Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Yellow vests knock out 60% of all speed cameras in France

bbc.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

71–80 of 186 posts

Re: Yellow vests knock out 60% of all speed cameras in France

#71

Post by Aaargh20318 »

TomK32 wrote: post #53
CalRobert wrote: post #26

I used to dislike speed cameras. I thought they were part of an encroaching surveillance state and took judgment away from officers. Then (and sorry, I know it's a tired thing to say) I had a kid. And my god, the people who will go FAR over the limit right down your street where people are pushing prams, kids are walking along, etc. is astounding. It's enough to make you hate all drivers, though a moment of reflectio…

As a cyclist I use as much space of the road as I can just to make sure cars behind me have to use the other lane to overtake or slow down and wait for a good moment. I can't wait for laws to enforce speed limits via tech in modern cars.

> As a cyclist I use as much space of the road as I can just to make sure cars behind me have to use the other lane

What are you doing on the road if you're on a bike ? What do you think bicycle lanes are for ?

Re: Yellow vests knock out 60% of all speed cameras in France

#72

Post by BhavdeepSethi »

gambiting wrote: post #7
TomMarius wrote: post #2

"Some protesters feel speed cameras are solely a revenue-generating measure which takes money from the poor." This is also the case in Central and Eastern Europe. EDIT: Please read what I cited properly. The citation includes the "Some protesters feel ..." part, which is what I meant - that many people in central and eastern Europe feel the same, not that I feel they're right (what I think is irrelevant).

I have very mixed feelings about this. I have been caught by a money-making camera myself(middle of a forest in rural Poland, far away from any houses, and yet it was still a "built-up" area with speed limit of 50km/h, because technically there wasn't a sign ending it after leaving the last town few km back), but on the other hand, there's so many people speeding in cities, frequently doing 100km/h or above on very b…

Given what you said is true, wouldn't it make sense to black out just the malicious ones? Unless this says that all the ones vandalized (60% of speed cameras) are actually for the sole purpose of money making?

Re: Yellow vests knock out 60% of all speed cameras in France

#73

Post by suvelx »

rikkus wrote: post #43
chrisper wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They would make the roads safer if they weren't used so often as money machines. Do they stand at schools? Nope. They stand at the bottom of the hill at the exit of a town.

They used to be positioned like this in the UK but all the ones I’ve seen like this have been removed or moved over the years to places where they could be regarded as more for safety than easy money making.

This was intentional, the chief of police wanted to stop them being used as revenue generation, and actually used as a safety device.

As such, they're now bright yellow.

Re: Yellow vests knock out 60% of all speed cameras in France

#74

Post by atoav »

gambiting wrote: post #29
mulmen wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's not the point. It costs a poor person more to speed because they have less money. Conversely it costs a rich person less to speed.

The issue is easily solved by making the fine proportional to your income, as it already is in many European countries. And then the penalty points hurt equally because you will lose your licence regardless of how rich your are once you get enough points.

The revoking of a license also hurts poor people improportionally more. If you depend on your car and need it to get to your job, loosing the ability to drive will: A) make you loose your job B) go in debt to solve your mobility problem C) make you do stupid things like driving without license D) maybe you are lucky and there is cheap public transport or it is close enough for cycling

For a rich person A to C are usually not a problem. Just take a taxi.

Re: Yellow vests knock out 60% of all speed cameras in France

#75

Post by adav »

CalRobert wrote: post #26

I used to dislike speed cameras. I thought they were part of an encroaching surveillance state and took judgment away from officers. Then (and sorry, I know it's a tired thing to say) I had a kid. And my god, the people who will go FAR over the limit right down your street where people are pushing prams, kids are walking along, etc. is astounding. It's enough to make you hate all drivers, though a moment of reflectio…

> And my god, the people who will go FAR over the limit right down your street where people are pushing prams, kids are walking along, etc. is astounding.

100%. However, the majority of cameras are placed on deserted countryside main roads and non-pedestrianised motorways/interstate type roads. More camera locations should be prioritised for protecting pedestrians.

Re: Yellow vests knock out 60% of all speed cameras in France

#76

Post by TomK32 »

toolslive wrote: post #47
eastendguy wrote: post #14

Why the hate for speed cameras? I love speed cameras because they make the roads safer for everyone. (And yes, once in a while I get a ticket as well, which is always a good reminder to drive safely.)

Some of these cameras are hidden: positioned so that you cannot spot them from afar (and not advertised by a sign neither). If the sole purpose would be to help people to drive safely then you should advertise them, make them really visible aso.

here's a great hack to avoid getting fined for speeding: Don't speed!

Re: Yellow vests knock out 60% of all speed cameras in France

#77

Post by IneffablePigeon »

adrianN wrote: post #46
dijit wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Technically not true. There are accidents caused by those who slow unexpectedly because they only just realised there's a speed-trap. It adds an element of unpredictability to the road. This almost completely offsets any positive safety gain. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3861844/ Which makes me think it's a cash-grab.

The solution seems to be to put of more of them so people constantly expect their presence. More modern designs are also capable of calculating average speeds over longer stretches of the road.

Yeah - here in the UK most long roadworks segments on motorways have a speed limit of 50mph, with average speed checks. It works remarkably well - I barely ever see anyone speed significantly through these segments, as opposed to segments with periodic cameras where people will speed and then slow down for the cameras.

Re: Yellow vests knock out 60% of all speed cameras in France

#78

Post by coldtea »

megaremote wrote: post #56
toolslive wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some of these cameras are hidden: positioned so that you cannot spot them from afar (and not advertised by a sign neither). If the sole purpose would be to help people to drive safely then you should advertise them, make them really visible aso.

How can anyone say this seriously? This is the stupidest thing I keep hearing from certain people. The idea is to stop you speeding EVERYWHERE. Not just where speed cameras are. It is to penalise people who constantly break the law, and make the road dangerous for everyone.

How can anyone say this seriously? This is the stupidest thing I keep hearing from certain people.

The idea is to make money for the police department and the municipality.

https://www.leg33.com/maryland-speed-camera-fraud/

https://steemit.com/technology/@doitvoluntarily/are-traffic-...

http://time.com/3505994/red-light-camera-problems-tickets/

https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/617207/Speed-cameras-safet...

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-410449/Undercover-p...

https://www.digitaltrends.com/cars/red-light-camera-controve...

Re: Yellow vests knock out 60% of all speed cameras in France

#79

Post by TomMarius »

gambiting wrote: post #48
naz wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Penalty points also disproportionately affect the poor, who are more likely to depend on their driving license for their income

So what do you propose? That we punish people who put others in danger less because they are poor? Someone moving at 100km/h through a city isn't any less likely to kill someone when hit just because they are poor. They aren't any less of a danger just because they have a family that depends on them. Someone they hit won't be any less dead because the driver has 5 children and mountains of debt.

> Someone moving at 100km/h through a city isn't any less likely to kill someone when hit just because they are poor.

Actually we could argue that it's more likely due to the poor average condition and old age of their cars. A new Mercedes brakes much better than a 20 year old Skoda and usually has auto-braking systems and braking force enhancers.

However "going through a city" is very general. There are several actual highways (by law as well as by construction standards) in Prague going through the city where the speed limit (70 km/h) is frequently broken with no possible victims - the exact same road has 130 km/h limit outside the city.

Re: Yellow vests knock out 60% of all speed cameras in France

#80

Post by boudin »

Aaargh20318 wrote: post #71
TomK32 wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a cyclist I use as much space of the road as I can just to make sure cars behind me have to use the other lane to overtake or slow down and wait for a good moment. I can't wait for laws to enforce speed limits via tech in modern cars.

> As a cyclist I use as much space of the road as I can just to make sure cars behind me have to use the other lane What are you doing on the road if you're on a bike ? What do you think bicycle lanes are for ?

A huge amount of roads doesn't have bike lanes.
Post reply on HN