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Red-Light Cameras Not So Special?
With police cameras, red light cameras, and street sweeper cameras being utilized or suggested, it's no surprise that the next step would be cameras for speeding. New legislation proposed in the General Assembly would use stationary cameras to enforce speed limits in eight counties statewide, including Cook County. One of the bill's sponsors, state Sen. Terry Link (D- Waukegan), told the Trib, "I cannot feel sorry for those people caught by camera, because they are breaking the law. If people start to slow down, they wouldn't have to worry about the fines."
The Trib explains:
Under the proposed Illinois law, speeding tickets issued by automated surveillance would be treated as non-moving offenses, like parking tickets and red-light violations, and convictions or guilty pleas would not go on drivers' records, officials said.Pictures of the offending license plate would be mailed to the registered owner of the vehicle. The driver and passengers would not be photographed.
Speed cameras would be permitted on roads in eight counties that have a history of speed-related accidents, where insufficient police manpower exists to enforce speed limits and where on-site enforcement is "inherently difficult."
The counties are Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, Madison, McHenry, St. Clair and Will.
While we're wary of using even more cameras for law enforcement, there's evidence speeding cameras have had some success. Since speeding cameras were installed last year along U.S. Highway 101 outside of Scottsdale, Arizona, crashes caused by speeding have dropped by 44 percent. Montgomery County in Maryland also reported positive results. [Tribune, WGN Radio]
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Not that it needs to be pointed out, other than for the fact that Chicagoist in its wisdom hints at the opposite, but this has nothing to do with safety. If it did, we'd be revoking licenses and putting tickets on drivers' records.
This is happening because 1) current budget shortfalls, 2) people don't like paying taxes, 3) politicians rely on a lot of votes from people that rely on governmental services
That's exactly right. For d-bags like Terry Link to pretend otherwise is insulting.
I've always felt like the rate at which people travel, at least on highways, is the market regulating itself, to borrow a capitalist term. For the most part, drivers are going to drive at the maximum speed they feel safe driving. I'm not advocating the elimination of highway speed limits, but come on -- 55 MPH? Seriously? It should be 70.
Slaphappy: This is a certainly false equivalency. Yes people drive at a speed they THINK is safe but there is a huge gap between what people think and reality. I rarely drive to work, but when I do I am amazed at the crap I see on the expressways: Makeup application, texting, reading, eating. The only safe speed for these jackoffs is stopped.
Not to start a flame war, but I think speed cameras can be used to effectively increase safety, not that that would happen in Chicago. The stupidly low 55 MPH speed limit on the expressways can and should be raised, to say 65. And the threshold for receiving a ticket should be at a significant speed, say 75 MPH.
Also the place where a mobile speed camera would have the most safety increase is not on the expressways but on city and side streets where there are pedestrians and cross traffic. All of the four lane roads in Chicago are drag strips and people bomb down our narrow, one way side street at very unsafe speeds. But this would never happen as there just isn't the traffic volume on side streets to make enough money for the city.
People like paying speeding tickets even less than they like paying taxes ... hence the slowdowns evidenced in Scottsdale and Maryland.
I personally don't want the cameras mainly because I know they'll probably put them on the Ryan--assuming the near-constant flash doesn't become a safety hazard--and I'll get caught, so I probably will wind up slowing down.
When can we expect the jaywalking cameras?
Even better--maybe the state could just pay somebody to ride in our cars with us. Not only will it cut down on illegal driving habits, but it'll create jobs, too.
An invasion of privacy? Nah, after all, it's hard to feel bad for them, 'cause they're breaking the law.
What a friggin' joke.
One more reason to ride your bike to work.
And who pays the ticket when a government employee is caught speeding? Like jimbo said, this is about revenue, not safety.
So, this is what, reason #3,142 now to leave Chicago, Illinois? This is a joke for so many reasons, not the least being what Jimbo said, that this has nothing to do with safety and everything to do with taking even more of our money. Of course, programs like this are corporately-run, with the corporation usually taking half or so right off of the top.
Besides, don't these fools (Terry Link and bill co-sponsor Joseph Lyons) read the news? These scameras are already being outlawed and removed in many of the places they'd been put into use.
Seriously people, where does it end?
You know, people may give red light cameras a pass, but i think speeding cameras will be subject to a lot more vandalism. I mean, look at what people do to parking meters.
A better headline:
"State Finds Stones Have Blood, Squeezes"
It is difficult not to get angry with stuff like this. Double state income tax, increase every fee you can in any way associated with parking or driving(because after all it's a "privilege" not a right), tollways, bs seat belt laws, red light cameras, now speeding cameras and then justify it by talking about safety and/or children. Sometimes I think that it's just Illinois, but it's like this everywhere. I love America!
It's a great idea. People have forgotten driving is a privilege. Friday night I drove down Lake Shore Drive around 10 pm. The posted speed limit is 40; I was doing 55 in the slow lane and people were flying by me! Why was I speeding? Because if I drove slower I would have been a hazard to navigation and probably caused an accident.
Don't like the laws or the taxes? Move. More room for us.
If we weren't paying so much of our taxes to line corrupt officials pockets, we wouldn't have to do this.