Smart speeding sign flashes your license plate number

The M42 is a major British motorway that has a reputation for being a testbed for new roadside technology, with a current traffic management scheme including sensors for tracking traffic built into the road and variable speed limit signs every 500 meters. The latest piece of kit to be tested out during roadworks is a radar-assisted speeding sign that not only flashes when it detects a speeding car, but also displays the license plate number of said car. Yeah, scary. Apparently the public shame (or swift realization that it could also be an automated ticket-writer) that the sign dishes out to speeding motorists is having some effect, with 50% of drivers slowing down once they see their number is up. Presumably the other half were concentrating too hard on getting out their digicams -- look ma! I'm on a roadsign! -- to slow down.

[Via Autoblog]

[jellie @ Jun 12th 2008 8:48PM]

I recently received a speeding ticket in a remote area and had to find a traffic ticket attorney online (http://www.tickethelp.com).

He told me it was actually more common to be sentenced to death in that area than it was to get convicted of speeding.

When I read that "giving a death sentence is treated as casually as giving someone a traffic ticket" I had to think of my attorney consultation and laugh.

[Howard @ Sep 5th 2006 2:51AM]

Bet the guy who owns that license plate is gonna get an extra kick out of it being published on the web as well as flashed to his fellow road-mates... Anyone hear lawyers rubbing their hands with glee?

[Drew P @ Sep 5th 2006 2:54AM]

No I don't hear that. It's Britain and we don't sue everything that walks here

[PPC @ Sep 5th 2006 3:01AM]

What about if its a new car and it has paper plates?

[jon @ Sep 5th 2006 8:02AM]

My girlfriend drove past one of these and said:

"Hey, it didn't light up!"

"It only lights up if you're speeding"

"Really? I thought it always came on..."

hee hee....

[Fraser Drew @ Sep 5th 2006 3:21AM]

new cars in the uk have real plates from the beginning. The plate depicts the year where the car was registered, what year, and then random letters at the end

[MF @ Sep 5th 2006 3:27AM]

We also don't have paper plates, your car is fully registered and issued with permanent plates before you get it.

[LordFarkward @ Sep 5th 2006 3:24AM]

i wonder what jeremy clarkson has to say to this :)

[narphorium @ Sep 5th 2006 3:30AM]

Now all they need is a second sign a bit further down the road to keep track of the high scores. This could become the most popular motorway in Britain. :P

[Ethan @ Sep 5th 2006 3:33AM]

Let's hear it for the states and our slow-as-hell methods of adoption.

[PB @ Sep 5th 2006 3:39AM]

"Bet the guy who owns that license plate is gonna get an extra kick out of it being published on the web as well as flashed to his fellow road-mates... Anyone hear lawyers rubbing their hands with glee?"

Seeing as the highway is public property, there is nothing illegal with taking the photo and publishing it on the internet.

[Fraser Smith @ Sep 5th 2006 3:56AM]

What's 'new' about this? I saw similar signs in use in roadworks on the M1 about 4 or 5 years ago (if not longer). Granted, I haven't seen any since butit's hardly a new development.

[Andrew @ Sep 5th 2006 4:03AM]

I, for one(!), welcome any method of slowing down traffic that doesn't cost us a fine and 3 points on our licence!

[Dominic Yates @ Sep 5th 2006 4:08AM]

As I live right by the M42 let me tell you that it also has overhead gantrys with speed cameras on the back of them (so you don't know they are there) and around the Solihull junctions (approx 2-7) there are average speed cameras that calculate your average speed and then penalise you if you exceed the allowed maximum.

Technology is good... but it should be spent on accident blackspots.. and not for what looks like obvious revenue generating for the local government!

[Tom @ Sep 5th 2006 5:22AM]

Hehe screw 'em. mine will read:

94
TCS-719

[Dinesh R @ Sep 5th 2006 7:52AM]

and what's so wrong about obvious revenue generation for the local government? People with V8 motors flying about at 140kmph can obviously afford the fines...

[Maff Mace @ Sep 5th 2006 4:54AM]

"Technology is good... but it should be spent on accident blackspots.. and not for what looks like obvious revenue generating for the local government!"
the government would make no money if everyone stuck to the speed limit and didn't exceed it. there's no excuse for speeding, no excuse at all

[Kelvin Yam @ Sep 5th 2006 5:54AM]

A great technology with good intention I think.
NFS Most Wanted, anyone?

[LordFarkward @ Sep 5th 2006 5:51AM]

"there's no excuse for speeding, no excuse at all"

actually, it's not speeding that kills. it's reckless, retarded, incompetent driving that kills.

having speed limit is just like having a weight limit on your dish when you go to a buffet to prevent food wasting: it needs to be there to stop greedy, selfish and brainless people from taking much more than they can eat. it's otherwise as useful as a solar powered torch, and just spoils all the fun and decreases efficiency.

[John @ Sep 5th 2006 2:24PM]

These were around years ago in the UK but were removed for a while after it was discovered that people were using them to prove their car could do x miles an hour.

Typical scenario was to find out that roadworks had one of these signs and at night when motorway was quiet to floor the acelerator and see a: how fast your car could go and b: how accurate your speedo was.

Not that I ever indulged in such activity but a certain Ford Granda Cosworth I owned apparently could clock 144mph while showing an indicated 155mph on the speedo.

John

[daub815 @ Sep 5th 2006 6:50AM]

The other 1/2 can't remember their license plate number, so they don't slow down.

[Rich @ Sep 5th 2006 9:39AM]

A familiar sight on British roads... miles of cones, and no-one working.

[TeleCustom @ Sep 5th 2006 11:55PM]

You don't need some monster V8 to speed.

And while I'm not a terrible speeder (10-15mph over the "limit" seems to be the norm here in New England), I've nearly gotten in more accidents caused by someone driving too slow or someone not paying attention than people speeding.

As for this gadget, the only thing it would do here is create traffic problems (and higher likeliness for accidents since people love to slam on the brakes), just like the state troopers do.

[Rusty @ Sep 5th 2006 8:01AM]

I bought a fresnel lens license plate holder which screws things like this up. When looked at dead on, you can see the plate perfectly. But, at any angle, the license plate shows up with a silver bar, obstructing the numbers.

[J. Neutron @ Sep 6th 2006 8:22AM]

Not really related... but The problem, I think, here in america is people driving too slow in the passing lane. I have driven in Europe and this is not a problem. But when someone is going 50 in the passing lane and wont move over when they see a blinker flash behind them, they force drivers to pass on the right, wich is dangerous. Whats even worse is when they drive 50 next to another car at the same speed.

[Josh* @ Sep 5th 2006 8:35AM]

Fraser Thomas -- The back of my house overlooks the A34 in the Midlands just outside Birmingham city centre. Similar tech was around years ago, to point out people driving in the bus lane in restricted hours.

I think it captured the last four digits of the plate, eough to point out who the offender was.

[zoara @ Sep 5th 2006 8:44AM]

In Wales (that's the country stuck to the side of England, both of which are part of the UK and of Great Britain, here endeth your "confusing British geography" lesson) we have a scheme called Arrive Alive.

Basically, you can only be fined in the UK when exceeding the speed limit by a certain amount (I believe it is 10% + 4, so in a 50 zone you can do 59 without a fine). What Arrive Alive does is if it clocks you going between 50 and 59, it sends you a letter saying "you were speeding, we caught you doing [speed], but we won't fine you *this* time. Oh, and here's how many road deaths there were last year".

Judging by my response, and the responses of other friends who have had these letters, it works. You start being a bit more careful about your speed.

Wales has always had a reputation for being a bit more sensible about speeding fines than its big brother England. It's not a profit-making exercise, it's genuinely about safety (or at least, it seems so relative to what happens in England). We get a lot of signs similar to these (minus the registration plate thingy, which I think some posters missed) which also work pretty well; the only problem is you just assume it was the person in front or behind you. Flash up the number plate = "ulp" moment = slowing down.

There was also a report (I forget where) of a system that showed your actual speed and the amount you'd have been fined, but that was scrapped because boy racers competed to get high scores. It was replaced by a system that simply showed a smiley or a sad face; apparently this proved very successful; there's probably some interesting psychology behind that.

[Brett @ Sep 5th 2006 9:19AM]

Happily this system also falls down on motorbikes (like the original gatso's) were all front facing and bikers weren't really identifiable from the front.

sadly they noticed all the biker pics with various hand signals and we have rear facing ones too now. :(

[Andir2.0 @ Sep 5th 2006 10:23AM]

"A familiar sight on British roads... miles of cones, and no-one working."

Sounds like the USA. Seems we have some things in common after all!

And or those that follow the "speed kills" route by posting numebrs on how many accidents happen in relation to how many of those are speeding. You apparently miss the primary reason those people were speeding. Speed doesn't kill. It's the condition or state the driver is in that induced the speeding that kills.

So, put away your cell phones, DVD players, alcohol, makeup, romance novel, and morning newspaper and drive.

[Rahul @ Sep 5th 2006 10:40AM]

They have these in Middlesbrough on the A66. Pretty fun...but i did slow down after it kept flashing up my number plate !! hehe good idea !

[Joe @ Sep 5th 2006 11:07AM]

They don't use digital cameras in the UK, they use the cameras on their mobile phones. Duh.

[brandon_r87 @ Sep 5th 2006 11:10AM]

How comforting to know its the people not paying attention to the road and getting their cameras that are the ones who don't slow down.

[shirizaki @ Sep 5th 2006 11:38AM]

My next cosmetic plate will read "inches".

[Perrey Z. @ Sep 5th 2006 12:28PM]

Talk about the ultimate in public humiliation. People are going to go bonkers when they see their plates and current speed flashing like a Christmas tree!

[Wry Cooter @ Sep 5th 2006 1:17PM]

In the US, most states do not have front plates. So the driver will never see his OWN license plate number up there.

We have the visible speed signs though, but they flip about the various speeds so, in typical traffic, you can never be sure which car they are tracking. Also, changing lanes can affect the reading.

[Daniel Rutter @ Sep 5th 2006 1:32PM]

I think, as PB says, that this thing is more likely to encourage people to speed than to stop them. Given how Big Brotherish speed limit enforcement is becoming, though, it's entirely possible that drivers in this day and age will think that such a system could be sending them an infringement notice automatically even as it displays their plate number, so I guess it could "work" that way.

Years ago, we had the old-style speed-indicator doodads set up on some highways here in NSW, Australia. No number plate identification, but it DID identify which lane it was talking about, which was nice.

Needless to say, some people loved seeing how high a number they could get (driving just a bit above the limit, like everyone does, was a good way to calibrate your speedometer). And so the displays, which had cost the taxpayer a great deal to put up, were soon reprogrammed to just say you were speeding, without saying how fast. And, later, either turned into nanny-signs ("WEAR SEAT BELTS!") or removed entirely. Also, of course, at taxpayer expense.

I concur with the opinion that it's not speed, but lousy driving, which kills.

However, the kind of driver who's encouraged to drive faster by signs that say how fast he's going is quite likely to BE a lousy driver.

[brabander @ Sep 5th 2006 3:23PM]

15 years ago when I grew up in the Netherlands, our little village introduced a fantastic system which unfortunately I've never seen anywhere else. The speed cameras where linked to the traffic lights. If a car drove too fast, the next set of traffic lights would switch to red. Driving to fast became completely counter productive and after a while nobody drove to fast.

[T-Will @ Sep 5th 2006 5:13PM]

I think it was Modern Marvels that had a really good episode about the Autobahn. From what I understand, there are certain lane change rules that everyone follows thus allowing people to go nearly as fast as they want while minimizing the danger of driving fast.

The problem is getting everyone to follow the rules.

[Saluki @ Sep 5th 2006 6:06PM]

Wow, you Brits are really into the whole big brother thing?

[Rich @ Sep 5th 2006 6:55PM]

Speed does kill. Not many people are killed at 40mph, but it's quite different at 140mph. You come bombing along in the fast lane, some person in the middle lane decides to overtake, they've checked the mirror's and you were'nt there a moment ago, they look ahead, indicate and pull into the fast lane at the same time you smash into their rear. And it's always some poor soul in the slow lane that gets taken out in the ensuing mess. Since we all share the road and no one knows what might happen (blow out, etc) reducing your speed means the probability of causing your own or anothers death decreases. To me that makes sense. If you want to speed, be prepared to face hell when it all goes wrong.

[Matt @ Sep 6th 2006 5:31AM]

Er - whats the problem with having your number plate flashed up?

"Oh no! People will see its me!" Well guess what - they are going to see you driving fast anyway!

I dont see how this is a deterrant at all. If it fines you then sure - its a good deterrant, but every one ALREADY KNOWS you are driving like a twat because they can see you already! And who is going to bother reading the number plates around them?

[Wry Cooter @ Sep 5th 2006 10:55PM]

regarding speeding:

Authority knows the majority does speed, and they set limits accordingly; most stay within 10 mph of posted limit.

Driving slower than the common speed of the road is dangerous. If you are driving the posted 60mph while 19 -40 cars around you are going 70mph, and others crowd behind you tailgating as you have sufficiently helped block traffic, you are the unsafe driver.

Passing slower than a five mile an hour differential is dangerous. If it takes you longer to pass a vehicle that it would take for you to walk by the same vehicle if it were parked, you are driving too slow.
The left lane (in the US) is a passing lane, not a talk to your neighbor in the adjacent lane, uh, lane.

The safest driving is the one that most cars are traveling at the common average speed, with the greatest possible distance between vehicles.

Cars will slow in rain, due to insufficient windsheild wipers and tire tread. Count on it. Make yourself visible with lights.

[Chris Moore @ Sep 6th 2006 9:15PM]

We have a vaguely similar system in NZ. However, instead of displaying your speed and number plate for all to see, they pop the information into an envelope for you to look at in the privacy of your own home. Also included in the envelope is how much money you now owe the police.

Oh yeah, the cameras are often hidden too.

[Bertrand @ Sep 19th 2006 7:00PM]

Err, we have a similar system in the south of France in a major motorway . There are 3 parallel video cameras, each seconded by a doppler radar, all mounted on the lower side of a bridge which is above the motorway.

The doppler radar measures the speed of the cars that pass behind it. When the speed limit is not respected, the video camera takes a picture, and a LED sign located approximately 500m after the radar system is activated, displaying ": SLOW DOWN!".

It works very well...

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