Talk:Tag:highway=speed camera

Direction

If this tag is mapped on a node of the road itself (as it frequently is) and is accompanied by the tags maxspeed=* and (on two-way roads) direction=*, we have all the necessary information about how the device is monitoring speed. If the camera is forward-facing, monitoring the back of cars after they pass the camera, there is no doubt about the monitored direction. However, there are many cameras which face backwards, monitoring the front of cars before they pass the camera. In this case, on two-way roads, the direction tag may be confusing. Does direction=* point to the direction in which cars are being monitored or to the direction in which the camera lens is facing? In my opinion, the direction of the camera lens itself is nearly useless, and the monitoring direction is infinitely more useful to drivers. Thus, in these cases, mapping the camera lens direction may be worse than not mapping direction at all. I suggest to make it explicit that the direction=* tag refers to monitoring direction. In cases of backward-facing cameras, if someone really wants to map the direction of the camera lens, they may use something like "direction:lens=*". Fbello (talk)

Agree, the wiki should make it clear that direction=* refers to the driving direction which is monitored. This is the only sensible solution for routers, I think. Also, direction=forward/backward values should be mentioned in the wiki, as the two values currently represents 72% of actual direction values for speed cameras, according to Taginfo (3.5% for direcction=both).--NKA (talk) 09:27, 31 January 2024 (UTC)

vs enforcement relations

It looks like Relation:enforcement is more accurate than Tag:highway=speed camera. Which one should we use? --Jesper Cheetah 06:47, 11 November 2009 (UTC)

Both, speed camera for the node (i.e. for rendering), enforcement for complete information about the speed camera, such as where it measures from, and speed limit. --Skippern 12:24, 11 November 2009 (UTC)

My 0.02 € : you should not use this tag ! We are not tagging only for rendering ! This way of tagging is usefull as you can't know the maxspeed / the side checked.

Red light cameras

How do you tag red light cameras that are for catching drivings going through a red light? Smsm1 (talk) 11:56, 22 February 2013 (UTC)

Of course, you should use a relation:enforcement (type=enforcement; enforcement=traffic_signals) but I agree that it is unclear how to tag the device itself. I've found the following in taginfo: highway=red_light_camera, device=red_signal_camera, man_made=redlight_camera, enforcement_camera=yes, and similar combinations. So apparently there is no single preferred solution at this point in time. There are also places where the same camera is used to enforce speed and traffic lights. How about defining a set of new tags using man_made=enforcement and enforcement:device=camera? The enforcement relation will explain whether the camera is triggered by excessive speed or by passing a red traffic light. Other devices also exist, e.g. flashing lights or a sign that displays the measured speed. --Biff (talk) 06:21, 5 July 2013 (UTC)

As of August 2020 according taginfo: enforcement=traffic_signals - 3828, enforcement=red_light_camera - 196, highway=redlight_camera - 163, man_made=redlight_camera - 10 ---- Emvee (talk) 17:55, 24 August 2020 (UTC)

traffic_calming=speed_camera

for speed camera only that show the speed. This camera are fix and don't move with time. maybe traffic_calming is more indicated than police camera. -Yod4z (talk) 13:19, 27 March 2015 (UTC)

Overhead Speed Cameras?

Almost all speed cameras in Japan are over the road on a gantry that spans both sides of the road - both for narrow trunk roads and for motorways. How do I tag support for that? there is usually one for each lane as well. Javbw (talk) 04:05, 11 July 2015 (UTC)

mobile speed limit enforcement

Just wondering if a place where cops are used to be in order to monitore speed limit (and write tickets) could be add? I know it is just probability but helpfull to slowdown and save money ;)
Hellopierre (talk) 13:50, 3 April 2016 (UTC)

I've searched but couldn't find anything about it. I recommend using occasional=yes which is not used at all, so it should be ok to use this until someone confirms if it is the right label. Another hypothesis is intermittent=yes but it is used exclusively in waterways so it should not be a good idea to use it now unless they change the application of this to anything that is intermittent. Lalolan (talk) 16:03, 17 May 2022 (UTC)

See also this >DE< / >EN< talk. --MalgiK (talk) 18:17, 17 May 2022 (UTC)

Now in some places (e.g, France) there are mobile automatic speed cameras. These are big metal boxes that they can move around. They stand on concrete surfaces/platforms that can easily be seen on aireals, mapillary, karta, etc. I think they should be mapped because to some extent they can be verified. It used to be that normal speed cams where metal boxes, but they did not always have a camera inside. This is similar to that. Elgaard (talk) 12:20, 30 June 2024 (UTC)

Clarifications about common doubts and how people view speed camera

Answers here will be used to understand how people view some aspects of highway=speed_camera. This isn't a formal voting process.

Please, just write your answer. You can also include a small comment if needed, but try to have longer discussions in split sections.

highway=speed_camera is only the camera device itself?

Yes --naoliv (talk) 01:16, 2 April 2018 (UTC)

Not sure what this means. It is a device which has a camera. Fbello (talk)

Of course. Anyone with other ideas are trying to make this complicated. -- CBRS (talk) 14:45, 2 January 2021 (UTC)

highway=speed_camera can be considered (and mapped) as the sensor in the road?

No --naoliv (talk) 01:16, 2 April 2018 (UTC)

Yes. There is definitely a speed sensor. Fbello (talk)

Weird question. First no such thing with keyword "sensor" can be found in iD; Second, speed caemra is a device with a sensor and a camera. -- CBRS (talk) 14:45, 2 January 2021 (UTC)

highway=speed_camera can be considered (and mapped) as the point where we should receive a warning?

No --naoliv (talk) 01:16, 2 April 2018 (UTC)

No. It should be the point where the speed camera is located. Fbello (talk)

I don't get the question. Camera should be located at correct place, and let router decide when and where you will receive an alert. -- CBRS (talk) 14:45, 2 January 2021 (UTC)

Instead being considered a physical object, highway=speed_camera can be considered as an enforcement concept? (ie, it means that "there is some kind of enforcement applied/verified/monitored at that point" or it means that "it's a simple object that represents/summarizes a group of radar, sensors and cameras")

Unsure. It seems that people map like this. --naoliv (talk) 01:16, 2 April 2018 (UTC)

It measures the speed of the vehicle and identifies it. It is a physical object whose purpose is an enforcement. Fbello (talk)

Very bad idea if the speed camera only monitors at fixed location. If it changes location often, or monitoring average speed, then it should be OK to use an enforcement. -- CBRS (talk) 14:45, 2 January 2021 (UTC)

A highway=speed_camera at a highway node means that there is a camera above the road?

Yes --naoliv (talk) 01:16, 2 April 2018 (UTC)

Yes. Or at the side of the road. Fbello (talk)

Above or at the side. The same can be applied to speed limit sign. Places two cameras on the median will cost a lot less than building a gantry first and then putting cameras on it. These two kinds of camera make no difference at functionality. -- CBRS (talk) 14:45, 2 January 2021 (UTC)

A highway=speed_camera at a highway node can be understood as a simplification of an enforcement relation? (ie, the device could be at the side, but for simplicity it's mapped attached to the way)

Unsure. It seems that people map like this. --naoliv (talk) 01:16, 2 April 2018 (UTC)

Yes, if it also has the tags maxspeed and, on two-way roads, direction. Fbello (talk)

Yes. Why making everything complicated? -- CBRS (talk) 14:45, 2 January 2021 (UTC)

Suppose a highway=speed_camera node that is part of a oneway=no highway; it means that the enforcement applies to both sides?

Yes --naoliv (talk) 01:16, 2 April 2018 (UTC)

This should be explicit. In this case, a direction tag should be used. If direction=both, then yes. Fbello (talk)

Yes maybe. But if you cannot make yourself going at reverse direction, you will not receive any alert on router applications. As a result you should not worry about this. -- CBRS (talk) 14:45, 2 January 2021 (UTC)

The direction key means where the speed camera is pointed to?

Yes --naoliv (talk) 01:16, 2 April 2018 (UTC)

Not necessarily. There are backward-facing cameras in which the lens points in the opposite direction. Fbello (talk)

Probably a mess right now. Speed camera is not CCTV. The current direction key adopts the clockwise measurement which is very confusing. Speed camera should only monitor forward or backward if they are pinned as a node of a road. Clockwise makes things worse by letting users map the camera at precise location but not contributing too much value because cameras are still the devices monitoring traffic. Keep in mind that people should not confuse router and probably themselves, because routers are probably the main consumer of the data. If the road is divided (of course oneway added), there is no need to add such key. In my opinion, the direction key should be used in a similar way to stop sign. When you set forward or backward, it means the whatever direction, that traffic comes from, will receive the alert. Further discussion is probably needed when this becomes a larger concern. -- CBRS (talk) 14:45, 2 January 2021 (UTC)

The direction key means the way direction that the enforcement applies to? (ie, "direction=forward" means that the enforcement applies only to the same direction of the way; also (and of course), your answer here can't be the same from the previous question)

No --naoliv (talk) 01:16, 2 April 2018 (UTC)

Yes. This is the only useful interpretation of direction. As with traffic signs, the implicit direction is that of traffic flow (nobody thinks 55MPH is in the direction the sign is facing). Fbello (talk)

I hold the same opinion of previous questions here. Enforcement should be used for speed "zones". -- CBRS (talk) 14:45, 2 January 2021 (UTC)

3D speed cameras

An example of how work of current used speed cameras https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqcwWSqJ6I0&list=LLbhj6FOsW79mslS2eRZCzgw&t=0s&index=8 Speed measurement is just one of their work parameters. Maybe it is worth adding man_made=surveillance to such objects. Cz ja (talk) 12:17, 7 June 2018 (UTC)