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Welcome to the SpeedCamerasUK.com mobile speed camera comments page. Here you will find comments left by UK motorists with regards to mobile speed cameras. We have lots of different comment pages relating to other speed camera types e.g. Gatso speed cameras, average speed cameras and speed limit comments. If you would like to make a comment about mobile speed cameras, please complete the online form below.
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Phil from UK writes...
Can anyone explain why these mobile cash machines don't go out on a night, when you have speeders doing 70mph+ in 30mph zones putting people's lives on the line, along with the thousands of pounds of damage they cause. I was caught doing 34mph on a 30mph on a main road at 06:30 on a Saturday morning, no public and hardly a vehicle on the road. OK I was in the wrong but it was not a intention to speed, by the way it was a clear dry sunny morning. It's about time these mobile van operators grew a pair and start been constructive and get out on a night and do what there supposed to do.
Andrew Pollard from Hertfordshire writes...
Hopelessly inept "Traffic Wombles" like to sit like cowards in their stupid little white vans in lay-bys reserved for buses or disabled drivers, lying in wait for normal, honest, hardworking, conscientious, fully insured, taxed, safety-aware drivers and catching them out, making instant judgements on those people and what sort of drivers they are, and incriminating them for a few MPH. What a useless, pathetic bunch of money-grabbing morons. Fancy that? Being employed to monitor and convict people who drive no different than they do when off duty. I will not be attending a driver awareness course, just so they justify "37mph in a 30mph" as unsafe! Mollycoddling idiots! These are the first points I've received in nearly 20 years. Where are the police when your car has been vandalised or stolen? Nowhere, as usual. You do a wrong turn somewhere, and there they are poking a camera! They can suck up all the arrogance from now on. They don't do anybody any favours.
John D Francis from Hampshire writes...
There is increasing concern about handheld lasers being shone at aircraft and also the effects of 'microwave radiation pollution' on humans (i.e. WiFi on children etc). But has anyone or any organisation queried the possible danger of shining a laser directly at motorists at close range and/or submitting them to a concentrated beam of microwave radiation (i.e. radar) also at close range by speed detection devices? No doubt we will be told patronisingly that these devices are quite safe and the risks are very small - but are they? For example the ill-effects of microwave radiation on animals/birds is being increasingly studied in the USA. It is worth pointing out as a possible analogue that once upon a time 'passive smoking' was not even known as a cancer risk and any attempt to suggest it was would have been patronisingly ridiculed!
Ben Barnard from North Yorkshire writes...
We have several very hidden mobile cameras near us who are taking it to the extreme. One is a biker, dressed in all black who sets up his tripod behind a wall on a pathway flanked by two walls. You can only see him when you drive past the entrance to the pathway. Another hides behind trees and another hides his unmarked, dark coloured van under dark tree canopies and right in the middle of a line of parked cars.
They then open the back door of the van and have the tripod in the back. You cannot see a thing as they are dressed in black and have all the interior lights off, it just looks like a parked van.
This is ridiculous in small villages where even going 30mph is hard due to the narrow roads and parked cars. It promotes fear and distracts from driving in what I would deem to be a dangerous place.
Paul Chalk from Wiltshire writes...
I noticed one of those pathetic Mobile Revenue Making things earlier today on a 70mph motorway with no speed camera signage. M27 Whitely, I wonder what their answer would be if absolutely nobody occasionally crept over the speed limit feeding the policemans money box? It would be terrible! All those sorry entrapment officers out of a job wouldn't it?
Adrian Hook from Lancashire writes...
My wife got done by a mobile camera van while doing her job as a district nurse. They said they will do you for speeding from 36mph upwards and surprise surprise my wife got caught doing bang on 36mph. She was sure she was doing 30mph but how do you challenge it? These vans, average cameras etc, are purely there for making money. They have nothing to do with safety no matter how many hammed up statistics they come up with. It's funny when your house gets broken into or your car gets stolen they never have the resources and don't show any interest but go slightly over the speed limit and they have all the resources in the world to catch you.
Adrian Hook from Lancashire writes...
My wife got done by a mobile camera van while doing her job as a district nurse. They said they will do you for speeding from 36mph upwards and surprise surprise my wife got caught doing bang on 36mph. She was sure she was doing 30mph but how do you challenge it? These vans, average cameras etc, are purely there for making money. They have nothing to do with safety no matter how many hammed up statistics they come up with. It's funny when your house gets broken into or your car gets stolen they never have the resources and don't show any interest but go slightly over the speed limit and they have all the resources in the world to catch you.
Frank from Warwickshire writes...
Been hit by a sneeky mobile camera van that gets people just as their driving over the crest of a hill, impossible to see it until its too late. 7:55 on a dark September night. If they really want to reduce people's speed why not just put up a warning sign 300 yards down the road warning people that there is a speed trap ahead? It's not about reducing speed, it's about making money to help fund a cash strapped police force that only seems to focus on ate crimes and speeding low level speeding offences.
Martin from UK writes...
Funny how police forces are so cash-strapped that they can only find time to prosecute 9% of serious crime. Yet somehow they manage to find the resources to send out mobile speed detection units to catch all us hardened criminals doing a few mph over the limit. Makes you proud to be British...
Derek Iveson from North Yorkshire writes...
I was caught doing 38 miles an hour in a 30mph zone. In this particular 30mph zone there are open fields on both sides and no houses to either side. It is a place where it is easy to catch you going slightly above the speed limit. I hate these mobile cameras, this was a small van with a man stood in front of the back of the van with his camera on a tripod and blocking the view of the van. In North Yorkshire I am lead to believe that it costs the police budget 2 million pounds to run these vans. When it was first set up they made a profit, but no longer is that the case. 2 Million to run this is a joke and just a way to make money and to receive 3 penalty points for this is infuriating. They should spent the money and put the fixed cameras in place where they are needed. Temple Lane in Copmanthorpe would not have one as it is not an accident black spot. The 2 million pounds spent on this beat down on the motorist would be better spent on proper policing catching criminals and not poor unsuspecting motorists. I now feel slightly better for having a rant.
Kevin Hall from UK writes...
So, a mobile speed detector van is seen on a bridge catching people who break the law. Why are they allowed to park on the path meaning pedestrians have to walk in the road? Is this not breaking the law?
Lisa Hogger from Oxford writes...
I have 6 points for doing 34mph in a 30mph I know it is still speeding. Yesterday I went from 60mph to 50mph very quickly and the motorists in front were well over this so I was shocked to suddenly see a 50mph sign and a mobile speed camera. I think I was doing 54mph so I potentially will get points and I'm at risk of losing my licence!
Pala from Berkshire writes...
A profitable money making scandal! The mobile camera vans hide around a bend at the end of a residential area surrounded by fields and sheep! If they are so concerned about the safety of pedestrians why are you not parking in the middle of the residential area where a accident is more likely to occur. They park where they know money is to be made and I haven't seen an sheep cross the road!! No respect to them what so ever!!
Michael Byford from Staffordshire writes...
These mobile speed camera vans which are titling themselves with "safer roads" are becoming increasingly devious and are obviously about making money for cash strapped forces.
This can be proven by the locations where they sit! Usually they are at the bottom of a hill or on the edge of a built up area where a limit can drop from 50mph/60mph to 30mph. Very few accidents occur in these locations so if they were about safety (as suggested by the authorities) then they would surely be located in known danger spots (of which i can show you many).
My conclusion is the same as the nation obtaining money by deception also known as fraud if i am not mistaken or at best, a stealth tax.
Robert Khan from Lancashire writes...
I'm afraid my respect for the 'law' `AND THESE HOLIER THAN THOU people you have commenting on here is zilch...zero. In two locations where I drive Guisburn and Earby they hide around abend 50 yards from the clear way sign. We now have a system of warning people of their presence.. it's about money not safety, so no respect. NONE.
Scott from Somerset writes...
There seems to be an increase in villagers buying radar guns and sitting in sneaky places in high visibility jackets. It is amusing to see their 'shakey' stance when lifting the radar gun and tracking the vehicle in what looks like a very excited state as if enjoying if they catch someone as they are talking to someone with a clipboard obviously recording the information. I do hope these untrained 'do gooders' don't actually have much power. I understand no one wants anyone excessively speeding through their village or town but come on this isn't the way to do it.
Jonathan Clayton from East Yorkshire writes...
I thought mobile speed cameras were there to keep our roads safer and not to make profit off the public road users!!! Well a police camera van at the bottom of a hill at 6:45am on a warm dry sunday morning is there purely to make profit!!! This is a miss use of safety!!! Absolute joke.
Jane from Hampshire writes...
Driving northbound on the A3 Petersfield. It's a downhill stretch of road. I have cruise control set at 69mph. I spot too late a mobile police camera van - yep at the bottom of that hill. Check my speed and I'm doing 73mph!!! Been driving 36 years blemish free driving - I'm absolutely gutted. Why put a camera at the bottom of a hill!!!!
Martin Hunt from Devon writes...
I am concerned about some of the locations used for mobile speed cameras mounted on van. You hear so much about speed cameras being placed around accident blackspots where they can act as a deterrent for speeding drivers.
But what about those vans that position themselves just out of sight on usually quiet roads that have no history of accidents? One such place is on Underlane, in Plymstock, Plymouth. it is rather a steep hill and low powered cars do need to get a good run at the hill to get up it, because the road curves at the top a van can hide just beyond the curve easily catching cars speeding up the hill. There are several others that are also prime spots for catching motorists, both fixed cameras and mobile cameras.
How can the police have the audacity to claim they are there to deter speeding when a lot of evidence supports the argument that they are used to make money from already hard pressed motorists?!
Anonymous from East Yorkshire writes...
Ridiculous. Obviously I cannot comment on speed cameras or so-called 'road safety' partnerships anywhere else in the country. I live in Brough, East Yorkshire and the camera partnership that operate in my area (Safer Roads Humber) are an absolute disgrace. Like other partnerships, they have camera vans which they park up in various locations and operate mobile speed cameras from, however it proves from where these vans are usually located, that it is purely just a money making scheme and has absolutely nothing to do with road safety.
Don't get me wrong, speed cameras are important, for example if someone is doing 100mph down a motorway or doing 40mph in a 30mph near a school, then yes, they should be severely punished. However the vast majority of the time the vans are located in areas were the speed limit is too low and should be higher (for example a country road in North Newbald which is a 40mph for some reason). This is ridiculous as they should be located outside schools and on roads that have very high accident rates, not on roads were the speed limit is clearly incorrect and is too low.
Moving on, the speeding threshold on which you get prosecuted on is also an absolute joke, 10% +2. This means that you get a ticket for doing 35mph in a 30mph zone. I am a new drive so therefore I lose my licence if I am caught doing this 3 times within the first two years of passing, what a joke. I never speed anyway so have never been caught, but it has come to the point now were I feel it is dangerous as I am constantly looking at my speedometer instead of the road just to make sure I am not! I honestly don't understand the morals of the camera operators who sit in the vans and with all the problems we have in the world, they really should find something better to do!
Amanda Hall from Northamptonshire writes...
Just got a NIP through post for speeding. So angry that they can put a mobile speed camera at the bottom of a hill to catch people!!! Grrrr
Dave B from Staffordshire writes...
The parking positions of mobile camera vehicles is disgraceful. I have a few pictures where you would find it difficult to spot the mobile van and yes I regret speeding but on a hill where the speed limits change? Yes these vans are meant to deter speeding but having them hidden behind bushes, behind other parked vehicles or at the brow of a hill where a limit changes from 30 to national speed limit. Apparently you don't get anywhere by contesting the fine, you just have to take it up the A**e. PLEASE government just for once give the common man a chance!
Ryan Bennett from South Yorkshire writes...
I have no issue with static speed cameras. What I do have a problem with is mobile speed vans. These are often placed in hidden positions, and are poorly marked. Also they are more dangerous than useful causing people to brake heavily when they spot one. I have nearly gone into the back of other vehicles because of this even when the person in front wasn't speeding, the automatic reaction is to break. These cameras should be abolished and replaced with static cameras in any location known for speeding.
Dave from UK writes...
It seems to me that mobile speed cameras use selective parking spots on roads where they are guaranteed 'good haul'. My observation is that the speed limit on that road is inappropriately low and is wrong, many roads have, what I would call 'natural ' speed limits i.e. the average speed driven by the majority of drivers.
I am not advocating speeding, exceeding a speed limit is more likely to happen with consistency on roads where the enforceable speed limit has been set lower than what would 'be a 'natural' speed, exceeding the speed limit does not make you a 'speeder.' You, in the above scenario have been caught in a preset trap guaranteed to keep the ££££ rolling in.
Steve Lee from Essex writes...
I like the idea of mobile speed checks conducted by police officers and see anyone being prosecuted by this method as having been caught fair and square.
On the other hand my view on community speed checks is totally the opposite. I see them as vigilantly do-gooder's that enrage a high number of drivers. And I was once a passenger in a car where the three villagers carrying out a check informed police the driver was speeding when they were not, just because he gave them two fingers as he passed them.
My view is therefore, let the police do the checking and abolish community speed checks.
Lorraine from UK writes...
I was caught by a mobile speed camera at the bottom of a very steep hill, it sits there quite often at school run time and moves immediately after. Most parents of the school have been caught on this most doing 33/34 miles an hour.
I thought that the reason for these cameras were to target accident areas or where people were deliberately speeding on the roads? It really feels like they have targeted this place and time of day for the fines, surely their time would be better off spent on roads were there is dangerous driving and speeding to over take.
Sarah from Wirral writes...
MOBILE speed cameras have NO effect on road safety and in fact can create more danger as drivers spot them too late and lose concentration on their driving as they automatically hit the brakes.
MOBILE cameras are a MONEY MAKER ..end of and here are the arguments that cannot be refuted:
FIXED cameras like Gatso have the effect that most drivers will slow down knowing they are there and therefore the object of keeping the speed at the required limit is generally achieved and provides safety for all... Of course, some lack of concentrations means you can get caught out.
MOBILE cameras on the other hand are placed at will to rack up the revenue and nothing else. Drivers do not know the camera is there and so generally speaking the speeds are higher until it's too late and the driver puts the brakes on, which has a potentially dangerous follow on effect... Drivers then lose concentration and after the camera I suspect are not in a good mood so again not really concentrating as much as they should do on their driving. Then of course there are the days of waiting to see if they have a ticket or not.
I know several places here where MOBILE cameras are used regularly. So, if they need to use those cameras so often in the same area, there is NO ARGUMENT then to put up a FIXED camera instead having identified a road where speed perhaps is an issue... But of course in the real world they won't do that because they want the revenue.
There is nowhere where a mobile camera has any positive effect on road safety. Their design and use is to catch people out and make money... How does a mobile speed camera on a motorway bridge that can catch you a MILE away aid safety? It DOESN'T..The driver probably will never know he has been 'caught' and has no effect on reducing speed.
Average speed cameras on the other hand achieve the purpose in the main as most drivers will stick to the limit... But here is a way round that one --- each camera only watches one lane and checks your speed again at the next camera, so, change lanes after one camera and you average speed cannot be worked out by the next camera in any lane -- that is why you will see some informed motorists go faster than the posted speed and keep changing lanes.
There is just no argument for the use of MOBILE cameras except for perhaps to identify an area where speed is perhaps an issue that needs a FIXED camera like around schools etc..They are ONLY used to make money and make the public more anti-police and do not catch dangerous driving.
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Last updated: 11th September 2023
