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In other countries there are fixed cameras, which can even be programmed to have some grey area (do they trip at x+2, 1.1x, ...?). These can probably pay for th

In other countries there are fixed cameras, which can even be programmed to have some grey area (do they trip at x+2, 1.1x, ...?). These can probably pay for themselves and then some if placed correctly. They're conspicuously absent from the US.

idkyall 4y ago
There are still traffic ticket cameras in some parts of the US(Washington DC), but in many places they are challenged legally: e.g. https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2020/04/08/ask-2-why-did-texas-outlaw-red-light-cameras-when-red-light-running-is-rampant-and-increasing/ https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2020/04/08/ask-2-wh...
- michaelmior 4y ago
  Specifically, here's a list of areas that implement some form of automated traffic law enforcement. However, many of these may simply be red light cameras. https://www.iihs.org/topics/speed/speed-camera-communities https://www.iihs.org/topics/speed/speed-camera-communities
lostlogin 4y ago
They are like that here in New Zealand, though the grey zone is going away slowly but surely. There is also a new evil on the horizon, average speed cameras. Snap a photo at point A on a long road and see how long it takes to get to point B. If too quick, it generates a ticket. The UK ha them.
- ivanvanderbyl 4y ago
  We now have avg speed cameras in Australia on most long distance freeways.
- Tade0 4y ago
  Quite a few other European countries as well. It's popular in Italy and the difference in speeds on highways that have it compared to those that don't is significant. Personally I like average speed cameras. Everyone is going roughly the same speed, so there's much less tailgating. You definitely don't have people zipping past you going 200km/h+ when you're trying to overtake a truck limited to 80km/h.
  - _whiteCaps_ 4y ago
    I heard there's often a group of people stopped right before the second camera having a smoke break and watching their phones, waiting for their average speed to drop to the legal limit. Or was someone pulling my leg?
    - toast0 4y ago
      That sounds like someone pulling your leg. If you have to stop and wait, you may as well just go slower and smoke in the car. Maybe some kind of street racing club would do that, sure. Or if there's a nice rest stop before the second camera, I guess you can speed to get there. But I can't imagine significant numbers of regular people doing it; too much hassle.
    - Tade0 4y ago
      Definitely. AFAIK There are few opportunities to stop between sections, unless for emergencies. I've seen people stop under viaducts because sometimes there's some additional space there, but it's a rare occurrence considering that it will land you a ticket as well.
  - Scoundreller 4y ago
    Can’t speak for all euro countries, but I like their approach in trying to actually identify to fine the actual driver and penalize their license. Because it’s about safety, not revenue. US and Canada… it’s just a ticket in the mail and as long as it’s paid, it effectively disappears. Lots of blah blah about why they can’t do things the euro way. I love “privacy” as the excuse. You’re driving on a road with windows and how is it an issue if the car owner gets a picture of who was driving their car?
cafard 4y ago
There are speed cameras and cameras at traffic lights and stop signs in the US. I've received at least one camera ticket, and my wife has received one. Douglas Maurer, at the time a computer science professor at George Washington University, once set the text of the Montgomery County, Maryland, standard camera ticket to music. The song was called "Forty Bucks", after the then cost.
maxk42 4y ago
That's fine in cities, but in the US we have countless roads that stretch for hundreds of miles through remote locations far from developed areas. The cost to install, maintain, and power these hypothetical cameras along just one of these roads could easily stretch into the tens of millions with expensive upkeep as well. It's just not tenable.
bluefirebrand 4y ago
These kinds of automated enforcement are absolutely dystopian. Imagine describing almost anything other than speed limits and suggesting automated camera based enforcement. Drop a food wrapper on the ground? instant fine. Jaywalk? Instant fine. If we can't be bothered to enforce our rules in person, the problem is with the rules not the methods of enforcement.
- brenns10 4y ago
  You could instead drive at or below posted speed limits, and stop at traffic signals. Then you wouldn't have to worry about this "dystopia"! And the result is that you'd be a safer driver too. This is ridiculous whataboutism. We're not discussing robocop sending you to jail for dropping a banana peel. It's simply automatic enforcement of safety rules for operating your licensed, registered, private machinery in public spaces.

idkyall 4y ago

There are still traffic ticket cameras in some parts of the US(Washington DC), but in many places they are challenged legally: e.g. https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2020/04/08/ask-2-why-did-texas-outlaw-red-light-cameras-when-red-light-running-is-rampant-and-increasing/ https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2020/04/08/ask-2-wh...

michaelmior 4y ago
Specifically, here's a list of areas that implement some form of automated traffic law enforcement. However, many of these may simply be red light cameras. https://www.iihs.org/topics/speed/speed-camera-communities https://www.iihs.org/topics/speed/speed-camera-communities

lostlogin 4y ago

They are like that here in New Zealand, though the grey zone is going away slowly but surely. There is also a new evil on the horizon, average speed cameras. Snap a photo at point A on a long road and see how long it takes to get to point B. If too quick, it generates a ticket. The UK ha them.

ivanvanderbyl 4y ago
We now have avg speed cameras in Australia on most long distance freeways.
Tade0 4y ago
Quite a few other European countries as well. It's popular in Italy and the difference in speeds on highways that have it compared to those that don't is significant. Personally I like average speed cameras. Everyone is going roughly the same speed, so there's much less tailgating. You definitely don't have people zipping past you going 200km/h+ when you're trying to overtake a truck limited to 80km/h.
- _whiteCaps_ 4y ago
  I heard there's often a group of people stopped right before the second camera having a smoke break and watching their phones, waiting for their average speed to drop to the legal limit. Or was someone pulling my leg?
  - toast0 4y ago
    That sounds like someone pulling your leg. If you have to stop and wait, you may as well just go slower and smoke in the car. Maybe some kind of street racing club would do that, sure. Or if there's a nice rest stop before the second camera, I guess you can speed to get there. But I can't imagine significant numbers of regular people doing it; too much hassle.
  - Tade0 4y ago
    Definitely. AFAIK There are few opportunities to stop between sections, unless for emergencies. I've seen people stop under viaducts because sometimes there's some additional space there, but it's a rare occurrence considering that it will land you a ticket as well.
- Scoundreller 4y ago
  Can’t speak for all euro countries, but I like their approach in trying to actually identify to fine the actual driver and penalize their license. Because it’s about safety, not revenue. US and Canada… it’s just a ticket in the mail and as long as it’s paid, it effectively disappears. Lots of blah blah about why they can’t do things the euro way. I love “privacy” as the excuse. You’re driving on a road with windows and how is it an issue if the car owner gets a picture of who was driving their car?

cafard 4y ago

There are speed cameras and cameras at traffic lights and stop signs in the US. I've received at least one camera ticket, and my wife has received one. Douglas Maurer, at the time a computer science professor at George Washington University, once set the text of the Montgomery County, Maryland, standard camera ticket to music. The song was called "Forty Bucks", after the then cost.

maxk42 4y ago

That's fine in cities, but in the US we have countless roads that stretch for hundreds of miles through remote locations far from developed areas. The cost to install, maintain, and power these hypothetical cameras along just one of these roads could easily stretch into the tens of millions with expensive upkeep as well. It's just not tenable.

bluefirebrand 4y ago

These kinds of automated enforcement are absolutely dystopian. Imagine describing almost anything other than speed limits and suggesting automated camera based enforcement. Drop a food wrapper on the ground? instant fine. Jaywalk? Instant fine. If we can't be bothered to enforce our rules in person, the problem is with the rules not the methods of enforcement.

brenns10 4y ago
You could instead drive at or below posted speed limits, and stop at traffic signals. Then you wouldn't have to worry about this "dystopia"! And the result is that you'd be a safer driver too. This is ridiculous whataboutism. We're not discussing robocop sending you to jail for dropping a banana peel. It's simply automatic enforcement of safety rules for operating your licensed, registered, private machinery in public spaces.