Are these traffic cams?

Just saw this today while driving in Pasadena, CA. I couldn't get a better picture as I was blocking traffic. Why are there 2, both pointed in the same direction? Why aren't they at an intersection? (They're located mid-block.) And what are all those other nob-like dealies?



Here's a larger version. You can tell I haven't washed my car in a while.

i184.photobucket.com...

I don't know for sure but the black things look like they might be spotlights. I pay attention to traffic cameras and towers because I think their purpose is more sinister than we're lead to believe. There are some traffic cams here in Hollywood, Florida that are freaking me out and I can't find anything about them online. I'll have to get a picture of them and post them here. They have these weird wirey brush-like appendages sticking out of the tops of them. Could be some sort of antenna but they're freaky looking and it bothers me whenever I have to stop at that intersection.

Unmanned radar to try to catch speeders, perhaps?

I don't think those are traffic cams; they might be radar guns. The traffic cams are the white spherical things hanging from light post (only visible in the larger image.) Above and to the right of the hanging cameras are the infrared lights for those cameras. If those white things are guns then this whole area has a lot of cameras.

The three things that look like spotlights look, to me, like traffic lights. They might be a special turn signal or something. Can you get a shot from another angle to be sure?


You can see the light pole on Live maps

Jon

Originally posted by Voxel
Can you get a shot from another angle to be sure?

Jon

Nice info, thanks Voxel. On Monday I plan to get some decent additional photos, and if it's not obvious, I want to check it out in the evening to definitely rule out any streetlights or spotlights. I'll get back to you on this.

Originally posted by annestacey
I'll have to get a picture of them and post them here. They have these weird wirey brush-like appendages sticking out of the tops of them. Could be some sort of antenna but they're freaky looking and it bothers me whenever I have to stop at that intersection.

Anne, I'm interested to see those. Please post.

hhmm as said before they do look like radar guns but its possible that one is a radar gun and one is a camera to actually catch the image
and the image with the cameras hanging down on the poles are most defiantly cameras as i see them in buildings

Its good to see people taking notice of such things. In the UK vitually every inch of motorway is covered by camera and i mean every inch. There is a 3 mile section of the M42 motorway which is covered by 200 cameras just within that 3 mile?????

Also over here in the UK we now have quite a lot of Number Plate Recognition cameras that basically read your number plate and send the info back. Possibly as a means to track wanted vehicles and such

Heres a UK site that shows most of our speed cameras.

www.speedcamerasuk.com...

I got a £60 fine and 3 points on my licence after thrashing my friends Morgan V8 along the A303.

I went out after and bought a detector and that has saved me a lot of money

Heres anpother site that shows how some people deal with them. The favourite is to throw a tyre over it, a splash of petrol then run !!!
www.speedcam.co.uk...

[edit on 5/8/07 by Chorlton]

Same here Chorlton i also gained 3 points for this and bought myself a sat nav that also gives warnings of speed cameras. I read somewhere this week though that the authorities are thinking of making these detectors illegal as cameras are meant to be there for safety and we shouldnt have prior knowledge of there whereabouts. Load of crap i think as they just want to keep the cash rolling in. Speed cameras must make the authorities a heck of a lot of money

I have to laugh when I hear people boast about their speeding antics and the fact that speed cameras are only there to produce revenue.

I yearn for the day cars are restricted by engine capacity, so the weak willed are not tempted to view the accelerater as an on off switch.

IMO, when those caught speeding are repeat offenders, they should be fined, get points and be restricted to a vehicle that is not capable of going over the national speed limit.

Originally posted by Koka
I have to laugh when I hear people boast about their speeding antics and the fact that speed cameras are only there to produce revenue.

Many of them really are only revenue makers. Speed cameras placed out in the middle of nowhere with no recorded accidents. I got caught on the dual carriageway of the A303. It was a dead straight road, in the middle of nowhere and the Gatso was hidden behind a tree.

I yearn for the day cars are restricted by engine capacity, so the weak willed are not tempted to view the accelerater as an on off switch.

IMO, when those caught speeding are repeat offenders, they should be fined, get points and be restricted to a vehicle that is not capable of going over the national speed limit.

So you can put your hand on your heart and honestly say in your entire life you have never gone say 5 MPH over the speed limit? which was what I got done for (well 7 mph over actually)
Sorry but I simply cant believe it.

If certain speed cameras are not revenue collectors why are they hidden behind obstacles

Originally posted by thesaint
Same here Chorlton i also gained 3 points for this and bought myself a sat nav that also gives warnings of speed cameras. I read somewhere this week though that the authorities are thinking of making these detectors illegal as cameras are meant to be there for safety and we shouldnt have prior knowledge of there whereabouts. Load of crap i think as they just want to keep the cash rolling in. Speed cameras must make the authorities a heck of a lot of money

Oh Cameras make thousands every day.

Im not one to persistantly speed and my nick was for 7MPH over the limit.
77MPH in a 70 MPH Limit. Ive got an MDA with satnav that has the speedcams database which I am going to use all the time now as well as the detector (which works surprisingly well even coming up behind a Gatso which it picks up at around 300 yards)

Originally posted by Chorlton
Heres anpother site that shows how some people deal with them. The favourite is to throw a tyre over it, a splash of petrol then run !!!
www.speedcam.co.uk...

Chorlton, that site is amazing! I don't think hardly anyone in the states is aware of this--I wasn't. I can't believe the sheer number of destroyed units. Wonderful examples of civil disobedience.

I have a question: he mentions the loss of revenue to the "scamera partnership." I would think the manufacturers would be enjoying very much replacing all the vandalized Gatsos, so who exactly is he referring to?

Most UK Police forces are now part of the Speed Camera Partnerships
These are the buggers that got me
www.safecam.org.uk...

Heres another
www.dorsetsafetycameras.org.uk...

They are raking in millions every year

I think I get what he means now--the partnerships are losing revenue from the loss of ticketing itself, not replacement of the Gatsos.

I was amused by this:

This scheme ended on March 31 2007 and cameras are now controlled locally - with money from central funds available to finance local safety schemes and education programmes.

I don't know whether this is an unfortunate choice of words or whether "scheme" doesn't have the the same connotation in Britain as it does here.

Some of the Gatsos are needed and are placed in areas of high accident reports, but some are placed directly as revenue gatherers.
Most of the new ones are digital cameras linked by ADSL line to control centers where the pictures are processed and the fines sent out automatically.

Originally posted by Chorlton
So you can put your hand on your heart and honestly say in your entire life you have never gone say 5 MPH over the speed limit? which was what I got done for (well 7 mph over actually)
Sorry but I simply cant believe it.

Not having ever had a driving license, let alone a car, yes I can say that with honesty.

Originally posted by Chorlton
I got a £60 fine and 3 points on my licence after thrashing my friends Morgan V8 along the A303.

Sounds a little like you were racing Chorlton, the Wheelies would be truly disappointed with your lack of self-control.

If certain speed cameras are not revenue collectors why are they hidden behind obstacles

To catch those that are incapable of self restraint.

[edit on 5-8-2007 by Koka]

Originally posted by Koka

If certain speed cameras are not revenue collectors why are they hidden behind obstacles

To catch those that are incapable of self restraint.

[edit on 5-8-2007 by Koka]

What's more typical in the states is the opposite--they park a highly visible radar unit mounted on a trailer with a big display showing your speed. Everybody seems to slow down when they see them--no photos, no ticketing. Is it really necessary to play "Gotcha" with these hidden ticketing gizmos?

Originally posted by Koka

Not having ever had a driving license, let alone a car, yes I can say that with honesty.

Then I feel you must be missing out on something
.

Sounds a little like you were racing Chorlton, the Wheelies would be truly disappointed with your lack of self-control.

Nope I wasnt racing at all. It was 11.00PM and I wanted to try out the V8 engine we had spent the last week putting in a friends car.
(I had a word with Fenella though who said it was OK)

To catch those that are incapable of self restraint.
[edit on 5-8-2007 by Koka]

In the middle of nowhere? We are told they are for safety but to place them in the middle of nowhere they are simply revenue gathering.