Gatso Speed Camera System
gatso Speed Camera
The gatso speed camera system (Gastometer 24) was one of the first speed measurement systems deployed, although its technology is now quite dated it’s market penetration in many European countries is very high. So high in fact that the term gatso is often used instead of the phrase speed camera. The Gatso speed camera system is manufactured by the company GATSOmeter BV from Holland, they manufacture speed measurement equipment including red-light cameras, speed cameras and road-access control/enforcement equipment of various types all under the GATSO brand.
The Gasto speed camera systems are rear facing systems and usually found in fixed installation sites. They contain a radar system which gets triggered by a passing vehicle travelling over a preset speed. 2 photos are taken of the offending vehicle, the time between the photos is often 0.5s for higher speed roads and 0.7s for lower speed roads. A powerful flash is used to light the scene, this is required to illuminate the vehicles registration license plate as well as the calibration lines on the road.
The reason 2 images are taken is because the radar is fairly inaccurate. Below speeds of 100km/h the gatso speed camera system has a margin of error of 2km/h, above it has a 2% error. Due to this calibration lines are often painted on the road, knowing the time interval between the photos the distance travelled can be calculated, and thus the speed. In the UK, it is reported that the evidence is only admissible in court if the speed calculated from the distance travelled matches the speed measured by the radar to within 10%. Additionally this is required because the radar detects all vehicles in the scene, and is not able to distinguish between them.
The photographs are taken using standard 35mm film with a capacity of around 400 pictures. This means they are only able to capture around 200 violations before the film must be changed. This is one of the largest detractors of the gatso speed camera system. With latest state of the art speed camera systems (like those from komoto or specs) there is no need for film replacement at the speed camera site installation. This means that many gatso speed camera systems are slowly falling into disrepair, and are simply left in postion disfunctional to deter speeding.
The newer MK2 gatso speed camera system is more suitable for busier roads multi-lane roads. It will take speed and distance measurements, as well as registering which lane the offending vehicle is traveling, this is intended to make it easier for law enforcement to identify offenders where multiple vehicles are in the scene.
