If he doesn't catch you, the camera on his just might.
Should cameras replace cops to give out speeding tickets?
Motorists sometimes smile as they speed past a police officer who has another hapless driver pulled over. If Beverly Hills, California, officials have their way, motorists will be smiling for a photo radar camera attached to the police car. The idea is to catch more speeders, slow down drivers and -- yes -- collect more traffic ticket revenue. But do such cameras represent a threat to civil liberties?
Beverly Hills officials have been trying to get a camera system since 2006, only to find little traction in the Legislature. It's one thing to use cameras to catch drivers who run red lights -- an obvious danger. But deploying them to nab speeders has been a touchier issue.Besides Big Brother concerns, pop culture has long celebrated Americans who goose the gas, a la Sammy Hagar's anthem “I Can’t Drive 55.” And speeding is the rule, not the exception, on many roads in Southern California. In 2007, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that the average speed on freeways outside Los Angeles was 78 mph, well above the 70 mph limit. But Beverly Hills officials are pushing again this year for a bill sponsored by State Sen. Sheila Kuehl, a Democrat from Santa Monica.
Cameras are controversial, but are the trade-offs worthwhile? Should legislatures take care to guard against abuses of privacy and manipulation to catch innocent drivers? Should the public resist cameras or embrace the promise of safety?
Thoughts
What about my Constitutional
Submitted on April 27th, 2008 by AnonymousWhat about my Constitutional right to face my accuser?
Use of automated cameras for
Submitted on April 20th, 2008 by AnonymousUse of automated cameras for traffic enforcement fails an important test, that the motorist accused of a violation should be notified immediately after the alleged incident, so that they can defend themselves based on their own memory of what happened.
Cameras INCREASE crashes
Submitted on April 15th, 2008 by Anonymoushttp://hscweb3.hsc.usf.edu/health/now/?p...
Tampa, FL (March 11, 2008) — Rather than improving motorist safety, red-light cameras significantly increase crashes and are a ticket to higher auto insurance premiums, researchers at the University of South Florida College of Public Health conclude.
Lets face it.
Submitted on April 15th, 2008 by AnonymousEVERYONE SPEEDS.
drive through my local town at speed limit all of a sudden you have a line of cars behind you and most likely at least one will pass you the moment they get the chance.
Automated ticketing just spells out a big issue. If cops want to pull over more speeders set up more patrols, more speed traps and the like. Just don't make it automated.. its a big mess waiting to happen.
How many other criminals will be missed?
Submitted on April 15th, 2008 by AnonymousWhen I watch worlds dumbest criminals there seems to be a lot of them who were caught speeding.
Does this mean that the speeders with dead bodies, cocaine, drug money, etc will just get mailed a ticket? What about the heisted car that is speeding, sending the owner a ticket - do they pay it or do they get to fight it? The redlight shenanigans have left many owners, not drivers, with tickets.
It's socialist propaganda to think the monetary benefit of these ticketing hundreds of citizens is a good thing. Please prove me wrong, because I'm taking the position that bad criminals speed when committing crimes. Let's run the statistics on how many additional crimes are prevented by STOPPING speeders, versus sending them tickets.
Finally, if you want to mail tickets, along with toll road charges, then remove the point system so one could speed for a "fee."
Thanks
Les
Absolutely!
Submitted on April 15th, 2008 by AnonymousThe cost less and are more accurate. Let the cops focus on the real problems.