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New iPhone Apps Help Drivers Beat Speed Traps
Ponca City, We love you writes "Two mobile applications, NMobile and Trapster, are providing drivers with up-to-date maps of speed-enforcement zones with live police traps, speed cameras or red-light cameras. Each application pulls up a map pinpointing the locations of speed traps within driving distance and an audio alert will sound as vehicles approach an area tagged as harboring a speed trap. Both applications rely on the wisdom of the crowds for their data with users reporting camera-rigged stop lights and areas heavily populated with radar-toting police officers via the iPhone or their web-based application, creating the ultimate speed trap repository available to you when you need it most — while you're driving. To thwart false alarms and eliminate inaccuracies, Trapster enlists its community of nearly 200,000 members to rank speed traps on their accuracy. NMobile founder Shannon Atkinson declined to provide detailed data, though he did estimate that 'well over 1,000' users had downloaded the application since it became available last week. The company insists they've received only positive feedback from law enforcement officials and police officers regarding their products. 'If the application gets people to slow down, I think it's generally considered to be a good thing,' said Atkinson."
When tools are banned.. oh, nevermind...
---- Booth was a patriot ----
Like the streets aren't dangerous enough without every iPhone user fiddling with their toy trying to "beat the system" while piloting a two ton juggernaut on public streets.
Caveat Utilitor
'If the application gets people to slow down, I think it's generally considered to be a good thing,' said Atkinson."
Isn't the whole idea of this app to allow people slow down just before the speed trap? If they drive slowly all the time then they don't care about speed traps in the first place
Negative moral value of force outweighs the positive value of good intentions.
Back in the 90s in one of the Baltic countries, some radio stations let drivers phone in location of speed traps.
Of course, soon enough the law caught up with that and reporting of police locations because illegal.
However, that didn't phase the station operators a bit. They just requested that people report location of individuals in blue uniforms, using cars with bright flashing lights and shooting microwave radiation at passing cars. No mention was "police" or "speed trap" or anything specific was allowed.
1. Teflon coat a slope
2. Lower speed limit on said slope
3. Speed camera at the bottom
4. Profit!
'If the application gets people to slow down, I think it's generally considered to be a good thing,' said Atkinson
It gets them to slow down when there's a speed trap because they want to avoid the high probability of a ticket.
BUT, it also gives them the confidence to speed more when they don't believe there's a speed trap.
So it works both ways: It helps increase the "deterrent factor" of the speed traps, but lowers the overall effectiveness of discouraging speeding in general, in the process.
In the end it's probably about a wash for changing the amount of speeding going on. The only thing that's changing is the money that was going to speeding tickets is now going to the authors of the app. And of course since that's what's really important isn't it, we've gotta put a stop to it don'cha know?
I work for the Department of Redundancy Department.
I just wish speed limits were designed for modern cars and modern traffic, not increasing revenue.
Do you even lift?
These aren't the 'roids you're looking for.
Locating speed cameras means people can slow down to avoid a fine and then speed up again- not slow down to be safer. If they were truly trying to help people drive safer how about "WARNING! SCHOOL AHEAD" or "WARNING HIDDEN EXIT AHEAD", no, because slowing down for a speed camera is more rewrd than slowing down and driving safely around risky areas.
Consider the crap that the beat cops pull on a daily basis around here, no I'm not.
Pulling a U-turn when a sign clearly states otherwise, flicking your lights so you can go through a red light - then turning them off and parking at a diner for your break.
Cops here also have a bad habit of just grabbing people and their objects with no regard for the law. This has happened to me twice. The first time I explained to the cop that if he didn't release me I would be more than happy to defend myself - which got me arrested, but subsequently released - and the second time I reminded the office that I find the rough grabbing of my arms to be an aggressive act - he backed off.
I've also witnessed a cruiser fishtail a vehicle in the middle of the night, without pursuing him. No lights, no siren, nothing. The guy ran a red light, and the cop fishtailed him, THEN put his siren on. The guy in the car was arrested for failure to stop, failure to comply, and some other things. He was shocked - SHOCKED - when I showed up with a video of the event at court on behalf of the defendant.
The city dropped the case and last I heard the man is pursuing civil action.
This shit happens a lot more than is reported. Quite frankly, I think most cops need to be purged from their respective authority systems and shipped to clown college.
so, yes, when cops start obeying the law, so will I. Until then, fuck them.
While I agree that you should be prepared for anything that may be obstructing the roadway, that white sign halfway hidden behind a bush as you turn a corner is exactly where your attention should NOT be. If you're having to look away from your vehicles path of travel while making a turn and then rapidly decelerate, you're being dangerously distracted from the much more important task of making sure you're not going to run into anything.
The original purpose of speed limits was to protect people on and around the roadways. Then someone got the bright idea to regulate them to try and reduce fuel consumption. Now they've become so perverted that they seem to only exist in many places as a revenue source for local towns, and in causing drivers to spend more time looking at signs on the side of the road and their speedometer, they actually cause the roads to be LESS safe.
This is my sig. There are many like it but this one is mine.
I'm an Englishman who just took his California driving test - I literally couldn't believe how simple it was. The practical consisted of less than ten minutes driving round the block, with no maneuvers other than reversing along a kerb. At no time did I leave a 30 mph zone and parts were even 20mph. How does this in any way test the ability of person to safely handle a car? Especially in the land of the freeway?
It's been 12 years since I took my UK test, which was far more strenuous, and I understand it's been strengthened since then too.
You let 16 year olds get behind the wheel of a 2 ton death mobile with no real qualification and then wonder why things go wrong?
Having said that, after logging several thousand miles around CA, I would pick driving here over the UK any day of the week. Whilst there is the occasional moron it is nothing compared to the sheer aggression of those driving in England.
Clearly I'm the moron, because you made a statement and I assumed you actually meant what you said.
To clarify, in case its a little opaque for you--the statement "when cops start obeying the law, so will I" means that cops represent the government entity that creates laws. When cops break these laws, the government entity effectively breaks its own laws. If that government entity turns a blind eye to this law breaking, it has sacrificed any and all of its moral authority. Moral authority is the only absolute authority any law can have. When this moral authority is gone, then the populace has no absolute reason to obey any law and can and *should* break laws they disagree with or don't like. This is one of the corner stones of civil disobedience and it is an important component of democracy. So quit being righteous and try to think about the motivation about what people say.
When you see people blatantly breaking the law and you are aware of abuse by the police at the same time, you might consider whether that particular municipality has let its moral authority slip. I'm waiting for your righteous rebuttal before I provide half a dozen real world examples of this effect in action. But make sure you are very indignant and condescending when you rebut, or it won't be worth my time.
Just callin' it like I see it.
Obviously isn't helping improve driving skills much. The second bloke's on the wrong side of the road!