inaccurate speed cameras

A device to provide a much more accurate assessment of speed is under
development.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/wear/7033353.stm

Inventor wins speed camera battle

A scientist escaped a charge of speeding at 42mph, after claiming a device
he invented showed him travelling 12mph slower.

Sunderland University lecturer Phillip Tann, 45, was told mobile speed
officers recorded him speeding in a 30mph zone in the city last November.

But Dr Tann, from South Shields, had data from a satellite tracking device,
showing him travelling at 29.18mph.

The Crown Prosecution Service confirmed proceedings against Dr Tann had
ceased.

Dr Tann was told he had committed the offence on Sunderland's Kier Hardie
Way on 27 November 2006.

He was faced with a fine and penalty points, but contested the case and
elected for trial at Sunderland Magistrates' Court.

Officer retired

Dr Tann's invention is built into a mobile phone and records its location
and speed on a computer database.

The design has already received government funding, with a £60,000 NStar
proof of concept award.

His company, Autopoietic Systems, plans to market a consumer version of the
technology later this year.

The technology lecturer believes his case could open the floodgates for
other motorists accused of speeding.

He also called for better training for police officers who have to use
mobile speed detection equipment.

Dr Tann said: "The mobile cameras used are not 100% accurate.

"My system can track a GPS phone within half-a-meter of where it is, whereas
devices currently on the market can, at best, only track a phone within five
metres."

A spokesman for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said: "The officer who
operated the camera has since retired.

"Without his verbal evidence, we could not prove the case to the required
standard."


So the copper had retired, convenient or merely convenient?


.

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