Speed Trap App Ticks Off Police Chief

[Vincent Ferrari]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.macdailynews.com/index.php/weblog/comments/dc_police_chief_denounces_cowardly_iphone_users_for_monitoring_speed_traps/' target='_blank'>http://www.macdailynews.com/index.p...ng_speed_traps/</a><br /><br /></div><p><em>"The new technology streams to iPhones and global positioning system devices, sounding off an alarm as drivers approach speed or red-light cameras," Peterson reports. "Lanier said the technology is a 'cowardly tactic' and 'people who overly rely on those and break the law anyway are going to get caught' in one way or another."</em></p><p><img height="390" src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/at/auto/1247572494.usr18053.jpg" style="border: 1px solid #d2d2bb;" width="264" /></p><p>A cowardly tactic?&nbsp; Hah!&nbsp; Is it any more cowardly than hiding behind buildings and jumping out at cars that pass by?&nbsp; Or how about dressing as a homeless person and sitting on a bench waiting to nab those vicious jaywalkers?&nbsp;</p><p>Face it.&nbsp; At $1bn in revenue, the speed cameras and red light cameras aren't about protecting anyone; they're strictly about earning money for the city and enforcing laws solely as a revenue stream sounds way more cowardly than using an app to find out which street corner has one of your <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">cash registers</span> cameras.</p>

[David Tucker]

They definitely are only about revenue. Someone I know got a ticket when they went through a toll and they didn't have their electronic pass. $189 fine...but in FL if you don't have your pass but own one they just charge the toll when they process the violators. And if they don't have a pass on file from you then you get a fine. Why are FHP officers pulling over toll violators then? They get double fined! (Reason of course is that the city doesn't get revenue for toll violations if they don't!)

[fgarcia10]

I live in the area and hate driving in DC, you can't even ask them a question without getting yell at, the PD is full of ex-cons too. :mad:

[doogald]

You and he are both right. These cameras are big revenue generators. However, anything that makes people drive more safely is a bonus for all of us. Just warning us that a camera is coming which will prevent somebody from sneaking through a red should be a net safety gain - and that should be the first priority for these cameras, after all.

[David Tucker]

These things aren't solutions to the problem of bad driving. That would really be fixed with driver education like they do in Europe. But that's neither here nor there.

[Sven Johannsen]

That would really be fixed with driver education like they do in Europe. But that's neither here nor there.Interesting that you would mention Europe. Red light and speed camera POI files have been extremely popular over there for a long time for NAV GPSs and other mobile mapping programs. Guess it is just getting here.

But this is America after all and I have the constitutional right to violate the laws if they inconvenience me. They are really intended for the other guy. You know, that guy that runs the red in front of me, while I say, 'where is a cop when you need one?' Law enforcement should really be treated like gambling where the populace has a certain statistical expectation of being able to get away with things. Anything that shifts that in the favor of the cops, speed cameras, radar, etc. should be considered unsportsmanlike, and disallowed. Unless of course comensurate countermeasures are made available, and equitably distributed, so that even the underpriveledged wouldn't be at a disadvantage.

BTW, if I were in the PD, I'd issue all my guys an iPhone with this app, with the instruction to blanket the town with cameras, traps, and hidding places. Should keep everyone in compliance for a couple of weeks.

[David Tucker]

Because it makes sense to have 6 lane highways with 40 mph speed limits? Or a highway with a 70 mph speed limit that merges into a high way 55 mph limit and having cops sit at the merge and pull people over as they go from obeying the speed limit to not obeying the speed limit.

Much of Europe has a higher speed limit than the United States (or for most parts of Audtobahn, no limit) and yet their fatality rate is lower than ours.

Driving safely is not a function of arbitrary speed limits. The flow of the traffic around you is the safest speed. A car hitting something at 55 mph is plenty deadly. Safe driving is knowing when and how to pass. What to do at 4 way stops.

[Vincent Ferrari]

Driving safely is not a function of arbitrary speed limits. The flow of the traffic around you is the safest speed. A car hitting something at 55 mph is plenty deadly. Safe driving is knowing when and how to pass. What to do at 4 way stops.

I completely agree. The illusion of driving is that everyone is driving at the speed limit and it's a few evildoers doing more. The reality is that if you try to get people to drive at the speed limit, you may just cause a war...

These kids did one hell of a job (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OoETMCosULQ) proving how ludicrous it is to have a 55 mph speed limit, and it demonstrates what happens if everyone follows it. Hint: GRIDLOCK.