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Automotive News & Views Photo Radar
1787 messages, Last post on Nov 06, 2009 at 9:07 AM
You are in the Automotive News & Views Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & claires
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Y'all are posting too fast for me to pop in and kill the off-topic personal comments, but let's at least try to get back to photo radar and whether it should be implemented or not, and where. And try to keep it civil. 
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Replying to: steve_ (Jan 08, 2009 1:02 pm) I'm trying, but he keeps sniping away at me. ( You know I have learned through trial and error that attacking the person instead of the idea is not proper round here. ) Anyway, I am a fan of Photo Radar and anything else that gets people to pay attention to how fast they are driving.
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Replying to: larsb (Jan 08, 2009 1:06 pm)  Carry on....
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Replying to: larsb (Jan 08, 2009 12:56 pm) Most people have a more sophisticated understanding of how speed limits work on limited access highways, why they are imposed, and their effectiveness, and therefore do not rank them with the Ten Commandments. larsb: 2. "extra safety" - Complete poppycock. Driving faster is not safer in any stretch, unless driving slower would cause to you get rear-ended. If anything, driving too slow can increase inattention. People are driving faster than ever, and roads are safer than ever, so, sorry, your contention that exceeding today's underposted speed limits makes limited access highways dangerous is not being borne out by real-world experience. larsb: 3. "the fact that it is usually more pleasurable to drive faster on limited access highways" - True for some people, but mostly only younger males. When you get older, driving is more of a CHORE than any kind of FUN. The faster you drive, the more you need to pay complete attention to the road, which is why younger drivers who drive fast have more fatal accidents. Many older people still love to drive, and don't consider it a chore - unless we are forced to toddle along at 65 mph or less to satisfy the slow and the clueless. If YOU don't like to drive because of your age - although 43 is hardly old today - then I'd suggest moving to the city, selling your car and using mass transit.
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grbeck says, "Most people have a more sophisticated understanding of how speed limits work on limited access highways," Now, what exactly is that supposed to mean? If that is not an unfounded, totally heinous personal attack, then explain what you mean sir.
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Replying to: grbeck (Jan 08, 2009 1:11 pm) I'm going to say "Margarine is better for you than Butter" and you give me a rebuttal. Ready, GO !!!!!!!!!!!!! JK....(sorta)..........you do have a propensity for long-winded replies though. P.S. By the by: "unless we are forced to toddle along at 65 mph or less to satisfy the slow and the clueless." - Is that another personal attack?
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Replying to: euphonium (Jan 08, 2009 11:29 am) 
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Replying to: steve_ (Jan 08, 2009 1:07 pm) |
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Replying to: larsb (Jan 08, 2009 1:14 pm) Not all laws have the same gravity. We can figure out that first-degree murder is considerably more serious than driving 80 mph in the 65 zone. Guess what - the law recognizes this, too, which is why the potential penalities, and efforts directed at stamping out these offenses, are completely different. And most people know the difference. If your child brings home a potential mate, would you rather have him or her say, "I'm on parole for first-degree murder after I shot my neighbor for playing his radio too loudly" or "I just got caught for driving 80 mph in the 65 zone"? And the difference extends to statutes within the body of traffic law, too. Driving while intoxicated is a more serious offense than driving 80 mph in the 65 zone. You can lose your license automatically for the former, and face HUGE fines just for the first violation. A police officer who pulls you over for doing 80 mph may let you go based on your demeanor, driving record, condition of your vehicle, etc. If you have a blood alcohol content (BAC) level of .10, the police officer will NOT let you go, even if it's your first offense, your car is a brand-new Camry, and you are president of the local Rotary Club. Speed limits are based as much on political pressure and the need to raise revenue than on actual safety. The simple fact is that when I drive through Arizona, and everyone is driving 80+ mph - and it's not just teenagers in souped-up Mustangs and Civics with coffee-can exhausts - I can judge just how seriously everyone, including the police, take speeding on limited access highways, and how dangerous it really is. Meanwhile, I didn't notice people shooting each other at the Grand Canyon, or pushing their spouses or children off the edge, so most people apparently think the laws against first-degree murder are a good idea. We also didn't rob any banks or convenience stores while we were there, because we realize how serious those offenses are.
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Replying to: grbeck (Jan 08, 2009 1:28 pm) I'm not saying "never speed." Nor am I saying "speeders equate to rapists." Nor am I saying "driving drunk but slow is OK but driving drunk but fast is not OK." Here's a summation of my views on Photo Radar: 1. It's a good tool to remove a human officer from issuing speeding citations, which is a mundane and mostly time-wasting event (for BOTH parties) in the VAST majority of traffic stops. 2. It's not a violation of privacy in ANY WAY. You are on a public road, and can legally have no expectation of privacy. 3. It's a good way to generate revenue, in an era when cities are struggling to overcome budget shortfalls. It only affects people who are speeding (in most cases) at least 11 mile per hour over the limit. So "casual" speeders are not usually affected. "Arizona DPS reminds drivers that while cameras won’t catch you until you go 11 mph over the limit, officers can continue to issue citations at speeds below that threshold." So you are even getting a BREAK if you are in a photo enforcement zone !!! 4. It's a 100% avoidable violation. 5. You can argue the ticket in court if you challenge it. 6. It HAS slowed down freeway traffic in the Phoenix metro area and reduced accidents and saved lives, according to the latest statistics. 7. The DPS Web site says that nearly 50 percent of all speed-related crashes are single-vehicle accidents and that "the risk of death and injury is directly proportional to the level of speed." 8. Photo radar is as much of a deterrent — to slow you down — as they are "gotcha" tools to trip you up. If you know they're there, you'll watch your speed.
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