South West Bikers | Motorcycle Forum

Did you know that as of April 3rd this year, Devon and Cornwall police have been using drones to snoop from the sky on speeding motorists?

They have been releasing inches online of groups of motorcyclists being pulled in for 'chats' by the side of the road.

Keep your eyes peeled folks.

yup Laura had a friday bike meet she had not planned , you could watch yourself on their telly apparently ,

. . . . . . . and bang goes another of our freedoms.
George Orwell was not wrong. He was a little previous with his date perhaps; but, folks, the erosion of civil liberties he described is creeping up on us all.

I think it's just a publicity stunt, but if it raises awareness then I guess it's working.

Jug wrote: ↑Apr 9th, '23, 09:25 I think it's just a publicity stunt, .. . . . . . . . ...

So was the blanket speed limit of 70mph in the 1970's.

Robbo87 wrote: ↑Apr 9th, '23, 08:45 . . . . . . . and bang goes another of our freedoms.
George Orwell was not wrong. He was a little previous with his date perhaps; but, folks, the erosion of civil liberties he described is creeping up on us all.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0oJqJkfTdAg

Watched a clip this morning of footage they released.

This will end up causing more accidents, people be looking into the sky before over taking miss f***ing daisy doing 40 on a perfectly suitable 60.

TLS-Moose wrote: ↑Apr 9th, '23, 10:17

Robbo87 wrote: ↑Apr 9th, '23, 08:45 . . . . . . . and bang goes another of our freedoms.
George Orwell was not wrong. He was a little previous with his date perhaps; but, folks, the erosion of civil liberties he described is creeping up on us all.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0oJqJkfTdAg

Yup, that little clip tells a story. Not so much that it's helping to nab the bad guys, which is a 'good thing' but for the blatant catch-all application of the device; and then punishing the innocent people who object to it!

Robbo87 wrote: ↑Apr 9th, '23, 09:42 So was the blanket speed limit of 70mph in the 1970's.

How is that the same?
The blanket speed limit of 70 was to conserve fuel during a shortage, and was retained on safety grounds.

These drones don't actually catch speeding motorists, they just produce grainy images that can used on social media.
There is likely some value from them as they could alert police on the ground to possible targets but unless the speeder is caught by a traditional system then I can't see how a prosecution could be made. I very much I doubt the drone could capture a number plate so unless the motorist can be stopped (or captured on a ground based camera unit) then no action could be taken.

Jug wrote: ↑Apr 9th, '23, 11:51

Robbo87 wrote: ↑Apr 9th, '23, 09:42 So was the blanket speed limit of 70mph in the 1970's.

........ I very much I doubt the drone could capture a number plate so unless the motorist can be stopped (or captured on a ground based camera unit) then no action could be taken.

Whilst I agree I'm not sure on how a drone could be used to prosecute a speeding offence unless there are fixed marks on a road it can be used to time between, you'd be amazed at the power of those drones. The one photographed looks very similar to the one we use at work (just a little bit better than your average DJI Mavic with a chassis & camera cost of circa £35k) and that is capable of reading the writing on a cigarette packet at 500m

TLS-Moose wrote: ↑Apr 9th, '23, 12:25 Whilst I agree I'm not sure on how a drone could be used to prosecute a speeding offence unless there are fixed marks on a road it can be used to time between, you'd be amazed at the power of those drones. The one photographed looks very similar to the one we use at work (just a little bit better than your average DJI Mavic with a chassis & camera cost of circa £35k) and that is capable of reading the writing on a cigarette packet at 500m

That's impressive, but there is the matter of the motorcycle being a moving target and its number plate is not facing upwards.

I did read an article today about these drones in which the police have stated they are just using them to aid in catching motorcyclist by other means, laser speed cameras were cited. So the drones will simply be alerting officers on the ground that you are approaching their trap, or that you are nearby but suspected of speeding so need to be perused, but if so then they still need to actually catch you speeding before you realize you are being followed.

That's why think this is just for the social media, which is working as we are discussing it here, but will it change how we ride...?

Jug wrote: ↑Apr 9th, '23, 11:51

Robbo87 wrote: ↑Apr 9th, '23, 09:42 So was the blanket speed limit of 70mph in the 1970's.

How is that the same?
The blanket speed limit of 70 was to conserve fuel during a shortage, and was retained on safety grounds.

These drones don't actually catch speeding motorists, they just produce grainy images that can used on social media.
There is likely some value from them as they could alert police on the ground to possible targets but unless the speeder is caught by a traditional system then I can't see how a prosecution could be made. I very much I doubt the drone could capture a number plate so unless the motorist can be stopped (or captured on a ground based camera unit) then no action could be taken.

Actually, we're both a bit out. Being a born pedant, I've checked, and the 70 mph limit was initially trialed in December 1965 for four months and then made permanent in 1967, both times for 'safety reasons', nothing to do with fuel conservation; this was the reason given for a temporary 50 mph limit in the early 1970's.
The point I was trying to make is that I personally am getting more and more unsettled by the creeping hand of 'we know what's best for you' bureaucracy. Those images taken from the drones (shown above) might be grainy for now but they could still mark you over two fixed points (e.g. the white square markers we've all seen) and log your times, how do you think the police helicopters do it? And if their trial drones don't do it right now, then 'grainy' will soon change to high res' with all the bells and whistles when 'they' manage to swing public opinion even further onto the anti biker and anyone else who doesn't conform elfin-safety bandwagon. It's only a matter of time before you'll all have speed limited and a bhp/Kwh-limited bikes and cars under you. Pah! Whatever happened to individuality and being responsible for our own actions!?

Can't get done for speeding in the green lanes. Trying it and you'll end up impaled on a branch.

The BBC site has a photo from Blackmoor gate taken Saturday.

We went through there Friday

Devon and Cornwall Police drones launched to monitor unsafe driving https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-65222222

layne wrote: ↑Apr 9th, '23, 19:00 Devon and Cornwall Police drones launched to monitor unsafe driving https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-65222222

This is actually very interesting as they focus on specifically “poor driving / poor riding” if this is what it’s going to be used for then I personally really encourage it. However if this is yet another way to set up Speed Traps because of the bull shit line that speed kills then I am not for it.

One thing that will be interesting is my understanding is signage must be displayed on any roads where a speed camera is in operation. Now if it is used to message a police office on the ground who then acts in traditional ways then this is also ok for me as I try and pride myself on good awareness of the road and that my road craft offers me good visibility of the road ahead and behind me as well as hazard awareness.

My real concern here is this is used for the wrong reasons which is a clear open road, no danger, somebody riding the road well but 10 mph over in a derestricted road with a drone speeding ticket applied to gather further funds for the government. This achieves nothing other then just pissing everybody off and lots of people loosing their license and or there jobs for the unrealistic speed limits.