In message , Cynic
writes
>On Mon, 12 May 2008 19:52:36 +0100, Ian Jackson
> wrote:
>
>
>>>I would not cross a red light or drive in a bus lane that was
>>>protected by cameras in order to get out of the way of an emergency
>>>vehicle. I'd mount a pavement, as that has an extremely low
>>>probability of resulting in a FPN arriving in the post.
>
>>What happens at a crossroads if the traffic lights fail, and are all on
>>red? A policeman, stands in the centre of the crossroads doing 'point
>>duty', and directs alternate streams of traffic to proceed (despite what
>>the lights say). In the meantime, the cameras are flashing away merrily.
>>Would any automatic FPN notice stand up in court?
>
>Firstly, if the lights have failed or been switched off, the camera
>would not be operating either.
Wouldn't it? It depends what activates the cameras. If the lights were
all stuck on red, and the cameras were set to take photos a couple
microseconds after the lights turn red, they may remain active until
they are re-set by the lights turning green.
>Secondly, there would be *many*
>drivers that apparently did the same thing, providing lots of
>corroborative evidence that I was legitimately following the
>directions of a police officer.
Surely a police car sitting behind you with the twos and blues going is
tantamount to being given a direction by a police officer. But it seemed
to carry no weight when that driver got nicked for driving through the
lights so he could move out of the way.
>Thirdly, the copper on point duty
>would be clearly visible in the photographs.
Undoubtedly indisputable evidence. Were the police in the car with the
twos and blues going never asked to confirm that they did want the
driver to move out of the way?
--
Ian |