[ds968]

more on the Sates with absurd traffic "violations" reputation ( aka revenue generating scams ) ..



http://autos.yahoo.com/news/most-egregio...35069.html

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[cosimo]

The worst state (area) was Washinbgton DC. Right in my backyard. They have more speed cameras than anywhere else. Thanks god for the Valentine.The trouble becomes when everyone knows they are there and slows down, then when they are past them speed back up. So, the only solution whould be to have the cameras along every street for the full length. UGH, what an dreadful thought.

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[craigawoodman]

I am not a conspiracy theory nutter - but over here, we have "Average Speed Cameras" that take a photo of your car (for the numberplate) and then some distance off along the road - it takes another and compares the time taken to determine if you were speeding. Same for toll points - photos are taken of you.



It does not sound like much, but with data matching, the Government can track where you are. With modern cell phones, the police (or Government) can locate your phone (and you - if you have it) to within metres. Then add in all of the security cameras everywhere, it is like a communist state's wet dream. We are being constantly monitored and tracked - what happened to privacy?



Same for speed cameras - what happened to presumption of innocence until proven guilty and for an offense to have first occurred? Why is it that a payment of money to the State somehow makes everything OK? Pollute the environment - pay the State fines - everything OK.



We seem to have lost the plot. Under the current system, if you have money, you can do anything you want, just effectively pay more taxes and all is ok. Want to pollute - pay the Government for your "Carbon Credits" (a tax rather than an exchange) and it is ok?



When did we the general public become so compliant?

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[Rap]

What would life be if we couldn't pay our way out of it? It's been this way since the beginning of time. Just like everything you read on the Internet is true.. Bon Jour! You can't get a speeding ticket if you don't speed. BTW I just paid my speeding ticket from a month ago a Watkins Glen. Clipped me for a $185. Guess I will be driving the limit on my way there this weekend! Really? Not!

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[biosurfer1]

[quote name='Rap' timestamp='1374617730' post='146023']

You can't get a speeding ticket if you don't speed.

[/quote]



That's not true at all. An officer can pull you over and say "I paced you at 75mph in a 70 zone" It then becomes your word against his that were or were not and up to you to prove you were not speeding.

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[ds968]

[quote name='biosurfer1' timestamp='1374619015' post='146025']



That's not true at all. An officer can pull you over and say "I paced you at 75mph in a 70 zone" It then becomes your word against his that were or were not and up to you to prove you were not speeding.[/quote]



True. Anyone remember tne woman cop ( she was tne record holder in tne region for the most speeding tickets issued ..wish I could remember tne Sate but it was national headline news a few months ago..) who was charged and suspended / fired for falsely accusing drivers of speeding, in the overwhelming majority of her citations ? It's your word against theirs and in 90 % of the cases you'll end up pay something or another to line the coffers of tne municipality, judges are all part of the revenue-hungry system.

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[Rap]

It's nice to see the respect and admiration we have for our criminal justice system!

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[craigawoodman]

Rap,



Having previously been on the Police's "vehicle of interest" register and falsely booked (in my youth) I have zero respect. Too many other stories.



I also forgot to add - the Police here have new number plate recognition cameras that can photograph around 30 plates per minute, search their database to see if the car is registered, if the owner has a licence, any outstanding fines/warrants, etc, previous history of drunk driving and report back. So they set up the camera on a main road and then just start pulling people over. It is like traffic infringements using a net or shotgun.



If you targeted a particular race or nationality like this - the community would be outraged. Same if you have done your time, surely you should not then be targeted by police.



Police state, you bet.

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[Rap]

Craig I don't disagree. This seems to be the price we pay for moving forward in this technological world. All the more reason to DE! Lol

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[ds968]

I hope those cameras are only facing the oncoming traffic ( more than half of the sports cars here do not have a front license plate ..so at least those drivers are spared of this modern day spanish inquisition m.o. ) but if they capture the rear plates not much you can do . The spray-on flim you can buy which supposedly deflects light in a way that makes the plate letters and numbers either blurry or just like white wash to a camera does not work very well according to various reviews from actual consumers.

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[JTP]

I have driven one of my own personal cars in every state of this country except Maine. I've been pulled over many times in multiple states but I've gotten the most tickets in Utah. Most states just give me a warning and let me go but not Utah. They seem to have the strictest cops.

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[tamathumper]

We've driven in 19 states so far this year, and Utah was by far the worst. We nicknamed it "the police state". The best was the multi-hour stretch across Canada between NY and MI on the way to Porsche Parade. Let's see, in no particular order it has been ME, NH, VT, MA, NY, CT, PA, NJ, MD, VA, NC, SC, GA, FL, CA, NV, NM, UT, MI. I'll be driving across 4 of them this weekend, actually.

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[ds968]

Utah is tne worst because the highway patrol there has MORE MEN ( just say that quickly ..) than in other states..

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[JTP]

I got 6 tickets in the last 20 years and 4 of them in Utah. They are merciless!

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[craigawoodman]

I still don't understand how giving money to the Government somehow makes everything ok. Want to pollute - cop a fine of $20M - everything alright. Speed, pay $200, everything alright. Drink drive, pay $1,500 and lose your license for 3 months, everything alright.



Why not clearly spell out how much every tranagression of the law will cost to make alright?



The argument that the fine deters people from doing it, does not stack up - we still do it. So the law is fundamentally flawed, or it is purposely flawed to become another tax. So either fix the law and allow what the public see as normal, or admit that it is just another form of taxation and revenue collection.



Somehow, the Government trying to tell us that it knows better than us what is best seems totally wrong. Isn't the Government there to represent the people, not repress the people?

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[Rap]

One of the many reasons we left the mother country was taxation without representation. So now we are represented by these bozos in Congress and the taxes are never ending. Yes I know, I like many others don't feel very well represented by Congress! Until they are made to feel our pain on issues such as taxes, healthcare and retirement nothing much will change.

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[ds968]

[quote name='Rap' timestamp='1374746436' post='146068']One of the many reasons we left the mother country was taxation without representation. So now we are represented by these bozos in Congress and the taxes are never ending. Yes I know, I like many others don't feel very well represented by Congress! Until they are made to feel our pain on issues such as taxes, healthcare and retirement nothing much will change.[/quote]



Agreed, and we discussed this in a previous thread somewhere, but 83% of the population disapproves of our congressional reps

( lowest ever approval rating in US history ) and want to see them replaced , yet at the last election 94 % of the incumbent reps were re-elected !! The " but not in my backyard " aka not my rep mentality prevails once again. Damn right nothing will ever change.

These traffic tickets robbery though could probably be resolved by local activism ( at city and county levels , state-wide is probably much more difficult ) , but people just seem to grin and bear it and/or just too lazy to do anything about as a group, leaving it to unfortunate individuals to fight the losing battle.

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[ds968]

According to one of today's news stories, Chicago's brand new traffic cameras recorded 200,000 speeding violations in 45 days. Fortunately these 200,000 law breakers supposedly only received a warning in the mail instead of a ticket - city officials indicated the 45 days were a grace period meant to warn the public that in a few weeks real tickets can be expected to start pouring in. They also mentioned that had these been tickets, it would have generated approx $ 13 million revenue for the city, underscoring how generous they have been just to allow people to take heed of things to come. Hmm, I don't think there is much doubt the city may be bluffing.



p.s. the average speeding violation would have been only $ 65 ? Not too bad; that's what an expired parking meter in San Francisco will cost you.

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[flash]

i'm all for cameras in the appropriate locations. red lights are perfect. high traffic cross walks are perfect. high accident areas are perfect. i'm actually pretty much ok with them anywhere in town. however, open highways are not places for them. arizona has a few there, and that just seems wrong.

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[Inkedupfatboy]

Sorry Flash - Don't agree with red light cameras. There is no way to present a defense - No way to stand across the desk form my accuser.

There are no studies that I can find that say for definite that red light cameras reduce accidents. In fact, more accidents have been reported down here in Florida after the cameras have been put in place and they are systematically being found unconstitutional.



There are so many cameras down here already and now they want to fly drones. 6.5 billion pixel images from connecting 250 cell phone cameras together - LIVE STREAMING VIDEO and all captured. The resolution is incredible...have an accident at a corner, they can pull up the recorded footage and watch it. So you better not try to pull a fast one. 17,00 feet in the air and the can see you on the ground waving your arms and can see birds flying. Don't try to bury anything in your back yard as they can pull that up too..



It will not be long before this is the norm, not the exception. Say hello to the Stasi!

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