[RP TownTalk] TownTalk Digest, Vol 52, Issue 16

[Nicholas Laureys]

RE:
Our friends the Brits appreciate the crime-deterrence effect of speeding&
red-light cameras:

Do an Internet search on Gatso, the name of the company in the U.K. that
manufactures many of the camera boxes.  Make sure your children leave the
room before you look at the pictures!

RE:
These cameras are all about safety.

Ever wonder why the speed limit was allowed to rise above 55 MPH beginning
in '87 or so?  There have been claims (and perhaps even studies - I can't
recall exactly) that this simple 10 MPH increase greatly increased auto
fatalities nationwide.  What was the policy rationale for raising the
limit??  How about this- Did you ever wonder why it's so easy (at least
relative to other countries) to get a driver's license here??  You're not
required to drive a standard transmission for the test, and sometimes,
you're not even required to drive on a road or perform a task such as
merging into highway traffic. Your test might even take place in a parking
lot.  We hand out driver's licenses like candy on Halloween, so long as you
can parallel park!
So no, these cameras cannot be about safety.  There are much simpler,
cheaper, and more effective (albeit lower revenue-generating and less
politically attractive) ways of improving automobile safety in the U.S.

--Nicholas
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