5 ms·

wish they'd ticket traffic violators, not just parked cars. Cars running red lights, cars driving in lanes they aren't supposed to be in. Cars turning in places

• neilv 3y ago
  Some intersections in the Boston area, there seems to be a de facto rule of "3 cars through after it turns red". If someone miscalculates and ends up blocking the box, they'll get honked at, but they still get to their destination faster. If they hit someone who had a green or walk signal, I don't know what happens to them, but it doesn't seem to be enough of a deterrent.
  • estebank 3y ago
    > they still get to their destination faster I'd love any evidence of that and I'd wager that that statement is wrong. Blocking the box only accomplishes slowing down the cross traffic with no benefit to the person doing the blocking.
    • toast0 3y ago
      I don't know about Boston, but I think there's no question blocking the box in isolation gets you there faster, although the difference may not be meaningful. If the exit moves shortly after you blocked, you may have saved the time between when you got to move and when the light you should have stopped for turns green. If it's a long cycle, this could be meaningful, although it may depend on bottlenecks elsewhere in your path. If the exit remains blocked until after your light cycles, you still saved the time it takes to cross over half the intersection. This probably isn't meaningful. Of course, if your blocking of boxes actually blocks a traffic move that would unblock your exit, that's not good. And if blocking becomes common, it causes confusion and delay for everyone.
  • nox101 3y ago
    IIRC NYC make blocking the box a fine and 2 points (so approximately $4k) and apparently enforce it. No idea how effective it's been
• highcountess 3y ago
  Don’t worry, that’s probably one of the real reasons for 100 camera systems. As someone else pointed out, you don’t need 100 cameras to act as a policy enforcement and deterrence, but if you wanted to get constant surveillance of vehicles and people movements, recorded in public, you would want 100+ systems. You can’t (currently) ticket people for crimes like speeding, but you can use it to ticket for other non-criminal violations like other parking violations, i.e., replacing meter maids.
  • hackernewds 3y ago
    That sounds like an overstepping of surveillance. Remember power is just as dangerous when wielded in the wrong hands
    • flawsofar 3y ago
      cars led to the creation of CHP and the expansion of US police authority, then that spread even more afar. People should not be allowed to drive unsupervised. I am anti surveillance and anti cop. There is no safe world with unsupervised driving. And so we as a society traded some of our rights, acknowledging this new dangerous tool but choosing its convenience even though this led to whole new police departments, policies, etc. Pedestrians, bicyclists, motorcyclists, and even drivers know that the way people drive is a serious problem. I don’t want the cameras either, but to get rid of those you have to get rid of cars.
      • flawsofar 3y ago
        oh sorry all cops are good all cars are good i apologize
• nashashmi 3y ago
  Some people like this innocent bloke are the real perpetrators behind mass surveillance and big brother.
• pixxel 3y ago
  Don’t worry, your dreamy dystopian nightmare is well on the way.