From the LA Times comes the cheery news:
Speeding may be dangerous for drivers, but it could soon be a boon for California’s fiscal health.
Tucked deep into the budget that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger unveiled Friday is a plan to give cities and counties the green light to install speed sensors on red-light cameras to catch — and ticket — speeding cars.
Those whizzing by the radar-equipped detectors at up to 15 mph over the limit would have to pay $225 per violation. Those going faster would be fined $325.
Red-light cameras are already in place in communities across the Southland. The governor wants to install speed detectors in 500 of those cameras, which would nab an estimated 2.4 million speeding violators a year, according to the state Department of Finance.
If you thought the red light cameras on some intersections in the SCV caused controversy, wait till these devices go in!
Imagine, you’re on your way to work, running a few minutes late, so you push it up to 60 on McBean or 70 on Soledad. Our roads are tailor-made for high speed motoring, it’s so easy!
4-6 weeks later you get a whopping $325 ticket in the mail, even though a law enforcement officer never stopped you.
Your first reaction is denial. Then you slowly remember how you made your car whine that one day back in May. Then your reaction is outrage, and finally, you decide to go to the City Council and complain about Big Brother. The next day, you’re mentioned on SCVTalk and people laugh at you.
But is it possible to beat these cameras? Two possibilities:
Or you could just, you know, slow down!
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From what I’ve seen, the new fee for turn signals is $435.
What scares me is the ‘tailgating’ that creates dangerous conditions as people are scared of getting that ticket.
Arizona is removing their speed camera this year after extreme public outcry.
I would support vandalism to prevent this big brother intrusion into our right to be human and to make small bad decisions. We can’t afford to live as it is!
If you need a camera to tell you are speeding, then no one was hurt, and unless you are over 55mph, you canplead innocent under the “basic speed law” clause in the state vehicle codes.
Sort of the “if a tree falls in the forest…” argument.
Now, if we put these on the freeway in Castaic to enforce the trucks’ 35mph limit, so they don’t have to use their Jake Brakes near residential housing, I’m all for it!!
Uh, they should probably take a drive through a freeway in AZ. These things are DANGEROUS! You think people are stupid at intersections, where poeple EXPECT to be made to stop, wait until they are on fast moving highways. People slow down considerably without much warning at all, to speeds MUCH lower then the posted speed. We are a parnoid people I supposed LOL. I always go extra slow (slower then the speed limit) and use extra caution near the speed cameras in AZ because I anticipate the idiocracy of the other drivers.
Speed cameras could be the least of our worries. Not to be paranoid with conspiracy theories about abuse of power, but…
http://news.cnet.com/E-tracking,-coming-to-a-DMV-near-you/2010-1071_3-5980979.html
ND is right. That officer in the video is way overstating reality. Money has always been the first and foremost concern with these things. They try to sell their intrusion into our normal routines of life by using the “safety” argument.
Americans and cars.
Do you really want to fine us for acting out in an innocent display of what makes us Americans?
We can only be slapped around so much.
Speed cameras are common in Europe. No reason not to have them here. Anything that helps with the speeding issues in the SCV is good. Talk to the Reynolds family about your speeding civil rights. They had two sons killed by a speeding Marcus Leland who also killed two others. High speeds were also a factor in the Canyon Country crash that critically injured 3 teens just before Christmas. If they force folks to slow down, it is all good. Speed limits are high enough out here.
So is it your belief that a speed camera would have influenced the speed of a car full of drugged up teens (including the Reynolds boys)? I’m think no.
Walker:
As I recall, there were no drug charges against Marcus Leland – only speeding. He had received a speeding ticket or two before the crash. Perhaps if he had received a few more, he would not have had a license and have been driving.
Folks should be driving responsibly whether there are red light cameras there or not. Part of responsible driving is not speeding or running red lights. Yellow lights mean caution – not “punch it”. If you don’t have enough yellow to get past the limit line before the red, you should be stopping – period. Once a yellow flashes, all drivers should be aware that anyone in front of them may stop. If there are accidents at intersections with red light cameras, they may have occurred in any event because the car doing the rear ending would have likely run the light and broadsided oncoming traffic.
This could and has been argued ad-infinitum.