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NYC Mayor Wants Traffic Camera On Every Corner
Mr_Blank writes "New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has made it clear that he wants to see more traffic light cameras in the Big Apple, saying that he'd have the devices on every street corner if possible. According to The New York Daily News, the city brought in $52 million in fines generated by red light cameras last year alone. Bloomberg doesn't just want a jump in the number of cameras, however. He also wants to publish the names of those who blow through the stop lights in local papers to help shame wrongdoers into changing their ways. What's more, the mayor wants to look into the possibility of adding speed cameras to the mix. Big brother is coming to NYC."
It sounds like a perfect plan. I *LOVE* the idea. It sounds great!
There are exceptions to it though.
The day they start doing it, I could just imagine flashmobs, or even the Anonymous group, going around with pre-printed license plate stickers with the mayors plate number on them. They could slap them on every car they can . Sure, it wouldn't be *every* car in the city, but it would be enough for the Mayor himself to be published as running stop lights thousands of times per day. That, parking tickets, etc, etc.
These printed plates with numbers on them are such old technology, and so prone to counterfeiting, I'm surprised they're still used. They rank right up with paper cheques for transferring money. They're trivial to print for illegitimate uses, once you have the required numbers.
Serious? Seriousness is well above my pay grade.
More than half of the tickets in LA were sent to people who were legally turning right on red. In may cases this was obvious in the photograph but they still had to squander most of a day waiting for their turn in Traffic court. There's no right on red in NYC. Cuts down on gridlock and makes the crosswalks safer for pedestrians and makes brainless traffic cameras more accurate.
Cite your sources, because there are numerous studies that refute your claims.
http://www.motorists.org/red-light-cameras/effect-yellow-timing
http://www.motorists.org/red-light-cameras/timing-myths
http://bancams.com/get-the-facts/studies/seattle-yellow-light-times-study/
http://www.shortyellowlights.com/rlcinfo/
Also, quit spouting your "feelings" on the issue when it doesn't match up with facts.
"Anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.'"
-- Isaac Asimov