[Scan-DC] VSP video cameras on car

[michael rumberg]

true - respected studies have shown that ticketing rates fall dramatically about 9 months after installation of cameras once the local drivers get used to the location 

 

Ostensibly the reason to install the cameras is for public safety - ie prevent collisions due to red light running or speeding.  But again, respected studies have shown that 1.  increasing the time for yellow by one second is much more effective than the camera and 2.  parking a marked cruiser is more efficient at actually reducing speed than a hidden or less noticeable camera.

 

so that is the main argument in support of cameras being "revenue enhancement." More to the point - DC issued $150M in tickets with the cameras over a 2 year period.

 

In one particularly egregious example for DC - I believe around 16th & F Streets there is a traffic signal placed on the right in the middle of the block where there is NO intersection.  It is apparently for the convenience of a parking garage.  But the light turns red on a constant cycle even when the garage door is down and no vehicles are attempting to exit.  Most drivers do not expect a light in the middle of a block and often fail to see it.  Other folks stop and then proceed because there is absolutely no valid reason for the light to be red, let alone even there!  So the govt put a red light camera there and collected tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of dollars until someone who buys ink by the barrel got stung.  After the outcry the camera was taken down but the signal is still there.

 

in re: the plate covers - as long as the covers dont obscure the plate - they are generally legal.  However, the license plate reading systems generally use IR to read the plate - so it doesnt matter if its obscured or not.  The plate cover violations are generally not "primary" offenses, so the cops cannot stop you simply because of having one.  but then again, its your word against his on why s/he stopped you and then you get cited for the graduation tassle on the rear-view mirror, the cover, the unused seatbelt, tires too worn, etc etc.

 

 

 
> Date: Tue, 24 Mar 2009 11:37:17 -0400
> From: tjdalrymple at gmail.com
> To: scan-dc at mailman.qth.net
> Subject: Re: [Scan-DC] VSP video cameras on car
> 
> People see it as revenue generation when an outside company supervises or
> manages the program, and receives a percentage of the fines generated.
> Questions were raised about a jurisdiction that installed red light cameras,
> and then reduced the timing on the yellow lights. (I have to look this up to
> confirm, but I think I heard about this on WTOP, where they were timing stop
> lights in the District.) Shorter yellow, more people caught running red, and
> everyone but the driver profits.
> 
> Pay your consultants a flat fee, let the police determine if you broke the
> law, and make the process open to the public, and the public will start to
> see it less as a revenue maker.
> 
> On Tue, Mar 24, 2009 at 11:12 AM, Cathy Drzyzgula <cathy at drzyzgula.org>wrote:
> 
> > This is one argument I've never understood, why using technology to more
> > efficiently catch lawbreakers is seen a way to increase revenue, rather
> > than
> > a way to increase compliance with the law. I think the likelihood of
> > getting caught should be high to deter people from speeding, driving while
> > suspended, stealing cars, etc. and to have consequences for those who do it
> > anyhow.
> >
> > Cathy
> >
> >
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