Automated Traffic Enforcement

[Mad Ryan]

If cars drove themselves, and did not have to worry about "driver error", speed limits would definately be increased. They are inforced because people get in more accidents at higher speeds, but most of the time it is a drivers fault. By the time these cars were put in effect, other hazards on the road wouldn't exist like people changing flats on the side of the road, running out of gas on the freeway...

Our speed limits (At least on the freeways/highways) have nothing to do with safety and everything to do with EPA rules, and fuel regs. You can thank Detroit and their 17mpg cars for that. European highways typically have much higher speed limits (or none at all) and typically fewer per-capita deaths than America. Course, they believe in actual driver training. Japan has a really good system. It's freaking expensive to get a drivers licence in Japan. You definately don't run into moron drivers over there too often.

 

[pingdum]

I'm curious...for the people that are opposed to the speeding cams, are they also opposed to the red light cams?

I am opposed to it. It's just another way to put a cop (government agent) on every corner.

 

[ahb11m]

here they put the fixed speed cameras in designated 'black spots' - areas which there is a know high amount of road fatalitys linked to speeding... thats the governments story anyway...with our fixed cameras (NSW) there are three warning signs if your dumb anough to of gone through all of those and are still speeding you get a ticket

we also have manned cameras where a cop car will sit, with a spped camera by the side of the road, once again sign is requred, but is usually after the camera, and is only about 10 inches high!!

on top of that we have speed traps, where a cop will sit by the side of the road and then pull you over if you were speeding

don't get me wrong but i love speeding, its the thrill of it , and knowing that my car can do it - but do 2 interesting things before you next go out on a speed rampage

go 5-10 over on your way to work.. time it, and then time how much slower you are on the limit - you'll probably only save about 1-2 minutes!

second is to make a stop from a predetermined point, measure the distance then do it again 10 faster - the stopping distance is a fair bit bigger!! keeping in mind that you didn't have a reaction time to work on either...

point is that i'm sure your all very capable drivers, but those limits are put in place for the majority who are bad drivers etc...

unfortunently nothing is fair in this society

this public service anouncement.....blah blah blah

 

[unwrittenLaw]

Big Brother..Is starting to come out the closet..Soon enough..You will have Big Brother..Monitoring your internet..and giving you tickets for downloading music..and porn!!

This is only the beginning!

Chas

They already monitor the Internet...its called the NSA.

 

[scott42]

2K3 Mazdaspeed, you work for the government don't you?
Sounds like you dont mind having someone watch you 24/7. I guess to each his own, but I 100% disagree with you
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"All you guys bitching about these cameras really need to stop. You speed, you deserve to be punished. I speed, and when I get caught, I would thank my lucky stars to have the cop say, "Give me $50 and we'll call it even". We get points here, even for a few miles over. No warnings. 4 points within a given amount of time and your license is gone. 12mph over the limit here is probably around $100(plus the point on your record).
Would you rather have a camera that sent you a $50 WARNING, or a cop doing a speed trap? Keep in mind, if you are speedding, you probably have somewhere you'd rather be than in your car. If you get pulled over, the cop is gonna keep you there and make you late. Be glad you got it in the mail..."
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How about I follow the rules (as I do), and let the officer decide, if in fact he feels the need to pull me over?

How many times do people get pulled over for 12mph over at 1:35am? I know I, and I'm sure a lot of other people, have passed by a parked patrol car on the highway doing at least 10-15 mph over (while getting passed by faster drivers too) and not gotten a ticket. If you want technology to run your life for you, because government deceides that people are too stupid to take care of themselves, then I guess that's up to you.

Btw, I hate 'speeders' though I frequently drive faster than the speed limit, merely to keep up with traffic. I'd be pissed if I got a ticket for keeping up with traffic in the slow lane. Just think, all the money collected from these tickets goes to the pocket of some dumbass polititian who took the proposal from the company that makes the cameras...

But I'm sure that doesn't matter, as long as we are all drones, incapable of monitoring and patroling ourselves. Didn't I see this in a movie some years ago? I think it starred the governor elect from California...

 

[michaelnchelle]

I am not sure, but I have HEARD that these photo-tickets are easy to get out of. Someone above mentioned that you have the right to face your accuser in court... and thats how I heard they get dismissed. They obviously cannot have you face the camera, and since it wasnt witnessed by a cop, then they have to dismiss them. Thats the REAL reason why they do not impose points.

All this is just another BS method to get money and take advantage of that attitude so many people seem to have: "Well, I was breaking the law and I deserve to get punished". Thats total BS, and it surprised me how many auto enthusiasts here have that atttitude. If the LAW is stupid, then it should be changed, not just blindly followed by people acting like sheep. If no one stands up to these enforcement techniques, and just "accepts" them and pays thier small fines, then the fines are going to get bigger. Then, as it is more accepted as the rule, they will start putting these cameras out on the beltway, where everyone drives 10mph over the speed limit, and just start racking up fines, one after the other. And then, when no one complains about that, points will start to be assessed.

I am all for enforcement of unsafe driving. People racing through traffic, weaving, going too fast for conditions, etc... all that deserves to be ticketed by a policeman who is concerned about public safety. But, at 1 AM, when no one is around, and you are driving 32 in a 25, thats BS. Same thing out on the interstates where you drive 70-75 in a 65... nothing unsafe there either. But thats where they always have speed traps... going for the easy dollars.

The sad thing is, its so much easier to just pay the $50 and get no points than to take the time to go to court and fight it... so I would pay, and most everyone else will pay too... and the system wins.

 

[scott42]

^^ding ding ding^^

give this man a prize

good stuff

 

[MarkSpark]

So these cameras are getting shots of your license plate huh? Easy fix: have an electric mod hid your license plate when your driving and when a cop is nearby, flip the switch to show ur plate again. I have easypass on the parkway, so I breeze my tolls, and when I bought my new car, I forgot that I didnt have the transmitter, so I assume they took a pic of my car, but I didnt even have a license plate on my car yet because it was brand new and the paper on my windshield was falling off.. They lost.

 

[RAAZ227]

I am not sure, but I have HEARD that these photo-tickets are easy to get out of. Someone above mentioned that you have the right to face your accuser in court... and thats how I heard they get dismissed. They obviously cannot have you face the camera, and since it wasnt witnessed by a cop, then they have to dismiss them. Thats the REAL reason why they do not impose points.

All this is just another BS method to get money and take advantage of that attitude so many people seem to have: "Well, I was breaking the law and I deserve to get punished". Thats total BS, and it surprised me how many auto enthusiasts here have that atttitude. If the LAW is stupid, then it should be changed, not just blindly followed by people acting like sheep. If no one stands up to these enforcement techniques, and just "accepts" them and pays thier small fines, then the fines are going to get bigger. Then, as it is more accepted as the rule, they will start putting these cameras out on the beltway, where everyone drives 10mph over the speed limit, and just start racking up fines, one after the other. And then, when no one complains about that, points will start to be assessed.

I am all for enforcement of unsafe driving. People racing through traffic, weaving, going too fast for conditions, etc... all that deserves to be ticketed by a policeman who is concerned about public safety. But, at 1 AM, when no one is around, and you are driving 32 in a 25, thats BS. Same thing out on the interstates where you drive 70-75 in a 65... nothing unsafe there either. But thats where they always have speed traps... going for the easy dollars.

The sad thing is, its so much easier to just pay the $50 and get no points than to take the time to go to court and fight it... so I would pay, and most everyone else will pay too... and the system wins.

I agree with you 100%. Like I said before I am going to pay the fine. The clocked me on MacAuther Blvd. a residential street in D.C./ Not some suburban Hgwy. I believe if they want the freaking $$ pay a policeman to do the job RIGHT! Not some, can be faulty, non-calibrated camera. They are just trying to make that easy $$

 

[EviLMaN]

it was also 1 oClock in the morning no one on th road (i think) and goin like 10 over wont kill any one. i got a tiket on the turnpike for doing 80 in a 65 at 1:30a.m. i was mad but the FHP was ver nice and lowerd it to 9 over the limit and tiket was 41$ after the class. I say the red light camera is the best thing i am from Ny and when the light turns green YOU GOOOO!!!. and in florida i see the light turn yellow every one steps on the gas and blasts threw a red light not 1 or 2 cars i mean like 5-10 cars. a Cops job is to ensure the safty of ppl and inforce the laws, well a camera isnt a cop, and if they just put cameras all over the place i guess we dont need cops right?????

 

[mp5typer]

I say you send them a picture of fifty dollars in the mail, thatll chap their ass

 

[azeli73]

did they get a clear picture of your face. Proving you were driving the car? In Arizona, they have to prove you were driving the car to issue a ticket. I had a friend that covered his face with his hand as he drove by a photo radar and got off in court cause they couldn't prove it was him.

 

[oliver2000]

We had these in Ontario for a while they were installed when we had a socialist government that had a mandate to spend thier way to prosperity....obviously that did not work so they under the vaile of public saftey installed roming vans equipped with cameras to ticket you for speeding....call photo radar or " kojak with a kodak "...the radio stations would tell you the locations during traffic reports...you never knew thou where they would be and this was a effective way to grap cash from the public. I got nalied for 105 KM's in a 100 Km's zone and a $ 50 ticket plus a admin charge. Same thing no points as they could not prove you were the driver.

Eventually these as$holes were voted out on thier ass and photo radar was outlawed by the new government.

 

[RAAZ227]

I say you send them a picture of fifty dollars in the mail, thatll chap their ass

(lol)

 

[michaelnchelle]

Car and Driver has had some good articles about traffic cameras...

My favorite ones... tells you about the money behind all the red light cameras:
http://www.caranddriver.com/article.asp?section_id=27&article_id=1934&page_number=1

http://www.caranddriver.com/article.asp?section_id=27&article_id=1979&page_number=1

http://www.caranddriver.com/article.asp?section_id=27&article_id=3624&page_number=1

Red light cameras are proven to INCREASE accidents:
http://www.caranddriver.com/article.asp?section_id=27&article_id=2843&page_number=1

And finally, a real good use for red light cameras:
http://www.caranddriver.com/article.asp?section_id=27&article_id=6793&page_number=1

 

[acidbug]

Well..for all of you that think this is a good idea..Think about this!

What's to stop them from Using these redlight cameras..to look into peoples houses..what will stop people from doing this..Also..how about them using cameras..to take pictures of you and your girlfriend/boyfriend..hookin up in your car..and mailing you tickets for indecent exposure..

Chas

 

[2K3 MSP]

Blah...Blah...Blah...(blah)

All, I'm saying is you should be lucky it wasn't a cop that pulled you over. What if you had one too many beers and you were on your way home from a bar?
If you can talk your way out of a photo, fine. You couldn't if it was a cop though. We don't have cameras around here though, so maybe that's why I don't see the big deal....

 

[RAAZ227]

All, I'm saying is you should be lucky it wasn't a cop that pulled you over. What if you had one too many beers and you were on your way home from a bar?
If you can talk your way out of a photo, fine. You couldn't if it was a cop though. We don't have cameras around here though, so maybe that's why I don't see the big deal....

Just wait till it happens to you.

 

[michaelnchelle]

All, I'm saying is you should be lucky it wasn't a cop that pulled you over. What if you had one too many beers and you were on your way home from a bar?
If you can talk your way out of a photo, fine. You couldn't if it was a cop though. We don't have cameras around here though, so maybe that's why I don't see the big deal....

Read those articles... CA is on the camera enforcement bandwagon bigtime, and since Sacramento is the capitol, with all the politicians, it wont be long...

And I do see your point, it IS better than a real ticket, but its the idea thats scary, I dont want to see it grow so big that its too late to stop it...

 

[EviLMaN]

All, I'm saying is you should be lucky it wasn't a cop that pulled you over. What if you had one too many beers and you were on your way home from a bar?

umm yeaa one to many beers im sry thats y i want cops for my saftey too i dont want no drunk fuker plowin the side of my car or mybe hittin me inn a parkin lot thats y u need cops instead of cameras