4 ms·

Did Scott Adams just watch minority report or something? The technology to automatically give people tickets for speeding already exists, yet it only is implem

by nym 17y ago

Did Scott Adams just watch minority report or something? The technology to automatically give people tickets for speeding already exists, yet it only is implemented in a few areas. I'm curious what other HN'ers think about this...

dschobel 17y ago
I think it's a great thing as long as the punishments are reduced since the deterrent factor goes out the window if you catch 100% (or even 90%) of the law breakers.
shib71 17y ago
It's the standard here in Australia. Many major intersections and highways have permanent speed cameras, hooked into a vehicle registration db, to automatically post speed tickets (with photos :) to the offender. A new camera pays for itself very quickly, in cost and arguably road safety.
- macrael 17y ago
  Several studies have shown that red light cameras do not improve road safety. Here is one: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/03/AR2005100301844.html http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10... I think that this article is a vision of a dangerous future. A free society must necessarily sacrifice some measure of safety. The more information like this we give the state, the closer we come to 1984. It is important to maintain a balance of power between citizens and the police, a balance between criminals and cops. Power Corrupts. History has always shown change to come in pendulum swings. At some point, people are going to react to the loss of privacy strongly and we will get back some measure of what we have lost. In the end, we will find some balance but I certainly hope it is not found at this end of the spectrum.
  - pyre 17y ago
    > The more information like this we give the state, the closer we come to 1984. A while back there was a post stating that the world is moving more towards "A Brave New World" than "1984." I think that it was mostly right.

by nym 17y ago

dschobel 17y ago

I think it's a great thing as long as the punishments are reduced since the deterrent factor goes out the window if you catch 100% (or even 90%) of the law breakers.

shib71 17y ago

It's the standard here in Australia. Many major intersections and highways have permanent speed cameras, hooked into a vehicle registration db, to automatically post speed tickets (with photos :) to the offender. A new camera pays for itself very quickly, in cost and arguably road safety.

macrael 17y ago
Several studies have shown that red light cameras do not improve road safety. Here is one: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/03/AR2005100301844.html http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10... I think that this article is a vision of a dangerous future. A free society must necessarily sacrifice some measure of safety. The more information like this we give the state, the closer we come to 1984. It is important to maintain a balance of power between citizens and the police, a balance between criminals and cops. Power Corrupts. History has always shown change to come in pendulum swings. At some point, people are going to react to the loss of privacy strongly and we will get back some measure of what we have lost. In the end, we will find some balance but I certainly hope it is not found at this end of the spectrum.
- pyre 17y ago
  > The more information like this we give the state, the closer we come to 1984. A while back there was a post stating that the world is moving more towards "A Brave New World" than "1984." I think that it was mostly right.