DISQUS

Jeugenen · 1 year ago

"Entrapment is a crime"; tickets cause monetary injury.

Cities do not adjust lights; government officials adjust lights. The vigilantes demand names, addresses, and telephone number.

Tyranny of slightest degree shall be vigously opposed; liberty shall not be infringed without rebellion.

This crime shall not go unpunished.

jon spencer · 1 year ago

When is someone going to sue for a accident caused by the red light camera?
Either the mfg. or the city could be libel.
If there is a increase in accidents after a camera goes into operation, that seems to be a cause and effect.
Might even be able to get class action status against the mfg. or promoters across the country.

Bike Bubba · 1 year ago

I'm surprised that the Denver area isn't on the list. They routinely have yellow light times of about four seconds.

And 3 seconds? Good luck trying to cross a street before the light changes if you're on foot, or even on a bicycle! Are they trying to put us all in cars?

Moreover, a three second light in a 45mph zone with a crossing of two four lane roads means that to stop in time, the first cars to get to the intersection would need to decelerate at about 1.3g, assuming a one second reaction time to move the foot from the gas to the brake.

This is about the same coefficient of friction as Michelin's best motorcycle tire for racing has. Good luck obeying the law if you're in an ordinary car with ordinary tires, and God help you if the roads are wet.

The minimum time for a yellow light should be, IMO, at least five seconds to re-align traffic lights with physical reality, and red light cameras should be banned.

golfmann · 1 year ago

What's next spy drones hovering over the neighborhoods?

golfmann · 1 year ago

Jeeze, I was KIDDING!
[quote]MIAMI: The Miami police could soon use cutting-edge flying drones to help fight crime.

A small pilotless vehicle manufactured by Honeywell International, capable of hovering and "staring" using electro-optic or infrared sensors, is expected to be introduced soon in the skies over the Florida Everglades.

If use of the drone wins U.S. Federal Aviation Administration approval after tests, the Miami-Dade Police Department will start flying the 14 pound, or 6.35 kilogram, drone over urban areas with an eye toward full-fledged employment in crime fighting.

"Our intentions are to use it only in tactical situations as an extra set of eyes," said Detective Juan Villalba, a police department spokesman.

"We intend to use this to benefit us in carrying out our mission," he added, saying the wingless Honeywell aircraft, which fits into a backpack and is capable of vertical takeoff and landing, seems ideally suited for use by SWAT teams in hostage situations or dealing with "barricaded subjects."

[/quote][url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/03/27/business/drone.php]Yipes[/url]

golfmann · 1 year ago

I find it more than a little unnerving seeing all this gearing up for a police state.

Would they fire on citizens?

I don't know..... if ordered.?

Maybe

pete · 1 year ago

Long or short yellow - Fine, I can deal with it. What bugs me are the Fabulous Fargo Traffic Engineers who have lights that go yellow as you reach the crosswalk but become red while you are still in the intersection AND lights that go yellow with time to stop before the crosswalk that remain yellow for 2 additional seconds.

These are the same fine minds that instructed a contractor, during the rebuild of 13th Avenue at I-29, to drill a hole 'here' (X marks the spot)for a temporary power pole - RIGHT ON TOP of an underground feeder for about 80 square blocks of businesses and apartments. The most wonderful Forum could not report this, but I had to fire up the backup genny at work.

LifeTrek · 1 year ago

I agree with you completely on the red light cameras. Our city is trying to get the state to allow their use here but our Senator has blocked the effort, at least temporarily.

However your logic on the DUI issue could be somewhat circular or false without more information then you provide in either post or their attached links. You have not shown there was an active increase in enforcement efforts -- the pdf report doesn't indicate they stepped up efforts -- only that there were more arrests. The reason is not given in the report and to infer that there weren't more drunk drivers based on the death and injury stats you gave does not provide enough information to make that connection.

As a matter of fact, if you compare the report to the death stats you listed you would find that in the year 2004 there was an 18.8% increase in DUI arrests and in the same year deaths dropped 11.5% and injuries dropped 3.2%. There could be a strong correlation in those numbers.

Even more stunning is the fact that in 2004, the year arrests jumped the 18.8% there were 193 less injuries then there were in 2002 and that number continued to drop another 15 in 2006.

When the arrests drop to only a 9.4% increase in 2006 year over year you see an increase in deaths and injuries, but they are still significantly below 2002 numbers (42.3% vs $49.5% deaths 15% vs 17% injuries).

As a matter of fact total deaths were up from 2002 to 2006 by 14.4% (97 to 111) yet the percent of these that were DUI deaths was down 7.2%.

From the information provided it would be more accurate to state that if the state cracked down more on DUI you would have fewer deaths and injuries as a result. It's in the numbers.
DKK