View Full Version : Hair spray on number plates works?!
Hi all,
I've always poo-poo'd the claim that hair spray on number plates prevents them being photographed by speed cameras. It sounds like the whacko belief that hanging a CD from one's rear view mirror confuses LASER speed detection guns!
So I'm flicking through the pages of the Sydney Telegraph today
(24-3-2005) and what do I see? An article that claims that spraying one's number plates with hair spray makes the number plate "white out" to the extent that the characters cannot be read. Just a tad bizzare? To support their story, they had before and after photos of a couple of number plates. The ones treated with hair spray could not be read.
How can I argue with photographic evidence? In any case, I have no intention of trying this one out when I pass speed cameras! ;-)
PAH
drone14
24-03-2005, 05:53 PM
Sounds like a good R&D job for some auto shops.
Which hair spray works best, Repco hairspray or Supercheap hairspray? Will it void warranties if a non-dealer hairspray is used? Should you renew your hairspray after 1000kms, 5000kms, 10,000kms??
I can see a whole new industry springing up.
Likewise, I will let others test the practical side of it.
The Supercheap hair spray will no doubt be recalled, so I'd steer away from that one
VX2VESS
24-03-2005, 06:24 PM
um how many cameras use a flash these days, most are infra red etc so have no flash that reflects back
MountainRunner
24-03-2005, 06:27 PM
Yea thats right. A normal camera and a speed camera are fairly different these days.
I would not bet the license on it working.
bigdog1971
24-03-2005, 07:17 PM
Years ago I was visiting a copper mate of mine in Adelaide and he showed me how some speedsters had been getting around a loop hole in the traffic act. Now he also attmitted that he himself and a number of his copper mates even subscribed to this method.
In Adelaide the traffic act said (this was in the mid 90's not sure if it is still the same) that a number plate must be clearly readable from Directly behind on a level plane at 50 meters. So these blokes had cut up a ice cream container and glued a piece of plastic approx 100x75mm on its end between the letters and numbers. So as the plastic is only a couple mm thick the plate can clearly be read from behind but as soon as you move to view the plate from the side, as in the case of speed cameras on the side of the road, the plastic obscures the first and second number/letter of the second number/letter group on the plate.
Now I thought this was pretty good and I actualy did it to my motorbike, and enjoyed a speed camera free life for a while.
I no longer do this as my right foot has had some education over the years, but hats of to the boys in blue for that one.
vh-holden
24-03-2005, 07:30 PM
autobarn spray would be based on rice starch and have a blue glow to it.
Umm . . . .
Look for an LS1 owner WITH THE DRIVER'S SIDE VANITY MIRROR EXPOSED . . . and quietly ask him which brand of hair spray he recommends??? :lol:
Touching on the issue of obscured number plates, I seem to remember a bike rider who got caught riding his machine through the Sydney Harbour tunnel at other than the prescribed speed limit. The papers reported that the cops did a bit of detective work and (using a process of ilimination - no pun intended - the rider lives) figured out the rider's identity and his place of work . . . and had a quiet chat with him when he parked.
I've heard of cops identifying cars from snaps without using number plates. If a car is a certain colour and it has been individualised by stickers and mods such as distinctive wheels, the odds of there being another car may approach zero. That's known as "done by the law using the laws of probability".
PAH
um how many cameras use a flash these days, most are infra red etc so have no flash that reflects back
Actually, even infra red cameras still use a flash - it's just that the flash is not visible to the naked eye. The same basic principles of light reflection, refraction etc etc still apply to infra red flashes and light - especially the near infra spectrum used by these devices - the same as they apply to visible spectrum flashes/light.
Cheers,
Beej
VX2VESS
24-03-2005, 08:39 PM
Actually, even infra red cameras still use a flash - it's just that the flash is not visible to the naked eye. The same basic principles of light reflection, refraction etc etc still apply to infra red flashes and light - especially the near infra spectrum used by these devices - the same as they apply to visible spectrum flashes/light.
Cheers,
Beej
do theey flash?
we have infra red security cameras at work so can see stuff in the dark
So if we mount some VERY BRIGHT infra red spot lights each side of the rear number plate, we blind the speed camera . . .
But not drivers because people can't see infra red light?
PAH
Black VU SS ute
24-03-2005, 09:22 PM
the dealer hair spray will most likely be over priced and will have to go back for a claim on warrenty and the dealer will come up with a crappy reason for it not been covered, " sorry but due too your mudflaps been fitted be someone else it has effected the reflection ratio on the licence plate and caused it to wear prematurely, eg: cause and effect. Sorry that will be $400p/plate for a respray" :lol:
stevegunn
24-03-2005, 09:44 PM
There once was a tale about fitting a small strobe light to the rear with some sort of detector that detected the flash from the speed camera that would then render the pic useless. Sounds just as silly as the hairspray, but then, hairspray is cheaper that fitting silly strobe lights! Not one to try these things as speed limits as serious things! :lol:
do theey flash?
we have infra red security cameras at work so can see stuff in the dark
You will find they probably have little near-infra-red "torches" that provide the illunination they need to see in the dark - you just can't see their torch light with the naked eye.
Far infra-red devices can see "heat" without the need for illumination, but that technolgy is a lot more expensive than the more common near infra-red technology and tends to only be found on military applications (such as attack plane FLIR systems etc) where cost is pretty much no object.
Cheers,
Beej
Steve/redvxss
25-03-2005, 05:46 AM
A copper freind of mine once told me if you paint the plate with clear enamel that works as well havn't tried it though
It kinda opens up all sorts of possibilities really.
How about Brylcream? or Grecian 2000?.
We need some testing done.
HSV,_I_GOT_ONE
25-03-2005, 08:21 AM
There once was a tale about fitting a small strobe light to the rear with some sort of detector that detected the flash from the speed camera that would then render the pic useless. Sounds just as silly as the hairspray, but then, hairspray is cheaper that fitting silly strobe lights! Not one to try these things as speed limits as serious things! :lol:
Not as silly as you would think. You can actually get triggers that are set off by flashes, my mates dad is a photographer and uses them all the time for different lighting effects. A friend of mine has already done a few home tests and looks like it would work great the only problem is trying to mount the flash above the number plate. The other thing we havent tried yet is just having the flash mounted in the corner of the rear or front windscreen but I have my doubts that the flash would block the number plates from that angle, we would almost have to have the flash directly pointed at the speed camera.
This infa red flash thing sound like it would be able to stuff that plan up though. Would have to ask my mate on how to get around that. Anyway I thought QLD camears still used the flashes?
bigdog1971
25-03-2005, 11:20 PM
If the Infra Red Brownie is in your area, this one would be very easy to beat. IR lenses are very intolerant to Red lights. So change one of your number plate lights for a Red globe or even better to a Red LED and this will washout any image taken under IR.
Remember the old James Bond movies when the bad guys are snooping around the house and he turns on the lights and blinds the baddies wearing NVG's (Night Vision Googles) well Red light has the same effect only about 5 times worse for the bad guy. :D
I use NVG's when I am flying and Red lights like Brake lights or Ambulance lights are very distracting.. :(
kaniSS-81
25-03-2005, 11:25 PM
Ive always hears that it works, heres what you can do to test it, just take a picture of your plate with the flash on after you have sprayed the plate and see if it can be red...
I think the trick is to spray it once let it dry then spray agin and so on for a while untill the whole can is finished... not to sure..
VX SS S2
25-03-2005, 11:39 PM
We're looking at the wrong solution... what thing do all speed cameras have in common? They're all taking pictures from the side... flash or no flash...
Was driving along the other day, noticed out of the corner of my eye that a Skyline next to me had a number plate i could see... i backed off to have a better look and could see the plate... so sped up again....
What i found was that you could see the number plate from behind the car clear as day... but when you got closer to the side, the plate was completely blurred.
He has a number plate cover over the plate (clear plastic) that had something inside it that if you got on the side of the plate, i was as blurred as tits on the news...
Don't know where you can get them but it sure worked.
Oldmonroman
26-03-2005, 08:41 AM
Umm . . . .
Look for an LS1 owner WITH THE DRIVER'S SIDE VANITY MIRROR EXPOSED . . . and quietly ask him which brand of hair spray he recommends??? :lol:
Touching on the issue of obscured number plates, I seem to remember a bike rider who got caught riding his machine through the Sydney Harbour tunnel at other than the prescribed speed limit. The papers reported that the cops did a bit of detective work and (using a process of ilimination - no pun intended - the rider lives) figured out the rider's identity and his place of work . . . and had a quiet chat with him when he parked.
I've heard of cops identifying cars from snaps without using number plates. If a car is a certain colour and it has been individualised by stickers and mods such as distinctive wheels, the odds of there being another car may approach zero. That's known as "done by the law using the laws of probability".
PAH
Well you remove the stickers and then take it to court, they have to be joking?. if this is true thery are playing a game of chance if you except the ticket you are guilty, if you take it to court hummmm we must have the wrong car, typical cops they try to out smart you.
vh-holden
26-03-2005, 11:30 AM
the other part of the experiment would be to use a video camera with night shot.
He has a number plate cover over the plate (clear plastic) that had something inside it that if you got on the side of the plate, i was as blurred as tits on the news...
Don't know where you can get them but it sure worked.
like those Privacy screens for the computer straight on vision clear as. side on its blured.
but the hairspay could work. the light gets trapped under the hairspray gloss and reflects onto the reflective paint. bluring the number plate.
but in the wet wouldnt it wash off. clear enamel or some type of clear over the top would be nice.
lol if you didnt speed wouldnt need to do this but. you cant trust the police either.
:booty:
Hi all,
The perspex number plate covers that VX SS S2 is referring to are marketed by Neltronics. I think they have some form of prismatic effect (like day/night rear view mirrors). You can bet your boots they're illegal, and I think we lose points off our licence if we get caught using them in NSW. If you want to check them out, click on this URL:
http://www.neltronics.com.au/images/PlateProtectorLarge.jpg
Removing window stickers to avoid being booked by coppers using the laws of probability? Maybe, but I think that the stickers would have to be reomved after the offence but before the coppers paid their visit. Once they've seen them, rest assured the evidence has been noted.
SV99 - what can I say? Of course you're right. If I get done at ludicrous speed, I need to put my hand up and admit guilt. My beef is that the money grabbers in power are leaning on law enforcers to show a lot less tolerance. Remember when we were cut slack to the tune of 10 - 15 km/h's over the limit? That was a great system! It allowed drivers to CONCENTRATE on the road (rather than the speedo). If the politicians are going to gouge motorists for a few km/h's over the limit, I can well understand why motorists look for ways of avoiding the pain. On the one hand, we must be law abiding citizens. On the other hand, it's a known fact that it is very hard to enforce a bad law. And there IS evidence that some of the road laws are bad! A judge allowed a motorist to walk away freee of conviction of speeding in a school zone. And the reason? The government has not done enough to enable motorists to easily determine the speed limit in these zones. I think that that judge hit the nail on the head. We need a far more effective warning to indicate when the 40 km/h speed zones are active.
PAH
PS: Touching on the laws of probability, and taking itno consideration that it's Easter:
There are 109 specific Old Testament prophecies regarding Jesus. The Old Testament was completed about 400 years before Jesus' birth and it was translated into Greek about 250 years before his birth. According to the laws of probability, there is a one in 125 million million chance of a man fulilling only 45 of these prophecies. Jesus Christ fulfilled ALL 109 prophecies. ;)
Hi all,
My beef is that the money grabbers in power are leaning on law enforcers to show a lot less tolerance. Remember when we were cut slack to the tune of 10 - 15 km/h's over the limit? That was a great system! It allowed drivers to CONCENTRATE on the road (rather than the speedo). If the politicians are going to gouge motorists for a few km/h's over the limit, I can well understand why motorists look for ways of avoiding the pain. On the one hand, we must be law abiding citizens. On the other hand, it's a known fact that it is very hard to enforce a bad law. And there IS evidence that some of the road laws are bad! A judge allowed a motorist to walk away freee of conviction of speeding in a school zone. And the reason? The government has not done enough to enable motorists to easily determine the speed limit in these zones. I think that that judge hit the nail on the head. We need a far more effective warning to indicate when the 40 km/h speed zones are active.
I agree with you 100pc here. Its turned into a cash grab plain and simple. as if they dont sqander enough money off us as it is.
if they cant make money off something they deem it illegal. :mad:
the tollerence is 2km hr now here, considering the ADR says that the speedo can have a 10-+ difference. so how the **** are you ment to win.
apart from finding ways to get even with the bastardo's !!! :booty:
Hi SV99,
Yep! Exactly! I can understand people using hair spray on their number plates etc. I'm not saying that I'd aid and abet them, but I understand their frustration with the current system. The 10% strategy worked like a charm . . . the one small problem was that it significantly undermined revenue. This mongrel "let's tax the motorist out of existence" trick started in Victoria after the state government stuffed the economy and the State Bank of Victoria. That's when they went to this crap zero speed tolerance policy. It seems that the other states have copied the idea.
NSW introduced a 3 cpl petrol tax, promising faithfully that it would be scrapped after 3 years. That was 15 years ago :mad: And the pollies get all offended when they rank slightly lower than used car sales people on the "trust-worthy" scale. They'd have to be as dumb as dog knobs not to realise why they're not trusted. They cry poor for most of their term in office, cutting this and scrapping that. And then when an election campaign starts, their PORK BARRELLING promises run into the billions! Just as well their promises are L-A-W (law). ;)
PAH
borry
27-03-2005, 09:23 PM
why are we STILL arguing over speed laws ?
surely after all this time, we have enough evidence, enough back up material to support our case for driver safety courses etc etc to make a valid point to the relevant authorities ?
why not organise a cruise towards something like this ? ie, cruise for a cure, but with our angst turned towards these laws.
just a suggestion...
Animal
28-03-2005, 06:53 PM
PS: Touching on the laws of probability, and taking itno consideration that it's Easter:
There are 109 specific Old Testament prophecies regarding Jesus. The Old Testament was completed about 400 years before Jesus' birth and it was translated into Greek about 250 years before his birth. According to the laws of probability, there is a one in 125 million million chance of a man fulilling only 45 of these prophecies. Jesus Christ fulfilled ALL 109 prophecies. ;)
And this was done 2005 year ago.
I hope the translations were accurate.
Hi Animal,
Umm . . . no.
2005 years ago was when Jesus walked the Earth. The propechies that relate to him are much older - at least 400 years older and some 1000's of years older than him.
The Greek translation made in around 250 BC is known as the Septuagint Version of the Old Testament. It was one of the sources used when the English Bible was produced ;)
Have you heard of the Dead Sea Scrolls? They were found in 1947 in a cave near the Dead Sea (Israel). These scrolls are very old and support the accuracy of modern translations. Check it out if you like:
http://contenderministries.org/biblestudy/deadseascrolls.php
There's other evidence too. Israel for example. The Jews were scattered around the world AS PREDICTED and regathered to give birth to the modern nation of Israel AS PREDICTED. Check out Ezekiel 38:8 if you want confirmation mate. In fact, here it is (and don't say I never do nuthin' for you):
Eze 38:8 After a long time you will get your orders: in the last years you will come into the land which has been given back from the sword, which has been got together out of a great number of peoples, on the mountains of Israel which have ever been a waste: but it has been taken out from the peoples and they will be living, all of them, without fear of danger.
This verse is speaking about a future invasion of Israel.
PAH
wiggarous
28-03-2005, 11:29 PM
I live in WA and over here we are still using the budget speed canmeras with the flash...
the photos are also taken from the front so i'm fine on my motorbike...
a lot of people in wa just take off their front numberplate... it is a $68.00 fine for not having a license plate on, and i'm pretty sure most people could talk their way out of a single plate missing... thats if they are picked up of course, if they are photographed, i spose they just get away with it...
i've been flashed 4 times for speeding between 10 and 19 km/h over the limit. it pisses me off but i had no problem paying the fines... i was fined $350.00 and 3 points for failing to give way at a roundabout when i was on my P plates which was, in my opinion a bad call, and my folks saw the incident and both agree... also i was picked up for not indicating out of a nightclub carpark into a one-way street at 2am which was a 2 point $100.00 fine...
also i spose i get a little angry at the fact that i was doing 10 - 19 over in a 100 zone, i mean if it was in a 60 zone you could reason that its a little more dangerous than keeping with the speed on the freeway.
VYBerlinaV8
12-04-2005, 04:31 PM
Not that I condone this product, but...
http://www.globalgadgetuk.com/photoblocker.htm
holdendriveon
12-04-2005, 11:00 PM
Not that I condone this product, but...
http://www.globalgadgetuk.com/photoblocker.htm
I subsribe to Car and Driver Magazine from the US and i spotted that same PhotoBlocker spray being advertised in it last month.
VYSSBlack
12-04-2005, 11:09 PM
Not that I condone this product, but...
http://www.globalgadgetuk.com/photoblocker.htm
Dont waste your money. I bought Photoblocker :bash: and it doesnt work :mad: . It is just a clearcoat spray with what looks like glitter in it.
It is also really noticable at night when headlight shine on it. I had more than a few people comment on how noticable it was and I hadnt told them that I had it.
To add insult to injury, not only do you pay for the spray and the fine, you then have to clean it off your numberplates before a cop notices it.
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