Yay!

[shaktazuki]

http://www.thesentinel.com/302730670790449.php

and, especially appropriately, http://www.davesdaily.com/pictures/908- ... ussies.htm

[Duper]

yay?

oh please. You obviously don't have kids.

[Krom]

While I can disagree on the spirit of the prank, I can't deny I am pleased seeing some automated system for handing out traffic violations blow up in its makers face. I will always prefer a real uniformed officer on the streets instead of some stupid computer.

[shaktazuki]

You obviously don't have kids.

I do have kids, and I dislike tyranny.

[Duper]

I have no problem with the systems. I don't break the laws. I don't fear them.

[Foil]

You obviously don't have kids.

I do have kids, and I dislike tyranny.

And you would support them intentionally speeding?

The cameras near my work are at a busy intersection, and catch a number of people every day running red lights. If a similar phenomenon of intentionally running red lights begins to happen here, people could die. Somehow that wouldn't make me feel like cheering them on, no matter how much I might despise the system.

[Sergeant Thorne]

LOL @ the second link!!

[Krom]

I heard a story recently about some state/county refunding all the citations from said red light cameras because they were found to give out false positives. Don't trust machines.

[Will Robinson]

Speed traps are revenue generators for municipalities...they set up as many as they need to bring the revenue up to meet their spending.
If there is a real problem send a cop out to remedy the problem.
Sending out a machine to milk the citizens, for example, at prime locations where speed limits change from 50 to 40 just around a bend so almost every driver is over the limit when he makes the turn...well screw the city that does that!

Here's what I'm going to put on my car: anti-camera plate cover

I'm also thinking about getting this: plate flipper and putting \"You Lose\" on the plate underneath

[CDN_Merlin]

Will, Mythbusters tested all sorts of plate covers and none of them worked.

[Testiculese]

My license plate is a CAPTCHA

[Tunnelcat]

Red light running is becoming endemic, even in this little town. I know that cameras are not really a good solution, but what else can be done to stop the idiocy?

I really would have liked camera footage of the jerk that ran a red light and hit my husband on his bike. Actually, the first red light runner got away. It was the second idiot following the first idiot that hit him. That driver swerved into the left turn lane while running the red light to avoid a car on the right trying to pull out on the green and THEN hit my husband who had stopped in the intersection when the first idiot flashed by in front of him! Well DUH! Really nice ripped ear (he had a helmet on) and broken leg for one ignored light.

[shaktazuki]

Red light running is becoming endemic, even in this little town. I know that cameras are not really a good solution, but what else can be done to stop the idiocy?

Well, they are not ony not a good solution, they are a problem: http://www.ridelust.com/red-light-camer ... dont-work/

Here's what can be done: get rid of traffic control devices altogether.

[Foil]

get rid of traffic control devices altogether.

At low-to-medium traffic intersections, sure! Simple no-control (stop/yield-sign) intersections work very, very efficiently. People can generally be trusted to avoid each other.

That's why some of the traffic lights near my home go to flashing-yellow (simple yield) outside high-traffic times of day. It works.

------------

However, at high-or-extreme traffic intersections like we have here near where I work, it would only cause severe slowdowns.

A little study of traffic dynamics will tell you that at higher traffic rates, controls are absolutely necessary to maintain efficiency (number of cars per hour). In other words, at higher traffic flow, alternating direction via traffic controls allows many more cars through than a 'free intersection'.

-----------

So, at low/medium traffic intersections, I agree. Get rid of the lights.

But getting rid of controls "altogether", including high-traffic intersections, highways, etc? Heck, no. Traffic here where I work is slow enough as it is.

[Krom]

You should see the streets of Egypt, there are no rules. Signs and lights are \"only a suggestion\" as the tour guide tells us. Also talking about people who walk in the street \"I used to call them 'believers', but now I call them 'Temporary'.\". And yet traffic flows amazingly smooth, even through construction and other bottlenecks. Cars, buses, trucks, and pedestrians all flow through even busy streets and intersections like fluid. And to top it all off most streets wind in any random direction, not the uniform grid pattern that dominates much of North America. The streets when viewed from the air are a seemingly random splatter of lines, loops, curves and polygons that make no logical sense and yet it still works amazingly well. Most likely because everyone is used to it and knows how it works. The only notable difference is the horn of a car is a hand pedal on the side of the steering wheel and it gets a fair amount of use for signaling. It would be considerably harder for a deaf person to drive in Egypt than it would be in North America.

[Sedwick]

...it still works amazingly well. Most likely because everyone is used to it and knows how it works.

That, and they're probably more alert for the lack of safety rules and devices, so they act safer. I've heard of some communities removing center lines from some streets to induce such an effect.

[Dakatsu]

Don't know if I really care about the politics of it all, but I loved the second story!

[Gekko71]

I was pinged by a multinova speed camera over christmas (set up less than 100 meters in front of a speed deregulation sign ) and now have to fork out $200 and a loss fo double demerit points.

I'm with the kids on this one - wish I thought of it first.

[Spidey]

Contest it…use this story as a defense.

[Kiran]

I have no problem with the systems. I don't break the laws. I don't fear them.

I'm the same way. Although I'll admit, twice I did accidently run a red light and each time that happened, it was during an extremely stressful time when the light turned red and I momentairly lost touch with reality in a state of confusion. I've learned to just call a friend and ask for a ride since then. I was pretty damned lucky I didn't get hit.
Here we don't have speed cameras but we do have cameras for people who run red lights. The people who handles the system even send citations to people who were driving a police patrol, an ambulance, or a firetruck and they were not on emergency calls.

The 2nd story is really funny but damn...kids, they think they can solve problems with their creativity.