Giving up
You know, I’ve gotta tell ya’ll – with every city, town, and slightly populated area with an intersection making kissy-faces at Redflex, my rebellious streak has gotten worn down. Let’s face it. Robo-Smokey is the unstoppable wave of the future.
April 16th, 2008 at 12:48 pm
We must stop the robot invasion! 🙂
April 16th, 2008 at 3:36 pm
I guess this is just one more advantage to living in Small-town, America. We don’t even have a single traffic signal, let alone robo-cops.
April 16th, 2008 at 11:53 pm
The state waxes, and the citizen wanes.
April 17th, 2008 at 11:42 am
The way these cameras are used is sad but even worse is that it is possible to use them to enhance the proper purpose of the traffic lights: safe and convenient sharing of the intersection. With the cameras it is possible to determine if the intersection is clear and to use that information to determine when cross traffic should be given the “proceed with caution” signal (i.e., green light). The only time _any_ “red light” tickets should be issued is if the light has been red and the intersection has been clear for a period of time sufficient that anyone paying attention would know to, and have time to, stop; even then the control system could put up a “stop” signal to the cross traffic in the interest of preventing accidents.
With this type of control system the emphasis changes from punishment to safety. The government might not get as much revenue, but the public would get more value for their money and the public at large would save money due to reduced accidents. I suspect the antipathy most feel towards the cameras would be considerably reduced also; I know I hate the damn things but wouldn’t mind them if they were just part of the intersection sharing system. Instead they seem to be part of a system to put you under someone’s thumb.