He said on his Facebook status;
If anyone wishes to read about
the latest HIGHWAY robbery scam to extract 'gold' from the British
motorist please read the following document.
Share around because undoubtedly
the use of these 'variable speed' cameras on the British Motorways is
a scam.
The cheeky bastards have even
named the system MIDAS - hidden in plain sight - turning the
travelling public into GOLD.
Having “uncovered an amazing scam
against motorists,” he puts the smile back on motorists face with
the welcome news to “expect millions to be handed back very
soon...”
Having written it all up and with a
journalist ready to publish, Michael Doherty blows the whistle on the
greatest scam against motorists ever.
“They're such Bastards.”
MIDAS TOUCH BY MICHAEL DOHERTY
The most famous King Midas is popularly
remembered in Greek mythology for his ability to turn everything he
touched with his hand into gold"
MIDAS - Motorway Incident Detection and
Automatic Signalling
Throughout the UK motorways have had
variable speed sections placed to restrict motorway speed limits at
times of congestion or incidents. Notification is by way of overhead
gantry signage and enforcement is by way of GATSO cameras also
installed into the motorway gantries. It would appear MIDAS has most
certainly turned the British motorist into pure gold for the
operators of this system. [I certainly think motorists will find the
acronym offensive]
M1 Junction 10 to 11
The M1 motorway in Bedfordshire has
been the focus of my examination, after I noticed the signals being
switched on when traffic was free flowing. As a result I decided to
examine the matter Freedom of information requests for number of
PCN's issued by bedfordshire police controlled sections of M1
(roughly from m25 thorough to Milton Keynes)
As you will see from above table
(source -
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/205743/response/513455/attach/html/2/Response%20Letter%202014%2000646.doc.html )
there have been 10,005 PCN's issued on the northbound carriageway of the M1 between March 2012 (when system switched on) to Dec 2013.
there have been 10,005 PCN's issued on the northbound carriageway of the M1 between March 2012 (when system switched on) to Dec 2013.
Staggeringly there have only been 107
tickets issued for the southbound carriageway, the disparity in
itself must be a serious cause for alarm bells to ring...
Junction 10 to 11 M1
But when you dig further, it appears
virtually ALL these PCN's have been issued for Junction 10 to 11
travelling northbound !
As you will see comparing above figures
with the figures for the whole of the Bedfordshire police control
sections of M1 bar the odd one or two, all PCN's were issued
northbound for junctions 10 through to 11
MIDAS control data
When I discovered this information, I
sought out information on the MIDAS control system (for junction 10
to 11) including the data for the exact time the PCN was issued for
my alleged speeding offence. I was staggered to see the system data
showed continual FAULT signals from the system data and continual
fluctuations, over short time periods between the system settings of
CONGESTION, INCIDENT or CLEAR. It would appear this system simply
doesn't work. (data attached for MIDAS readings in spreadsheet)
As you will see from above it
signalling has gone from CLEAR to INCIDENT and back to CLEAR in a
matter of seconds, with 40 mph signals set....
LOOPY
The MIDAS system itself is it would
appear a system of 'loops' embedded into the motorway which aim to
monitor the flow of traffic over them. The MIDAS system then passes
this information automatically to change the speeds on the motorway.
It would appear the system itself is loopy from the data feeds being
received. Indeed, from driving on the M1 through these sections, the
system often restricts the traffic despite the flow being absolutely
fine. Indeed, personally I think it causes slow ups and bottlenecks
in the traffic as drivers try to slow to the indications displayed.
(I have video of one such occasion, signals set a reduced speed yet
no traffic or incident)
Whatever happened to the JUDGEMENT of
the drivers to drive with due care and attention and with regard to
the prevailing road and traffic conditions?
Plainly the 70mph limit on the
motorways is not a target but a limit, surely drivers should be able
to exercise their own skills in judging how fast they should travel
keeping a safe distance as required from the driver in front.
HOME OFFICE APPROVAL
As you will undoubtedly be aware,
traffic enforcement devices require Home Office Approval as they are
revenue earning. You may be staggered to learn that the MIDAS system
has NO approval. The home office claim that: In MIDAS controlled
sections of the motorway, the MIDAS system is not an integral part of
the system...
Source -
This clear oxymoron seems to suggest
the MIDAS system that actually controls the setting of a restricted
speed is not part of the system...
Highway agency
The Highway agency claim that
'compliance' is achieved as a result of them installing the system,
as per the manufacturers guidance. So the motorist is at the behest
of the manufacturer of the MIDAS gold grabbing system, developed by
the system manufacturer, no doubt sold on the basis of 'return' that
the exchequer will obtain.
Source -
*Note TR2177H is the manufacturers
design documentation
Highway robbery
The area of Junction 10 is close to
Dunstable, an area frequented in history by the notorious DICK TURPIN
(highway robber). It would seem that those travelling the same path
are being met with the modern day equivalent of Highway robbery. The
cost to the motorist of those 10,000 PCN's would be in the region of
£1 million minimum. Add to that the added ongoing insurance costs
following points to the licence and you're running into many millions
for just one junction on the M1
I trust you find the information of use
to evidence the sham of these variable speed sections that have
rolled out across the country, plainly extorting more easy money from
the already overburdened motorist.
Motorists should use this information
to challenge current and historic PCN's issued on junction 10 and 11
of the M1. No doubt the same applies to other areas of the country
where this MIDAS system is operational.
FURTHER FULL FOI LINKS:
[Bedfordshire police issue of PCNS M1 -
whole M1 section]
[Bedfordshire police issue of PCNS M1 -
just Junction 10 to 11]
MIDAS system info
[technical data on system]
Home office approval response
No comments:
Post a Comment