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Comment by fennecfoxy | Hacker News Reader

Lmao why. Stop driving through red light, stop speeding. Ya fuckers.

In the UK it's ridiculous, barely any speed cameras and those that are there are clearly marked (legally have to be). Everyone just slows down for the speed cameras and then start speeding again after.

I've actually heard people say that the above is effective because it makes people slow down where it's important. Or, you know how about people just don't fucken speed in general?

If it were up to me they'd be everywhere, totally unmarked and all revenue from fines would go to charitable causes to rule out the "but they just do it for da money!11" bs - no, they're doing it to stop people speeding and killing someone for fuck's sake.

Stop speeding.

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Except cameras don't increase safety. You say it yourself that everyone just speeds up after the camera.

Getting a ticket also does nothing to prevent you from speeding in the first place (the ticket does not arrive to you instantly, you're still speeding on the road).

Road safety is an infrastructure problem, but it is always easier and cheaper to just put a camera and collect money. While designing roads that you cannot go too fast, and actually building them cost money.

They just want the cheapest option to say "we did something". Not the safest.

One time when I was living in Shanghai, I accidentally took the train to the wrong airport and had to take a cab to the other one. The cabbie was driving on the highway right at the speed limit, and I was worried I wouldn’t make my flight. I asked him if he could rush a bit, but he replied that he would not speed because 100% he would get a ticket.

It only doesn’t work if the system is half assed. But I agree that in low speed pedestrian areas, the built form is a better solution, but knowing you will get caught is also effective (if you accept the privacy tradeoffs).

It is effective if there are cameras everywhere, meaning you are tracked and spied on everywhere you go.

I'd prefer we spend a bit more on the road infrastructure than live in a surveillance hell.

>You say it yourself that everyone just speeds up after the camera

...because they know where it is and there are so few of them...

Humans are very good at trying to get away with things. The only way to solve speeding is for people to receive the fines, receive the points on their license. They only speed because they're selfish fucks and because it's so easy to get away with it.

So put cameras everywhere? What a privacy nightmare.

So with existing speed cameras your solution for your supposed privacy is what? Standing between the cameras?

As always the problem is never with the technology it's the stupid human part of the system that's the problem. The fact that is technology is misused to surveil people illegally that the repercussions for a biz involved (because all those taxpayer dollars gotta go into private biz!) then that company maybe receives a slap on the wrist, a fine that's maybe 1-2% of their revenue if that, and all the execs get off scot free.

Not to mention all those in government/well to-do "won't somebody please think of the children" would still love for such systems to be used to monitor people.

I guess yeah, you're right. Humans cannot be trusted not to fuck each other over. If we surveil to prevent dangerous driving people will use it for bad. If we don't surveil then people will speed and kill others with their cars.

Our species is lose-lose.

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