Instead Of Bad Drivers, What If Speed Cameras 'Caught' Good Drivers Instead?

from the carrot-or-the-stick dept

We've written at length here about the multitude of problems with speed cameras. What if, instead of focusing on punishing speeders, the speed cameras were used to reward good behavior? Drivers who obey the speed limit are automatically entered into a lottery and then notified by mail if they've won. So, you might pick up your mail one day with a letter from local law enforcement and a check for good driving behavior, rather than a fine for bad driving behavior. This is somewhat reminiscent of the idea from a few years ago where police would pull over good drivers and "reward" them with free coffee coupons -- but avoids the whole "pull over" part, which certainly upset some drivers.

The idea is that the jackpot could come from the fines that were paid from speeders -- so not only do you get rewarded, you get rewarded from the pockets of worse drivers. This method may also serve to make a speeding ticket feel even more painful than just a fine alone. After all, a $500 ticket definitely stings, but a $500 ticket PLUS a little note that had you not been speeding, you could have won $10,000 instead? Ouch, that hurts a lot more.

The idea was the winning entry to VW's "The Fun Theory" competition, where applicants were tasked to design ways to change people's behavior through fun. This is a brilliantly viral campaign that showcases the fact that advertising is content, and if you make engaging content, people will beat a path to your door to watch it. The "piano stairs" entry alone has amassed over 12 million views.

Of course, rewarding good drivers with cash awards does not help governments rake in quite as much in revenue, but speed cameras are supposed to be about safety and not money, right?

Filed Under: driving, gaming, good driving, incentives, lottery, rewards, speed cameras

Speed Camera Company Admission May Mean Tickets Issued From 1997-2008 Weren't Valid

from the details,-details dept

Redlight and speed camera provider Redflex is not having a great year. The company's revenue has taken a hit due to massive opposition to these cameras, leading it to lose a major contract in the state of Arizona, while having many of its camera programs declared illegal. But things may be getting even worse. Reader Pwdrskir points us to some news coming out of a lawsuit that Redflex is dealing with from competitor American Traffic Solutions (ATS). The details of that aren't all that interesting. However, as a part of that lawsuit, Redflex had to admit that its radar/speed cameras, despite claims to the contrary by Redflex were not certified by the FCC until 2008. That calls into question every ticket issued by those cameras from 1997 to 2008. And, as the article notes, it sounds like a lawsuit is already being planned in response to challenge the validity of those past tickets.

Filed Under: certification, radar, speed cameras
Companies: redflex

Arizona Finally Dumps Speed Cameras

from the thanks-for-the-memories dept

While there have been serious political efforts for quite some time to have Arizona get rid of its hated highway speed cameras that generated automatic tickets for drivers going more than 10 mph over the speed limit, it looks like it finally has succeeded. Aaron Martin-Colby alerts us to the news that the state has officially informed Redflex, the provider of the cameras, that it will not be renewing its contract. This would be the same Redflex that the state just happened to give an innovation award to just a few months ago. Mixed messages there. Of course, it sounds like this is just for the speed cameras, not necessarily redlight cameras... (which Redflex also makes).

Filed Under: arizona, speed cameras

UK Testing Speed Cameras From Space? Not Exactly, But Still Troubling

from the big-brother-phone-home dept

Reader btr1701 submitted this story about the UK testing speed cameras that "trap motorists from space." Although the Telegraph article conjures up images of Big Brother spying on drivers from satellites, the facts are (somewhat) less sinister. The system essentially combines license plate recognition with GPS, taking advantage of the GPS to make the cameras more portable and easy to deploy.

As we've discussed before, plate capture technology has been shown to be abused in the UK, so any system that further proliferates the use of these cameras is cause for concern. After all, the main benefit of this new system is that it allows a camera to be quickly deployed virtually anywhere. As a result, those looking to avoid known camera installations will have a harder time, once these become more commonplace. So, while this is not a full blown "Big Brother in space" implementation, it does exacerbate an already troubling situation.

Filed Under: speed cameras, united kingdom

Baltimore Accused Of Stacking The Deck For Speed Cameras

from the hide-that-sign dept

We've seen over and over again that redlight cameras and speed cameras almost never have anything to do with increased safety on the roads (and some studies have even suggested they make the roads more dangerous). Instead, in almost every case, they really appear to be about revenue generation for the local municipality. Tim DiPaula points us to what at least appears like a very sketchy situation in Baltimore where the city installed brand new 40 MPH signs... and then, about a block later, there's a sign that is partially obscured by the trees, suddenly dropping the speed limit to 30 MPH. And, of course, there's a speed camera right there. I'm sure that makes the roads much safer.

Filed Under: baltimore, speed cameras

Parked Car Gets Multiple Speed Camera Tickets

from the yeah,-those-work-great dept

We've seen all sorts of problems with speed cameras -- like the time one clocked a brick wall traveling 58 MPH (watch out!). It seems that they've got a problem with stationary objects. Reader Marshall points us to a story of a guy who parks his car on a road equipped with a speed camera and has received two speeding tickets while his car was parked. Don't you feel safer now?

Filed Under: parked cars, speed cameras

Anger Against Red Light And Speed Cameras Going Mainstream

from the people-don't-like-'em dept

A bunch of folks have submitted this recent Washington Post article about the growing anger and resentment towards red light and speed cameras. We've posted similar articles in the past, but this is one of the first times I've seen the topic discussed in a major mainstream paper. The discussion basically hits on all the high points, showing that people really hate the devices and that the reason they're so popular is not safety, but revenue. It also looks at the stats, talking about a few different studies. It does mention one study claiming that the cameras have decreased accidents and fatalities, but then notes numerous other studies that disagree, and digs into the details of the original study to find that it does not account for multiple other factors. At best, the studies seem to indicate that red light and speed cameras do not decrease accident rates (in one damning study, a town that got rid of its cameras saw a bigger decrease in accidents than a neighboring town that installed them). In the end, it's quite clear that the cameras are entirely about money, and have nothing to do with safety -- and it's nice to see more people recognizing this issue.

Filed Under: anger, red light cameras, speed cameras
Companies: redflex

Despite All Sorts Of Laws And Automated Ticketing Cameras... Car Injuries Increased In The UK

from the damn-that-data dept

With so much effort put towards new laws banning mobile phone use while driving, and installing speed cameras and redlight cameras, you would think that places that were quite aggressive in doing so would see a decrease in the number of auto injuries. After all, isn't that the point of all of this? The UK has been particularly aggressive in such efforts, but as Jeff Nolan alerts us, a new report out in the UK suggests that (despite the gov't's earlier claims) injury accidents have actually increased over time. The government has now been forced to admit that the stats it had been pumping out (which showed a decrease) were faulty, and that the real number of accidents may be as much as three times as high as what it had been reporting. This only came about after the British Medical Journal looked at hospital admission records of those injured in car crashes, and saw the numbers went up as these new efforts were put in place in the UK. We're all for safer driving, but the claims that these measures lead to safer driving aren't supported by the data.

Filed Under: accidents, car accidents, distracted driving, redlight cameras, speed cameras, traffic, uk

UK Police Issue Copyright Takedown Over Speed Camera Photos

from the incentive-to-create? dept

Another day, another example of copyright being misused. This one, sent in by JJ, involves police in the UK demanding that certain speed camera photos be taken offline as copyright violations. They're apparently pissed that a guy who used the photos to prove that the cameras are faulty has posted his story (with the photos) online:

"The content of these photographs are the property of Sussex Police and publication of them is a breach of copyright. They should be removed from the website forthwith. If they are not removed further action may be contemplated."

The real issue is that the guy who posted the photos is one of a growing number of folks who have discovered that, if you know a little bit of math, you can often show that the speed cameras were flat-out wrong.

Copyright is a gov't granted exclusive right solely for the purpose of creating incentives for works that otherwise wouldn't be created. I can't see how that applies to police speed camera photos at all -- which seem to have a different incentive to "create," whether it's to make the roads safer (the official explanation) or to raise money from speeding tickets (the real reason). Neither one of those requires copyright at all. And, of course, posting the images hardly seems like it should be a violation of copyright. The whole thing is obviously being used to stifle free speech because the police department doesn't like it, not because there's any sort of reasonable copyright claim.

Filed Under: copyright, police, speed cameras, uk

DC Police Chief Says It's 'Cowardly' To Monitor Speed Traps With Your iPhone

from the real-men-prefer-ignorance dept

Jeff Nolan points us to the news that Washington DC's police chief is denouncing users of an iPhone app to monitor speed traps/speed cameras/red light cameras as being "cowardly." Apparently, real men prefer ignorance about where the police are hiding to give them tickets for driving a couple miles per hour over the speed limit. The app actually sounds pretty useful, alerting users if they're near one of the cameras or a known speed trap. The creator of the software makes the most salient point:

"If police come against us, it's going to make them look like they are only [after] revenue"

Indeed. Shouldn't the police be happy that a software product is helping people slow down or avoid running red lights? How could that possibly be seen as a bad thing... or "cowardly"?

Filed Under: cowardly, dc, iphone, redlight cameras, speed cameras, speed trap, speeding