Topic: DC Police Chief Denounces 'cowardly' iPhone users avoiding speed cameras (Read 7904 times)

mightyace · « **on:** July 16, 2009, 10:48:25 PM »

Looks like a clever iPhone App to me...

There is now an iPhone application that allows users to find and avoid DCs traffic cameras.

Police chief denounces 'cowardly' iPhone users monitoring speed traps

As many comments on this article state, if what DC really wanted was for people to slow down, this app will still make people do this. But, if they're mainly looking for revenue...

Chris · « **Reply #1 on:** July 17, 2009, 02:46:34 AM »

Ofcourse, traffic safety is there first to generate money, then for the good-looking statistics.

By the way, such apps are very common on GPS's in Europe.

Truvelo · « **Reply #2 on:** July 17, 2009, 06:42:54 AM »

My GPS also has built in speed camera warnings. There's one available now that uses GSM to store temporary mobile sites. If a user spots a mobile speedtrap he presses a button which immediately updates all the other units out there via GSM so other customers with the same brand/model GPS will get a warning if they travel the same stretch of road. The warning will remain for 3 hours after which time it is expected the speedtrap will move on.

It's a game of cat and mouse. One side will come up with something new and the opposition will find some way of countering it. If traffic enforcement was carried out properly there would be no need for any of it

njroadhorse · « **Reply #3 on:** July 17, 2009, 09:19:41 AM »

Quote from: Truvelo on July 17, 2009, 06:42:54 AM

My GPS also has built in speed camera warnings. There's one available now that uses GSM to store temporary mobile sites. If a user spots a mobile speedtrap he presses a button which immediately updates all the other units out there via GSM so other customers with the same brand/model GPS will get a warning if they travel the same stretch of road. The warning will remain for 3 hours after which time it is expected the speedtrap will move on.

It's a game of cat and mouse. One side will come up with something new and the opposition will find some way of countering it. If traffic enforcement was carried out properly there would be no need for any of it

Ah, but in the UK, the speed cameras are much more prevalent and common. Here, the speed cameras are limited to metropolitan areas, like DC, and specialized apps like this can be made.

Chris · « **Reply #4 on:** July 17, 2009, 09:26:46 AM »

The Netherlands alone (16,000 square miles or the size of half of South Carolina) has 1,425 fixed speed cameras.

vdeane · « **Reply #5 on:** July 17, 2009, 05:13:26 PM »

Quote from: mightyace on July 16, 2009, 10:48:25 PM

As many comments on this article state, if what DC really wanted was for people to slow down, this app will still make people do this. But, if they're mainly looking for revenue...

But they would only slow down by the speed trap, not all the time like they should be.

mightyace · « **Reply #6 on:** July 17, 2009, 05:18:31 PM »

Quote from: deanej on July 17, 2009, 05:13:26 PM

Quote from: mightyace on July 16, 2009, 10:48:25 PM

As many comments on this article state, if what DC really wanted was for people to slow down, this app will still make people do this. But, if they're mainly looking for revenue...
But they would only slow down by the speed trap, not all the time like they should be.

Well, if you put in enough speed traps, then they will have to slow down all the time.

Chris · « **Reply #7 on:** July 17, 2009, 05:20:03 PM »

Two words: "section control". They measure your speed from point A to Z on a certain stretch of freeway. If you average too fast, you'll get fined. We also have that in the Netherlands

(especially on freeways with a hardly enforcable speed limit of only 50 mph)

PAHighways · « **Reply #8 on:** July 17, 2009, 09:49:34 PM »

I use Trapster on a BlackBerry so she wasn't talking about me.

Cowardly? Like letting a machine do the job and mailing the fine without any face-to-face interaction?

This reminds me of a story I heard of a guy who got a ticket in the mail with a picture of his license plate, so he sent the cops back a picture of the money in the amount of the fine.

agentsteel53 · « **Reply #9 on:** July 20, 2009, 11:44:19 PM »

Quote from: Chris on July 17, 2009, 05:20:03 PM

(especially on freeways with a hardly enforcable speed limit of only 50 mph)

tourists from off the continent will obey. In Norway and Iceland I obeyed every speed limit, including the absurd 90 km/h on utterly abandoned roads, because I had heard somewhere that the fine for speeding could be as high as 3000 euro!

Alex · « **Reply #10 on:** July 22, 2009, 01:03:21 PM »

When were these cameras implemented in DC?

froggie · « **Reply #11 on:** July 22, 2009, 03:37:51 PM »

DC has had red light cameras since 1999. Don't have a specific year for the speed cameras, but language on MPD's website suggests they've existed since 2002 or 2003.

mtantillo · « **Reply #12 on:** August 28, 2009, 10:05:16 PM »

I got my first DC speed camera ticket in January 2003, if that helps. "For safety" my rear...it's just DC's way of implementing a commuter tax. They are pretty easy to spot and avoid though if you know what to look for.

hbelkins · « **Reply #13 on:** August 30, 2009, 12:19:50 AM »

I need to get active enough on POI Factory to qualify for the red light and speed enforcement camera POI file.

What is the brand of the GSM-enabled GPS? That might be handy in a place like VA or DC where they don't allow the use of radar detectors. I'll be making my first lengthy trip through VA since buying my Valentine One last winter and I don't relish the thought of having to take it down and turn it off. That thing has already saved me hundreds of dollars in speeding fines and allowed me to get to where I"m going a little quicker.

mightyace · « **Reply #14 on:** August 30, 2009, 05:07:07 AM »

Quote from: hbelkins on August 30, 2009, 12:19:50 AM

I need to get active enough on POI Factory to qualify for the red light and speed enforcement camera POI file.

What is the brand of the GSM-enabled GPS? That might be handy in a place like VA or DC where they don't allow the use of radar detectors. I'll be making my first lengthy trip through VA since buying my Valentine One last winter and I don't relish the thought of having to take it down and turn it off. That thing has already saved me hundreds of dollars in speeding fines and allowed me to get to where I"m going a little quicker.

It said in my original post that this is an Apple iPhone app.

hbelkins · « **Reply #15 on:** August 30, 2009, 09:10:54 AM »

Yes, but POI Factory also has a downloadable POI file with enforcement cameras. I could grab that and put it on my Garmin Nuvi. And someone else mentioned the GSM-enabled GPS.

froggie · « **Reply #16 on:** August 30, 2009, 12:36:30 PM »

How about a simpler solution: avoid the District and stop for red lights in Virginia...

hbelkins · « **Reply #17 on:** August 31, 2009, 01:27:25 PM »

Quote from: froggie on August 30, 2009, 12:36:30 PM

How about a simpler solution: avoid the District and stop for red lights in Virginia...

Well, I do make it a practice to stop for red lights anywhere I travel. But sometimes they change all too quickly when you're approaching a light and it turns yellow when you're at that "tween" speed where it's difficult to stop without slamming on the brakes and even if you accelerate you may get caught in the intersection when the light turns. It's nice to have tools to use as a defense to prevent such from happening; if you know there are cameras in the area you can slow down a bit so as not to get caught in an unfortunate position accidentally if a light changes on you.

vdeane · « **Reply #18 on:** August 31, 2009, 06:00:09 PM »

It should be illegal for a yellow phase to be that short.

froggie · « **Reply #19 on:** August 31, 2009, 06:06:18 PM »

In the District, there's 2 things I've noticed to which that shouldn't be a problem:

- The yellow phases have all appeared to be within standards.

- Most traffic signals, at least downtown and in Southeast, have pedestrian countdown timers which you can use as a guide to determine when the light will change.

Duke87 · « **Reply #20 on:** September 13, 2009, 11:57:27 PM »

Quote

Cowardly? Like letting a machine do the job and mailing the fine without any face-to-face interaction?

And therein lies the problem. Who's to assume that the person the car is registered to was the person driving it at the time? Don't let anyone else ever drive your car!

Quote

This reminds me of a story I heard of a guy who got a ticket in the mail with a picture of his license plate, so he sent the cops back a picture of the money in the amount of the fine.

And then the cops sent him a picture of a pair of handcuffs and he paid the fine.

Yeah, that's one of those stories. But it's still funny.

MDRoads · « **Reply #21 on:** April 09, 2011, 08:27:07 PM »

The iOS app is legal on First Amendment grounds. DC can just pay Apple for exclusivity in that category and they will wipe all competing apps off the store. Justifying the expense would be the easy part... 'advancing traffic safety' or something like that. There was also a fuss up in Baltimore about an app that shows sobriety checkpoints.

Sykotyk · « **Reply #22 on:** April 11, 2011, 12:10:45 PM »

The yellow phase is definitely too short, especially at locations with redlight cameras. Simple purpose: the camera operator is looking for profit. If the cameras reduce tickets, they lose money. Decrease the yellow phase, increase revenue. Safety and rear end accidents be damned.

Sykotyk

SP Cook · « **Reply #23 on:** April 13, 2011, 07:36:22 AM »

The very defination of coward is traffic cop, IMHO. While others in our society do serious useful work, they, at the point of a gun, extort money from people. They are thieves.

qguy · « **Reply #24 on:** April 13, 2011, 09:26:33 AM »

Quote

Who's to assume that the person the car is registered to was the person driving it at the time? Don't let anyone else ever drive your car!

Former PennDOT employee here. The following comments are true in PA. I would guess that most other states are probably similar; some may be wildly different.

In PA the registered owner of a vehicle is responsible for the use of that vehicle, no matter who they allow to drive it. It is incumbent upon the registered owner to only allow individuals they believe to be of sound judgment and character to operate their vehicle.

Of course, that excludes most of my family on my wife's side. (insert rim shot here)

So yes, the registered owner is at least partly on the hook for whatever happens with their vehicle when someone else drives it. The owner must be very judicious in who they allow to drive their vehicle.

This is also why, in the event of auto theft, the registered owner must report the vehicle stolen as soon as possible.

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