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Caught over speed limit by a 'suitcase'

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Published Date: 26 November 2009
AT 7.30pm on Wenesday, Nov 18 I was driving on the A61 up Halifax Road towards Grenoside. It was dark and the traffic was quite busy.
Approxinately 100 yards after where the dual carriageway ends I noticed a speed camera van parked up behind a white Transit van. The Transit is owned by a local resident and is always parked there in the evenings.

To my horror I saw that a cable h
ad been laid around the other side of this Transit van to a portable speed camera on the grass verge which looked more like a large suitcase. So in effect all the drivers coming towards Hillsborough from Grenoside would not be able to see the police camera van and would be unlikely to identify the 'suitcase' as a speed camera.

That stretch of road is 30mph despite it being very wide and a few years ago this is the same location where 342 drivers were caught on a Sunday by the very same means. Me included (at 35mph).

I thought the days of sneaky underhand tactics by the police were gone and that speed cameras should now be highly visible.

I wonder how many Sheffield motorists are going to receive a £60 fixed penalty demand in the next 14 days?

This is disgraceful and ordinary decent people are being targeted yet again when burglars, thieves and drug dealers are walking free from court on a daily basis.

Mike Wilson, Ecclesfield

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  • Last Updated: 26 November 2009 8:14 AM
  • Source: Sheffield Star
  • Location: Sheffield
 
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1

driver1967,

27/11/2009 09:24:25
It´s quite clearly marked as 30 mph, if you travel faster you break the law. Whether by stealth or not, fine on the way.......
2

Sheffield-born 46,

27/11/2009 10:01:09
Whilst travelling on the A38 I pulled into a layby and stopped in front of a white van. After I stopped I noticed a camera on a tripod in fron of the van. A policeman got out of the van and told me to move. I replied that I was in a layby and had stopped for a rest. He then puffed out his chest and told me that if I didn't move he would arrest me for obstructing a police operation. What if I had been too tired to carry on and needed a break?
3

Plumberman,

woodhouse 27/11/2009 12:07:30
At Retford road they hide the van behind a tree, its all about deception and making money.
4

MalMonroe,

27/11/2009 13:17:09
But don't you think it's all about keeping to the speed limit? It doesn't matter how sneaky and stealthy anyone is, the speed limit is displayed prominently. I was caught once on Penistone Road, going almost 60mph -the limit is 30 but no-one ever sticks to that. And don't even get me started on the Parkway!!!
Getting caught by camera taught me a lesson the very hard way, in my pocket, and 6 points on my licence for 4 years. Who is to blame for fines? Motorists, of course! The only way to foil these people is to keep to the limit.
5

stevee,

27/11/2009 17:47:54
So someone who clearly knows the speed limit and also knows its a police speed check area is complaining that he got caught for speeding! Did he expect sympathy? What other signs does he choose to ignore. You can't pick and choose what laws you are going to abide by and not expect consequences. I write as someone who has received a speeding fine but I accepted I'd got caught and just paid up without whinging
6

RX,

Sheffield 30/11/2009 19:58:12
I have absolutely no sympathy. Speed enforcement no longer requires a high visibility presence, nor does it need warning signs or any other spin. It is law enforcement, plain and simple.

If you don't want to pay, you know what to do.
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