Friday, April 23, 2010

New Cameras to Track Speeding Motorists from Satellites in Outer Space

People like to say that we are living on a prison planet. It appears that way to me more and more every day when I read the news. Case in point, this story about satellites being able to possibly track, trace and database speeders from outer space. If that is not some 1984 stuff, then I do not know what is. Talk about a lack of due process. How could anyone realistically challenge one of these satellite readings? It is one thing to question the ticketing officer in Court, but how will a motorist be able to confirm whether a satellite is giving accurate readings? Further, how would anyone even know which specific satellite tracked them?

The Home Office is testing the cameras at two sites, one in Southwark, London, and the other A374 between Antony and Torpoint in Cornwall.

The `SpeedSpike’ system, which calculates average speed between any two points in the network, has been developed by PIPS Technology Ltd, an American-owned company with a base in Hampshire.


Details of the trials are contained in a House of Commons report. The company said in its evidence that the cameras enabled "number plate capture in all weather conditions, 24 hours a day". It also referred to the system's "low cost" and ease of installation.

Source: London Telegraph

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