New Auckland speed camera van?

[Y0RKI]

I was coming onto the Southern motorway on Saturday night and noticed a white van parked on the side of the road.
As i was getting closer it caught my attention even more as it had these two funny beacons on top of it, one facing forwards one facing backwards, windows all tinted and parked half on the verge.
I wondered what the hell it was doing, whether it was a speed camera, a road check van, a google maps van etc etc
Didnt think anything more of it.

Yesterday, coming home from out west, just getting towards St Lukes offramp (where quite often there is a speed camera van hidden in the bushes) I see the same van again.
Its a white Hyundai I-load (is that the name???)

Anyone else seen this machine parked up?
Shed any more light on it at all?

[Skilfil]

Yep seen it plenty of times, I'm fairly sure its actually the one that reads licence plates. The cameras hanging off the side of it are very similar to the ones they had on the Police cars when they were trialling the cameras. Reads your plates in the system, if you have no rego/warrant I think its an automatic fine.

Also, they don't strictly use Previas for Camera vans, I've seen Volvo's as well, and also a Hyundai with the generic speed camera in it too. Sneaky buggers.

[wgtngti]

Skillful is correct. In Wellington we also have a new digital fixed camera site, looks like the type of speed camera I've seen overseas. At the moment it's only used to catch unlicensed, un-WOFed and stolen cars. But it doses record all plate numbers that go past it.

[ritmo]

Yip plate reader..... which is why any plates with slightly diff font have been cracked down on.

First saw it in action at just outta Bulls... van parked on side of road and a couple cop cars parked down the road pulling anyone it catches.

Rather this though than speed camera ..... but prob will be both at some point

[Omes]

Yea, they are all over the show, so blatantly cheeky too, once driving to Ohakune I just caught a beat up red 'red oxide' van, no signage nothing on the side as you come down a major dip just to catch out as many as possible heading to the snow.

On bond st, both me and my wife got caught on the dip of the hill doing like 58km/h, how can you maintain 50there!?  I saw the van again another time and it was just a small white Hiace or something similar. I did 20km/h and gave them the finger.

A newish Toyota Previa always on the north bound near to  before Tristram ave turn off.

Also a red Hiace or similar piece of crap always parked up on Mt Eden road near to three kings.

What do they all have in common:

1) not sign written.

2) no antennas or anything obvious.

2) all different makes and ages of vans.

3) all have blacked out rear and rear side windows.

4) look close enough as you pass them (I recommend doing a slug pace 30km/h just to piss them off) and notice large camera with some kind of big glass domed lens inside. hmmmmm so dodgy.

So yes watch out.

[Y0RKI]

generally find the speed camera vans also have the orange lens on a towbar for the night time flashes.

I guess I better be careful with my german plate on the back of my Coupe then if these boys are out on the prowl.
This would also explain the two police bikes parked up just around the corner from the van.... having a good jibber jabber rather than watching for anything!

[the phantom]

another favorite place is Lake Rd in Northcote, between Onewa and Raleigh there's a significant valley where I got snapped for 62 kph, didn't even see him to comment on what the van was,

my son got snapped in the same place

more wary now but it really hard not to do 60 down the slope

[KiwiDTM]

A bit off topic sorry, but does anyone know what's triggering the K band alert at the northern foot of the Harbour Bridge (where the toll gates used to be). Been getting it since beginning of December I think.

[RS ZWEI]

A bit off topic sorry, but does anyone know what's triggering the K band alert at the northern foot of the Harbour Bridge (where the toll bridges used to be). Been getting it since beginning of December I think.

Ive had that on my V1 for years.

[beeker]

Worse still, I saw one yesterday in the back if a hatchback!
Don't assume it has to be a van

[beeker]

A bit off topic sorry, but does anyone know what's triggering the K band alert at the northern foot of the Harbour Bridge (where the toll bridges used to be). Been getting it since beginning of December I think.

I believe they mounted an old unit to intentionally false alarm radar detectors. There was some publicity on this last year.

[ranton-inc]

I was told they are monitoring Plates etc that are crossing the bridge

[Pristle]

http://mysteriousnz.co.nz/forums/viewtopic.php?t=1637

In relation to the Hyundai Van http://www.tapeka.com/northern_gateway_toll_road.htm:
Warning - Police Number Plate Reading Camera Vehicles are here

ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) camera vans are quietly being introduced. These have roof mounted cameras aimed at traffic travelling in both directions. Infra red and OCR (optical character recognition) technology is used to read the number plates of approaching vehicles. These are matched against the police national database to identify vehicles with flags in addition to the obvious expired registration or WOF. When a vehicle is flagged, the operator sitting in the back notifies nearby check points or mobile patrols to stop the vehicle. Vehicle of interest flags include stolen, registration expired, registration hold, expired WOF, suspended driver, excess demerit points, petrol drive off, arrest warrant, fines warrant, previous drink driving conviction and owner or associates of interest to name a few. For law abiding motorists with street legal vehicles there is noting to worry about. The ability to check up to 3,000 vehicles per hour makes these vehicles and associated recourses very efficient - so efficient police claim they do the work of 25 police officers and 25 Comms dispatchers. As in the UK, expect them in mobile patrols in the near future.

[Gordo]

http://mysteriousnz.co.nz/forums/viewtopic.php?t=1637

In relation to the Hyundai Van http://www.tapeka.com/northern_gateway_toll_road.htm:
Warning - Police Number Plate Reading Camera Vehicles are here

ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) camera vans are quietly being introduced. These have roof mounted cameras aimed at traffic travelling in both directions. Infra red and OCR (optical character recognition) technology is used to read the number plates of approaching vehicles. These are matched against the police national database to identify vehicles with flags in addition to the obvious expired registration or WOF. When a vehicle is flagged, the operator sitting in the back notifies nearby check points or mobile patrols to stop the vehicle. Vehicle of interest flags include stolen, registration expired, registration hold, expired WOF, suspended driver, excess demerit points, petrol drive off, arrest warrant, fines warrant, previous drink driving conviction and owner or associates of interest to name a few. For law abiding motorists with street legal vehicles there is noting to worry about. The ability to check up to 3,000 vehicles per hour makes these vehicles and associated recourses very efficient - so efficient police claim they do the work of 25 police officers and 25 Comms dispatchers. As in the UK, expect them in mobile patrols in the near future.

When directed to the vehicle, "seems" fair enough BUT the rest of the bolded part is regarding possible drivers and can be considered an assumption of guilt as the "matters id interest" may have little or nothing to do with the actual person driving - especially if it's recently changed ownership! If the Police actually kept their eyes open, and merely noticed the vehicles that were clearly unroadworthy, drivers who tailgated, drove outside their lane, were driving on partially deflated tyres, etc, it would do a damned sight more for road safety!
Using "law abiding motorist", IMO, gets the sheep to back any measures as they tend to be the self-righteous people that actually cause much of the poor driving on the roads, rather like the 'law abiding' Germans and other Europeans who handed over the Jews to the NAZIs...

[RS ZWEI]

http://mysteriousnz.co.nz/forums/viewtopic.php?t=1637

In relation to the Hyundai Van http://www.tapeka.com/northern_gateway_toll_road.htm:
Warning - Police Number Plate Reading Camera Vehicles are here

ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) camera vans are quietly being introduced. These have roof mounted cameras aimed at traffic travelling in both directions. Infra red and OCR (optical character recognition) technology is used to read the number plates of approaching vehicles. These are matched against the police national database to identify vehicles with flags in addition to the obvious expired registration or WOF. When a vehicle is flagged, the operator sitting in the back notifies nearby check points or mobile patrols to stop the vehicle. Vehicle of interest flags include stolen, registration expired, registration hold, expired WOF, suspended driver, excess demerit points, petrol drive off, arrest warrant, fines warrant, previous drink driving conviction and owner or associates of interest to name a few. For law abiding motorists with street legal vehicles there is noting to worry about. The ability to check up to 3,000 vehicles per hour makes these vehicles and associated recourses very efficient - so efficient police claim they do the work of 25 police officers and 25 Comms dispatchers. As in the UK, expect them in mobile patrols in the near future.

I wonder if the cameras only read the latest font change? Circa 2006?