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We implemented speed cameras in my province in Canada 20 years ago, and the government that implemented them got thrown out because the opposition party offered to get rid of them.
People REALLY hate them. Worse than anything else I've ever seen people hate.
People wanna be able to drive like assholes.
Governments want to set speed limits to be arbitrarily low, more like
i have good news because its not set at the speed limit but 11 over, so you only get the ticket for recklessly speeding. maybe the speed limits get lowered so people arent driving 55 next to sidewalks. is that really such a big deal?
I can't really say I've ever seen that happening, but I don't live in LA. Where I live the limits are all between 20 and 30. 55 is pretty crazy.
These sorts of devices give the government a perverse incentive to set speed limits unreasonably low—50 on a freeway, for example—in order to generate revenue through what amounts to highway robbery.
You are fortunate to live in a jurisdiction where the government is not so crooked, but realize that many jurisdictions are not like yours.
I've lived in places with speed cameras all my life... if you're worried, just don't speed?
Like, I don't want to be all "don't break the law and you won't have to worry (:" but speeding is really easy to not do, especially in places where cameras are well signposted or static.
A little while back, I suddenly had to start travelling on a route that had a lot of speed cameras. It's a particularly dangerous road, so I know there's good reason for them to be there, but I had to get myself out of the habit of speeding. Previously I tended to just drive whatever speed I felt was appropriate for the road.
So I invented a game called Speed. As you're driving, you imagine that there is a bomb in your car, and it will explode if you go over the speed limit. You win when you get to your destination without exploding. The speed cameras are the villains, and as you glide past them at the speed limit, you're welcome to taunt them with the fact that they haven't managed to kill you. Police with mobile speed cameras can also be taunted this way, as long as the car windows are closed, for obvious reasons.
Playing this for about 6 months built a really good habit, and I'm honestly a better, safer driver because of it. I'm also a more patient driver, and I enjoy driving more now because I'm not rushing, trying to be as fast as possible all the time. 10/10, would recommend.
if you’re worried, just don’t speed?
If someone is aggressively tailgating you, you don't have a choice. You can either speed and try to get out of his way, or be hit.
Cameras don't care about this sort of context. They don't see a criminal and a victim. They see two criminals.
I must certainly hope this does not pass. CA already nullified red light cameras, what's the point of relearning this lesson?
why not? CA has struggled with record levels of traffic injury and death in recent years.
So, two concerns with this.
Hasn't it been shown the cameras actually increase accident rates? Basically it makes people drive less predictably, by slowly really quickly when they realize there's a camera. I could be thinking of red light cameras, rather than speed cameras but I thought it was both.
I'm pretty sure they aren't enforceable? If someone doesn't want to pay one it's super easy to get out of. Which ends up meaning that the people who need be held accountable, aren't. And the people that are decent drivers, continue to be decent drivers.
I'm pretty sure they aren't enforceable? If someone doesn't want to pay one it's super easy to get out of. Which ends up meaning that the people who need be held accountable, aren't. And the people that are decent drivers, continue to be decent drivers
The problem is that any ticket that is issued solely based on a camera (like speeding or red light cameras) can normally only detect the car by its plates, while tickets are normally written against a driver. In some states, this means that points can't be assessed, and fines punish the poor more than the rich. In others, all the car owner has to do is submit an affidavit saying "I wasn't driving" to get out of it. If the owner is lying, that's perjury, of course. But who will bother checking into it?
A camera that is coupled with a law enforcement presence is much more enforceable, because you pull the car over and issue the ticket to the driver right there, using the camera data as proof.
Hmm. When my boyfriend drove under a toll camera in my car, I called to explain that I wasn't the one driving at the time. The lady on the line asked if the vehicle was stolen, when I said no, she said I had to pay the fine and if I didn't, I may not be able to register my vehicle. Naturally, I paid the fine.
We have some precedent with red light cameras and the like repeatedly being held up. Courts are equipped to handle bad actors and if that becomes an actual problem, they're not going to just shrug if someone has 25 speeding violations that they're not paying. I could see this working once or twice, but if you're driving past that camera every day, it'll be a good idea to start obeying the law sooner rather than later.
A toll is a more legitimate thing to "bill" to a car, though. The car was present, after all, and someone ought to pay. Now that tollbooths are going away, it's logical to bill whoever the car is registered to. (And, if the toll is not paid, it's the car that is "punished" by being ineligible to be registered, not the driver through fines or points).
If your boyfriend was speeding, though, and caught on camera, but the court said you were speeding instead, would you have just taken the fine for that, knowing it would also affect your insurance? I doubt it.
You're correct that people can only "get away" with stunts like I mentioned a limited number of times, particularly if they go in front of the same judge multiple times. But it's also a fact that if law enforcement can't prove you were the one driving, theres only so much they can do.
Regarding #1, the problem lies in the implementation of the cameras. I think the idea of average speed cameras are interesting. Basically, just have multiple cameras and use the time a driver takes to get from one to the other to calculate their average speed. This way you can't game it by slowing down at specific points.
It doesn't, however, protect innocent people from being fined for accelerating to get away from someone aggressively tailgating them. Punishing innocent people is not acceptable.
Hasn’t it been shown the cameras actually increase accident rates?
Most studies find that cameras decrease accident rates: https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD004607.pub4/abstract
Theoretically, it might cause drivers to drive more unpredictably, but I'd expect that those are typically rear-end colissions as drivers slam their brakes to try to avoid a ticket. Those are the safest type of traffic incident and I'd happily trade a pedestrian getting hit for a couple rear-endings.
I’d happily trade a pedestrian getting hit for a couple rear-endings.
In other words, you're okay with creating more traffic accidents, as long as the victims belong to a group that you find acceptable.
On the second point:
Red light cameras seem to work and are enforceable just fine. These would be no different.
“We're having too many car accidents. I know! Let's deploy devices that'll cause more car accidents! What could possibly go wrong?!” —Californian legislators
You might be surprised to know that speed cameras do not increase accident rates, but decrease them.
Twenty eight studies measured the effect on crashes. All 28 studies found a lower number of crashes in the speed camera areas after implementation of the program. In the vicinity of camera sites, the reductions ranged from 8% to 49% for all crashes, with reductions for most studies in the 14% to 25% range. For injury crashes the decrease ranged between 8% to 50% and for crashes resulting in fatalities or serious injuries the reductions were in the range of 11% to 44%. Effects over wider areas showed reductions for all crashes ranging from 9% to 35%, with most studies reporting reductions in the 11% to to 27% range. For crashes resulting in death or serious injury reductions ranged from 17% to 58%, with most studies reporting this result in the 30% to 40% reduction range. The studies of longer duration showed that these positive trends were either maintained or improved with time.
https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD004607.pub4/abstract
Several studies have came out that red light cameras have made driving less safe. I bet speed cameras are the same. We should really do away with stroads in America.
Speed cameras in NYC are extremely effective at reducing speeding.
Legal changes enabled NYC to issue tickets from speed cameras at night and on weekends starting in August of last year. This provided a great natural experiment because they were recording speeding events before and after.
https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2023/03/17/drivers-getting-nabbed-with-fewer-speeding-tickets-data-show
Speeding dropped 40% by March.
Oh, nice. That seems far more useful than red light cameras then. Stroads overall seem to be a problem but I guess this helps slow people down.
Yeah. It's also a lot easier to put in cameras then rip out a stroad.
Yeah. It's also a lot easier to put in cameras then rip out a stroad.
NYC is also an edge case, though. Using it to represent the whole country is kind of bonkers. Speeding cameras in a crowded city, where everyone’s aware a lot is going on, and going fast is hard, probably have very different results than speeding cameras in areas that are less concentrated.
First, NYC has a variety of different road types, and most cities have at least some highly mixed roads. I'm not sure where NYC's cameras were positioned, and I'm at work, so I can't read up on it.
And other studies have also shown speed cameras to be effective:
Twenty eight studies measured the effect on crashes. All 28 studies found a lower number of crashes in the speed camera areas after implementation of the program. In the vicinity of camera sites, the reductions ranged from 8% to 49% for all crashes, with reductions for most studies in the 14% to 25% range. For injury crashes the decrease ranged between 8% to 50% and for crashes resulting in fatalities or serious injuries the reductions were in the range of 11% to 44%. Effects over wider areas showed reductions for all crashes ranging from 9% to 35%, with most studies reporting reductions in the 11% to to 27% range. For crashes resulting in death or serious injury reductions ranged from 17% to 58%, with most studies reporting this result in the 30% to 40% reduction range. The studies of longer duration showed that these positive trends were either maintained or improved with time.
https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD004607.pub4/abstract