New speed cameras a worry for solo drives?

[silkycdresser]

I seldom have the right opportunities to go out in public dressed and in makeup, wig, etc, so take the chance to drive my car en femme as often as possible instead.

Are the new U.K speed cameras that can tell if someone's not wearing a seatbelt, eating or otherwise distracted any worry, do you think, in case a court reckoned that driving with a wig might be distracting for a man or something?

https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/new-speed-cameras-phones-seatbelts-15151017

[Fran-K]

Hi

I would hope not!
Men do wear wigs for reasons other than cross dressing.
On the other hand, I always find being dressed a bit distracting, in a good/happy sense ... or noticing the dress that a pedestrian is wearing ... if they only knew;-)

Seriously though - if they caught you putting on your makeup while driving down the highway ... that might be an issue.

[Rachelakld]

I get distracted by pedestrians, especially 20y+ females in pretty clothes - maybe they should ban pretty women, thigh boots, short skirts, long hair, tight tops etc from footpaths.

Sometimes I'm distracted when a football roles out of someone's driveway, they always make me break hard, expecting a kid to follow the ball, so footballs should be banned.

I think wigs would only be distracting to "other road users", camera operators and judges, but what are they going to do, ban everyone with long hair from driving?

[DIANEF]

I wouldn't worry about it. Many women wear wigs for various reasons as well as we crossdressers (or whatever term you prefer).

[Mermaiden]

Don’t the barristers and judges wear goofy wigs in court, or isn’t that just on period TV shows? If so, they couldn’t complain about wigs being distracting.

[alwayshave]

Silky, at least in the U.S. you get the ticket in the mail, not in court. So really not a worry. For example, my daughter was driving my car, but I received the ticket. Simply paid it.

[Teresa]

Silk,
The wig shouldn't be a problem don't forget cancer patients may be wearing them . While I realise the cameras can't pick up feet I still wonder about the letter of the law if you possibly caused an accident through wearing heels . Most of us know it's possible but I do think twice now beacause if you did actually injure or worse kill someone perhaps the law and insurance companies may not be too happy .

I would be interested to know if a dispute has a risen through a CDer claiming they weren't driving the vehicle . We must use common sense when dressed don't speed and don't drink .

[Robertacd]

OMG are we just looking for things to worry about now?

[Jaylyn]

With the new facial recognition soft wears available I can only imagine where every CD that drives a vehicle could be named and addy printed out in a heart beat. I've wondered about that also. Sounds like the UK might also have that type if they can tell who is wearing the seatbelt and who is not. They are not just focusing on the license plate.

[Charlotte7]

What of course should be more worrying is that the camera will obviously be able to read the number plate on the car, the camera will know who is the registered keeper, the camera will be able to use face recognition to identify the driver, the camera will be able to log you as a cd. This is probably different from the current city centre cctv cameras as they are not set up explicitly to identify individuals, but these new cameras are.

[Majella St Gerard]

I think you worry too much. Paranoia is a CD's worst enemy. Just Do It.

[kayegirl]

First of all, having read the newspaper article I would say that it is very badly written and inaccurate in many ways.
Secondly, the notion that using anpr in combination with a photo licence will identify you as a cross dresser is ridiculous. How many of us allow our wives, partners, children or employees to drive vehicles registered in our name?
As Majella says, stop worrying about it and just get on with it.

[Stephanie47]

In my area the "red light" cameras, as they are called, record the license plate of the vehicle. The fine is mailed to the register owner, who, if he or she was not driving the vehicle, can declare he or she was not driving the car. Owner can provide the name of the actual driver. If one is worried about an unwanted 'outing' or an outing, then just pay the fine. Around here such fines are not entered on the driver's record since they are levied against the car.

As to privacy concerns I've seen news programs concerning the numerous cameras in London and elsewhere looking for terrorists or unusual activity. Same in Manhattan. You're sure to be recorded and put in a data bank. Please look your best when out and about en femme!

[Charlotte7]

I think that this is more a civil liberties thing, the creeping state, the increased use technology and all that. It's not just a cd outing thing. Also, the pictures that the cameras can take now are very good, I know this :( Also, the implications to being caught seem to be different where you are and here, in that you have to sign a form to say that the person driving the car, the person in the picture is you, now, if you're a closeted cd then this could have implications. Also , here in the UK, it's not just a fine, it's a fine and points on your licence, get too many points and you can be banned from driving, get banned from driving and you could lose your job. Also, if you have points on your licence then you have to tell your insurance company, and that means that your premium goes up because you're an increased risk. It's reckoned that 3 points on your licence can cost you over £1,000. Now, I know that the option to keep to the speed limits is always there but as we all know, there are very often circumstances, even a brief lapse of concentration and the speed can increase a little bit, and so snap, you have your picture taken.

But here we get to the elephant in the room. The point that doesn't seem to be being discussed, the big change in all of this. At the moment, speed cameras capture motorists who are going too fast, and so they are reactive, they capture after the event. Now, these new cameras, how will they know that your seatbelt isn't fastened, how will they know if your having a sip from a bottle, a bite from a sandwich, unless they check, and so these cameras a proactive, not reactive, they are looking for things, and so they will need to capture images of everyone, every time. It's no longer a case of stick to the limit and you'll be fine. It'll be a case of drive along the road and you're a sitting duck to be zapped.

[KymG]

If I drive dressed, rare but has happened, Im very carefull so as not to draw attention to myself. Certainly no speeding for example.

[Melanie Moxon]

Easy to avoid, just go through the camera at the speed limit and all will be fine ;)

[Bobbi46]

Exactly, don't speed and you won't get nabbed even so wearing a wig? what does it matter any way ? you are jiust being you going about minding your own business, offending noo one a wig hould not matter at all.

[Aunt Kelly]

In word, no.

[Rachelish]

I can't see these being able to pick out a CD wearing a wig and it's even less likely that they're programmed to look for that.

Stick to the rules, leave your mobile alone, don't try and unwrap a KitKat and you'll be ok.

[Teresa]

Silky,
As Kayegirl says the report isn't very clear but is the assumption that the picture is only taken if you are initially breaking the speed limit otherwise it means every vehicle will be snapped . If that's the case then there must be pretty good software to check every contravention of the law .

As Charlotte points out the US system may be different to the UK where we do have to watch penalty points building up and it is easy just to slip over the speed limit . Some counties have zero tolerance policies which is very questionable . I admit I had to go on a driver improver course or take the points and two people on it were clocked at 31 and 33 mph in a 30 zone where there was a zero tolerance policy. Older cars would not have a speedo that accurate , I was trapped at 35 in a 30 zone . The course did raise some very interesting anomalies which I pointed out many foreign drivers could run foul of .

[Shelly Preston]

I know in the UK, if your vehicle is caught by a camera the owner will get a notification of the speeding infraction.

If you were not driving you can ask for picture proof then you will get the picture.

This is most like likely to happen if you share the driving of the vehicle with someone else.

[Genifer Teal]

How are you supposed to know you got a ticket? I would never find it in the mail.

[Fran in skirts]

Stop light and speed cameras are so numerous as well as traffic cameras that keep on eye on the road conditions that you are constantly under observation by a camera. And lets not forget all of the security cameras both in and outside of stores and homes. My photo has been taken almost every where I have gone in the last nearly five years by these cameras. I dress all of the time, I am dressed the moment I go out the door. I have never had a problem from any of these cameras.
So heres my advice don't worry, be happy. You can't control it anymore. :2c:

Fran

[Ineke Vashon]

So, 34 years later, the 'futuristic' movie 1984 is finaly coming true.

I use my cruise control a lot when in questionable areas.

Ineke

[Melanie Moxon]

How are you supposed to know you got a ticket? I would never find it in the mail.

You receive an S.172 request to name the driver in the post (28 days to respond). Refusal to reply will result in a court summons which unless there was a valid reason (you were out of the country for example) results in double the penalty points and a bigger fine than the original ticket. Failing to respond to the court summons results in an arrest warrant and possible prison time again unless you can provide a valid reason why you did not respond. In the UK with camera enforced road traffic offences you are a) guilty until proven innocent, and b) expected to incriminate yourself.

As you can imagine its a system that fosters utter contempt for the Safety Camera Partnerships (I don't have a problem with the police as they are so understaffed that they are only going to come after you for a genuine infraction and you get a roadside ticket, which you can contest in court if you can provide evidence that the police officer was mistaken).

[Sissy_in_pink]

Here in Sydney, we have young blokes driving around with hoodies pulled up over their head, damned if I know how they see what is to their left or right at intersections, if anyone gets a fine it should be them.
A man wearing a feminine wig is no worse than a girl with long hair that is not tied back.

[Eemz]

in case a court reckoned that driving with a wig might be distracting for a man or something?

I've thought about that before (or heels which I'm more likely to do). I think it's a discrimination can of worms that the prosecutors would be unlikely to open. So I'm dangerous because I'm male and presumably don't do this every day, but if I was female and this was the first time I ever did it in my life, then that'd be ok? Hmmm...

[DaisyLawrence]

As Charlotte points out the US system may be different to the UK where we do have to watch penalty points building up and it is easy just to slip over the speed limit . Some counties have zero tolerance policies which is very questionable . I admit I had to go on a driver improver course or take the points and two people on it were clocked at 31 and 33 mph in a 30 zone where there was a zero tolerance policy. Older cars would not have a speedo that accurate , I was trapped at 35 in a 30 zone . The course did raise some very interesting anomalies which I pointed out many foreign drivers could run foul of .

Those drivers "clocked at 31 and 33" are not telling the truth. As you say, speedometers are not that accurate (they can't be due to outside factors such as tyre wear and/or under/overflation affecting the rolling circumference). The law allows for this and you are not speeding unless the equipment records a speed equal to, or in excess of, the speed limit + 10% + 2 mph. Thus, in a 30 limit you have to be clocked at 35, in a 70 limit at 79 etc. If you had been going 1mph slower you would have 'got away with it'. There is no zero tolerance and no-one ever gets a ticket for doing 31 in a 30 limit. Hope that helps.

[Charlotte7]

Daisy, I was listening to a radio debate about all of this the other day and the 'allowance' is a convention not a 'law'. There is a requirement that a car's speedometer shows a speed which is slower than the car is actually going, which covers the 10% bit. But, if they want to clock you at 31, then they can. Also, these new cameras are supposed to be very accurate and so there is a move to have the tolerance removed.

However, as I said above, it's not the speed thing that's different with these cameras, it's that they can take a high definition picture of everyone regardless of speed, how else can they see if you're on the phone or not and you're breaking the law if you're using your phone at any speed? Also, for those who say that they're out and about, and they're captured by cctv now, well, yes, they are, but there is an essential difference, currently cctv is without context of those that they are filming, they just capture blurred faces in the crowd. These cameras will capture a high detail image and a car registration number, they will be able to link a face and a name. They will both be able to build and use facial recognition software to identify people, regardless of their hairstyle. There's nothing we can do about it, but there are genuine concerns.

[Beverley Sims]

I wouldn't worry about it unless you haven't applied your makeup properly. :-)

You just need to put your hair on straight.

[docrobbysherry]

A wig CAN block your view! 2 years ago I won a mini golf T tourney wearing a long wig. This year a wore a cute, short wig to the tourney.
But, every time I looked down to shoot, the dam wig fell in front of my view to every hole!:doh:

I came in near last!:Angry3:

[DaisyLawrence]

Hair grips or headband Doc (unless you needed the excuse that is).

[Teresa]

Daisy,
Sorry but I sat next to these two guys at the drivers improver session, both brought the documents with them to prove the point . Wales and at least one county in England have zero tolerance , they were recorded at those speeds both driving in parts of Wales . The instructor running the course and the police adviser stated that new systems are accurate enough .

I was clocked at 35 in a 30 limit .

Charlotte,
It's a double edged point , the police have less staff and there are more vehicles on the roads , maybe we do need far more accurate cameras to help keep our roads safe . I would like to think it is also linked to other countries so drivers breaking our laws can still be tracked down . I guess there may a little more to this as the higher definition can also track criminals and terrorists , this can't be all bad after the dreadful carnage on Westminster Bridge recently . In the light of that do we with have too much room to complain , lets face it we are driving dressed but we're not breaking any laws by doing so .

[Shelly Preston]

In recent times a lot of us are using Satellite Navigation in our cars or on our phones.

You will find those also show your speed. Also Speed Limiters are another aid to keeping to the speed limit.

Oh and if you want to be seen on camera move to the UK we have around 420,000. Just remember to smile :)

[Stacy Darling]

"Flying Solo" is what some of us do!

I'll happily pay a speeding fine if I'm in the wrong, but my face can't clearly be seen due to my helmet or the focus on my skirt? not sure?

The focus of the law is not upon those of us which are different, but those committing a crime!

(my first wife told me to get a better lawyer, unfortunately they're hers though)

[Danielle_cder]

I think it would be kinda fun to have my picture taken when Im goin fassst