Roads in the area

[SteveH]

Rhos on Sea 'hidden' speed camera van blasted by motorists association

A national motoring organisation has blasted road safety bosses after a speed camera van was “hidden” on a Rhos on Sea street.
The Go Safe van, stationed on Llandudno Road, was tracking drivers on Wednesday morning.
A photograph of the offending vehicle was uploaded to the Speed Camera Spotters North Wales Facebook community. It was positioned at the entrance to an electricity sub-station.
Hugh Bladon, a founder member of the Alliance of British Drivers, said: “It’s a ridiculous thing to do and it’s understandable people are annoyed.
“The van is there because the speed limit is inappropriately slow.
“We would not condone people breaking the speed limit but the object of the exercise is to penalise motorists.
“All we do in this country is penalise motorists. It’s ridiculous.”

Comments on the Speed Camera Spotters Facebook site were also critical of the tactic.
“One big money making van,” said one.
“I didn’t notice it for ages before it was that hidden, till I got up close,” said another.

The guidelines for mobile camera enforcement staff is that they should not be “covert”.
Covert traffic enforcement in North Wales is the jurisdiction of North Wales Police .
Mobile enforcement cameras are only permitted on designated routes, unless specific criteria are met.

“Exceptional” sites can be targeted if there have been a number of accidents, fatalities or injuries, if the community has concerns or if there are structural concerns about the route that cannot be immediately rectified.

Llandudno Road is a “core” site, meaning it is designated as a speed check, and there are warning signs about cameras on the approach.

However local motorists have questioned the validity of placing the van in such a position, and certainly question whether it is positioned withing the spirit of the guidelines.

http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/rhos-sea-hidden-speed-camera-11123205

[Merddin Emrys]

That is the one I saw and reported on here the other day! Glad  the sneaky van has made the newspapers! I notice that a car is parked there now!

[Hugo]

It's a difficult one Steve and everyone will have an opinion on it.   The guidelines for mobile camera enforcement staff is that they should not be “covert”  but there are unmarked Police cars out there with speed cameras on board so that could be called covert too.
As could the CCTV cameras in shops etc  so I suppose the answer is don't break the law and complain afterwards if you get caught.

Hugh Bladon, a founder member of the Alliance of British Drivers, said: “It’s a ridiculous thing to do and it’s understandable people are annoyed.  “The van is there because the speed limit is inappropriately slow.
With all due respect to the guy who is he to say the speed limit is inappropriately slow.
There is a busy College at one end of the stretch and a dangerous mini roundabout at the other.  In between there are a number of private houses and at one time there was a nursing home there and bus stops too.
A friend of mine was in a car crossing the mini round about from Marine Road when the car she was in was hit by another car coming too fast down Llandudno Road from the Llandrillo College area.
She had to have treatment in the hospital for many months afterwards and I bet she didn't think that the speed limit was inappropriately low.

[SteveH]

Hugo,   I believe in the deterrent value of a  non covert system,  I think we are more aware of our speed after having seen a camera van in a particular area and remember it well into the future.

Is this van dealing with other issues tax,insurance etc ?

[Ian]

I suspect that hidden vans have the same effect on motorists as the parent who smacks a child for doing something that annoys them. It might deter that particular motorist from speeding on that stretch of road again, but it does little or nothing to change the behaviour of other motorists.

What I'm curious about is the brace of two cameras above the A470 as you leave Glan Conwy heading towards Black Cat. They resemble 'average speed' cameras, but I don't know where the other cameras are, as you obviously need two sets for the average speed check.

[Hugo]

Hugo,   I believe in the deterrent value of a  non covert system,  I think we are more aware of our speed after having seen a camera van in a particular area and remember it well into the future.

Is this van dealing with other issues tax,insurance etc ?

I very much doubt it Steve,  they only seem to be dealing with speeding offences.     When they are using cars or vans with the ANPR cameras there is usually another Police vehicle as back up to catch up with the offender.
Fester mentioned some thing interesting  recently and that was to do with the abolition of Road Tax discs.    It was introduced as a cost saving exercise and would save £10M   but in actual fact the Government has lost a considerable sum of money far in excess of the £10M simply because some motorists are taking advantage of the system and chancing not being caught out.

You can check on line if someone has got valid car tax and MOT by simply putting car tax checker into Google and following the instructions.
However the DVLA  has replaced the previous system with another system ironically called Beta and to be honest it's rubbish.    I've had to check something on it recently and when I put the correct registration and make of the vehicle in it said that they had no record of such a vehicle.
At the time I was booking my car in at Halford's Autocentre for the MOT  and put the other vehicle's reg in and hey presto Halford's had a record of it.    It just proves that getting things on the cheap like the Government does is not always a good thing.
 

[Merddin Emrys]

Hugo, I go to Braid's in Mochdre for my mot, worth a try!

[Hugo]

Thanks for the tip ME  but I've booked in now and I've been with them for a number of years .  I think that I paid £27.42 for the MOT on line

[SteveH]

A Daily Post article from June 2015.

North Wales Police boss's cash cow speed cameras fear
A police boss is seeking assurances that speed cameras will not be used as a money-making cash cow.

Julian Sandham, the Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner, says it should be made clear the purpose of the Go Safe scheme is to reduce casualties and save lives.

Mr Sandham and his boss, Commissioner Winston Roddick, have written expressing their views to the chief lead officer for the Welsh Road Casualty Reduction Partnership, Carl Langley, the Deputy Chief Constable of Dyfed Powys Police.
They fear that Go Safe may be putting too much prominence on “income generation”.
That claim was denied by Go Safe who said there was "no element of income generation" in its strategy.
A study is now being conducted in North Wales to see if the Go Safe scheme could be made more effective.

MORE    http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/north-wales-police-bosss-cash-9444546


Link to Go Safe Wales....... Road Casualty Reduction Partnership.
http://www.gosafe.org/about-us/where-fine-revenue-goes.aspx

[SteveH]

'Hidden' Rhos-on-Sea camera van spot won't be used again

A “hidden” speed camera van will no longer be deployed at a controversial location after a flurry of complaints from motorists.
GoSafe partnership manager Chris Hume (see above)made the vow after a driver spotted one of their vans was “hidden” behind a garden wall on Llandudno Road, Rhos-on-Sea.

Facebook group Speed Camera Spotters North Wales raised the issue and a founder member of the Alliance of British Drivers, blasted the positioning of the van as “ridiculous”.
It was parked in the drive of an electricity sub-station, behind a telegraph pole, garden wall and a member of the public’s car

Mr Hume, speaking to the Daily Post, agreed it was “against the spirit of what GoSafe was trying to do”.

MORE    http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/hidden-rhos-sea-camera-van-11126885

[Merddin Emrys]

Lets hope any drivers caught by this underhand speed tax van will not be prosecuted!  I wonder what targets the van operatives have to meet? A pity with all the council cutbacks that they do not scrap the damned things!

[Hugo]

I remember some time ago when the Police were targeted for convictions of all kinds and when those figures were low, they would have a blitz on the motorist just before the figures had to be reported.
I'm not sure if that thing still happens but there are other areas where the Traffic Police would be better employed.

[Hugo]

Dashcam video captures car flip through the air in Trefnant crash



http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/dashcam-video-captures-car-flip-11130773#rlabs=1%20p$1

[DaveR]

What I'm curious about is the brace of two cameras above the A470 as you leave Glan Conwy heading towards Black Cat. They resemble 'average speed' cameras, but I don't know where the other cameras are, as you obviously need two sets for the average speed check.

Trafficmaster, they are monitoring traffic flows.

[SteveH]

A55 roundabout removal project given £34m boost
The project to replace the A55 roundabouts at Llanfairfechan and Penmaenmawr has been allocated £34m by the Welsh Government.
Under the major highways scheme, the two roundabouts will be replaced with junctions - with two years of traffic delays for drivers.
The Welsh Government previously said it hoped to start the major construction scheme in 2017, with work lasting until 2019 and causing misery for motorists.

It has now been confirmed that £34m has been allocated to carry out the works to remove the two major issues on the expressway.
Many businesses and commuters have wanted the roundabouts replaced for a number of years.
The Welsh Government is still waiting to appoint an Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) company, which will now not happen until after the Assembly elections.
http://www.dailypost.co.uk/business/a55-roundabout-removal-project-given-11156336