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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

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...

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...