
New cameras to watch cameras that watch you - vectorbunny
http://wtop.com/41/3034979/New-cameras-to-watch-cameras-that-watch-you
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bediger4000
_Liberati says the cameras aren't a case of Big Brother nor a cash grab,
police are simply trying to keep the public safe from reckless drivers._

Ha ha, very funny! If that were the case, for red light cameras at least, then
they would just increase the length of the yellow light. That's cheaper than a
camera, for sure, and has been proven empirically.

As far as speeding cameras, I might buy it except that in Denver they only
show up in swanky neighborhoods that have a high-traffic street through them.
Like on 1st Ave in front of the Denver Country Club. Or University by the
gated "Polo Club" neighborhood. Never seen one on S. Federal, or Santa Fe
Boulevard.

on the whole, I don't believe that an honest citizen can treat pronouncements
about traffic cams with anything other than utter suspicion.

~~~
colonel_panic
But what happens once people get used to the new duration of the yellow light?
Do they approach it based on what they're used to from all the other yellow
lights they've ever seen? Then the longest yellow light in the country is the
safest one, until all the other lights are lengthened to match it.

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normalfaults
This is actually a problem in the area this article is from. In maryland the
yellow light is much shorter then in virginia, therefore maryland drivers tend
to stop at yellow lights in virginia which causes lots of close stopping of
drivers behind . If safety was really a concern then there would be a more
narrower range of allowed yellow light duration between counties and states.
As far as the speed cameras are concerned they only reduce speed for a very
short distance once everyone knows where they are, its a pure profit motive.

~~~
Evbn
Seems like VA drivers should stop racing yellow lights, and should maintain
safe following distance. Even if the driver ahead chooses to roll into a stop
at a green light, drivers behind should be able to stop safely.

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pmorici
The really insidious thing about these cameras in many if not most cities is
that they are owned and operated by a private corporation and then the
government splits the profits. In some cases the private company is paid per
ticket issued which doesn't take much thought to realize how to maximize
profit. [http://washingtonexaminer.com/court-md.-drivers-cant-get-
spe...](http://washingtonexaminer.com/court-md.-drivers-cant-get-speed-camera-
fines-back/article/2505967#.UFOLvUJvQqY)

I've gotten tickets from these things before simply because my car was the
only license plate visible in the frame even though the little yellow triangle
designating the vehicle speeding marked a car on the opposite side of the road
traveling in the other direction. The highway guard rail was obscuring the
speeders plate though so they just sent it to me instead.

Speed cameras are akin to a lottery tax system where by motorists are randomly
chosen to pay an extra tax and it's justified by the fact that some of them
may have been speeding.

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Karunamon
_> The highway guard rail was obscuring the speeders plate though so they just
sent it to me instead.

Speed cameras are akin to a lottery tax system where by motorists are randomly
chosen to pay an extra tax and it's justified by the fact that some of them
may have been speeding._

Sounds more like an implementation problem than a problem with enforcement
cameras as a concept. A software patch would correct this.

~~~
danielweber
You are assuming the system isn't functioning as performed.

They send out a ticket, act like a bureaucracy when questioned about it, and
eventually get paid. ("They" being both the government entity and the private
camera operator.)

Why would they bother changing it? Traffic courts are a laugh, since it's
recognized that driving is a privilege and not a right.

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sneak
Old process:

1\. Destroy speed camera

2\. Profit

New process:

1\. Shoot out surveillance camera

2\. Destroy speed camera

3\. Profit

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recoiledsnake
4\. Response from the cops:

Install cameras that watch the cameras that watch the cameras that watch you.

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vadman
Real response from the cops: install a chip in everyone's brain. When a
citizen happens to be within 10 ft of a "forbidden" object without
authorization, his/her body experiences violent seizures.

Should be possible within 10 years, no?

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wahsd
'The cameras work to slow people down' is the most annoying, nonsensical BS.
If the cameras were supposed to slow people down they would not be cameras
that capture information that leads to a citation; nor would the money go into
local government coffers. I f-ing hate pathetic liars.

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jeza
Only a $40 fine... that's a bargain! It does make it seem silly that people
would respond by recking the cameras. I wonder if it's more a case that some
people will vandalise anything they can.

(Here in Australia we pay at least $200 for a speeding fine).

~~~
normalfaults
The price point is carefully thought out. Its high enough to make a profit but
low enough that most people won't go out of their way to fight the ticket in
court etc.

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swalsh
How do these cameras work? If it is wireless, i'm sure someone could
discretely hide a jammer near them?

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gsibble
Let's assume it is using the cell network.....isn't jamming the cell network a
much bigger felony than just destroying the camera?

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lifeisstillgood
On a seperate note, would anyone actually visit a website that had a private
non fine generating camera over the freeway you take to work, and would pop up
the speed and time you passed when u enter a license plate

just thought it might be a fun thing to learn opencv on - thoughts?

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DocFeind
Oh great, now our spycams have spycams, rather Inception-esque.

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waterlesscloud
Google cars will make this all obsolete anyway. ;-)

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lifeisstillgood

      It costs us $30,000 to $100,000 to replace a camera. 
    

What?! At those sort of prices, Big Brother will be Bankrupt Brother before
2012 becomes 1984.

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jeza
They have to measure vehicle speed accurately and in such a way that will
stand up to scrutiny in court. So not just your run of the mill consumer type
camera. I like your joke nonetheless. :)

~~~
makmanalp
<http://www.thehighspeedcamerastore.com/high-speed-products>

~~~
lifeisstillgood
250fps seems pretty high for this use case a car doing 100kmh is about 30m per
sec.

Measured over 10m capture zone 24fps is more than adequate

focal length, durability, weather proofing etc all seem more likely to be the
cost - but really that's just housing.

