Leave it to teenagers to find a new game with Red light Cameras

[Rodimus Prime]

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/pos...ed-cameras-use-them-to-punk-your-enemies.html

I have to give them credit for this new game. I hate those cameras since they are not installed for public safety but to make money.

 

[dukebound85]

i hate them too

however, when they issue the ticket, do they not match the plate to the vehicle?

 

[XnavxeMiyyep]

"This game is very disturbing," the parent told the newspaper. "Especially since unsuspecting parents will also be victimized through receipt of unwarranted photo speed tickets

This is what happens anyway!

Glad they're bringing awareness to this issue.

 

[sushi]

however, when they issue the ticket, do they not match the plate to the vehicle?

I would think that they would.

Maybe not based upon the way the article is written.

 

[notjustjay]

In my city the fine is $200. Definitely enough to make me think twice about running a yellow, especially the one time I thought I made it but looked back to see two bright flashes. I waited for weeks to deal with the ticket, but it never came. A friend of mine, who is with the fire department, says that only some of the cameras actually have film in them, and they are rotated around randomly.

 

[robanga]

Like them or not, they save lives. The deaths from intersection crashes decline in cities that have them

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2008/may/11/yes-red-light-cameras-help/

and yes they make the city some $$$ , in some places the companies that maintain them make a percentage on every ticket

 

[william sire]

This is not the way technology should be used. So I'm glad these kids are making a mockery of it.

 

[.Andy]

The article sounds like a complete beat up.

 

[Mr. Giver '94]

In my city the fine is $200. Definitely enough to make me think twice about running a yellow, especially the one time I thought I made it but looked back to see two bright flashes. I waited for weeks to deal with the ticket, but it never came. A friend of mine, who is with the fire department, says that only some of the cameras actually have film in them, and they are rotated around randomly.

In SoCal, the fine is set at a minimum of $438

 

[djellison]

I hate those cameras since they are not installed for public safety but to make money.

In the UK. Simon Cowell pays more in income tax each year, than speed and saftey cameras generate.

Don't like the fine? Don't break the law by running red lights.

 

[benthewraith]

In the UK. Simon Cowell pays more in income tax each year, than speed and saftey cameras generate.

Don't like the fine? Don't break the law by running red lights.

Because however much Simon Cowell makes in income taxes is relevant to kids playing a game to protest/take advantage of a ****** system designed not for public safety but for profit? If they want to keep public safety, rake the laws for running red lights up substantially. Don't spy.

 

[mkrishnan]

Like them or not, they save lives. The deaths from intersection crashes decline in cities that have them

This is not the way technology should be used. So I'm glad these kids are making a mockery of it.

I agree. I detest it when technology is used to save lives.

Seriously, I got clipped by one of these things making a left turn on red (i.e. I took position of the intersection and then turned after yellow-light through traffic completed) when I first arrived in Chicago (which, AFAIK, is in complete compliance with the law). So far, I have not received a ticket (I have heard it can take six months for them to be issued) and mostly forgotten about it, but I am kind of annoyed by the fact that the system is so slow. If I were to need to contest the ticket, then I'd like to do it while I still vaguely remember the incident in question.

However, they do save lives and are worthwhile for a variety of other things the police do with them, so aside from the inefficiency with which they're used here, it's worth it.

 

[Rodimus Prime]

In the UK. Simon Cowell pays more in income tax each year, than speed and saftey cameras generate.

Don't like the fine? Don't break the law by running red lights.

Who says I run red lights. I normally hit the brakes for yellow but I hate the 2nd guessing myself when some one is on my bumper. I have gone through yellows to avoid being rear ended.

My biggest issue with it city say it is for safety and then they shorten the yellow lights to get more violators. That is when it crosses the line because then it clearly for money and not for safety.

 

[.Andy]

My biggest issue with it city say it is for safety and then they shorten the yellow lights to get more violators. That is when it crosses the line because then it clearly for money and not for safety.

Do they really do this? Cameras aside that would be really dangerous for both cars and pedestrians and cyclists crossing at the intersection.

 

[Rodimus Prime]

Do they really do this? Cameras aside that would be really dangerous for both cars and pedestrians and cyclists crossing at the intersection.

yep. Houston did it. Lubbock I believe did it during its short time with the cameras . I suspect Dallas has done it as well.

I know Houston did it and got caught by the paper and really did not say anything to defend itself and just swept it under the rug.

Other cities i know have done it.

edit.

I stand correct Dallas and Lubbock BOTH shorten their yellow lights.

http://www.motorists.org/blog/6-cities-that-were-caught-shortening-yellow-light-times-for-profit/

 

[.Andy]

yep. Houston did it. Lubbock I believe did it during its short time with the cameras . I suspect Dallas has done it as well.

I know Houston did it and got caught by the paper and really did not say anything to defend itself and just swept it under the rug.

Other cities i know have done it.

What bastards. That really is putting lives at risk.

 

[mkrishnan]

What bastards. That really is putting lives at risk.

Yes, that's a completely different matter. They should be rightly ashamed.

 

[Abstract]

Actually, if speed cameras and red-light cameras are there to actually increase safety for all drivers and pedestrians, they either have to be ALL over our city, or not at all. When they had them in Toronto, they were sparsely laid out. There were very few of those cameras, and IMO, this doesn't work. People know where the camera is and slow down, while the only people who pay the fine are speeders who aren't familiar with the area.

If you ever drive in a place like Taipei, where cameras seem to be everywhere in some parts of the city, everyone drives within the limit because they have to.


My point: Either go all out and litter the city with speed cameras, or don't bother putting them up. Otherwise, they generate a lot of revenue without making the streets any safer.

 

[mkrishnan]

My point: Either go all out and litter the city with speed cameras, or don't bother putting them up. Otherwise, they generate a lot of revenue without making the streets any safer.

I'm not completely up on this, but ... don't most cities have "problem" intersections that have higher rates of red light runners than most other intersections (and/or have higher rates of accidents related to them, perhaps because they have more pedestrians or more traffic overall, even if the red light running rate is similar)? If so, wouldn't it make sense to oversample these locations?

 

[Mr. Durden]

Thats funny that the teenagers would actually not only think of this idea but to go about the time and effort to actually do it. They get an A for the extra effort in my book.

For a while my buddy and i didnt have front license plates on our cars and there was one of the mobile speeding setups that they park on side of the road and it tells you your speed as you drive by (not sure if those take a picture or not)... we would take turns racing down the street to see who could get the highest number (I won. 96.). Not as clever as these kids, but somehow its fun to take something and twist its use into something completely opposite.

weeeee! 35 going on 17.

 

[IJ Reilly]

Most of the people who truly hate red-light cameras are the people who run red lights.

Still, there's a few problems with them. The first is cities shortening yellow times. This should not be allowed. The second is that the installation of the cameras is typically not paid for by municipalities, but by the companies that make them. They get a rake-off on the tickets issued. This obvious conflict of interest should also not be allowed. The third is when someone gets their picture taken because they thought the car behind them wasn't going to stop and kept going to avoid a potential rear-end collision. In this case, the cameras are too objective to determine if a willful violation has occurred.

 

[dmr727]

we would take turns racing down the street to see who could get the highest number (I won. 96.). Not as clever as these

I've always been curious about what happens when you reach triple digits. Never had the guts to try, though!

 

[leekohler]

Go teens! I love this. It's about time people exposed these goofy things for what the are- completely wrong.

 

[robanga]

Having lived for years in Phoenix, where the city streets are massive four lane roads and people drive on them at freeway speeds, I can tell you having the red light cameras has saved a lot of people. You see some nasty intersection collisions there.

Some misguided soul ( or idiot if you prefer) always think that yellow means speed up no matter if they are 1/4 of a block from the light. They think the 45 seconds they will gain from not stopping is somehow worth it.

There was one particularly bad intersection on the west side of the city that actually saw the loss of life cut by 2/3 over the course of a year. Imagine that a single intersection where let's say 7-10 people died per year. One of the car insurance companies publishes a list every year of the most dangerous intersections and on the top 10, Phoenix had three, one of which was right outside my neighborhood.

 

[Mr. Durden]

I've always been curious about what happens when you reach triple digits. Never had the guts to try, though!

Haha. Thats exactly what we were trying to do, but alas, the road just wasnt long enough. Or our cars werent fast enough...

Im guessing that triple digits triggers some sort of self destruct mechanism in which the blast also takes out the speeding vehicle. You know, in the interest of public safety.