Who belives speed cameras are a good thing?

Question

are they just money making schemes ?

Answer 1

One step closer to a police state.

Answer 2

The Arizona state government ADMITS it's a money making scheme (implicitly, by budgeting with speed camera revenue in mind.)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080119/ap_o...

They are not, generally, a good thing.  

First of all, innocent people can get ticketed, either by mistaken identification of the car, or by the erroneous assumption that the driver of a car is always the owner.  

Second, speed doesn't kill.  Speed differentials kill.  The driver doing 30 while everyone else is doing 60 is just as dangerous as the driver doing 90 while everyone else is doing 60.  Speed cameras can actually CREATE speed differentials if they cause people to slow down suddenly.  And if you've ever seen someone who wasn't speeding or barely speeding drop 20mph the instant they see a cop car, you know that's going to happen now and again.

Also, increased revenue-generation opportunities without significantly increased cost (it's far cheaper than paying a cop to write tickets) means that there is incentive for lawmakers to lower speed limits in areas where it isn't appropriate, or to create speed traps (abruptly and frequently changing speed limits), basically shaping the law so as to make it more difficult to follow, for the purpose of causing people to break it.  

Considering how bank and service contracts do this with penalty clauses, there is already plenty of this sort of thinking out there.  You just need a few bank executives to get into local or state government and bam, you've got the guys who move your due date around to force you to make late payments deciding when and where you're going to get a speeding ticket.  

The only situation in which I don't have much reservation about speed cameras is in active work zones.  

Don't get me wrong, work zones are subject to abuse (double fines apply even if there hasn't been a worker around for days), but if it is an active work zone, and something happens, you'll have a video record of it, AND you might have witnesses who can help give a positive ID of the driver and not just the car.

I don't trust government enough to think speed cameras are a good idea.

Answer 3

They are a time saver.

Let you get your ticket without the old "do you know why I pulled you over" 15 minute chat.

Goodluck

Answer 4

Speed cameras are not a good thing. a waste of tax money.  More police presence on freeways/highways helps deter speedy drivers.  Money making schemes? NO, they won't work

Speed cameras were used on all freeways/highways in Ontario, Canada in the 90's(don't remember what year).  They didn't work.  Sure they caught thousands of speeders.  Some paid the fines but a large number of these speeders didn't pay the fines and went to the courts instead. The government spent more money(to run the court) than they collected from these speeders and they were overloaded with cases.  A couple of years later, the speed cameras were scrapped.

Answer 5

They have to do it it's there job!

Answer 6

I live in the UK and i think they are pretty useless, people know when they are coming to one and just slow down for the camera and also i think the police etc claim enough money from us motorists- tax, ins etc without trying to get more money from us, but then again i don't really think speeding is good, speed humps work the best.

Answer 7

They do their job and they make money at the same time.

Answer 8

They are.

Answer 9

I think it is great. If people realize that they will get photographed, it may save their life if they follow the speed limit. I feel the same about cameras at intersections. I get a feeling of satisfaction whenever i see the flash go off on some jerk that went through a red light just to get to the mall a whole whopping 45 seconds sooner. LOL

Answer 10

Speed is what leads to accidents.  Anything that deters speeding adds to safety.

Answer 11

no they make people suddenly slow down then go past em and speed u again i think they cause more accidents the ones that do average spped over so long a distance are better

Answer 12

if it slows some of those stupid drivers down then there a good thing

Answer 13

For now, if they make drivers slow down and think, they are a good thing.

Prediction - in addition to the cameras, the government will mandate that all vehicles  be equipped with transponders...A nation-wide system of readers on every highway/freeway will be able to interpret the data on any vehicle, including registered owner, address, license number and speed, similar to the way it is done with NASCAR...I also believe that this program will be used on every public street and roadway...This will make the issuance of just about all moving violations fully automatic and fool proof...When?...next 15-20 years...(The only thing that could stave off this program would be fully automatic vehicles...What will happen first?)