[snowcherry]

And this is why I want to record my journeys.

(had to record low quality without sound, until my fast SDHC card arrives)

Keep an eye on my traffic light filter (I'm turning right)...

it's hard when looking at something from another country but i cannot see anything particularly 'wrong' here.
firstly a question though - is it standard for you to move forward on the "yellow flash"? we don't have that here. it's red then green, thats it.
second - its also allowed here to move into an intersection during a green light and wait for the oncoming traffic to clear before proceeding, even if a red light occurs in your lane in the process. so to me [and aussie rules], the traffic on the other side were not in the wrong, except i'm not hugely sure about the very last car. but if his stop line was as far back as yours was i must presume he was already over it.

least it wasn't a melbourne right turn 

[Shambles]

hey snowy.

When we get the amber light we can move; I had a "filter" as well meaning I'd have right of way over oncoming traffic for a short while. By the time we get that amber light the cross traffic (from the left) must have been on red for quite a few seconds, meaning at least one car jumped its red light.

My stop line is held back to allow large traffic to turn from the right (as we look) into my path. The cars coming from the left were behind their red light when they ignored it

[bumpkin]

It has become common practice for people to move on the amber light, it is however actually illegal to move on a continuous amber light.

Red = STOP
Red/Amber = Prepare to move
Green = GO

Amber=Prepare to stop, if however you consider it unsafe to do so then continue with caution.  This can be shown at the same time as red/amber on the other junction light which is why it is prepare to move but don't move because the person on amber actually has the right of way.

Flashing Amber (only seen at pedestrian crossings)=Safe to move if the crossing is clear.  This flashes in conjunction with a flashing green man which tells pedestrians that it is safe to cross IF the area is clear of vehicles.  If a pedestrian appoaches the crossing when it is flashing amber the vehicle driver must give way to the pedestrian (again this has become forgotten and drivers press-on-regardless  )

http://www.direct.gov.uk/prod_consum_dg/groups/dg_digitalassets/@dg/@en/documents/digitalasset/dg_070561.pdf

[eye30]

I read last week that 1 town in south of England, I think Portsmouth, are considering an experiment that at night on certian "quite" roads all red lights will be turned off and junctions will be controlled by flashing amber, i.e give way and proceed with caution.

This would mean that as a vehicle approaches the junction, if there is no traffic crossing your path you can continue.

It was cited that this was to conserve the fuel as vehicles stopped at red light with no vehicles on the other road are using up fuel needlessly.

I personally think this will cause more accidents as vehicles on both roads will want right of way and neither will give way.

Any thoughts.

ps found the article:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-12860433

[eye30]

And this is why I want to record my journeys.

(had to record low quality without sound, until my fast SDHC card arrives)

Keep an eye on my traffic light filter (I'm turning right)...

it's hard when looking at something from another country but i cannot see anything particularly 'wrong' here.
firstly a question though - is it standard for you to move forward on the "yellow flash"? we don't have that here. it's red then green, thats it.
second - its also allowed here to move into an intersection during a green light and wait for the oncoming traffic to clear before proceeding, even if a red light occurs in your lane in the process. so to me [and aussie rules], the traffic on the other side were not in the wrong, except i'm not hugely sure about the very last car. but if his stop line was as far back as yours was i must presume he was already over it.

least it wasn't a melbourne right turn  

See also reply 63 above:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-12860433

Italy, France, Germany, Australia and the US are among the countries to use a variation of the flashing amber system at night.

[asathorny]

Well Eye30...  I have travelled extensivly across both Canada and America where this system has been in use for a long time.  At first I thought it might be dangerous but as the years have rolled on I have come to accept it as the norm.  The one thing they do which still confuses me is going through a red light during the day, if you come to a red light and your turning right and it's safe to do so, you can precced against a red light at certain junctions.   I still stop filled with angst and fear of repercussion only to get an annoyed driver behind me sounding his/her horn wondering why I have stopped.

Anyhow, coming back to the flashing amber, I have never seen any major crashes as a result of this and I have to say it is very annoying at three in the morning sat at a red light when you now damned well that your the only person in the world who's out at stupid-o-clock.....

asathorny

[eye30]

Anyhow, coming back to the flashing amber, I have never seen any major crashes as a result of this and I have to say it is very annoying at three in the morning sat at a red light when you now damned well that your the only person in the world who's out at stupid-o-clock.....

If this happens then the sensors are not set correctly

[asathorny]

Anyhow, coming back to the flashing amber, I have never seen any major crashes as a result of this and I have to say it is very annoying at three in the morning sat at a red light when you now damned well that your the only person in the world who's out at stupid-o-clock.....

If this happens then the sensors are not set correctly

Ah.....  well, to be honest it hasn't happened to me in a while...     

[snowcherry]

hey snowy.

When we get the amber light we can move; I had a "filter" as well meaning I'd have right of way over oncoming traffic for a short while. By the time we get that amber light the cross traffic (from the left) must have been on red for quite a few seconds, meaning at least one car jumped its red light.

cheers
i have no idea what a filter is but interesting about the amber light. learn something new every day! 

See also reply 63 above:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-12860433

Italy, France, Germany, Australia and the US are among the countries to use a variation of the flashing amber system at night.

i have come across this actually. its weird to say the least. i think if you are used to it then yeah its not a bad idea but i must admit i found it too disconcerting. it was a crossroad and from memory i had a car coming through on my right hand. so i stopped to let it pass through but it basicly stopped as well. and i seem to recall another time a bunch of police sitting near it doing roadside patrol and having their lights on so all you could see was flashing lights 'everywhere'   
the crossroads was also a major truck thoroughfare so i guess they also do it to keep down the compression braking noise during the night.

[babis_xo]

I read last week that 1 town in south of England, I think Portsmouth, are considering an experiment that at night on certian "quite" roads all red lights will be turned off and junctions will be controlled by flashing amber, i.e give way and proceed with caution.

This would mean that as a vehicle approaches the junction, if there is no traffic crossing your path you can continue.

It was cited that this was to conserve the fuel as vehicles stopped at red light with no vehicles on the other road are using up fuel needlessly.

I personally think this will cause more accidents as vehicles on both roads will want right of way and neither will give way.

Any thoughts.

ps found the article:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-12860433

Reckon that, apart traffic lights, every road is tagged with a sign that indicates if there is a right of way in a junction (stop, priority road, give way). In case there is no sign, then the right of way goes to the car which approaches the junction from the right direction (left in UK, i think). If the speed limits are kept then there should be no problem (?)

The amber light before the green one is very handy and saves fuel. It should be used by enforcement in every country.

[2i30s]

Glad to say you kept your cool.
What do you use as camera, and set up ?

I used one of these from eBay (though not from that seller)



Despite their claims of it being "HD", I find I have to record at the lowest framerate (20fps) in VGA (640x480) and without audio, otherwise it records stuttered, even though I have a class 10 SDHC card installed.

Gonna be changing it soon, purely for the quality issue (which is a bit poor)

I'm thinking about buying one of these cameras Steve,it seems to be good for the price. have you had any luck in changing the sdhc card to get volume? 

[Alasama]

I got this type, too. It's a common here and has many versions. My experience to choose the camera:
-. With monitor, you can adjust to the right angle anytime.
-. Must have the sight range 120 degree, so it's wider enough. However, it also has 60~70 degree version which is too narrow.
-. Video quality 720P, the better.
-. Equipped function: auto record when engine on, delay stop recording when engine off, auto over-writing existed files when card is full.
-. Memory card the better class 6 or higher.
-. Power wire length need to be enough, so you can let the wire go along with the corner inside the vehicle.
-. Better version is equipped with night vision LED, zoom in/out function.

[2i30s]

thanks for the information nickwoo,very helpfull. 

[Dazzler]

Hey nickwoo/alasama do you have any trouble same as Shambles with sound and resolution...?

[Alasama]

I did have the problem of lag. Perhaps that's because my device is not HD quality. Need to check my setting. But I use SDHC class 8 (or 6, I'm not sure) without card adapter.
Have no idea how to post video , otherwise I'd like to share my driving video.

[Shambles]

Gonna be changing it soon, purely for the quality issue (which is a bit poor)

I'm thinking about buying one of these cameras Steve,it seems to be good for the price. have you had any luck in changing the sdhc card to get volume? 

No mate, it isn't the card I want to change, it's the camera (the card's very fast and isn't the problem). Any higher than "low" settings and it can't record smoothly - must have a shit processor or it could be faulty, like the first one I was sent

[2i30s]

I'm back to looking for another version of the car cam. 

[Alasama]

So far, personal opinion, a model called "F500LHD" is a great choice with good video quality & reasonable cost. This model number could vary from different sellers or different places.
fyi...
installation



actual filming

[Shambles]

^-- crystal clear

Must investigate... I like the idea of a phone-like battery - very neat

Thanks for posting the vids, tho I'm not sure if the "how to fit" vid was much use to us...

[Dazzler]

The price is a bit of a mystery.. one site was $275 US and another 4 Pieces for $300 odd?

a couple of others contact us for a hot price (payment by Western union or Travellers check ) Don't think so 

[Shambles]

Just what I've been doing, checking them out. Can get 1 delivered from Taiwan (where else?) for £114 with an 8gb card (class 4, don't think so) and a suction mount.

Seems when set to 120^o the resolution has to back off down to VGA standards, unless I read it wrong


Think I'll pass on this - bound to get stung for heavy import duty...

[Alasama]

Wow, now I realized that the link will become playable video here. Sorry for posting too many.
If I did not have camera in my car, I'll consider this one. But I already got a cheap one.
I found it's around 115 euro and available in PChome (freight US$20) which provides global shipping and PayPal.
http://global.pchome.com.tw/?m=item&f=exhibit&IT_NO=DGAZ1Q-A50360341&SR_NO=DGAZ1V&tm=u

[Shambles]

Wow, now I realized that the link will become playable video here. Sorry for posting too many.

That's no problem Nick.

I guess being in Taiwan you get all the best stuff first 

You should buy one and let us know how you get on   

[2i30s]

I'm the apprentice learning from the tech heads,I'll give that a miss i think. 

[Shambles]

On the way to dropping my lass off at her nan's... doing approx 18 mph...

[Dazzler]

  Lucky you are a careful lad...

[asathorny]

So Stave, you do your own stunt driving uh   

Glad you didn't slam into him 

[Shambles]

"Him" was a "her" and she gave me a middle-fingered salute as she scraped by according to Melissa

[asathorny]

Ah right, female chav....   <sigh>

[bumpkin]

She obviously thought "I'm just going to Passat"