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No more juggernauts in the River Severn!

Snooper UK have launched the new Snooper TruckMate satellite navigation system that will help lorry drivers in the UK to avoid a multitude of potential problems.

Snooper TruckMate is a unique satellite navigation (sat nav) system that provides information on height restrictions, width and weight restrictions that will help prevent lorry drivers from taking impractical routes. Snooper TruckMate also includes information on commercial vehicle friendly routes which can help reduce journey times and minimise the environmental impact of transporting goods.

Snooper TruckMate will also help truckers to avoid future stories in The Daily Mail like the one about trucks trying to cross the River Severn using a foot ferry!

When this satellite navigation system is first used, the truck driver enters the vehicles weight, height, width and length, then the sat nav system automatically provides recommended routes that can accommodate the vehicle.

Low bridges and sharp bends will no longer be a problem for truck drivers using the Snooper TruckMate sat nav system; it also helps to reduce problems and congestion caused by the need for drivers to turn around and retrace their routes.

Snooper TruckMate is an eco-friendly sat nav system that includes the option to take commercial vehicles on truck-friendly roads which have fewer stops and have lower inclines, therefore reducing stress on the engines and lowering truck emissions. When this is combined with the dynamic re-routing feature which adjusts the route for potential delays caused by traffic hold ups, it will have a significant impact on both time on the road and environmental impact.

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Snooper heads Which? Magazine Sat Nav Review 2007 with a score of 90% and rated 'Excellent' in every category

Snooper Syrius has been named as a 'Best Buy' for satellite navigation in a study by consumer watchdog, Which?.

Snooper Syrius was awarded the highest rating for a satellite navigation product in the test by Which?. The system achieved 90% and was rated as excellent in every category tested by Which?, beating off competition from the likes of Tom Tom, Garmin, Sony and Navman.

Snooper Syrius was rated in the test because it offers the highest in premium navigation mapping. The product is unique in using the Aura database, the best automotive speed safety camera database available. Aura is updated on a daily basis, ensuring the information available to drivers is constantly currently and relevant.

Steven Ballard, Product Development Director at Performance Products, said: In a sector dominated by global brands, it is important for a company such as ours to deliver market-leading products that are supported by a high level of customer service. The rating by Which? is a great recognition for Syrius and gives us the confidence to continue to develop sophisticated consumer electronics for the motor market.

The Which? recognition follows a number of other accolades for Syrius including MSN Cars Best Quality Product, AutoExpress 2007 Recommended and 4.5 stars out of 5 in Evo magazine testing.

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New Super Gatso detected by Snooper

Government to launch new Super Camera but Snooper's GPS technology is already prepared for this new release. All Snooper GPS speed camera detection systems old and new will be able to locate the 'Daddy' Gatso the moment it is released.

Government to launch new Super Camera but Snooper's GPS technology is already prepared for this new release. All Snooper GPS speed camera detection systems old and new will be able to locate the 'Daddy' Gatso the moment it is released.

Now it's the 4-lens cam! Drivers beware! This new super speed camera, dubbed 'the daddy', is on its way to a road near you within a year, Auto Express can exclusively reveal.

Motorists really will have nowhere to hide, as it's fitted with four lenses - three digital still cameras, plus a video capture system. These enable it to patrol up to four lanes of traffic at a time - current camera systems can only monitor part of a wide carriageway.

The new Multi-Camera System (MCS) can also be used at traffic lights and box junctions. And there will be no disputes as to who was behind the wheel, as the device has an infra-red flash, which means it can be forward facing to take pictures of drivers' faces.

The MCS is made by Dutch firm Gatsometer, which builds the infamous Gatso, the most common speed camera in the UK. The hi-tech new machine can hold up to 60,000 images of speeders on its encrypted hard drive, while the photos can be downloaded any time via a phone link. This, plus the fact it comes with defence spikes to deter vandals, means the MCS is almost maintenance-free - something which will appeal to safety camera partnerships.

A spokesman for Serco, Gatsometer's UK distributor, agreed that the MCS was 'the daddy of speed cameras'. He added: "It's not available in Britain at the moment, but we could introduce it in the future. The local camera partnerships need to decide if they want it.

"If they do, the unit would be operational within 12 months." However, Gatsometer's more expensive four-lane Automatic Number Plate Recognition system - revealed by Auto Express in Issue 818 - will arrive first. The Serco spokesman confirmed that the set-up, which times drivers between two points, will undergo Home Office trials soon and could be in use by early 2007.

News story provided by Auto Express.

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"In 2005 over 3,000,000 motorists were prosecuted for speeding offenses and in 2007 it is predicted that this figure will rise to over 4,000,000"

Main penalty point offences :
» Speeding: 3-6 points
» Going through a red light: 3 points
» Careless driving: 3-9 points
» Driving without insurance: 6-8 points
» Failing to stop after an accident: 5-10 points

Here are a collection of the latest news stories on speed cameras. Should you read an interesting article on speed cameras by all means get in contact and we will post on this page.

Indago wins Wanadoo Sat Nav review!

Snooper Indago
"Clothed in uncluttered brushed metal, the Snooper Indago is leagues ahead in the looks department and is the Bang & Olufsen of SatNav.

It's intuitive and compact, the anti-glare touch-screen is near perfect and you won't get lost in the menu or on the road. You can drag the map and full postcode recognition saves time at the start of every journey compared to every other system's partial postcode or street entry protocol"
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ONE MILLION DRIVERS FACE BAN !
Speed cameras have led to a surge of penalty points on drivers' licences - with more than a million motorists now just one offence away from a ban.

About 16 per cent of the nation's 40 million drivers now have penalty points, with three per cent facing a ban next time they break the law.

A survey from motor insurance company Direct Line showed that in the past 12 months, motorists have paid out more than £121 million in speeding fines. Some 92 per cent of motoring convictions during the past two years were for speeding.

Based on responses from 2,430 UK adults, the survey also showed that 61 per cent think speed cameras are mere revenue-raisers and 11 per cent think cameras are there to pay for local authority workers' bonuses.

More than three-quarters claim that fines have no effect on the speed they drive.

Direct Line's motor spokeswoman Emma Holyer said: "Despite the growing number of speed cameras in the UK and the increase in motorists receiving penalty points, our research shows that drivers are still speeding.

"Although the Government is currently reviewing speed cameras as part of the Road Safety Bill, drivers need to take notice of the speed limits - and cameras - regardless of whether they agree with them or not, as they could lose their licence if they choose to ignore them.

"Speed cameras exist because speeding is one of the biggest dangers on UK roads, with one in three road deaths attributed to it, so motorists do need to keep their speed down and be aware of the limits.''
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MORE SPEED CAMERAS FOR BRITAIN
More speed cameras are to be installed across Britain, although a hard core of reckless drivers continue to ignore them.

And the government is considering increasing speeding penalties, according to transport secretary Alistair Darling.

Department for Transport (DfT) figures published on Tuesday indicate roads with speed cameras have seen a 35% drop in deaths and serious injuries.

This means more than 280 have been prevented, saving tax-payers £112m.

The figures show no government could justify scrapping them, according to Mr Darling.

The number of people killed or seriously injured in the areas around cameras fell by up to 67% in Strathclyde, 62% in Lincolnshire and 53% in Cleveland.

But in Essex the number of deaths and serious injuries within 545 yards (500 metres) of a camera rose by 15%.

And the number of injuries near cameras in the Thames Valley rose by 14%.

Mr Darling said cameras in Essex and the Thames Valley might need to be moved.

And he told The Times newspaper: "We shall review the level of penalty points and fines."

Of the £27m in fines paid by thousands of drivers caught on film in Cleveland, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Strathclyde, Essex, south Wales and the Thames Valley during the past two years, £21m was used to buy more speed cameras and £6m went to the Treasury.

DfT officials say the fines can now pay for the umber of working cameras to double.

At the moment as few as one out of every 10 actually contain film.

But the government believes drivers now accept the need for speed cameras.

And it hopes they will become common across the country.

Source: BBC News - Web site

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SPEEDING DRIVERS TO GET LESSONS
Motorists caught speeding may soon be able to choose to go on a driving course instead of getting points on their licence.

One in 10 drivers - around three million people - are expected to get a ticket next year, and the government is considering ways in which it can reduce that figure.

They also hope that giving drivers better skills will reduce the number of deaths caused by speeding - currently estimated at around 1,000 a year.

A pilot scheme is already operating in Northampton and it could soon be extended across the country.

Drink driving

The idea of allowing drivers to go on courses rather than giving them points has been welcomed by the AA.

Its head of road safety, Andrew Howard, said there had already been a drift away from using fines alone as a deterrent for drink driving and careless driving.

Mr Howard said putting people on courses so that they learnt not to make the same mistakes again had become increasingly important.

He said: "It's much better if we can get someone to pay to come to learn the difficulties of speeding than it is if we jus penalise them and take the money away and give them points."

Mr Howard said the courses would wake people up to the peculiarities of the British speed limiting system and sort out the people "who are ignorant from the people who are not innocent".

'Speed kills'

One of the drivers on the pilot course, Shirley Goodman, said it had helped her learn more about road safety.

She said it had taught her to be "more aware and concentrate more on what I'm doing when I'm in the car than things that are going on outside the car".

Brian Henderson, of Northamptonshire Police, said officers hoped the lessons would bring about a complete change of attitude about speeding.

He said: "It's unsocial to drink and drive now, maybe in about five or 10 years time speeding will be unsociable to do as well.

"People will realise that speed kills.

Source: BBC News - Web site

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1,000 TRAFFIC-LIGHT CAMERAS ALTERED TO TRAP SPEEDERS
More than 1,000 traffic-cameras used to catch drivers jumping red lights are to converted so they can also trap speeders.

The latest blitz on hard-pressed drivers means the number of fixed-site speed cameras on Britain's roads could leap from 4,500 to 5,500.

A number of police forces are already testing dual-use cameras.

The Home office is understood to be ready to approve manufacture of such units, with the first ones going 'live' within months.

Experts say that more than 1,000 traffic-light cameras many in the London area could soon be dual-purpose.

Currently, cameras sited at junctions are designed to record the licence plate of drivers who jump a red light.

But police want them to also trap those that break the speed limit at junctions as they accelerate to beat the lights change from green to red.

The dual-purpose camera scheme, first adopted in mainland Europe and revealed in the motoring magazine Auto Express, was attacked by motoring groups representing the UK's 26 million drivers.

They said it was a 'stealth' move which would do little for road safety but would mean millions more motorists faced a £60 fine and three penalty points on their licence.

A spokesman for the Association of British drivers said: 'Drivers will be staring down at their speedometers instead of watching the road for fear of straying over the limit. The fear of getting a ticket could do more harm than good.' Of the present 4,500 fixed-site speed cameras on the roads, some 1,037 are in areas which belong to the Government's 'cash-for-cameras' scheme.

Police forces have applied to increase the number of such units to 1,534 by the end on 2005.

This in addition to the increasing use of mobile speed cameras in vans.

Experts say the number of motorists caught by cameras is on course to double from one million to two million a year.

However, police chiefs predict the number could top three million.

One in 15 motorists has been caught under the 'cash-for-cameras' scheme, which allows 'partnerships' of police forces and local authorities to keep most money raised by speeding fines.

However, the cameras in these areas must be painted yellow and positioned in clear view of the road.

The cash collected from fines has to be used for road safety initiatives which include installing more cameras or paying for film. Previously most of the money from speeding tickets went to the Treasury.

So far 34 police forces more than half the total number have signed up for the so-called 'safety cameras partnerships' in conjunction with councils, health authorities, courts and the Home Office.

Motoring organisations claim the 'cash for cameras' scheme is being used to milk drivers of money rather than target roads which are accident blackspots.

Ministers insist the initiative, introduced in April 2000, saves lives on the road and is not a 'revenue-raiser'.

Source: Daily Mail - Newspaper

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SPEED CAMERAS FACE LEGAL CHALLENGE
Transport campaigners are to apply for a judicial review into government rules forcing speed cameras to be painted bright yellow.

Pressure group Transport 2000 says there is no scientific evidence that brightly coloured cameras are more likely to make drivers slow down.

It is pursuing the court review along with the Slower Speeds Initiative.

Both groups believe many drivers brake when they catch a glimpse of a yellow box on the road ahead, making life dangerous for drivers behind.

Vicky Cann, assistant director of Transport 2000, said the High Court would be considering whether to look at the case.

She said the government had been backed into a corner by the motoring lobby over speed cameras.

Ms Cann said: "In no other area of criminal enforcement do criminals get warned they might be prosecuted, so why are speeding motorists any different?

"The danger of these guidelines is that speeding motorists will brake before a yellow camera and then speed away after it, knowing they are 'safe' from prosecution."

Road deaths

Earlier this year, the powerful Commons transport select committee, described the rules as "unreasonable".

"Crashes do not just occur at accident blackspots," said the committee's report.

"There was no scientific research to support this decision. People will die as a result."

In 2004, 3,400 people were killed on the UK's roads but MPs say that number could be reduced to less than 1,000 with the right measures.

The government believes making cameras more visible will make drivers slow down earlier.

Official statistics already suggest there has been a 47% fall in the number of deaths and serious injuries at speed camera sites.

The Department of Transport is attempting to hit a target of cutting the number of people killed or seriously injured by 40% by 2010.

Source: BBC News - Web site

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