Police speed camera stolen near Tauranga

[jrandom]

ahhh... this deserves a cut 'n' paste, IMHO.

...

Police suspect an audacious speedster may be responsible for the theft of an $80,000 speed camera from a roadside just outside of Tauranga.

Police were left scratching their heads, after yesterday discovering the camera had disappeared from its Pyes Pa site, 15 kilometres from Tauranga.

Senior Sergeant Tim Masters said sometime between Sunday and yesterday, someone smashed their way into the control box and took the device.

"Obviously someone was not happy and may have had a grudge after being caught on camera. But at this stage it is not clear exactly why it has been taken."

Mr Masters said it was unlikely the camera could have any useful purpose apart from its intended function of snapping speeding drivers.

Officers believe the camera would have snapped up to 400 motorists since being placed there four or five days earlier.

[jrandom]

Hopefully Stage II will involve thermite and angle grinders.

:banana:

[Hitcher]

Hopefully Stage II will involve thermite and angle grinders.

:banana:
I am amused by the level of fortifications around the fixed camera just north of Pukerua Bay. The cops obviously don't want that one escaping!
:buggerd:

[wkid_one]

400 motorists at say a minimum of $120 a ticket - that is $48000 for 5 days work.

This then amounts to 3.33 drivers per hour - then generating $400/hr in revenue to the police. No wonder they are pissed that it has gone missing - they may actually have to pay a policeman to do the work - Oh - hold on - they are all out doing this anyway? Shit.

This means in 10 days work - this camera has paid for itself - how many business would love that return on their assets - most I would say would love that ROI.

[Hitcher]

400 motorists at say a minimum of $120 a ticket - that is $48000 for 5 days work.

This then amounts to 3.33 drivers per hour - then generating $400/hr in revenue to the police. No wonder they are pissed that it has gone missing - they may actually have to pay a policeman to do the work - Oh - hold on - they are all out doing this anyway? Shit.

This means in 10 days work - this camera has paid for itself - how many business would love that return on their assets - most I would say would love that ROI.
If the cops ever privatise speed cameras (as they proposed a few years ago), I have my sites picked out:
-- Hutt Road, by Ultra Glass
-- Te Moana Road, Waikanae (about 500m down from SH1)
-- SH1 south of Raumati (by the Waterfall Road turn-off), one each way

Any more than this would be greedy. Just sit back and watch the cash roll in...
:devil2:

[XRNR]

More of that sort of Larikin behaviour please! (public is starting to get restless).

I never understand why the wankers who throw bottles through the back windscreens of Joe public's car while it is broken down and left overnight on the Nth Western M'way. Don't do something useful and throw bottles and paint at the incessant speed camera vans parked there!

[k14]

Someone should just go round with a silenced barret 50 cal and take out the lenses on all of them.

That ought to fix them :done:

[Jackrat]

Iv'e often wondered how one of them things would handle a 180g .308 projectile at say 2800fps,and if it would manage to take a photo' as the bullet
was closing in.
Hey just a thought :whistle: :Oops:

[k14]

Yeah, that would be funny. Probably see a half cracked lens or something.

I saw on top gear (the british car show) a few weeks ago that to defeat a speed camera the person needed to be going 280kph (or so), and they were gone by the time the camera took the photo. So i dont even know if the camera would react in time.

I wonder if the cops would have insurance on it? Serves them right for leaving it there for 3 days!!! :mad:

[Hitcher]

Iv'e often wondered how one of them things would handle a 180g .308 projectile at say 2800fps,and if it would manage to take a photo' as the bullet
was closing in.
Hey just a thought :whistle: :Oops:
A guy got busted a few years ago shooting out a pole camera near Waikumete cemetary in west Auckland. Just as he was taking aim a speeding car tripped the camera which got a good shot of him, sufficient to warrant his arrest, prior to having its eye shot out.
:buggerd:

[Jackrat]

A guy got busted a few years ago shooting out a pole camera near Waikumete cemetary in west Auckland. Just as he was taking aim a speeding car tripped the camera which got a good shot of him, sufficient to warrant his arrest, prior to having its eye shot out.
:buggerd:

:lol: serves the silly bugger right.
You would have to do it from 2/300 meters out.
Errrrrr, Time I Shut up me thinks. :bye:

[XRNR]

A guy got busted a few years ago shooting out a pole camera near Waikumete cemetary in west Auckland...

Bugger!
At least the Westies, try!

[Motoracer]

A guy got busted a few years ago shooting out a pole camera near Waikumete cemetary in west Auckland. Just as he was taking aim a speeding car tripped the camera which got a good shot of him, sufficient to warrant his arrest, prior to having its eye shot out.
:buggerd:

PMPLROTF :lol:

I feel sad for the guy though :(

[jrandom]

Apparently that Waikumete camera is the most active fixed camera position in the country. From a Herald article a while back. I notice that unlike most other positions it's *never* empty, always has an active camera sitting in there when you look at it.

Yeah, hitting it from 300m out would be safer in terms of not getting photographed but the dude was probably trying to use a subsonic .22 or .45 or some such round to avoid being noticed, so it would have had to be <100 or preferably <50 metres. Would you want to be hanging around Waikumete holding a rifle after the residents heard the crack and phoned the cops? I suppose you could lift it outta the boot of the car, take your shot, stuff it back in and scarper...

Oh and there's no such bloody thing as a silenced .50BMG, OK? They do fit *suppressors* to reduce muzzle blast but you just can't silence that much hot supersonic expanding gas, quite apart from the sonic crack of a 700gr projectile travelling downrange at upwards of 2500fps. Even with a FOAD can on the end of the barrel you'd want earplugs and muffs and all the friendlies standing well rearwards of the muzzle.

Anyone who has actually fired a .50 of any sort is welcome to come along and tell me I'm wrong :bleh:

[marty]

there's a shot of paul radisich at 275ish kmh at pukekohe about somewhere. the pic is so clear you can make out the sponsors stickers all over the car. i have seen a front shot of a 'busa on Sh1 at karapiro at 280kmh - it is as clear as if it was parked there. (with a dude lying on the tank).

there is another great shot somewhere of a vtec honda at 200kmh about to roll after heavy yaw under panic braking - the car was stolen even - you would think that they wouldn't care if they got snapped

[jrandom]

...safer in terms of not getting photographed...

Or just wear overalls, gloves and a balaclava, they'll never identify you from the photo then. They would have just paged through the photographs on West Auckland firearms licenses to get his ID...

Er.

Not that I think about this kind of thing on any regular basis, mind you :whistle:

[James Deuce]

The English Gatso system works differently to ours.

They take 2 shots to confirm the speed and the offender. On Top Gear they showed that you need to be doing at least 171MPH to be absent from the second photo which means no offence notice is issued. However on the English motorway system the cameras are linked and can recognise plates and record the average time between cameras. So even if you are travelling at a legal speed past the installation you can still get pinged if your average speed exceeds the speed limit between cameras. Yukky.

Here they take the shot, pick the "obvious" offender and ask for cash.

[GPz]

ahhh... this deserves a cut 'n' paste, IMHO.

...

Police suspect an audacious speedster may be responsible for the theft of an $80,000 speed camera from a roadside just outside of Tauranga.

Police were left scratching their heads, after yesterday discovering the camera had disappeared from its Pyes Pa site, 15 kilometres from Tauranga.

Senior Sergeant Tim Masters said sometime between Sunday and yesterday, someone smashed their way into the control box and took the device.

"Obviously someone was not happy and may have had a grudge after being caught on camera. But at this stage it is not clear exactly why it has been taken."

Mr Masters said it was unlikely the camera could have any useful purpose apart from its intended function of snapping speeding drivers.

Officers believe the camera would have snapped up to 400 motorists since being placed there four or five days earlier.
This speed camera is about 200 metres inside a 70k zone coming down from 100k zone.
It is in a new and quite heavily populated area. The camera also sticks out like dogs balls. For the residents who live in the area, it has made it slightly easier to pull out from driveways and side streets. In this instance it seems to be trying to do the job cameras are supposed to be for and that is slowing people down where there is the potential for an accident. The people who damaged/stole this camera have not only made it somewhat more dangerous and also cost the taxpayer a shit load as it will have to be replaced.

[James Deuce]

This speed camera is about 200 metres inside a 70k zone coming down from 100k zone.
It is in a new and quite heavily populated area. The camera also sticks out like dogs balls. For the residents who live in the area, it has made it slightly easier to pull out from driveways and side streets. In this instance it seems to be trying to do the job cameras are supposed to be for and that is slowing people down where there is the potential for an accident. The people who damaged/stole this camera have not only made it somewhat more dangerous and also cost the taxpayer a shit load as it will have to be replaced.

You have a point about Pyes Pa. I go through there when I come up from Wellington to see my Grandfather in Greerton, and I always get tailgated through the 70km/hr zone - There's a school there too isn't there?

[GPz]

There is a new school, Aquinas college, the whole area is growing at the moment . I think a new subdivision has just been oked by the council. It is for over 600 sections!

[Jackrat]

Apparently that Waikumete camera is the most active fixed camera position in the country. From a Herald article a while back. I notice that unlike most other positions it's *never* empty, always has an active camera sitting in there when you look at it.

Yeah, hitting it from 300m out would be safer in terms of not getting photographed but the dude was probably trying to use a subsonic .22 or .45 or some such round to avoid being noticed, so it would have had to be <100 or preferably <50 metres. Would you want to be hanging around Waikumete holding a rifle after the residents heard the crack and phoned the cops? I suppose you could lift it outta the boot of the car, take your shot, stuff it back in and scarper...

Oh and there's no such bloody thing as a silenced .50BMG, OK? They do fit *suppressors* to reduce muzzle blast but you just can't silence that much hot supersonic expanding gas, quite apart from the sonic crack of a 700gr projectile travelling downrange at upwards of 2500fps. Even with a FOAD can on the end of the barrel you'd want earplugs and muffs and all the friendlies standing well rearwards of the muzzle.

Anyone who has actually fired a .50 of any sort is welcome to come along and tell me I'm wrong :bleh:

Nope you ain't wrong,I seen one of Nelson Collies .50s being shot at a meet in the South Island.It was being fired prone an flatend the grass for a hundred meters in an arc in front of the shooter :shit: :love: :2thumbsup

[k14]

Yeah, the barret would still make a hell of a bang, but that is mostly from the bullet breaking the sound barrier.

It has a special "thingy" at the end of the muzzle that aims the gases back at a 45 degree angle to try and reduce the recoil. But a decent shooter with a .22 would easily take it out. Just need it to break the lense and those look to be quite big on the mounted cams.

[wkid_one]

Apparently that Waikumete camera is the most active fixed camera position in the country.
Yes - but the camera that earns the most money is the one in Nguaranga Gorge in Wellington

[Lou Girardin]

Does anyone know how bulletproof these things are, will a .22 do the job or do they need more muscle?
Lou

[spudchucka]

400 motorists at say a minimum of $120 a ticket - that is $48000 for 5 days work.

This then amounts to 3.33 drivers per hour - then generating $400/hr in revenue to the police. No wonder they are pissed that it has gone missing - they may actually have to pay a policeman to do the work - Oh - hold on - they are all out doing this anyway? Shit.

This means in 10 days work - this camera has paid for itself - how many business would love that return on their assets - most I would say would love that ROI.

Actually the police don't see any of that money. It goes to the great Govt slush fund, undoubtedly to keep the increasing population of beneficiarys in there expected standard of living.

[jrandom]

It has a special "thingy" at the end of the muzzle that aims the gases back at a 45 degree angle to try and reduce the recoil.

That's called a muzzle brake, and it makes it LOUDER, dude, because it pushes the gas right back at ya. It *does* effectively reduce recoil.

I have to disagree on the 'mostly the bullet noise' thing with the 50cal. Look up 50BMG loads in a reloading manual, read a couple of texts on fluid dynamics and then come back with a design for a suppressor that'll effectively handle the volume of gas generated by that much powder burning. Without running any numbers, I'd feel pretty safe guessing that you'd need a rubbish can...

[Slingshot]

It's simple, to avoid a speed camera fine all you need to do is pop a wheelie so your number plate is obsured :Punk:

I used to know a guy that ran one of the mobile cameras, he said...the mobile camera's have a maximum frame rate of 1 frame per second...so if your tailgating you probably won't get caught.
Also, the mobile cameras have to take a photo with no other cars in it before they can give you a ticket, so, you you could fly past a car at 200kph and if you timed it right you wouldn't get a ticket. :stoogie:

[Jackrat]

Does anyone know how bulletproof these things are, will a .22 do the job or do they need more muscle?
Lou

Lou, I don,t know about the ones here but when I lived in Sydney I noticed a lot of the camera boxes had some pretty big dings in em' so I imagine an FMJ Center fire would be needed.Unless a direct hit on the front glass cover was achieved I doubt a .22 rim fire would do the deed.Now I would like to buy a sharpes 45-70 an I,m pretty sure that would take the whole box off the pole.Of course this is all just talking about it,I could never really consider doing something like this as us fire arm owners have enough to live with as it is now.Interesting subject to a student of ballistics but.
Hmmmmm, an then a .22 swift with an FMJ round would probably smoke em' good.They are one of the few small arm rounds that will take out the front sceen on a fighter air craft. :crazy:

[sAsLEX]

Aluminium powder + powdered rust = thermite

Just need some magnesium ribbon to ignite then it will burn through just about anything :eek:

[What?]

I used to know a guy that ran one of the mobile cameras, he said...the mobile camera's have a maximum frame rate of 1 frame per second...so if your tailgating you probably won't get caught.
How long ago? If over two years your info may be obsolete :shit:

[What?]

So who saw the complete piece of CRAP about this on the front page of Thursday night's Bay Times? Dumb reporter (probably a peroxided blonde) seems to think that the camera remover has flogged it for financial gain, or maybe to retrieve the photos...
Like Charlie Brown said, "Good Grief"

[cheetor]

Iv'e often wondered how one of them things would handle a 180g .308 projectile at say 2800fps,and if it would manage to take a photo' as the bullet
was closing in.
Hey just a thought :whistle: :Oops:
I rekon a coupple of paintballs from my paintball gun woiuld do the job :D :laugh:

[wkid_one]

PLus no criminal damage as it is just like airborne tagging that needs to be cleaned off.......

[pete376403]

Yes - but the camera that earns the most money is the one in Nguaranga Gorge in Wellington
And ain't it a pisser that they spent around $5million putting up all those electronic speed limit signs, so the limit could be changed up and down as conditions warranted. With the camera set on 80K (fecking stupid for a four lane divided highway) the electronic signs are redundant.
And another thing - if the Gorge is so dangerous that it needs to be 80K how come the limit ups to 100K about 3/4 way down? :mad:

[LB]

And ain't it a pisser that they spent around $5million putting up all those electronic speed limit signs, so the limit could be changed up and down as conditions warranted.
Most of the time those electronic signs say nothing at all.

When they do say something, it's when it's raining and they say "slippery surface watch following distance". So most car drivers will sit there and watch the following distance (rather than what's going on around them) rather than increasing their following distance.

I think once or twice it's said "accident SH1 expect delays".

IMHO they're a waste of $5 million.

[avgas]

been done to the 1 next to my old house (grt nrth rd, titirangi intersection) was cleaned within 6 hours!!!!

[simo]

Heh Jackrat, you read me mind, the perfect load for speed cameras, suppressed .223 55gn hollow point from 250 meters through a 24in barrel, love to see the photo as the round closed in, you could redrill the bolt holes for the camera box with this setup!!!! Down Triangle road in Henderson, we passed a green motorised ATM, that someone had snuckup and attached a big cardboard sign to the back that said REVENUE COLLECTION IN PROGRESS, couldn't stop laughing as the plonker in the van wasnt aware of the sign, bloody Westies :Punk: :Punk: :Punk: :laugh: :laugh:

[cycosis]

good job,that will bring the road toll down :brick:

[ajturbo]

isn't that strange!!!!
i go past that camera nearly every day..it is 10km from my place on a no exit rd!! ( road is closed for mayjor work ) i have not noticed it missing at all!!!
did it get replaced asap??? it will have one with me giving it the finger... :Punk: i think i was doing around 80km/hr.. but it is after the school, going in that direction, going towards the school i do watch my speed as you just don't know what those little buggers will do!!!.. flash looking school, i wonder if luke wants to go there???

[Jamezo]

been done to the 1 next to my old house (grt nrth rd, titirangi intersection) was cleaned within 6 hours!!!!

there's one at the northern end of fergusson drive, got spraypainted, and IIRC, didn't get fixed for like weeks! (my memory is bad, it was anywhere from 1 to 3...)

[simo]

good job,that will bring the road toll down :brick:

Try this for 1%, in the lastest news on stuff.co.nz, the cops trot out some statistics, they stopped 13,810 drivers last weekend in AK, they booked 140 drivers for excess breath alcohol, yes you guessed it 0.01% hit rate, we are are all targed for purposes of revenue collection because of 1% of the population. What they don't say is the revenue collected from all the stopped vehicles without WOF, regos, etc etc. Sure we caught 140 drivers, but we wrote out tickets for 5000 vehicles average fine of $80, love a business like that - $400,000 in fines.

I have to admit though, getting pissed driver's off the road has got to be good for all. However, hiding speed cameras under trees, and pinging Ma & PA for 63 kms suggests a very wide net all sitting under the banner of bringing the road toll down, expands the potential revenue base with using the justification " if we can save one life" There is no decisive evidence that citizens sending cheques to the police changes their driving habits at all. Our road toll is still over 400 per year in spite of all the millions collected - The road toll will be with us forever, I hope I don't have to spell out why. :yeah:

[rodgerd]

400 motorists at say a minimum of $120 a ticket - that is $48000 for 5 days work.

Well, you know how it is when people are too thick not to break the law in front of a fixed camera.

[rodgerd]

Actually the police don't see any of that money. It goes to the great Govt slush fund, undoubtedly to keep the increasing population of beneficiarys in there expected standard of living.

Increasing? Unemployment's down, dude. You may have noticed the stories about employers wanting to bulk import cheap labour so they don't have to *gasp* pay people more to get them.

[rodgerd]

And ain't it a pisser that they spent around $5million putting up all those electronic speed limit signs, so the limit could be changed up and down as conditions warranted. With the camera set on 80K (fecking stupid for a four lane divided highway) the electronic signs are redundant.
And another thing - if the Gorge is so dangerous that it needs to be 80K how come the limit ups to 100K about 3/4 way down? :mad:

Limit there is more about keeping traffic flowing. People who study traffic flows for a living (odd occupation, I know) tell me that you get better overall trips if, eg everyone goes at a steady 60 rather than a stop-and-go 100 on congested roads.

[rodgerd]

I have to admit though, getting pissed driver's off the road has got to be good for all. However, hiding speed cameras under trees, and pinging Ma & PA for 63 kms suggests a very wide net all sitting under the banner of bringing the road toll down, expands the potential revenue base with using the justification " if we can save one life" There is no decisive evidence that citizens sending cheques to the police changes their driving habits at all. Our road toll is still over 400 per year in spite of all the millions collected - The road toll will be with us forever, I hope I don't have to spell out why. :yeah:

I'd love you to spell out why the road toll has damn near halved since the 80s. Or is it just a happy conincidence occuring in spite of the higher levels of car ownership and use since then?

[Antallica]

OH NOES!
Man this thead is OLD, the camera was lifted like at the start of this year ;)

Pays to read.

[hodgeman]

I saw on top gear (the british car show) a few weeks ago that to defeat a speed camera the person needed to be going 280kph (or so), and they were gone by the time the camera took the photo.

I wonder if that's the same case with NZ cameras??
I don't think I'd have the balls to find out on my GSXR.
I'm not even sure It would go that fast..... :eek5:
If I tried, I'd be heading straight towards the camera! :cool:

[simo]

I'd love you to spell out why the road toll has damn near halved since the 80s. Or is it just a happy conincidence occuring in spite of the higher levels of car ownership and use since then?

The car industry might actually build a better car more people survive crashes due to this, better engineered roads, driver education, whatever, they are all factors in why there are less crashes than there were 20 years ago. Speed is a factor in every accident due to some basic laws of physics, but you will have the same debate when you write the next cheque for your speed camera fine for 63km, will this slow me down and prevent an accident or not - simple modus operandi - easy revenue - you lose, cops win

[Blakamin]

The car industry might actually build a better car more people survive crashes due to this, better engineered roads, driver education, whatever, they are all factors in why there are less crashes than there were 20 years ago. Speed is a factor in every accident due to some basic laws of physics, but you will have the same debate when you write the next cheque for your speed camera fine for 63km, will this slow me down and prevent an accident or not - simple modus operandi - easy revenue - you lose, cops win
Not to mention air-bags, abs, blah blah blah

[Sniper]

Someone should just go round with a silenced barret 50 cal and take out the lenses on all of them.

That ought to fix them :done:

Hmmm, wouldnt recommend a silenced .50cal. You cant really silence them, a good rifle would be an AI 6mm, and I know just where to get a silenced one, hehehe :blah:

[ajturbo]

i have just gone passed the said camera... it looks like there is a brand new box, the pole has moss/mould/dirt on it!

[Mongoose]

I wonder if that's the same case with NZ cameras??
I don't think I'd have the balls to find out on my GSXR.
I'm not even sure It would go that fast..... :eek5:
If I tried, I'd be heading straight towards the camera! :cool:

Those Pommy cameras shown on that programme worked on two "trip" strips on the raod, unlike ours.