Show HN: Report idling vehicles in NYC (and get a cut of the fines) with AI

Post by ffsm8 » Mon, Jun 23, 2025, 2:28 PM UTC

raxxorraxor wrote: post #257

hiAndrewQuinn wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's no need for violence. In fact, the capital outlay would be inefficient. If you want to curb speeding, the solution looks much the same: Pay reporters some portion of the fines collected from the speeder. You will very quickly see a cottage industry of Internet connected dashcams and on-board AI solutions spring up, because it's practically free money if you drive safely yourself for long enough. Pretty soon n…

Peasant bounty hunting really concludes the picture of a nation slowly failing under applause and cheers.

Post by amanaplanacanal » Mon, Jun 23, 2025, 2:31 PM UTC

nandomrumber wrote: post #252

kennywinker wrote: post #230

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Noticing a car is idling on a public street isn’t really spying, is it?

Noticing a vehicle idling on a street isn’t the same thing as noticing a vehicle idling on a street, taking video evidence of it, reporting it and providing a copy of the video with the expectation of getting a cut of the fine. Is it?

Post by amanaplanacanal » Mon, Jun 23, 2025, 2:34 PM UTC

paulgb wrote: post #101

Nifty3929 wrote: post #88

I feel it's Orwellian, or Stalin-esq to have us being paid off to snitch on each other. Certainly, if you have evidence of murder or something, please do report it. But for an idling vehicle? Note that these laws are only targeting idling while parked, rather than during normal use, such as at a traffic light. This is called "true-idling" or "long-duration" idling. Has anybody considered how much CO2 or other greenho…

I think the intent is less about the CO2 emissions as about the air quality that people have to breathe (hence a stricter standard in some locations). I don’t know about measurable effects but I hate when I pass a long-idling truck and can taste it in the air.

Post by kennywinker » Mon, Jun 23, 2025, 2:57 PM UTC

meepmorp wrote: post #294

kennywinker wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fines not linked to income means it’s legal if you’re rich. I’m all for fining polluters to disincentivize pollution, but until we have income-pinned fines i’m not reporting any car under $50k

poor people idling their engines pollute just as much - or maybe more, depending on average vehicle age, etc. - as rich ones, and poor people are much more likely to suffer the negative consequences of that pollution

Post by close04 » Mon, Jun 23, 2025, 3:07 PM UTC

hiAndrewQuinn wrote: post #265

close04 wrote: post #238

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know populism is a thing but speed limits aren’t formally set for people’s preference but for safety and environmental reasons. “Most” people choosing to break the law doesn’t change that, and adjusting the law becomes a populist thing. Accidents on the highway do not happen because people don’t agree on the speed to drive at, more than they happen because “cars exist”. They happen because drivers drive faster than…

>Not everyone is capable of buying laws. Actually, no one is capable of 'buying' a law. Laws are passed via the processes of the legislative system. Sure, you can try to bribe someone like a Congressman into voting for or against certain things, but this is very different from just buying a law outright, and people are constantly watching Congressmen to ensure this kind of behavior doesn't get too out of hand. "Nobod…