High Tech License Plate Frame Beats Red-Light Cameras

[Claw5]

As some have stated, I think part of the problem is the yellow light. I believe with the cameras installed around where I live (NJ), you can get flashed entering the intersection as it turns to yellow.
Some of the intersections have count down timers for the pedestrians. If you can see these as you approach the intersection, you can judge the amount of time you have, as the light will turn yellow once the timer reaches zero.
At intersections without the timers, you just have to try to figure if you can make it into the intersection before it turns yellow, or risk having to come to a fast stop, hoping the car behind you is paying attention.

 

[CharonPDX]

I always considered speed tickets as a voluntary taxation.
Want to be taxed? Speed on the road.
I keep my speeding for the track, where it is much more fun anyways, and i respect speed limits on the road... you rarely gain much time by speeding anyways... save a couple red lights, you gained what? 5 minutes? woop dee fuc*ing doo.

On the other hand, im glad the other guys are speeding. That way they dont have to come get that money thru regular taxes.

Absolutely. If you want to violate traffic laws, you pay the price. Literally.

And as someone else pointed out, many states have this type of thing banned already. I know in Oregon you can't have a white strobe on the back of your vehicle, so this would be illegal. Plus, you'd need two in front-and-back states. (Oregon also says you can't have any cover over your plate that makes it harder to read, although I see plenty of cars with hard-to-see-through covers...)

Finally, most of these systems now do video running before and after they take the stills. I know in the last one I got, my license plate was obvious from the no-flash-going video, so this wouldn't protect me at all.

 

[Conker]

All these red light cameras are cash cows for the city. They always say they will remove them but it'll never happen. It makes them too much money ripping off citizens left and right.

 

[BoogerBomb]

It won't work in Houston.

I've gotten a ticket and while yes it does take a high resolution picture, it also takes video footage both front and back that is decent enough to read the plate unless they are just crazy lazy.

Yep a lot of the cameras in Texas take a video so that they can give you a ticket for turning right on red without stopping for three seconds.

 

[chockomonkey]

With this shit, our gov is like a bunch of chinese gold farmers.

 

[Exeodus]

The video showed no proof that it actually works? What a load of crap.

 

[c4v3man]

Other than a city in Texas that had a huge billboard just outside the town saying "this town is a speed trap", I haven't really noticed too much goofy cop behavior in the US. I routinely drive 10mph over the limit (on the freeway, not through school zones), and only got one ticket on a day when I was overstressed and probably shouldn't have been driving. I think I even read that Tenessee was obsessive, but we kept going 5-10mph+ on country roads/highways and never had a problem. Driven in all 50 states, although technically my driving up in alaska was largely offroad, but did have a few road sections.

The red light cameras are fine in theory, but always are proven to cause more accidents than they prevent, and are pretty much always operated by private parties.

Speed cameras are completely pointless. If speeding is so dangerous, you should... stop them from speeding. Sending then a photo in the mail a week later after they hit someone doesn't help anyone. Just pointless revenue generation.

 

[relapse808]

Does it beat cameras like this with intelligent saturation technology? Probably not!

http://www.icrealtime.com/solutions/pdshowg.asp?pdid=ELID1

 

[c4v3man]

I thought CMOS censors were supposed to allow for per-pixel saturation and exposure settings anyways. Whatever happened to that? I understand how terrible that would look on an actual photograph, but for security footage I would think it would be ideal.

 

[BoogerBomb]

Other than a city in Texas that had a huge billboard just outside the town saying "this town is a speed trap", I haven't really noticed too much goofy cop behavior in the US. I routinely drive 10mph over the limit (on the freeway, not through school zones), and only got one ticket on a day when I was overstressed and probably shouldn't have been driving. I think I even read that Tenessee was obsessive, but we kept going 5-10mph+ on country roads/highways and never had a problem. Driven in all 50 states, although technically my driving up in alaska was largely offroad, but did have a few road sections.

The red light cameras are fine in theory, but always are proven to cause more accidents than they prevent, and are pretty much always operated by private parties.

Speed cameras are completely pointless. If speeding is so dangerous, you should... stop them from speeding. Sending then a photo in the mail a week later after they hit someone doesn't help anyone. Just pointless revenue generation.

I believe that Texas specifically outlawed speed cameras thankfully.

 

[Lunas]

now am i just crazy in thinking that in the time it takes for the flash from the light camera to go off and hit that tiny camera and have its flash trigger not only will you have had the picture taken but the ticket will be passing its way to a printer to be mailed to you.

 

[schoenda]

If the government really wanted that level of control they wouldn't need to put cameras everywhere ... Nazi Germany didn't have any cameras and even some of the larger cities only had a few Gestapo stationed there ... it was your friends and neighbors that turned you in ... if you want to worry about something worry about our adversarial political system where we want to define everyone associated with the other group as "the enemy" ... down that road some of these paranoid dreams might just come true ... but not due to cameras - it will be due to hate and fear

I could not agree more. The cameras just make it easier.

 

[FLECOM]

Red light cameras are all about profit, has nothing to do with "safety". Fuck Red Flex Systems.

this is 1000000% correct

whenever I see a red light camera as soon as the light turns yellow I slam on my breaks... almost had a cop rear end me, got out of the car pissed off as fuck, asked me why I stopped short, told him I didn't want to get a red light camera ticket... walked back to his car pissed off lol

 

[Tudz]

@damicatz

Speed limits actually do increase safety

Shall we go look up the amount of cars which wreck -DAILY- in the Autobahn? Its not just a few daily, its a lot.

Also it has to do with air pollution also, a car going near redline guzzles fuel like 10 cent per liter beer at a frathouse.

I think speed "limits" increase safety. Speed "cameras", not so much. You're either speeding and don't know it's there, so you continue to drive unsafely and get a fine 2 weeks later. Or you do know it's there and you just slow down for the camera then speed up again after it. One my way to work back in Oz there were 2 fixed cameras and a couple of spots where the cops would set up temporary cameras. All the traffic would be speeding by 5-10km/h then randomly slow down to 5-10kmh below the limit passing under this bridge which every knew had cameras, then they'd speed back up to 5-10km/h over the speed limit again. Occasionally a sucker wouldn't know about it and would just continue on at 5-10km/h over the limit and get nabbed.

Speed cameras are pure revenue raising.

Red light cameras I have a slightly different opinion. As long as the road rules are clear and the lights give sufficient yellow to clear the intersection, I don't have a problem with them as it's just flat out unsafe to go through a red light.

BUT, if their doing dodgy shit like shortening the yellow (and actually making the intersection less safe) or nabbing people for not coming to a complete stop for X number of seconds when making a right turn on a red light, I think that's pure bullshit.

The "come to a complete stop" rule is bullshit in general, the only places that should have signs which mean "come to a complete stop" are the few intersections that actually have poor visibility. So often you can see even before you slow down that it's clear, and 90% of intersections you can see long before you come to a complete stop whether or not it's clear. Talk about unnecessary pollution, you'd save a lot of gas/brakes if you didn't have to come to a complete stop all the time. It's like the people who laid out the roads never heard of a "yield" or "give way" sign.

 

[Acer_Sheep]

Because with near absolute public surveillance, the adversarial legal system breaks down in the face of corruption.

Right now the system usually works by the police creating a narrative based off of facts of the crime. They challenge you with that scenario, maybe in court, and you produce facts that attempt to refute their narrative. One of those ways is to prove you didn't have the opportunity.

Now they can do the opposite. They can custom fit your opportunity to a crime. Sometime somewhere you've parked near a restaurant where a store was robbed or stopped for a long light at a street corner where drugs are sold. The police may not even realize they're doing it, but if they're convinced you are guilty of something they can probably generate a long list of crimes that match your opportunity and you also don't have any witnesses.

Add some corruption to that and it gets far worse. The intersection you stopped at where drugs are sold, all they have to do is wave a deal to the pusher for his help as a witness against you and voila, they now have opportunity and a witness.

Now technically they could do this without the cameras but they would have to be surveiling you heavily ahead of time without justification leaving a trail that they were doing such a thing.

The situation you mentioned may occur, but it is very rare chance it will ever happen to anyone, oh and...are you sure it is good idea to go to places where drugs are sold and are additionally supervised?

 

[TheCommander]

Agree with others here; just stop at the red lights and don't speed. I don't give a crap if you have some place to be...my family's safety is more important than you being late for work.

If you get pulled over and you think its BS, go to court and fight it.

Some cities have some pretty good traps setup for those cameras. Going to court to fight it is not a great option for the average joe either since they would have to miss a day of work to do that.

 

[Sparky]

great, more idiots running red lights!
Thats how I got T-boned. Luckily I survived.

 

[BBA]

Stupid. I find stopping at red lights safer than worrying about obeying the law to avoid tickets.

 

[TechLarry]

New law making them illegal in 3...2...1....

 

[Tudz]

Stupid. I find stopping at red lights safer than worrying about obeying the law to avoid tickets.

I'm not sure if anyone is arguing that point, rather that some lights are rigged to catch people by having short yellows or having them not stopped long enough before making a right turn on red.

 

[Sufu]

I always considered speed tickets as a voluntary taxation.
Want to be taxed? Speed on the road.
I keep my speeding for the track, where it is much more fun anyways, and i respect speed limits on the road... you rarely gain much time by speeding anyways... save a couple red lights, you gained what? 5 minutes? woop dee fuc*ing doo.

On the other hand, im glad the other guys are speeding. That way they dont have to come get that money thru regular taxes.

Just want to add that Speeding tickets are not voluntary. Radar can get the speed of the faster car, but they pull you over instead. Laser guns can get false readings from a bored cop who does not have a steady hand. Red light cameras can issue tickets on right on red or just otherwise be defective (has happened in the past).

Good luck fighting a camera ticket in court.

 

[Jon855]

I must have missed that day in Civics class, which clause of the constitution does the red light camera violate again

The right to face your accuser.

 

[Tudz]

Just want to add that Speeding tickets are not voluntary. Radar can get the speed of the faster car, but they pull you over instead. Laser guns can get false readings from a bored cop who does not have a steady hand. Red light cameras can issue tickets on right on red or just otherwise be defective (has happened in the past).

Good luck fighting a camera ticket in court.

I know a few people who have (in Australia) sent in complaints after getting a fine saying "I know I wasn't going that fast" and getting off. That said, even though legally they can book you 1km/h over, they do allow some error and you have to be a few km/h over before they'll send you the fine.

The one speeding fine I did get was in a retarded spot, a low speed limit in a downhill area, I didn't bother arguing that I wasn't speeding because I probably was, I just said it was my only infraction since I started driving and they let me off. As much of a nanny state Victoria is when it comes to road law enforcement, they do have a policy of letting people off for minor infractions if they haven't had any other infractions in the past couple of years.

 

[c3141hf]

@damicatz

Speed limits actually do increase safety

Shall we go look up the amount of cars which wreck -DAILY- in the Autobahn? Its not just a few daily, its a lot.

Also it has to do with air pollution also, a car going near redline guzzles fuel like 10 cent per liter beer at a frathouse.

There are lots of cars that wreck daily on US interstates as well. What is your point? The number of fatal accidents on the Autobahn is still lower than the US. Speed limits increase fatalities.

The second "issue" is irrelevant. If I have paid for gas and my vehicle, it is mine to use in whatever manner I see fit because it is my gasoline and it is my vehicle. If I wish to drive in a manner that wastes it, it is my prerogative and not yours. I do not need the state telling me how to conserve gasoline, especially considering the fact that their incompetently designed road networks and deliberate decision to design the roads so that one stops at as many reds as possible (they actually did this here to "discourage through traffic even though it is the only highway in or out) are directly responsible for lowering my mileage.

 

[kbrickley]

There are lots of cars that wreck daily on US interstates as well. What is your point? The number of fatal accidents on the Autobahn is still lower than the US. Speed limits increase fatalities.

The second "issue" is irrelevant. If I have paid for gas and my vehicle, it is mine to use in whatever manner I see fit because it is my gasoline and it is my vehicle. If I wish to drive in a manner that wastes it, it is my prerogative and not yours. I do not need the state telling me how to conserve gasoline, especially considering the fact that their incompetently designed road networks and deliberate decision to design the roads so that one stops at as many reds as possible (they actually did this here to "discourage through traffic even though it is the only highway in or out) are directly responsible for lowering my mileage.

If you don't want the state telling you how to conserve gas then you also lose the right to tell the state not to go to war to protect the gas supply for all the gas guzzlers

 

[BBA]

The number of fatal accidents on the Autobahn is still lower than the US. Speed limits increase fatalities.

Here is my take: When the US highways are built like the autobahn, then they will be safer.

Until then, roads built by the lowest bidder need safety rules because of shoddy construction.

 

[sleepeeg3]

I always considered speed tickets as a voluntary taxation.
Want to be taxed? Speed on the road.
I keep my speeding for the track, where it is much more fun anyways, and i respect speed limits on the road... you rarely gain much time by speeding anyways... save a couple red lights, you gained what? 5 minutes? woop dee fuc*ing doo.

On the other hand, im glad the other guys are speeding. That way they dont have to come get that money thru regular taxes.

Time to drive from San Clemente to Las Vegas @ 65MPH = 4 hours and 44 minutes.
Time to drive from San Clemente to Las Vegas @ 90MPH = 3 hours and 12 minutes.
I just saved over an hour and a half.

Any questions? Stay in the slow lane.

Speeding laws are an unnecessary regulation that restricts people's freedoms. In general, you can drive safely much faster than the posted speed limit. Most people break this law every day. Reckless driving already gives law enforcement the freedom to subjectively arrest people driving dangerously.

 

[Tudz]

Here is my take: When the US highways are built like the autobahn, then they will be safer.

Until then, roads built by the lowest bidder need safety rules because of shoddy construction.

The construction of most the highways I've been on in the US is fine. Obviously there's gonna be shitty roads, but the major interstates I've been on are ok. It's not the construction that would make me weary, it's the shit drivers who can't merge and change lanes safely and the retards who think 3ft is a safe following distance at 75mph.

 

[potency]

The construction of most the highways I've been on in the US is fine. Obviously there's gonna be shitty roads, but the major interstates I've been on are ok. It's not the construction that would make me weary, it's the shit drivers who can't merge and change lanes safely and the retards who think 3ft is a safe following distance at 75mph.

I'm guessing you've never driven in Los Angeles. We are 98% dependent on Interstates and freeways (a freeway is an Interstate that doesn't connect to another state) and many of them are in terrible condition. And of course we probably have a higher than average contingent of licensed shit drivers and retards also.

 

[Tudz]

I'm guessing you've never driven in Los Angeles. We are 98% dependent on Interstates and freeways (a freeway is an Interstate that doesn't connect to another state) and many of them are in terrible condition. And of course we probably have a higher than average contingent of licensed shit drivers and retards also.

Nope, never driven in LA, got out of that hell hole as fast as I could, on a plane

But still, the point remains that many highways in the US are fine, just because some are shit is no reason to make all of them low speed limits, just the way not all intersections have poor visibility and can get by with yield signs instead of stop signs (something the road planners in PA haven't figured out with their stop signs every 30 fucking seconds).

But yeah, the retard drivers worry me far more, lol. The other day I'm going 75mph and some idiot pulls up a few feet from my bumper, which apparently wasn't fast enough for them, so they change lanes in to a spot that doesn't exist causing another car to break and then whizzes past me at 85+mph. Yesterday a VW Jetta was following me as I turned left at an intersection with oncoming traffic, there was enough space for me but not the Jetta... but it followed me anyway, forcing a truck to swerve off the road and nearly hit a tree.

These are not the sort of people I want travelling next to/in front of/behind me at 150mph

 

[kbrickley]

But yeah, the retard drivers worry me far more, lol. The other day I'm going 75mph and some idiot pulls up a few feet from my bumper, which apparently wasn't fast enough for them, so they change lanes in to a spot that doesn't exist causing another car to break and then whizzes past me at 85+mph. Yesterday a VW Jetta was following me as I turned left at an intersection with oncoming traffic, there was enough space for me but not the Jetta... but it followed me anyway, forcing a truck to swerve off the road and nearly hit a tree.

These are not the sort of people I want travelling next to/in front of/behind me at 150mph

I think this is the crux ... right now we have 50 states determining the rules of the road ... although some states and drivers might be capable of safely operating their vehicles at high speed, there are many who couldn't ... if people really want Autobahn style freedom on the roads I think we need a federal system for licensing drivers and car inspections to insure that vehicles are safe for use on the roads ... I also think we should have stringent DUI rules across all the states ... 1st offense gets you 20 years ... second offense life ... we should make driving without license or registration a felony ... we should also make vehicular manslaughter a life in prison (or ideally a death penalty offense) ... if we did all of those things I would support getting rid of traffic rules

 

[BBA]

But still, the point remains that many highways in the US are fine, just because some are shit is no reason to make all of them low speed limits

I was hoping you would read my comment and look up the differences. Just google some video's on the construction. The Autobahn is built to handle extreme speeds and loads. Everything from the superthick pavement construction to the built in water handling. It really is engineered to be hard to replicate. Our highways, on the other hand, get lane grooves in them from semi trucks driving over, as well as low and high flood susceptible areas and less than adequate barriers between lanes.

 

[friedchicken]

You could always just stop at red lights. It will block 100% of red light cameras, and it's free!

(+1)

 

[Tudz]

I was hoping you would read my comment and look up the differences. Just google some video's on the construction. The Autobahn is built to handle extreme speeds and loads. Everything from the superthick pavement construction to the built in water handling. It really is engineered to be hard to replicate. Our highways, on the other hand, get lane grooves in them from semi trucks driving over, as well as low and high flood susceptible areas and less than adequate barriers between lanes.

If you were hoping that then you should have said it and put a link in your post instead of trying to act superior

I have no doubt the construction of the Autobahn is superior, however that doesn't change the fact some US roads are fine. Just because the construction isn't as good doesn't mean the road is going to combust under you if you exceed 70mph. Today I was driving on a highway with a 65mph speed limit and the road quality was absolutely shit, all bumpy and uneven, people were still going 65mph quite happily. By contrast, a couple of weekends ago I drove to my friend's place and it was 3 and a half hours of silky smooth interstate road, reasonably well designed on/off ramps, nice barriers between traffic (more significant barriers than many areas of the autobahn that aren't limited)... the speed limit was 65mph.

Surely if it were safe to do 65mph on the piece of shit road, it's safe to do faster than 65mph on the damn near perfect road, purely talking about a "road" perspective at least.

Just because *some* roads are shoddy doesn't mean *all* roads should be limited in the same way. Otherwise you might as well just limit all roads to 15mph, since that's the safe speed to travel near schools or construction work. Even the autobahns, not ALL areas of them are limitless and not ALL vehicles can travel unlimited.

Yes, different roads are designed for different speeds. But you don't need to drive far to see that some roads marked as 55-65mph are clearly more dangerous than others and in many places road surface quality is not the limiting factor.

 

[npublici]

Yellow caution should have down counting numbers to zero,in seconds,or more than one caution, a different color. The technology has long been in use.

 

[Tudz]

Yellow caution should have down counting numbers to zero,in seconds,or more than one caution, a different color. The technology has long been in use.

I remember seeing this and thinking "this is simple genius, why don't we use these?".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshalite

 

[kbrickley]

In Thailand they had big digital numbers on the lights that count down ... very nice ... I wish they had them here ... they might actually be cheaper in the long run than the red light cameras

 

[TheReproducer]

In the UK we get points added to the license (3 per minor violation, like speeding for example; 12pts max before ban) and a fine. Is it just fines in the US? What a money maker!!

 

[BoogerBomb]

In the UK we get points added to the license (3 per minor violation, like speeding for example; 12pts max before ban) and a fine. Is it just fines in the US? What a money maker!!

The tickets from red light cameras are considerd "civil" and not criminal fines so they don't go against you license but if you don't pay they take your license away.

 

[schoenda]

The tickets from red light cameras are considerd "civil" and not criminal fines so they don't go against you license but if you don't pay they take your license away.

Just to go back to the whole Big Brother paranoia thing...

Gicen our political and economic course I would not be all that surprised if there is some kind of push to criminalizing civil violations...after all spped increases the likelyhood of accidents, so why should that not be attempted assault or endangerment of some sort? Don't wear your seatbelt...you are increasing the odds that the taxpayers will need to pay tens of thousands of dollars for your medical bills, why should that not be criminal? Run red lights? Certainly this is reckless endagerment if not attempted suicide which is illegal...don't look both ways before you cross the street? Didn't get your brake pads inspected? Talk on the cell phone or text while driving? Is that different from driving drunk?

So, lots of soft speculation here...but back to my initial post...more criminalization is just a step, intended or not, towards the erosion of civil, NAY, HUMAN rights.

Now, back to the discussion at hand...

Certainly many speed limits are political/economic...modern cars are way safer at higher speeds...BUT...MOST OF OUR (U.S.) DRIVERS S U C K. Running red lights and speeding unsafely Is fucking stupid. What is speeding unsafely? Hard to define when you have no idea what the OTHER people on the road may do at any given time.

I have driven on the Autobahn..its sick...it rocks...I felt safe the whole time...but saying speeding in this country is equivalent is saying apples are oranges.