Odd camera on lampost - pointing almost vertically downwards

[NY]

In a village near me there is a lamp-post in a 30 mph zone which has a rectangular metal "tube" about 1 foot long by 6" square which is pointing straight down at the road surface by the post. There is also another device alongside, again pointing at the road. There are no road markings like you get with speed cameras. I presume the larger device is a camera and the smaller one is a light. The cameras are angled so steeply that they could not see the number-plate of a car. There is also a box on the lamp-post which may be some form of control module.

Ignore the curvature of the lamp-post: it's distortion from the lens in my dashcam: I had to wait until I was close to the lamp-post to get the largest image, and that's when it's on the edge of the frame where distortion is greatest.

Any ideas? I'm intrigued.

is the location in Google Streetview (the tree by the lamp-post was a bit smaller and was in full leaf in September 2011).

[nightjar]

My guess would be a CCTV system that is not yet in use.

[invalid]

My guess is it might be a traffic census or possibly monitoring the surface conditions.

Of course it could be a camera someone has climbed up the pole and shifted so the ANPR doesn't keep catching them, but they are usually somewhat smaller and in ones.

[Dave Liquorice]

Curious, my guess would a county council road surface monitor (temperature, wet/ice/snow) or a traffic monitor, with vehical size and speed. The old rubber tube over the road things really only count axles

Any clues given by the label on the "control" box?

[NY]

When I next go past I'll try to drive slowly (without looking as if I'm Burglar Bill casing the joint!) and see what the wording says. I noticed it and hoped my dashcam would pick it up legibly, but no hope!

[ARW]

Just stop the car, get out and take close up photos.

It's still a free country.

Wear a hi viz and anyone watching you will just assume you are meant to be there.

[Brian Gaff]

Obviously cannot see the pics, but there are something like that about for pollution monitoring. Brian

[Brian Gaff]

Maybe it just counts vehicles? Brian

[Mr Pounder Esquire]

You forgot the hard hat and the clipboard! I once walked into a Army Camp with this stuff, straight past the soldier with a gun.

[NY]

I did wonder that but it looked over-engineered for vehicle counting or pollution monitoring. The larger of the two looks just like a big CCTV security camera, complete with the shroud that protrudes more at the top of the lens (to act as a sun shield) than at the bottom.

I'll have to try the bold-as-brass technique of stopping while wearing my hi-vis cycling vest and looking at the camera. I could even cycle there if I knew I wasn't going to get saturated with all the rain we've had lately.

[Bill Wright]

Also look at the thing you're photographing, shake your head, and tut audibly. Then scribble on your clip-board and stalk off.

Bill

[harry]

Maybe they are cameras and left pointing down to keep rain/snow/dirt off the lenses when not in use.

[whisky-dave]

Are you sure it was a gun in his pocket or was he just pleased to see you ;-)

[Dave Liquorice]

Don't see any sign of a remote pan/tilt head.

[ARW]

They tend to be rifles not hand guns these days.

Big pockets or well endowed?

And yes the apprentice did ask me when we went into Marne Barracks "Are they real guns?"

FFS.