Speed Camera Exec Loses His License For Speeding

from the karma dept

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...

Filed Under: speed cameras, speeding

Even The Phoenix Police, Responding To Emergencies, Can Get Dinged By Speed Cameras

from the money-in-the-bank dept

Arizona has been one of the bigger supporters of traffic cameras over the years, though there's been quite a bit of backlash there in recent months. It reached quite a level last month with the news that a speed camera operator was shot and killed. Reader Milodon points us to the news that even the police in Phoenix are getting quite upset at speed cameras because they're getting caught by them while on the way to respond to emergencies. Yes, even when the police are responding to an emergency in a police car, lights flashing and everything, they can still get a citation if they're caught speeding by a speed camera. The police department policy is that officers can get cited for being "out of policy" which is 15 mph over the speed limit.

Now, there is a reasonable argument to be made that police speeding can be a danger to others as well -- which is what those who support the policy say. But, you could make an argument that circumstances should determine what's safe in responding to an emergency, rather than a hard and fast policy. Still, even if you agree that police shouldn't speed, it's hard not to see some irony in police getting citations from speed cameras.

Filed Under: phoenix, police, speed cameras, traffic cameras

Maryland Ramps Up Traffic Cameras... But For Safety Or Revenue?

from the gotta-be-the-revenue dept

While other states are banning traffic cameras after realizing that they're entirely about revenue, and tend to be less efficient as a way of improving safety, it looks like Maryland is going in the other direction. Tim DiPaula points out that Maryland is planning to increase the use of both speed and traffic light cameras, using the overall "better safety!" claim to get it approved. Of course, the fact that some towns in Maryland that already have such cameras brought in more money from them than the entire town budget seems to also be an important factor.

Filed Under: maryland, revenue, safety, speed cameras, traffic cameras

Arizona County Ditches Speed Cameras, Saying They Made Roads More Dangerous

from the speedy-departure dept

While Arizona is considering getting rid of speed cameras across the state (update: this has now been approved), one county has already gone ahead and removed all of its speed cameras, after the newly elected sheriff went through the data and found that the speed cameras were not even remotely effective (thanks to everyone who sent this in). The sheriff noted, first of all, that despite claims this would make the streets safer, accidents actually increased by 16% and fatal accidents doubled (from 3 to 6). He admits, reasonably, that there could be other factors, but there's little to suggest that the cameras did anything to make the roads safer -- which was the main reason why the cameras were first installed.

Filed Under: arizona, speed cameras

Arizona Considers Ditching Speed Cameras

from the big-waste-of-money dept

We've highlighted the significant problems with speed cameras over the years, but it hasn't stopped their continued spread. Arizona was actually one of the more aggressive deployers of such speed cameras, which were immediately effective in delivering speeding tickets to thousands of supposed speeders. However, it looks like the anger at the automated ticket-giving machines has caught the attention of at least one local Senator who is trying to kill the program, noting that the cameras are: "annoying, unfair, intrusive and even dangerous because of backups as motorists abruptly slow down near cameras." Indeed. Of course, anyone who looked at other areas that installed such cameras would have found out the same thing without spending millions of taxpayer dollars installing them first.

Filed Under: arizona, speed cameras

Students Using Speed Cameras To Frame Other Kids

from the guilty-until-proven-innocent dept

In general, we have trouble with things like speed cameras and red light cameras -- both of which don't tend to do much of anything to make the roads safer (rather, there's evidence that they lead to more accidents). The reality is that they are really about boosting revenue for local governments, not about safety -- which explains why plenty of places have been found illegally changing parameters to make them bring in more revenue.

But the biggest problem of all is just that these cameras aren't reliable at all, and without any human witness it seems unfair to charge someone with a crime -- especially when they do things like charge a stationary brick wall with going 58mph or accuse a woman of driving a car at a stunning 480 mph. And, of course, when you have an automated system sending out violation notices, you just know it's going to get gamed. That's exactly what appears to be happening. Slashdot points out a story of students in Maryland making fake license plates matching other students' plates, slapping them on their cars and speeding by speed cameras in order to get other students slapped with fines. And, of course, others have seen similar attempts for more nefarious reasons. At what point did we decide it was okay for automated systems to issue fines without any human review?

Filed Under: scam, speed cameras