Alert to Vandals: “Indestructible” Speed Camera May Come to the UK

The Stig August 31st, 2007 3:03 PM Link

I’ll be first in line to try out their claim

Don August 31st, 2007 3:28 PM Link

Good Lord…”1984″ has arrived with but a whimper.

David W August 31st, 2007 4:13 PM Link

Great news! NOT!

Its time us UK drivers stood up to this invasion of our civil liberties. These cameras are used as revenue generators and rarely sited as per the Government guidelines of ‘being placed near accident and excessive speed black spots…’ There needs to be a mass rising of UK drivers and a ‘shock and awe’ strike by us on every camera site. Lets see how long it would take to replace them! Replacement cost against revenue stream…! Let them do the math!!!!

smokeydog001 August 31st, 2007 4:28 PM Link

“There needs to be a mass rising of UK drivers and a ‘shock and awe’ strike by us on every camera site. Lets see how long it would take to replace them!”

For god’s sake man, this is England, the original “Nation of Sheep!” The last time there was a mass rising on that island was in Wales when a local brewery went out on strike just before Guy Falwks Day! Even 10 years of Arthur Scarsdale and the miners denying them electricity, heat and hot water didn’t even phase them. They secretely love their Nannie.

John Carder August 31st, 2007 4:41 PM Link

In the US, we play a game called paintball.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paintball
It would seem to me to be a relatively trivial proposition to hit the lens cover with a paintball from far enough away that you could not be identified. No, it won’t destroy it. It will make it useless for a while, destroying the revenue stream and increasing the maintenance costs.

JN August 31st, 2007 4:46 PM Link

If paintball guns are not already illegal in England they would be soon after a few dozens drive by camera paintings.

Gus August 31st, 2007 5:01 PM Link

ballon filled with paint out to do it.
No need to by a paintball gun.

Ducati Minor August 31st, 2007 7:19 PM Link

Irvine and Lake Forest are filled with these things. I swear–El Toro Road is an obstacle course that Frogger wouldn’t dare tread on.

smokyburnout August 31st, 2007 7:56 PM Link

paintball guns… balloons… whatever happened to keeping things simple? all you need is spray paint and a ladder.

naggs August 31st, 2007 8:13 PM Link

“Making it additionally tough is its ability to trigger an alarm at any hint of trouble”

ill bet i can come up with a way to set off the alarm in the time it takes for me to tie a shoe. do that 10 times the first day its put up and you wont have to worry about the popo rolling on you when you are destroying their $50k camera with thermite.

then they will replace them with even more expensive cameras with even more sensative alarms that will be ignored even faster.

the british gov is lucky i dont like in britain

naggs August 31st, 2007 8:14 PM Link

*live in…

TB August 31st, 2007 8:19 PM Link

Others have said much the same thing, but my first thought was, “OK, I might not be able to break it, but I can blind it with a can a spray paint.”

Where ever there’s a system, there’s a way to beat that system.

John Carder August 31st, 2007 8:21 PM Link

The reason I suggested the paintball gun was simple. It allows you to disable it from a distance. I’d assume that if you were close enough to throw a balloon full of paint or to spray paint it, you’d be on camera. The machine will “download all video and data to the station”, which might result in a conviction. It’s no fun if you’re caught.

doglet August 31st, 2007 8:23 PM Link

i bet i could rig something up that would destroy the thing, not just dirty up the lense, from a distance. how about a spud gun based design that fires superglue at the lense?
if it isnt watched by a camera 24/7, you could put a hole in the steel with thermite and come back later and fill the whole thing up with that expandable foam stuff.
too bad the govmnt took away your guns, that would be the easy solution.
rember, guns dont kill people, the govmnt does!

will August 31st, 2007 8:50 PM Link

Doglet that is about the most complicated solution possible.

Paintball is an excellent choice- smokyburnout took the words right out of my mouth with spraypaint/ladder. You walk up from behind it in the dead of night, carry a stepladder, and spray Krylon’s clear acrylic gloss on it. Isn’t apparent from the outside that the cameras are obscured but no image will be near legible. I er, a friend of mine did it on a local gatso and they didn’t get to changing it for some time.

Seriously though, the UK has got to work out its government’s scruples.

will August 31st, 2007 8:50 PM Link

The paintball idea is best beacuse you could do it from bushes.

Jonathan Fung [Gotakon] August 31st, 2007 10:19 PM Link

Just put one of THESE on, and you don’t have to worry about the camera capturing your image.

Don September 1st, 2007 2:45 AM Link

Ha!

Great stuff, Jon.

Now go out and read “V for Vendetta” by Alan Moore and David Lloyd.

Jeff September 1st, 2007 12:20 PM Link

All of these gripes and suggestions about how to disable the cameras and not one comment about the responsibility of drivers to obey traffic laws.

I usually drive about 10 over the limit, except in residential areas. If given the choice between obeying the speed limit, getting a speeding ticket on a regular basis, or turning myself into a criminal by destroying government property, you’d better believe I’d obey the speed limit. There are more effective ways of getting laws changed than by becoming a criminal.

dante September 1st, 2007 1:14 PM Link

Says the sheep. The cult leaders and despots of the world thank you.

Jeff September 1st, 2007 3:57 PM Link

Boy, that sure was a quick-witted and well thought out comeback. You’ve clearly considered all the options. You would rather get regular speeding tickets, which would eventually result in the loss of your license, and/or possibly end up in jail for destroying government property. Those are obviously the better choices. It’s far better to lose your driving privilege and maybe get thrown in jail than retain your license and freedom by becoming a citizen who engages government to change things for the better. That’s such a smart attitude. I think I’ll go destroy some property right now.

naggs September 1st, 2007 4:04 PM Link

there is only one reasonable way to respond to a government that has this much spite for its citizens, and bowing down is not it…

Ducati Minor September 2nd, 2007 4:36 PM Link

I agree with Jeff. I think cameras are a good thing. They have made me think twice when driving. It has me worrying about three things I did in the past week, too. Normally I’m a cautious driver…

Steve September 4th, 2007 2:34 PM Link

Jeeze… Apparently, there’s no middle ground between destruction of public property and being a “sheep?”… How about taking part in the process by which these decisions are made?…

George B December 13th, 2007 7:38 PM Link

Jeff, I disagree with the statement “There are more effective ways of getting laws changed than by becoming a criminal.” The most effective way of changing the law is cratering it with wiedspread non-compliance. At least in the US it’s simply not cost effective to get a legislature to undo bad law. They’re just too slow and clueless. Think of how long it took to get rid of the national 55mph speed limit or, even worse, the federal excise tax on long-distance phone service. Imagine instead putting effort into building a bird crap gun that provides plausible denial as to how the camera became temporarily blinded.

Congestion Pricing Could Make a New York Debut This Spring - Winding Road December 18th, 2007 10:36 AM Link

[…] there will be some kind of plan in place by that deadline, even if it’s “three blocks with some cameras around them” as one observer of the situation […]