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> The fix for this is easy: pull people over. Or, as is currently being tested in many European countries, cameras above the road that automatically detect dri

> The fix for this is easy: pull people over. Or, as is currently being tested in many European countries, cameras above the road that automatically detect drivers on their phones. But I am not optimistic about that taking off in the US, where even speed cameras are a rarity (although I do not really know why).

a_gnostic 3y ago
Because Americans have a right to face their accuser, making it easier to just send the cop that caught them. That's the short version. There's been plenty of "scamera" activism and cases won if you want more info. Try 4409
VyseofArcadia 3y ago
Camera traffic law enforcement in the US has historically been abused to generate revenue rather than used to increase safety. There was, for example, a wave of states and municipalities that banned red light cameras about a decade ago because cities were illegally shortening the yellow light timing to catch more red light runners. See the links on https://yro.slashdot.org/story/09/03/24/145247/mississippi-passes-law-to-ban-traffic-light-cameras https://yro.slashdot.org/story/09/03/24/145247/mississippi-p...
- dabinat 3y ago
  Some places in the US use third-parties to enforce traffic laws. I was once in a park and I got a ticket for not coming to a complete stop at a stop sign by a third-party company employed by the park. I looked into the legality of receiving a ticket from someone who is not a cop and I was under no legal obligation to pay it. However, they can ruin your credit if you refuse to pay, so I just went ahead and paid it. I did not seek legal advice and maybe I should have, but the fee was less than a lawyer would have cost.
- scoofy 3y ago
  People say this all the time, but I've yet to see this demonstrated. I am extremely skeptical of it, since it seems to comport with people wanting it to be true. I think the biggest issue here is simply that the United States has created a transportation system that is inherently unsafe and ungovernable. By universalizing the automobile as the only de facto mode of transportation, we have made revoking a bad driver's license a hardship. The only way to fix the problem is fixing the infrastructure which is extremely expensive, and politically would be wildly unpopular. We are currently doing the exact opposite -- increasing vehicle size and weight in a myopic arms race -- which means we will likely live with the scourge of traffic deaths (100+ dead per day) for the rest of our lives...
karaterobot 3y ago
I do not want more automated law enforcement by surveillance. On balance, I think that would be a fix worse than the problem, even if the problem is this bad. These things creep.

a_gnostic 3y ago

Because Americans have a right to face their accuser, making it easier to just send the cop that caught them. That's the short version. There's been plenty of "scamera" activism and cases won if you want more info. Try 4409

VyseofArcadia 3y ago

Camera traffic law enforcement in the US has historically been abused to generate revenue rather than used to increase safety. There was, for example, a wave of states and municipalities that banned red light cameras about a decade ago because cities were illegally shortening the yellow light timing to catch more red light runners. See the links on https://yro.slashdot.org/story/09/03/24/145247/mississippi-passes-law-to-ban-traffic-light-cameras https://yro.slashdot.org/story/09/03/24/145247/mississippi-p...

dabinat 3y ago
Some places in the US use third-parties to enforce traffic laws. I was once in a park and I got a ticket for not coming to a complete stop at a stop sign by a third-party company employed by the park. I looked into the legality of receiving a ticket from someone who is not a cop and I was under no legal obligation to pay it. However, they can ruin your credit if you refuse to pay, so I just went ahead and paid it. I did not seek legal advice and maybe I should have, but the fee was less than a lawyer would have cost.
scoofy 3y ago
People say this all the time, but I've yet to see this demonstrated. I am extremely skeptical of it, since it seems to comport with people wanting it to be true. I think the biggest issue here is simply that the United States has created a transportation system that is inherently unsafe and ungovernable. By universalizing the automobile as the only de facto mode of transportation, we have made revoking a bad driver's license a hardship. The only way to fix the problem is fixing the infrastructure which is extremely expensive, and politically would be wildly unpopular. We are currently doing the exact opposite -- increasing vehicle size and weight in a myopic arms race -- which means we will likely live with the scourge of traffic deaths (100+ dead per day) for the rest of our lives...

karaterobot 3y ago

I do not want more automated law enforcement by surveillance. On balance, I think that would be a fix worse than the problem, even if the problem is this bad. These things creep.