There’s nothing new about people resorting to guerrilla tactics to tackle dangerous driving – people have even disguised bird boxes as speed cameras, but James Thom has gone a step further with his AI-powered DIY speed camera.
James’s code turns any webcam or camera phone into a virtual speed camera. It overlays the current speed so you can see which vehicles are speeding in real time. you can watch it in action here.
The results of the community speed survey using this software was used to successfully persuade the council to install traffic calming measures on the road.
I want my own speed camera, but can’t write code…
If you like the idea of using speed camera data to lobby your local council about traffic calming measures , but don’t have the programming skills to build your own system like James did, help is at hand in the form of the Android Speedcam Anywhere app.
Speedcam Anywhere uses video from your phone to calculate the speed of a vehicle as well as its location. It generates a link which can be uploaded to police dashcam websites or used to campaign for traffic calming measures.
Point and click: The app automatically calculates the speed of the vehicle you’re filming
The app has not yet been Type Approved by the Home Office, so cannot issue speeding tickets, but evidence from the app can be presented to police forces so they can issue Anti-Social Driving Orders for Section 59 offences, where inconsiderate driving causes alarm and distress.
Rod King MBE, founder and campaign director of 20’s Plenty for Us, has described the system as a game changer: “Speedcam Anywhere bypasses the current resource bottlenecks associated with enforcement. We have police forces that desperately want to reduce road offences and speeding offences, but many will only prioritise minimal resources to the task.”
It is hoped the app will act as a deterrent because any of the people you drive past could be filming and reporting your speed – very different from drivers feeling they only have to comply with the law when approaching a speed camera or when someone in a hi-vis jacket at the side of the road is pointing a speed gun at them.
The app is available to download from SpeedcamAnywhere.com or the Google Play Store.
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Doug M
I tried to find this app on my Android 8 Samsung mobile. Google Play only offered me speedcam detectors. I then accessed it on my desktop PC, where of course it could not work, and typed the full web address from there into my mobile. My mobile then said that my device isn’t compatible with this version. It also showed reviews which indicate that this is a chargeable app, with “only 28 free credits”. It also said that “In-app purchases cost £4.99 to £14.99 per item”. The 270 reviews had an average rating of 1.3 out of 5. A shame that your article did not tell the whole story!
Andy McNab
As if the people aren’t oppressed enough, but you’ve got losers like this designing or using speed camera apps. The effort Doug has gone to to download this app is unbelievable, he even resents the £4.99 fee. This is what the UK has become.
The ETA
What about the oppression caused by motorised traffic?
John McFluffel
The audacity of some people. What are you complaining about? That you will no longer be allowed not to follow the rules?
That you will need to read speed limit signs?
Go cry somewhere else and talk to me when you lost a family member because of speeding.
LD
Hi, I’m a resident of an area in East Hampshire that has a straight stretch of B road that runs past my house and is around 600m in length before cars/bikes have to begin to slow for corners.
There are multiple hazards along that stretch including a pub, access to a primary school, footpaths either side to access a dog walking field, cricket grounds, a playground and multiple sports facilities used by people of all ages from children to elderly. The footpaths are also used to access a doctors surgery and pharmacy which has a difficult junction to exit. The stretch of road is designated as 30mph with multiple signs and a flashing warning sign to display if someone is speeding yet our local ‘team’ of speed monitors have caught people doing in excess of almost 3 times the limit at the mid section of road (which also happens to have bus stops either side). and on average are doing between 40-50mph. ‘The measures’ in place clearly aren’t working.
There is a huge amount of vulnerable pedestrian activity on this stretch of road. Additionally, the high speeds of some motorists create incredible amounts of noise pollution in an otherwise peaceful area.
My question is, how do I/the speeding committee lobby the local council to have speed bumps/humps or cameras installed to eliminate this problem from the area? I know of several pet deaths on that road and several near misses of human casualties in the less than 2 years in the area. In my opinion it is only a matter of time before a person (child or otherwise) is killed or severely injured due to the numerous public facilities along the road.
Thank you for reading.
L
Lynn
Did you find out how to lobby for bumps/humps or cameras? I have a similar issue and the local councillor, although aware of the problem, are doing nothing about it. I took a dying pet to the vet this weekend because of careless and speeding drivers