effectively parked...?

Quote :

****ing Props (Pretend Cops)

Noo, PCSOs= Pointless C***s Sent Outside

I gotta ask, because I'm not sure if y'all are joking or being serious: do you really get penalized if you're "caught" scratching your hair/face or changing the radio station while driving? I honestly had no idea that the UK was this far along the way to a complete police state I would seriously consider migrating to another country if they'd start harassing people here the same way.

So if I suddenly get distracted by an extremely small car with a long mast, will I get a fine?

Those smart cars have been going round here for ages.

It's no coincidence that all these government money generating scheme appear as soon as a recession starts, i'd rather they were more honest and just raised our taxes.

so glad to see that our hard earned taxes are not being wasted.

what a complete and utter load of b*ll*cks!

i defy any driver over a week not to break one or more of these pathetic "laws"

retuning the radio? turn on your rear wash/wipe......how many of us dont glance back at the same time?

it seems the big brother state wants our roads to be 110% safe.......well heres news for you jack. as long as soft, sqidgy carbon based life forms are driving these big metal boxes round , there will always be accidents.

what will they suggest next? a permenate passenger for every vehicle to look left and right for you as you approach a junction? just so your eyes are not taken off the road ahead?

perhaps they should be spending money on making the streets safe for decent folk, locking up drug dealers, having areas safe for young children to play, catching burglers.

but no, lets waste money catching some poor motorist and fine him 60 quid because he was caught on camera picking his nose or scratching his ass while he swiched off his radio because terry bloody wogan came on the airwaves!

Quote from mr grady :

perhaps they should be spending money on making the streets safe for decent folk, locking up drug dealers, having areas safe for young children to play, catching burglers.

Because that's just too much like effort for the bunch of lazy do-gooders we call our government, while catching poor innocent people is far easier.

Quote from TiJay :

Hang on, most of the "distracted" drivers in that clip were stationary at junctions... When I'm stopped at lights and my engine's off, am I still "driving" the car?? What's so dangerous about changing track on the radio when I'm effectively parked...?


Noo, PCSOs= Pointless C***s Sent Outside

why turn your engine off at the lights?

to save some fuel i guess

Quote from trebor901 :

why turn your engine off at the lights?

Because by law if your engine is running you are still classed as driving, so if you pull up at the side of a road to drink some water/answer your phone and leave the engine running you can get points and a fine.

As dougie said further up, if i saw another car with a 8 foot pole sticking off the roof it would make me be distracted, as i would just think, WTF?!? and stare at it.

If I see one in public I will just stand out side taking pictures of the occupant on my phone - how come they are allowed to take pictures of me, yet i'm not allowed to take pictures of what is essentially a civilian in a fancy uniform?