One of the limitations to using your smartphone as a speed camera detector is that until now, you relied on speed cameras being located and stored on a GPS database of some description. Thanks to Snooper, there is a new retro-fitted device called iRadar.

iRadar is a small, waterproof device that mounts behind the front grille on most vehicles, wiring easily into the power supply. iRadar then connects wirelessly to your iPhone via Bluetooth to work in conjunction to the FREE iRadar App. The App will of course provide you with up to the minute fixed speed camera alerts as you drive including Gatso, Truvello, Red light and even Average Speed Cameras. Accident Blackspots or Mobile Riskzones also feature on the GPS alert however, until now there was no way of detecting which cameras are live and where new mobile sites are located that are not yet on the GPS database.

iRadar has a built in radar and laser detector so that as you drive, if a mobile camera is pointing in your general direction, the radar / laser signal is detected and fed into your iPhone via Bluetooth where App alerts you to the detection.

We’ve tested both the app and the iRadar and can safely say that there is nothing like it on the market today! Snooper have long been the market leasers when it comes to speed camera detection technology and this is another industry first that could save you points on your license and make you a better driver! See more here.

Men Behaving Badly star Martin Clunes has been dropped from popular TV ads promoting Churchill car insurance, following a totting up of speeding offences that has seen him disqualified from driving.

Clunes, 50 is considered no longer compatible with car insurance advertising after his license recorded 12 points for speeding offences. This resulted in a ban and ironically, Clunes is sure to see his insurance premiums rocket following the offense when he gets back behind the wheel following his driving ban.

We always recommend driving with the required level of car and attention which includes adhering to the posted speed limit – something the Churchill star failed to do!

Maybe one of our speed camera detectors would be worth a buy in the new year Martin? Well we still love you for one of the best sit-coms of a generation as seen in the video below:

A Yelverton resident down in Plymouth has been caught speeding but following the fixed penalty notice and three points, he is putting his foot down in a different way and fighting against the ticket. The controversial speed camera on Gdynia Way seems to be creating havoc for city motorists because it is deemed to have insufficient.

Resident Simon Turner says that there’s not enough signage in the area alerting drivers to the speed limit change as up until last year’s multimillion pound road works, Gdynia Way was a 40mph zone – now reduced to a 30mph.

He said: “Due to the lack of optional combined safety camera and 30mph signs at the exit from Cattedown roundabout, the motorist is under-informed.”

Last month, local paper The Herald reposted on cab driver Dean Gillard who was also caught speeding three times in one morning on Gdynia Way forcing him to move cab firms so he wasn’t passing through the camera as often.

It is drivers like this that Simon plans to stand up for, and any other motorists who have been caught along the stretch.

This Is Plymouth posted these comments from Simon;
“It’s not about money or the points, it’s about road safety.

“I have come under considerable pressure from the Safety Camera Unit to accept the £60 fine and three points on my licence but I have refused to accept this conditional offer despite the extension to the time limit.”

He also said: “I am therefore facing a summons and in doing so will act as spokesperson for others who have been or will in the future be caught out by the lack of signage in Shapters Road and Gdynia Way.”

This is a risky strategy and could result in further punishment for him but to the letter of the law, the UK Government Traffic Signs Manuel, 14.1 states: “To avoid the risk of failed prosecutions, it is of the greatest importance that speed limits be signed lawfully.

“It is equally important that speed limits be signed clearly and in accordance with this guidance, so that at no time will drivers be in any doubt about the prevailing limit.”

The other side of the argument suggests that there is adequate indication that the speed limit of the area is 30mph and not 40pmh. To be fair, Plymouth City Council has the Highway Code on their side which states that “in areas of street lighting the speed limit is 30mph, unless a different speed limit is specifically signed.”.

Of course the easiest way of preventing failing foul of the speed limit would be to have one of our speed camera detectors on board so there was no way you would miss the speed limit. Click here for more details.

And second place goes to…. Wrexham, for catching the second highest number of speeding motorists in north Wales during 2011! The speed camera found on the A525 Heol Maelor in Coedpoeth registered a massive 1,391 speeding motorists last year.

If we say that each motorist received a standard £60 fine and three points on their license, that’s total of £83,460 in revenue and over 4,000 speeding points dished out onto people’s licenses.

First place as taken by the Greenfield A548 in Flintshire which registered 1453 speeders and generated a cool £87,000 in fine revenue.

The Coedpoeth camera, although second in the revenue stakes, wins the “Most Attacked Speed Camera” award for North wales with arson attempts, lens damage and even paint throwing.

We think that the easiest way to avoid speeding is to install one of our speed camera detectors into your car. Starting at under £100, it can save your license and help you become a safer driver!

Somerset have reported that accidents caused by speeding motorists have FALLEN by 31% in the last year despite fixed speed cameras being switched off in the area. Figures obtained from Avon and Somerset police show that the dates between the cameras being switched off in April 2011 and December 2011, there were 109 accidents where speed was a factor compared to 159 in 2010.

Superintendent Ian Smith had this to say: “Nationally accidents are down whether cameras are on or off, and a lot of that is to do with fewer drivers and fewer vehicles being on the roads because of the cost of fuel and the cost of running vehicles.”

These figures also show that 50% fewer drivers were caught using mobile speed cameras in 2011 and the total number of accidents fell by 11% compared to 2010

Philip Gomm, from the RAC Foundation, said: “There is a national trend of falling and reducing casualty rates. Since many of the cameras remain in place, drivers may believe that they are still in use.”

It would therefore stand to reason that you are likely to be a safer driver if you are aware of where speed cameras are located. There is no better way to find this information than using a speed camera detector here.

A new speed camera is due to be installed on Astwood Bank in Redditch following concerns over local drivers consistently breaking the speed limit. A mobile camera will set up on Monday June 4th on the A441 on the Ridgeway in Astwood Bank and will remain in place for six months. Data will be reviewed to see whether it encourages drivers to slow down.

This is all part of West Mercia Safer Roads Partnership’s Community Convern Scheme which follows concerns raised by Cookhill Parish Council dating back to January 2011.

Mary Shephard, clerk at Cookhill Parish Council, said: “We are very pleased that Safer Roads Partnership has listened to concerns from local residents about the speed issues on the A441 and we hope that as a result of this, this stretch will become safer for all concerned.”

Following a monitoring programme in the area, 60% of vehicles travelling through the 30mph section of the road were found to be speeding. Of these speeding vehicles, 15% were travelling over 40.6mph.

Anna Higgins, from the West Mercia Safer Roads Partnership, said: “We hope the presence of a speed camera will improve driver compliance with the 30mph speed limit and improve the safety of the road for all those who use it.”

Jon Fraser, Worcestershire county council’s highways customer and community manager, said speed limits existed for a reason and exceeding the limit put drivers, passengers, and pedestrians in danger.

“The message to anyone travelling too fast is a simple one. Slow down and stay safe.”

By investing in a speed camera detector, you may think it is a way of “getting away” with speeding. In actual fact, research has shown that using a speed camera detector in your vehicle heightens your awareness to your surroundings and you are far more likely to drive at a safer speed. View our full range here.

Speeding fines are normally dished out by magistrates but Kenneth Fellows, a Hull Magistrate was on the receiving end when he received an £80 fine for speeding in a 40mph zone. Police caught Fellows using mobile laser equipment when he was travelling at 69mph, almost 30mph above the posted limit.

Attempts were made at Grimsby court to keep the matter under wraps unsuccessfully and Fellows took the fine on the chin, choosing to represent himself and accepted the fine and six penalty points on his license.

We can’t help but feel if he’d been using one of our speed camera detection systems, he wouldn’t have been speeding in the first place!

A businessman caught travelling at 83mph on the north Devon Link Road has been spared a driving ban after informing magistrates that it would be devastating for his business. 38 year old Andrew Smith pleased guilty to speeding at 83mph on the 60mph speed limit road last year.

Magistrates heard how Smith’s other business had collapsed due to the recession and his property business would go the same way should he not be able to drive. Furthermore, the three employees working for him would lose their jobs should the business fail.

Having replaced his Porsche with a car that doesn’t quite reach the same speeds, magistrates took everything into account and handed him 5 penalty points and a £350 fine.

We always advocate that driving with a speed camera detector heightens a drivers awareness to the speed limits around him and will ensure that a safe speed is always maintained. In this case, it would have saved Mr Smith £350 and five points on his license.

Camaraderie between motorists is never more apparent than when oncoming vehicles flash their headlights in an attempt to warn others of upcoming mobile speed traps. It has however, been deemed illegal with some police forces categorising it as perverting the course of justice.

In Florida, a motorist has had his ticket successfully overturned for such an offence after taking the issuer to court. The driver claimed, successfully, that the prosecution was in breech of the US Constitution’s First Amendment, which prohibits the making of any law that abridges the freedom of speech.

This has not stopped Florida Highway Patrol issuing tickets for more than 10,000 offences in the same vein. The other side of the argument is that this is deemed as “undue use of headlights” and a ticket is valid.

We think it’s probably better to invest in a speed camera detector so there’s no need to look out for flashing headlights.

What do you think?

Source: eveningexpress.co.uk
By Sally McDonald
Published: 23/05/2012

A TRAFFIC control officer who parked his van on a corner on double yellow lines in Aberdeen has been rapped by his bosses.

The Nescamp mobile speed camera driver was snapped by a furious member of the public in the West Tullos area of Aberdeen.

Today bosses at Nescamp admitted the driver had been out of order and “had been spoken to”.

Justice or nitpicking? Tell us….