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State Legislators Want Surveillance Cameras To Catch Uninsured Drivers (arstechnica.com)
An anonymous reader quotes Ars Technica:
A Rhode Island legislative committee has approved a bill that would greatly expand the surveillance state through the deployment of license plate readers. For the first time in the US, these devices would be attached along Rhode Island highways and roads for the stated purpose of catching uninsured motorists from any state... The legislation spells out that the contractor for the project would get 50 percent of the fines paid by uninsured motorists ensnared under the program. The state and the contractor would each earn an estimated $15 million annually. Fines are as high as $120.
Many police departments nationwide are using surveillance cameras tacked onto traffic poles and police vehicles to catch traffic violators and criminal suspects. The proceeds from traffic fines usually are divvied up with contractors. But according to the Rhode Island lawmaker sponsoring this legislation, it's time to put surveillance cameras to a new purpose -- fining uninsured motorists.
Many police departments nationwide are using surveillance cameras tacked onto traffic poles and police vehicles to catch traffic violators and criminal suspects. The proceeds from traffic fines usually are divvied up with contractors. But according to the Rhode Island lawmaker sponsoring this legislation, it's time to put surveillance cameras to a new purpose -- fining uninsured motorists.
"100 miles a day on a bike is nothing. about three hours cycling."
I call bullshit. Have you actually ever peddled a bike more than a couple miles? Doing any sort of extended exertion requires pacing. Sure, Olympic sprint cyclists can hit 45 mph in a velodrome for very SHORT distances, but they wouldn't dream of doing that for even a few short miles.
The Olympic men's individual road race, which is 152.5 miles, was won in a time of 6 hours, 23 minutes and 49 seconds in 2008 (let's round up to 6 hours and 24 minutes). That means he had an average speed of 23.83 mph. If the winning Olympic bike rider rode your hypothetical 100 mile trek at his best competitive speed, it would take him approximately 4 hours and 12 minutes. How long do you think it would take your average Joe or Jane to complete the same hundred mile journey? With water breaks and rest stops, I'd wager 6 to 7 hours.