You know speed cameras actually do reduce the speed of traffic.
On top of that they only negativity affect those that speed (with fines). Where something like a speed bump effect both speeder and non-speeder.
Streets and roads were speed cameras were installed in my neighbor actually became more pleasant to drive, walk, and cycle on. No more speeders tailgating others for example.
Now yes your point is valid that a portion of the cash collected from speeders goes to pay for said cameras, but keep in mind it’s the speeders that are paying and not non-speeders or taxpayers.
Of course that’s how they sell the idea initially. But we would be fools to think they aren’t planning on jacking up cost in a couple years to boost profits and expand surveillance to be sold to the highest bidder (fascists). History tells us that information will be used against their political opponents. Imagine how easy it’s going to be to target protestors and immigrants with a camera on every intersection
All I could say is any speed cameras, along with any of the existing traffic and highway cameras or neighborhood cameras are implemented in such a way that the city retains full ownership and accountability of collected data.
There should be strong accountability and data protection for this, but city officials and common folk generally trade convenience for privacy for most things related to tech.
Did you know that many of the companies that serve these cameras are data collection firms that sell the data they collect, often to governments for the purpose of tracking people wherever they go. But yeah I guess this the only way we can get people to slow down.
That may all be true, but choosing to allow them does create a precedent for automated “unmanned” enforcement of all kinds, which I’m not exactly ok with personally. It is usually terrible for privacy as well, as there’s no guarantee how that data is handled or where it goes.
There are many issues with the area where I currently live, but I would consider the blanket ban on automated enforcement a big plus. It doesn’t mean traffic enforcement can’t be high-tech; it simply means that a citation cannot be issued by an automated system - a human needs to witness the violation, interpret the severity, and personally write and deliver the ticket to the offender.
Speed cameras can also just be implemented very poorly sometimes. The outcomes you cite only happen if the implementation is sound. If corruption in policing already exists these systems can create an opening to exacerbate it. For example, I used to live in a city that had used cameras for so long, the stretches of road covered by them were common knowledge to speeders. The cameras did shape behavior but only in the specific zones they covered. The local police relied on speed cameras and red light cameras so heavily, they served to substitute for in-person enforcement activities instead of augmenting them. That led to the police basically forgetting how to even do traffic enforcement very much at all. They would say “look how much revenue we’re collecting!” at press events, but in reality they were using it to disengage, which created a palpable feeling of lawlessness on the streets. All of that put together led to worse issues than before the cameras were installed, even for things that weren’t related to traffic laws at all.
You know speed cameras actually do reduce the speed of traffic.
On top of that they only negativity affect those that speed (with fines). Where something like a speed bump effect both speeder and non-speeder.
Streets and roads were speed cameras were installed in my neighbor actually became more pleasant to drive, walk, and cycle on. No more speeders tailgating others for example.
Now yes your point is valid that a portion of the cash collected from speeders goes to pay for said cameras, but keep in mind it’s the speeders that are paying and not non-speeders or taxpayers.
Of course that’s how they sell the idea initially. But we would be fools to think they aren’t planning on jacking up cost in a couple years to boost profits and expand surveillance to be sold to the highest bidder (fascists). History tells us that information will be used against their political opponents. Imagine how easy it’s going to be to target protestors and immigrants with a camera on every intersection
You make a good point but I just read another article earlier about how camera info was going to ice so fuckem
Fuck ICE without a doubt!
All I could say is any speed cameras, along with any of the existing traffic and highway cameras or neighborhood cameras are implemented in such a way that the city retains full ownership and accountability of collected data.
There should be strong accountability and data protection for this, but city officials and common folk generally trade convenience for privacy for most things related to tech.
I for one sure miss simple CCTV.
Did you know that many of the companies that serve these cameras are data collection firms that sell the data they collect, often to governments for the purpose of tracking people wherever they go. But yeah I guess this the only way we can get people to slow down.
And I’m sure they never give bad tickets to the wrong driver or someone not actually speeding.
That may all be true, but choosing to allow them does create a precedent for automated “unmanned” enforcement of all kinds, which I’m not exactly ok with personally. It is usually terrible for privacy as well, as there’s no guarantee how that data is handled or where it goes.
There are many issues with the area where I currently live, but I would consider the blanket ban on automated enforcement a big plus. It doesn’t mean traffic enforcement can’t be high-tech; it simply means that a citation cannot be issued by an automated system - a human needs to witness the violation, interpret the severity, and personally write and deliver the ticket to the offender.
Speed cameras can also just be implemented very poorly sometimes. The outcomes you cite only happen if the implementation is sound. If corruption in policing already exists these systems can create an opening to exacerbate it. For example, I used to live in a city that had used cameras for so long, the stretches of road covered by them were common knowledge to speeders. The cameras did shape behavior but only in the specific zones they covered. The local police relied on speed cameras and red light cameras so heavily, they served to substitute for in-person enforcement activities instead of augmenting them. That led to the police basically forgetting how to even do traffic enforcement very much at all. They would say “look how much revenue we’re collecting!” at press events, but in reality they were using it to disengage, which created a palpable feeling of lawlessness on the streets. All of that put together led to worse issues than before the cameras were installed, even for things that weren’t related to traffic laws at all.