Speed Camera Exec Loses His License For Speeding

from the karma dept

Thu, May 7th 2009 8:55am — Mike Masnick

In our recent post about speed cameras, Matt pointed us to the news that a top exec at a speed camera company has been banned from driving for six months for (you guessed it) speeding. He was apparently going over 100 in a 70 mph zone in the UK. If that's not karma...

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Filed Under: speed cameras, speeding

34 Comments

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Willton, 7 May 2009 @ 9:20am

Karma? More like irony.
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Mikes, 7 May 2009 @ 9:28am

Actually!
It should be CARma.
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Anonymous Coward, 7 May 2009 @ 9:39am

Re: Actually!
Intentional reference to It Takes Two?
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TEA-Time, 7 May 2009 @ 9:44am

Not quite as ironic, but still entertaining none-the-less.

State GOP director arrested, drove 109 mph on Loop 101
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Canucklehead, 7 May 2009 @ 10:00am

Top Cop quits over speeding tix
How about when the government official in charge of the cops quits over a pair of excessive speeding tickets ?

Its Carmageddon out there ...

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2009/04/27/bc-van-dogen-resigns-speeding.html
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Anonymous Coward, 7 May 2009 @ 10:16am

what is wrong with speed camera!
If the people of the state conclude that speeding is hazardous then what is the problem with implementing it efficiently through cameras? Saves the state lots of money.

What is the difference between a cop catching a speeder vs a camera catching? Even in a cop car it is a radar "machine" that determines speed.

Regarding privacy issues: I can use your previous arguments for google street map (against govts that are trying to ban them). If you are in public, you don't have privacy.
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ScaredOfTheMan, 7 May 2009 @ 10:19am

SpeedCams cannot catch drunks, criminals etc
The big difference is, if a drunk person shoots by a speed camera over the speed limit, they will get a citation in the mail. If they did that to a real cop they would be taken off the street instantly and not able to hurt anyone on the road.
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Kevin, 7 May 2009 @ 10:22am

Question
Anyone know if he was caught by one of his own cameras? Because that would be awesome.
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Mike (profile), 7 May 2009 @ 10:27am

Re: what is wrong with speed camera!
What is the difference between a cop catching a speeder vs a camera catching? Even in a cop car it is a radar "machine" that determines speed.

First, the law says that you have a right to challenge your accuser in court. If there is no accuser...

Second, the cameras have a long history of being wrong.

Third, speeding, as an offense has never been about road safety, but about revenue. If you wanted safety then you'd just focus on reckless or unsafe driving. But cameras can't measure that.
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DS, 7 May 2009 @ 10:35am

Re: Karma? More like irony.
You usually have to wait until your dead before Karma kicks in.
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OFFICER FRIENDLIES, 7 May 2009 @ 10:38am

HOW DARE YOU QUESTION THE POLICE

THATS IT IM NOT SERVING AND PROTECTING YOU ANY MORE, YOU ASKED FOR IT
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no, 7 May 2009 @ 10:41am

Re: Karma? More like irony.
it's not ironic it's coincidental. If he was "caught" speeding, but he wasn't and there was a big bug in the system, then that would be ironic. Because something different from what was expected happened.
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no, 7 May 2009 @ 10:46am

Re: Re: Karma? More like irony.
No you don't have to die before Kharma kicks in.

Kharma is just action and reation (which is part of a cycle that has been going on for all of time), but that reaction doesn't necessarily have to be at the object that did the action.

If I was speeding, and the reaction is a speed camera catches me that's Kharma, action, reaction (it doesn't matter who is doing the speeding, the fact that it was the exec is coincidence)
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Anonymous Coward, 7 May 2009 @ 10:52am

Re: Re: what is wrong with speed camera!
One could think that going 100 mph is reckless or unsafe.
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Anonymous Coward, 7 May 2009 @ 10:59am

Re: Re: Re: what is wrong with speed camera!
not necessarily. Cars these days can be controlled very effectively at higher speeds as compared to the ancient days the speed limits were set in.

If only people would learn to drive.
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Tgeigs, 7 May 2009 @ 11:12am

What's the execs name?
Because if it was Greg, the headlines would be AWESOME:

"Kharma and Greg"
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WarOtter (profile), 7 May 2009 @ 11:15am

Re: Re: Karma? More like irony.
Well I think it would be ironic if everyone was made of IRON!

-Caboose
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Anonymous Coward, 7 May 2009 @ 11:49am

Re: Re: what is wrong with speed camera!
First: It is more of a technicality. If a thief breaks into my house and my security camera captures his/her face I can still use it as evidence. And I will be the accuser. In traffic camera case the state will be the accuser.

Second: I am deeply frustrated about the lack of transparency in this country about the use of machines. Just as in case of voting machines I can say that a close to perfect speeding camera can be built and that should not require rocket science. I concede this point but I don't think you can generalize this point to every speeding camera.

Third: Okay. Why don't we put this in next election's ballot and let people decide?
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Mike (profile), 7 May 2009 @ 12:03pm

Re: Re: Re: what is wrong with speed camera!
One could think that going 100 mph is reckless or unsafe.

Indeed. But the camera doesn't stop that. An officer pulling him over does.
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Another AC, 7 May 2009 @ 12:57pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: what is wrong with speed camera!
And the ticket is issued to the driver, not the car.
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DS, 7 May 2009 @ 12:58pm

Re: Re: Re: Karma? More like irony.
If you want to take that view, the action of breathing is invoking "Kharma".
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yes, 7 May 2009 @ 1:02pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Karma? More like irony.
exactly, and that "view" is the original
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Anonymous Coward, 7 May 2009 @ 1:33pm

UNITS?
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Anonymous Coward, 7 May 2009 @ 1:34pm

UNITS?
Anyone think that the units should be Kilometers per Hour instead of miles per hour.
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AC, 7 May 2009 @ 5:08pm

Fairness, Compliance & Units
No, units should be furlongs per fortnight.

Problem with speedcams? Accuracy & assuming registered OWNER is the guilty party. Also, teens stealing license plates of enemies (temporary theft) and speeding through the areas to get the wrong person ticketed. Even a drunk cop (you know, like the one who killed the teens in Chicago on April 10th...his previous 20+ drunk driving tickets were toss...professional privilege), would likely catch that.

Just search for Maryland cops speeding thru camera areas while flipping off cameras. Of course, as the government got the tickets (over 160 of them...of course, I'm sure our nation's "finest" deserve such preferential treatment).
Here's a link to get the too-lazy-to-search started:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1982816/posts
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Anonymous Coward, 7 May 2009 @ 6:44pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: what is wrong with speed camera!
Exactly, because we all know if my car is stolen and the person drives it at 100+ mph, I should lose my license because some camera clocked "me" going along at excessive speeds.
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Anonymous Coward, 7 May 2009 @ 6:48pm

Re: Re: Re: what is wrong with speed camera!
Third: Okay. Why don't we put this in next election's ballot and let people decide?
LOL! Yea, as if. You know the politicians are in the pocket of the companies who sell these systems want that to happen. Because everyone knows exactly what will happen if it's put to a vote...98% against cameras.
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Anonymous Coward, 7 May 2009 @ 6:49pm

Re:
Thank the lord almighty. FINALLY!
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Anonymous Coward, 7 May 2009 @ 6:51pm

Re: Fairness, Compliance & Units
Welcome to the new Republik of Amerika my friend.
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Anonymous Coward, 8 May 2009 @ 1:22am

Also from the irony file:

Roads Minister Sammy Wilson caught without tax or MoT

(legaly in the UK you have to have to pay car tax and have it checked to make sure it's road worthy)
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AC, 8 May 2009 @ 3:22am

Re: Re: Fairness, Compliance & Units
But, I thought that here in Amerika, we had the BEST politicians money could buy???
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VRP, 8 May 2009 @ 10:38pm

Re: Re: Re: what is wrong with speed camera!
I could think that, absolutely. Reckless and unsafe because it's so slow it'd bore one to sleep.

It's all relative. Doing or attempting 100 mph in a congested place where ppl are having difficulties doing 20 isn't the same as the very same place 12 hrs later when there's no other tfc.

That's the problem with zone speeds, imposing the same speed limits regardless of conditions. It's the best giveaway to the fact that speeding has little or nothing to do with safety.

VRP
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VRP, 8 May 2009 @ 10:48pm

Re: Re: Re: what is wrong with speed camera!
"Third: Okay. Why don't we put this in next election's ballot and let people decide?"

OMG, what an idea! Are you presuming that voters have intelligence? Same people who think Chicago is the capitol of Illinois and all politicians are honest?

How many of them are biased either in favor or against for wrong personal reasons, like financial interests?

VRP
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VRP, 8 May 2009 @ 10:52pm

Re: UNITS?
"Anyone think that the units should be Kilometers per Hour instead of miles per hour."

Makes no difference. So long as you're not mixing apples with oranges, any unit of measure is equally good, at least as far as speed measure is concerned, everything else being equal.

VRP
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