[geeks] Stuff fo' sale

[Jonathan C. Patschke]

On Fri, 11 Aug 2006, Patrick Giagnocavo wrote:

>> I'm sure each "speeder cam" is really a source of revenue,
>
> Here in the USA, there are many documented cases where the duration of
> the "yellow" traffic light was actually shortened at those
> intersections having a stoplight camera, in order to increase revenue.
>
> Of course a shorter yellow in this case means that people etiher brake
> harder or they speed up to avoid being caught out on the yellow.
>
> Which increases the chance of an accident.

That's because they were put into place to be a revenue source, rather
than to increase public safety.

Austin is considering red-light cameras all over the city to reduce the
number of fatalities at intersections due to people running red lights,
at the cost of several million dollars.  When pressed (at a city
council meeting) for actual numbers, the folks behind that movement
admitted that there were only three such accidents in the last year.

It's not about safety.  It's about tax collection.

-- 
Jonathan Patschke    )   "A man who never dreams goes slowly mad."
Elgin, TX           (      --Thomas Dolby, "Valley of the Mind's Eye"