speed camera detector

[navalert]

here is a speed camera detector in action:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=KUtigbL9Xqg

[onefastzx9r]

great, I need info, how does redlight and speedcamera's work?

[Zeigh]

onefastzx9r,

Automated traffic enforcement via camera based devices use a variety of technologies and strategies. The large majority of systems have the ability to take at least one image of the front and rear of a target vehicle. The more recent models also store small video clips. Here is a brief review of the most popular devices in the USA:

- Red light cameras at intersections- sensors in the roadway detect the presence of a vehicle when the light turns red
- Speed-On-Green cameras at intersections- sensors in the roadway detect the speed of a vehicle regardless of the light color
- Roadway/Freeway cameras- sensors in the roadway detect the speed of a vehicle in multiple lanes
- Mobile Photo Radar via parked vehicle- radar aimed at oncoming traffic (typically emitted from the rear of a van or trailer)

Other than the use of even the most basic radar detector to warn of mobile photo radar units, NavAlert is currently the only device that will warn you of fixed automated traffic enforcement locations. It is also intuitive enough to let you know when you are speeding as you approach a location, the direction that the cameras are pointed in an intersection, and it will count down the distance to such a location. In my testing of a NavAlert in the Phoenix, Arizona area, I was absolutely amazed at it's functionality and accuracy. Of course, the device is only as good as it's database, and maintaining information on over 3000 locations in the USA alone can be subject to an occasional error. However, NavAlert is far, far better than anything else out there and I now consider it mandatory equipment for urban driving, along with a rarar/laser detector, and a trained attention span.

As technology progresses, expect laser based mobile units and license plate reading systems that average a vehicle speed on exitless sections of a freeway or toll road. Welcome to the future. You are being watched for your own safety (or to pad the pockets of your local Government).


Knowledge is power and driving should never be mindless,
Dr. Z.

[Zeigh]

Hello,

I happened to rediscover this excellent web site on how red light enforcement cameras work:

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/red-light-camera.htm

Since I last reviewed the article, it has been updated with the "video loop" technology. A video loop based system detects red light violations by analyzing the change of objects from frame to frame of video. Without more information, it is hard for me to imaging that this kind of system would be that accurate, compared to one using an actual sensor in the roadway. Then again, technology never ceases to amaze me and automated traffic enforcement is an over one billion dollar a year industry. I currently do not know of any location in the USA that uses this technology.


“Technological change is like an axe in the hands of a pathological criminal.” (Albert Einstein, 1941),
Dr. Z.