4 ms·

It's not a problem with giving people who break the law fines, it's a problem with giving people fines because a machine said so, especially when that machine i

It's not a problem with giving people who break the law fines, it's a problem with giving people fines because a machine said so, especially when that machine is run with a lack of transparency by a notoriously bureaucratic organization. When I speed, it's usually because I'm trying to get out of the way of an aggressive driver or something like that. Technically illegal. Would a police office consider it unsafe and write a ticket? No. If I get hit by a speeding camera, can they prove it was calibrated properly? Not easily. In California, there are even efforts to eliminate the appeal process entirely. Note that I respect and understand your opinion if you disagree with this, but that is the argument that opposes this.

pc86 14y ago
In my state (PA) there are laws on the books that say a citation has to be reviewed by a police officer in the jurisdiction the citation is issued in. I do the same when around overly aggressive drivers myself (although admittedly I can be aggressive and am trying to work on it!), but I don't think either one of us can say what a police officer would or would not do. Some are extremely by-the-book and will write you the citation regardless. If there's no way to prove camera calibration I would hope judges would throw all the tickets out. I've fought a handful of speeding tickets since I've been driving and more often than not the officers can prove when and to what specification their radar guns were calibrated (usually at the beginning of that shift so within 8-10 hours, and to give the driver a 2-3 mph "benefit of the doubt" so to speak). And no appeals are just ridiculous. Thanks for the input!
- chc 14y ago
  As far as I can tell, the officers tend to err in different directions depending on whether they are ticketing themselves or OK'ing red light tickets. For example, in my area, red light cameras also detect when you roll a legal right-on-red. I got ticketed for a very safe turn that I slightly rolled (i.e. I approached slowly and stopped for less than a second because I'd been watching the cross street for several seconds already), which no police officer would have looked twice at. I've heard many other people complain about the same thing.
protomyth 14y ago
I'll give you a nice example. In 2008ish, I got a very official letter in the mail from the Illinois DOT. It was a ticket. It said that my vehicle had gone through a toll booth without paying and provided photographic evidence of my misdeed. I lived in MN and had a MN licensed vehicle. They had got my information via the MN DOT. The problem is the picture showed a vehicle that was white (mine was black) that most definitely did not have a MN license plate and I was fairly sure the photo showed the wrong plate number. The other small problem was that I was driving a Chevy Cavalier and the photo was the front of a Freightliner. I believe that an 18 wheeler is a tad bit different from my car and even requires a different license to drive. One which I didn't possess(1). We will ignore that I was in ND at the time of the incident. I called and had to talk to multiple people, many suggesting I should come into the office. I pointed out that it was a bit of a drive that I had not previously done and had no intention of doing now. They eventually voided the ticket after 327 minutes of phone calls(2) spread over two weeks. "In California, there are even efforts to eliminate the appeal process entirely." I want to be able to face my accuser, and be pulled over by the same at the time of the incident. I do believe their is an amendment banning such things. 1) I have had a license like it in the past, but never the air brake endorsement required to drive a Freightliner. 2) yes I remember, much like I remember certain billable hours from my consulting days

pc86 14y ago

In my state (PA) there are laws on the books that say a citation has to be reviewed by a police officer in the jurisdiction the citation is issued in. I do the same when around overly aggressive drivers myself (although admittedly I can be aggressive and am trying to work on it!), but I don't think either one of us can say what a police officer would or would not do. Some are extremely by-the-book and will write you the citation regardless. If there's no way to prove camera calibration I would hope judges would throw all the tickets out. I've fought a handful of speeding tickets since I've been driving and more often than not the officers can prove when and to what specification their radar guns were calibrated (usually at the beginning of that shift so within 8-10 hours, and to give the driver a 2-3 mph "benefit of the doubt" so to speak). And no appeals are just ridiculous. Thanks for the input!

chc 14y ago
As far as I can tell, the officers tend to err in different directions depending on whether they are ticketing themselves or OK'ing red light tickets. For example, in my area, red light cameras also detect when you roll a legal right-on-red. I got ticketed for a very safe turn that I slightly rolled (i.e. I approached slowly and stopped for less than a second because I'd been watching the cross street for several seconds already), which no police officer would have looked twice at. I've heard many other people complain about the same thing.

protomyth 14y ago

I'll give you a nice example. In 2008ish, I got a very official letter in the mail from the Illinois DOT. It was a ticket. It said that my vehicle had gone through a toll booth without paying and provided photographic evidence of my misdeed. I lived in MN and had a MN licensed vehicle. They had got my information via the MN DOT. The problem is the picture showed a vehicle that was white (mine was black) that most definitely did not have a MN license plate and I was fairly sure the photo showed the wrong plate number. The other small problem was that I was driving a Chevy Cavalier and the photo was the front of a Freightliner. I believe that an 18 wheeler is a tad bit different from my car and even requires a different license to drive. One which I didn't possess(1). We will ignore that I was in ND at the time of the incident. I called and had to talk to multiple people, many suggesting I should come into the office. I pointed out that it was a bit of a drive that I had not previously done and had no intention of doing now. They eventually voided the ticket after 327 minutes of phone calls(2) spread over two weeks. "In California, there are even efforts to eliminate the appeal process entirely." I want to be able to face my accuser, and be pulled over by the same at the time of the incident. I do believe their is an amendment banning such things. 1) I have had a license like it in the past, but never the air brake endorsement required to drive a Freightliner. 2) yes I remember, much like I remember certain billable hours from my consulting days