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Citizen uses OpenCV to track speeders near his home

cvilletomorrow.org

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Re: Citizen uses OpenCV to track speeders near his home

#81

Post by mikeash »

pc86 wrote: post #8
notacoward wrote: post #5

I think an even better application of this technology would be to catch people who aren't stopping at signs/lights, or not yielding at merges. Radar-equipped signs can handle the speeding case fairly well, but are useless in these other - and often more dangerous - cases.

Red light cameras increase rear-end collisions as well as injury because people would rather lock up their brakes one car length before the intersection than get a ticket. I haven't seen any information on the effect of cameras at merging sites, though.

Everything I have seen says that they can increase the rate of crashes but decrease the rate of injuries, because they change the types of accidents which occur, and rear ending is much less dangerous than T-boning. Example analysis:

http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/safety/05049/

That one actually shows roughly net zero change in total crash rate, but a decent decrease in the injury rate.

Re: Citizen uses OpenCV to track speeders near his home

#82

Post by JoeAltmaier »

ryandrake wrote: post #76
pc86 wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's one thing to just get the data and make an argument (in this case, "slow down") - it's an entirely separate thing to do that and start issuing citations or impounding vehicles.

> Reynolds and neighbor Bruce Odell will make a presentation on the software to the council Monday night. It's not just a neat tech hobby--this is a busybody pitching what amounts to ubiquitous rule-enforcement to the local government.

Yeah I'd say that too - except its speed limits in residential neighborhoods. We're not talking about what color they're painting their front doors. We're talking injuring people. All sorts of desperate measures are taken to try to control this - speed bumps, no-car zones, cameras. This seems cheaper and maybe more effective than all that?

Re: Citizen uses OpenCV to track speeders near his home

#83

Post by oneeyedpigeon »

ryandrake wrote: post #36
sergiotapia wrote: post #13

This is gross, and reminds me of the nosy old ladies that 'patrol' the neighbourhood around here, only this guy knows C.

Or the retiree condo commanders going around measuring people's shrubs to make sure they comply with condo bylaws section 4, subsection 65, paragraph 5. For some people, ubiquitous rule enforcement is a utopia, not a Orwellian nightmare.

You're seriously equating speeding on a road on which a child has been killed by a speeding vehicle to keeping shrubs tidy?

Re: Citizen uses OpenCV to track speeders near his home

#84

Post by pc86 »

danso wrote: post #64
specialdragon wrote: post #39

In summary, he's made a speed camera and is now proposing the use of it to his local council. Are speed cameras not as ubiquitous in the USA as over here in the UK?

They are common, but not ubiquitous by any means. They're usually used in prominent intersections/stretches in which speeding is observed to be common.

To add to this in some areas they cannot legally be used to generate citations. They can, however, be used to direct law enforcement on which intersections would be best served by increased enforcement.

Re: Citizen uses OpenCV to track speeders near his home

#85

Post by mikeash »

ape4 wrote: post #74
mikeash wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Rear end collisions like this tend to be pretty benign. For example, one of the arguments against red light cameras is that they actually increase the number of accidents. However, they also increase safety. How? Because while they increase the number of rear end collisions, they decrease the number of side impact collisions, which are much more deadly. Net result: more bent metal, less bent flesh. I'd also be surpri…

Yes, I thought that about this issue too. Perhaps more distinct signage and early warning lights might get cars to slow before the red.

That's how I've seen them installed. For example:

https://www.google.com/maps/@38.8393523,-77.0661647,3a,75y,3...

Of course, if I've seen them without any signs then I wouldn't even know it....

Re: Citizen uses OpenCV to track speeders near his home

#86

Post by GFischer »

jurassic wrote: post #49

Some commenters here are commenting as if speeding is some petty thing that doesn't matter. Speeding kills. Something as small as 10 miles over a 30mph may mean a doubling in fatality rate for pedestrians and bicyclists. One source: https://www.aaafoundation.org/sites/default/files/2011Pedest...

Not all speeding is created equal. I agree that 10 miles over a 30 mph zone is probably deadly, if it was properly zoned and not a money-grabbing move (it looks from the article that it was a correct limit, maybe even too high).

However, many speeding tickets (at least in my country and others) are due to low maximum speeds on roads intended as main thoroughfares.

I read here in HN that plenty of U.S. towns live off speeding tickets, see

http://www.foxbusiness.com/features/2011/10/19/town-that-liv...

http://www.9news.com/story/news/local/investigations/2015/05...

In my country they have some similar systems, and made even worse because they specifically target tourists and foreigners (especially Argentineans) for the ticketing revenue.

I work for an insurance company, and I've read some research that suggests that speed limits are improperly sent more often than not (a few times too high, but most often too low). Interestingly, accidents are going steadily down due to better cars. Other factors are much bigger influences than just speed (alcohol, stress, etc.), and insurance companies are introducing monitors for that. Hopefully self-driving cars will continue the downward trend :) .

IMO, dynamic speed limits, based on weather and road conditions and other stuff (lower on school days?), should be the default in the 21st century :) . Germany already does it.

Another problem was improperly planned roads, as in the article (another comment mentions that the road in question is a "feeder" road).

Re: Citizen uses OpenCV to track speeders near his home

#87

Post by modoc »

akgerber wrote: post #23
Spooky23 wrote: post #4

Welcome to the age of nitpicking busybodies. Next month, he'll have a facial recognition system for dog walkers who fail to curb their dog.

'Unintentional injuries', among which car crashes are a leading type, are the most common cause of death among those ages 1-44: http://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars/leadingcauses.html

Based on that there were 130,557 deaths from unintentional injury in the USA in 2013. In that same year there were 32,719 fatalities resulting from auto accident. So 25% of the unintentional injury fatalities were car crashes. Which puts the car crash risk lower than most of the other major causes, and lower than either suicide or homicide for every age group I believe.

Re: Citizen uses OpenCV to track speeders near his home

#88

Post by JoeAltmaier »

webjprgm wrote: post #80

I don't know if people share this opinion, but to me speeding is due to the inadequacy and inconsistency of speed limits. Near my home there is a major thoroughfare with a 35 MPH speed limit. It has no homes facing the road, just a few fenced backyards some fair distance away but mostly it has farms, ponds, and golf courses. People regularly go 40-50 MPH down this road. Another major road that crosses this one has a…

Sounds about right. I'd add, I want the app that tells me in a HUD what the speed limit actually is. Maybe an audible boop if I cross the line. Help me actually try to be in conformance when I think that's helpful.

Re: Citizen uses OpenCV to track speeders near his home

#89

Post by mikeash »

bargl wrote: post #37
dc_new wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I live in Va, just not that part, and the rule of thumb is anything less then 10mph over and you generally won't get a ticket. The only exception to this is places like school zones.

Unless you're on 495 then it's like 20mph over and the police may still pass you....

My car can warn me if I exceed the local speed limit by more than a set amount. I had to turn it off after a while, because it was just getting annoying on 495.

It's pretty funny to drive back into the city from points west on I-66 as the speed limit drops 70-65-60-55. I usually maintain a steady 7 over and that makes me go from one of the fastest cars on the road to one of the slowest.

Re: Citizen uses OpenCV to track speeders near his home

#90

Post by jsackmann »

heywire wrote: post #68
dsfyu404ed wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One of the rules of thumb taught to cops is "over by five, let 'em drive, over by 10, get out your pen"

The variation I always heard (as a driver, not a police officer) was, "Five, you're fine, ten, you're mine!"

Where I grew up (eastern WA): "Eight is great; nine, you're mine."
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