
If you hate red-light cameras, you’ll really hate speeding ticket robots - jamesjyu
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/04/hate-red-light-cameras-youll-really-hate-speeding-ticket-robots/
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leoedin
Lots of countries have speed cameras which are fairly automated. In the UK
they tend to be placed in areas of frequent accidents (where speeding is
definitely dangerous) and trigger at around 10% over the speed limit.

Rather than use algorithms to assess the general traffic speed, why not just
have sensible speed limits?

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ubernostrum
In the US, speed limits have a tendency not to be set to a "safe" speed, but
rather to a speed that will optimize revenue from tickets. It's not terribly
hard to find, in any town or city here, plenty of streets and even highways
which have limits that are obviously below both the average speed of traffic
and the design speed of the road, set largely for political (often money,
though sometimes to appease residents who feel a street is "too fast").

So yes, let's have sensible limits first, and then worry about the
enforcement.

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pc86
Can someone explain to me the opposition to red light cameras? I don't get the
problem with giving people who break the law fines for it, but maybe I haven't
looked at it the right way.

~~~
jonkelly
I'd say the biggest issue is that they provide a perverse incentive to the
local government -- reduce the duration of the yellow light to generate more
red-light revenue. I couldn't easily find a link but I believe this happened
in Denver (and that they later re-instated longer yellows after public
outcry). My understanding is that lengthening yellow-light times and adding a
delay between red & green are the proven ways to prevent accidents.

I've seen the camera supporters argue that even if cameras cause more rear-end
accidents those are preferable to t-bone crashes from red light runners, but
that's a false choice. Longer yellows and red-green delays prevent both types
of crashes.

Beyond this, I think there is legitimate opposition to the lack of discretion
by the cameras. In places with snow & ice, there are plenty of times when it
is impossible to stop at a red light even when travelling well below posted
limits.

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mgkimsal
Is it this story?

<http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/23/2300.asp>

"Denver, Colorado was caught this week attempting to add red light cameras at
intersections with short yellow times. Rocky Mountain News reporters
videotaped the city's four proposed ticketing locations and discovered that
each had a yellow signal time set at 3.0 seconds -- a figure below recommended
standards."

~~~
vacri
It should also be noted that they are at the legal minimum. They're not
'flying under the radar'.

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grecy
In Australia many high-accident intersections have combination speed/red-light
cameras.

It will get you if you speed.

It will get you if you go through the red light.

It will give you two tickets if you do both.

It's quite possible to lose your license in one drive-through.

(Penalties in Australia are very harsh. i.e. 30km/h (20mph) over is automatic
loss of license on the spot)

~~~
goatforce5
My brother is a paramedic in Australia. Apparently they get piles of automated
red light and speed infringement notices on the work vehicles and once every
so often they have to bundle them up and send them to the courthouse to be
dismissed en masse.

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ars
"Do we want to live in a world where jaywalkers are caught every single time?"

There is a Jewish legend that before this world was created, God created a
world that was ruled by the attribute of Justice - every infraction was
punished exactly to the right degree, not to strongly, but not weakly either.

That world did not survive and God had to destroy it and start over, this time
with a world based on mercy.

(There are some who say that the fossils found in the ground are from that
previous world.)

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hawkharris
Speeding tickets help prevent murder, in an indirect way.

That is, minor traffic violations are the most common way cops catch people
who have committed more serious crimes. Some lawyers call it "bootstrapping
charges."

If autonomous cars do eliminate (or greatly reduce) minor traffic violations,
they could have a very negative impact on crime. Cops would need a new,
smarter way of catching these criminals.

While these "speeding ticket robots" might help cities boost revenue, they
lack the law enforcement benefits of having cops people physically pull people
over.

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incision
I'm not sure what the extent of the "real-world driving data extracted from
the on-board computer of a commuter's automobile" is but I think it would be
much more interesting challenge develop something around "bad" driving.

Identify habitual hard/late braking, lane drifting or swerving (used to mean
someone was drunk, now it means they're texting), sudden/excessive lane
changes, lack of signaling or driving at speeds significantly below the posted
limits in the absence of congestion.

These things are all quite dangerous, but generally unchecked.

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tgg
The send off of this article is bizarre. It seems to be arguing in favour of
automatically sentencing on serious crime and applying subjectivity and
leniency on minor offences. I could not disagree more, automate the trivia and
use proper human value judgements for crimes of consequence.

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virtualwhys
In France speeding ticket robots abound. Can easily rack up hundreds of Euros
in fines without knowing it...until you get notice in the mail/post that is,
ouch.

Then later your insurer gets in on it, increasing your monthly fee via form
letter.

No human intervention required, brilliant.

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alexchamberlain
Has someone just written a paper inventing speed cameras?

Edit: I think I misread it; this appears to use on board sensors.

