The Man in the Monkey Mask

[wdb]

Originally Posted by Christ

If you're not running red lights, (or in some cases, speeding) you've nothing to worry about.

And if you're not wearing a T-shirt that criticizes Bush, you have nothing to worry about either (and we'll even let you get within 1.5 miles of him). Oh wait, we have a new president -- never mind.

Stuff like this really gets me to wondering what the true purpose of the cameras is:

Arizona began deploying the stationary and mobile cameras on state highways a year ago, and through Sept. 4 had issued more than 497,000 tickets. Of those, about 132,000 recipients had paid the fine of $165 plus a 10 percent penalty, netting the state more than $23 million. Arizona is the first to deploy such technology on highways statewide.

Many of the remaining tickets are either new, being appealed or have just been ignored. The state didn't have figures immediately available on the breakdown.

One year, HALF A MILLION tickets? And they don't even care if people pay them or not. That's not speed enforcement, it's revenue generation. That's not enhancing public safety, it's lining the camera company's pockets.

The man in the monkey mask is simply reflecting the facelessness of the system back onto itself. I give him a hearty hi-ho silver.

[Christ]

No quotable piece of that information says that they "Don't care if people pay them or not."

I'm not sure where you got that from.

BTW - No worries about Bush, no worries about Obama - I worry about the rifle toting people who show up at Obama's speeches... unless they're like the "Minute Men" who are apparently vigilante enforcers.. Maybe those AR14's, 22/230's, 7mm Mags, etc... are all there to be proactive against a racist assassination attempt? Concerned citizens, no?

[Piwoslaw]

Here, the photoradars don't have licence plate recognition software, so every picture of a speeder must be analyzed by a flesh-and-blood policeman. But there aren't enough policemen to patrol the streets, let alone to look through thousands of pictures per day. Only about 30% of the pictures turn into tickets, but only 30% of those get paid. The rest are ignored with no consequences

The law here is that the ticket gets sent to the car's owner and (s)he either pays, or if the face of driver isn't visible, (s)he must say who was behind the wheel.

There are many areas here with speeding problems, but Those In Charge always say they don't have money to buy a photoradar and pay someone to sort through the pictures. I guess they can't count, or they'd notice that after the first month the investment would more than pay for itself financially, not counting any safety benefits.

[tasdrouille]

Here they send the ticket to the person the car is registered to. The logic is you should know who drives your car so you'll just sort it out with that person.

Where are RFID tags when you need them...

[Christ]

Originally Posted by tasdrouille

Here they send the ticket to the person the car is registered to. The logic is you should know who drives your car so you'll just sort it out with that person.

Where are RFID tags when you need them...

IBM lost some public funding for that research, from what I was told while working for EIT (who bought IBM's original facility in Endicott, NY.) So they're relying mostly on private sector funding... this will surely take awhile to come to fruition.

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by Christ

I worry about the rifle toting people who show up at Obama's speeches...

Me, I worry more about elected leaders (irrespective of their politics - it applies equally to a Bush or an Obama) who're unwilling to face the people that supposedly elected them without layers of armed guards.

But to the topic, has anyone ever actually showed that this sort of photo enforcement has any effect other than revenue enhancement? It's certainly less than accurate: I got one from Washington state this past spring, for not paying a bridge toll. Now 1) I haven't been to Washington for maybe 20 years; 2) it listed my truck as the vehicle, and the photo was a small compact; 3) the license plate was from a different state; and 4) it wasn't the same number anyway. Miracles of modern technology, indeed :-)

[SVOboy]

Tas posted a thread a while back about how much they had reduced speeding in quebec: http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ghts-9711.html

[Piwoslaw]

Originally Posted by jamesqf

But to the topic, has anyone ever actually showed that this sort of photo enforcement has any effect other than revenue enhancement?

Here most of the photoradars are stationary, with a sign placed somewhere earlier informing drivers about it. The effect? Drivers from out-of-town slow down to the required speed, but locals blast right on past: they know that either:
a) The lens has been spraypainted,
b) The lens has been broken,
c) The radar has been burned,
d) The box is empty (there are more boxes than radars, and the radars are randomly switched around 2-3 times a day).
Also, anyone who has a CB radio will know ahead of time if the radar is operational or not.

So the answer is: Yes. There is a slight positive effect.

[Funny]

Originally Posted by Christ

BTW - No worries about Bush, no worries about Obama - I worry about the rifle toting people who show up at Obama's speeches... unless they're like the "Minute Men" who are apparently vigilante enforcers.. Maybe those AR14's, 22/230's, 7mm Mags, etc... are all there to be proactive against a racist assassination attempt? Concerned citizens, no?

You mean like this that happened back in august?


The original source for the picture....

I'm not trying to start an argument, but please make sure you have all the "facts" from both sides, and choose the one that makes the most logical, rational sense.
There are no contradictions in life. When you find yourself facing a contradiction, check your premises, you will find one of them is wrong.

To the topic, I would love to have a camera at the major intersections in towns. But not every intersection is major. The justification for a camera should come from number of accidents, and number of violations at that intersection versus other intersections in the area. I am by no means saying that the pictures could be enforced effectively, but merely having the cameras there provides a deterrent to some (afraid of breaking the law and getting caught), an incentive to others(not afraid of bucking the system and hoping to get off Scott-free).

[tasdrouille]

Originally Posted by jamesqf

But to the topic, has anyone ever actually showed that this sort of photo enforcement has any effect other than revenue enhancement?

Originally Posted by FTA:

King instead prefers to focus on the program's positive effects on Arizona's highways, particularly in the Valley where fatalities, a factor that closely correlates with speed in wrecks, have dropped by 10 to 20 percent since the same time last year. [More...]

Edit: there's a bug with the edit feature...