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Australia uses new technology to catch drivers on phones

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Re: Australia uses new technology to catch drivers on phones

#161

Post by brokenmachine »

clairity wrote: post #86
y4mi wrote: post #3

So they're ramping up the detection of people using their phones while waiting for the traffic light to turn green? Doesn't really sound like this is actually about safety. I doubt these cameras can capture the photo do a decent quality on that angle for anything but standing or very slow moving cars But I guess we can hope it will stop some people, even if there will be a lot of people caught that weren't really end…

i perused the article and saw nowhere that it said that this would only be used at red lights, which i'd oppose, since that's relatively safer (to look at a phone) than while actually driving (perfect shouldn't be the enemy of better). apparently some cameras are fixed and some are mobile, but presumably they're checking cars that are both moving and stationary (if it so happens to be in view of the camera when/where…

>in any case, continuing improvements in voice control will go a long way toward reducing distracted driving via mobile devices.

It'd have to be a lot of continuing improvements because at the moment, voice control is an absolute shitshow and IMO way more distracting than pushing predictable buttons.

Re: Australia uses new technology to catch drivers on phones

#162

Post by friendlybus »

drivingeve wrote: post #137
tiew9Vii wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Completely agree. I can’t figure it out though, they have some strict standards getting a license, red p’s for 12-24 months + 120 logbook hours, then green p’s where they are restricted to dangerous below highway speeds so have drivers aggressively overtaking them. Despite this, standards seem far lower than Europe. The horn thing is really annoying, often the person being beeped can’t move forward anyway due to traf…

The difference between European and Australian drivers is not that Australians have to do 120 hours of supervised driving, but that the supervisor for the hours of driving in Australia is usually the parents of the learner. So any bad habbits from parents are taught between generations. Compare that to the European system where you are requiredto hire a professional driving instructor to teach you (at great expense I…

With Aussie lifestyle designed around the car, it is definitely a right. Euro lifestyles can support cars as an option.

Re: Australia uses new technology to catch drivers on phones

#163

Post by tebs1200 »

jaimex2 wrote: post #127
y4mi wrote: post #3

So they're ramping up the detection of people using their phones while waiting for the traffic light to turn green? Doesn't really sound like this is actually about safety. I doubt these cameras can capture the photo do a decent quality on that angle for anything but standing or very slow moving cars But I guess we can hope it will stop some people, even if there will be a lot of people caught that weren't really end…

It's never about safety. These cameras bring in billions in revenue. If you want to argue that they're not about revenue raising tell me why the Police here strike for pay rises by warning motorists of where the cameras are? https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/police-threaten-... They've done this for at least 3 pay rises in the past and they actually have followed through.

How would you propose authorities stop people from using their phones while driving without:

1. Detecting when people are using their phone while driving?

2. Imposing a penalty when people are caught?

Applying a high fine for infringements is a good deterrent. It's definitely about safety as much (if not more) than revenue raising.

If people don't want to give revenue to the government, it's simple - don't use your phone while driving.

Re: Australia uses new technology to catch drivers on phones

#164

Post by brokenmachine »

AcerbicZero wrote: post #41
jjulius wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Screw the poors and their non-integrated GPS. "The poors" can still use their non-integrated GPS, just in a safe (set your destination before you drive, pull over to adjust) manner. That's what everyone should be doing anyway.

What evidence is there that pulling over and then re-entering traffic is any less dangerous than adjusting your GPS at a stop light?

You can adjust your GPS at a stop light if the phone is in a cradle.

Actually it's still legal to adjust the GPS on your phone while driving, if it's in a cradle.

Re: Australia uses new technology to catch drivers on phones

#165

Post by brokenmachine »

jbarberu wrote: post #57
jjulius wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right. I'm sure the language of laws in many regions suggests that using tap-to-pay with your phone at a drive-thru is technically illegal, but I'd be curious to see if anybody has actually been ticketed for it or if this is just fearmongering.

I'm pretty sure a drive-through isn't considered a public road in most jurisdictions, similar to how people usually don't worry about speed traps on Nürburgring.

>people usually don't worry about speed traps on Nürburgring

Now that would be a real moneymaker.

Re: Australia uses new technology to catch drivers on phones

#166

Post by fraudsyndrome »

tiew9Vii wrote: post #114
Sendotsh wrote: post #89

Good. People in Australia don't take driving seriously. I spend a lot of time on the road, and have lived all over Australia, and the one defining thing I've found in common all over the country is that people are WAY too casual about driving. Sydney and Melbourne being the worst by far, with it being so bad it has become entertainment[0] On any given commute you'll see dozens of people playing with their phone while…

Completely agree. I can’t figure it out though, they have some strict standards getting a license, red p’s for 12-24 months + 120 logbook hours, then green p’s where they are restricted to dangerous below highway speeds so have drivers aggressively overtaking them. Despite this, standards seem far lower than Europe. The horn thing is really annoying, often the person being beeped can’t move forward anyway due to traf…

> strict standards getting a license, red p’s for 12-24 months + 120 logbook hours

It was an open secret (by secret I mean bragging) that people would forge their logbook hours - that hour rule only came in semi-recently so I'm not sure on the age of some posters here who haven't mentioned this.

Either way, P plates statically have a high propensity to get into accidents although from experience alone I would not say the majority of these are the "aggressive" drivers you see on the street. Maybe it's my own bias but it feels like the majority of P platers are trying to drive safe because of their inexperience, it's the full licence drivers who believe they know best and start showing aggressive behaviours.

Re: Australia uses new technology to catch drivers on phones

#167

Post by fraudsyndrome »

tebs1200 wrote: post #163
jaimex2 wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's never about safety. These cameras bring in billions in revenue. If you want to argue that they're not about revenue raising tell me why the Police here strike for pay rises by warning motorists of where the cameras are? https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/police-threaten-... They've done this for at least 3 pay rises in the past and they actually have followed through.

How would you propose authorities stop people from using their phones while driving without: 1. Detecting when people are using their phone while driving? 2. Imposing a penalty when people are caught? Applying a high fine for infringements is a good deterrent. It's definitely about safety as much (if not more) than revenue raising. If people don't want to give revenue to the government, it's simple - don't use your p…

Agreed. You have to draw the line somewhere and I can't believe people are actually arguing against this like they have a leg to stand on.

Re: Australia uses new technology to catch drivers on phones

#168

Post by dahart »

hug wrote: post #92
jjulius wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Can you demonstrate, using numbers, that the tradeoff is positive? Are you kidding? If I pull over to a safe place to use my phone, nobody is harmed. If I'm driving and take my attention off of the road and over to my phone, and I smack into a motorcyclist because I didn't see them, I could kill them . >The current animus against cell phone use while driving is the result of a moral panic, not a rational cost-benefi…

There are 268 million vehicles in the United States. If we assume that each vehicle makes two trips per day on average, and than the number of minutes of inconvenience taken up by pulling over to operate a phone is 5, that’d be 2.68 billion minutes of inconvenience per day alone! We can be generous and put the intrinsic value of a human life at the average lifespan in the US of 78 years, or 41 million minutes. That m…

That was funny. Looks like it cost a few karma points, but I appreciated the humor at this point in thread.

Re: Australia uses new technology to catch drivers on phones

#169

Post by hug »

Marsymars wrote: post #138
hug wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are 268 million vehicles in the United States. If we assume that each vehicle makes two trips per day on average, and than the number of minutes of inconvenience taken up by pulling over to operate a phone is 5, that’d be 2.68 billion minutes of inconvenience per day alone! We can be generous and put the intrinsic value of a human life at the average lifespan in the US of 78 years, or 41 million minutes. That m…

> If we assume that each vehicle makes two trips per day on average, and than the number of minutes of inconvenience taken up by pulling over to operate a phone is 5, Once you need to pull over to check your phone you realize that you can just wait until your destination. I never touch my phone while driving, but I'd estimate the time I spend pulled over to use my phone to be more in the area of 5 minutes per couple…

But how will tech companies extract value from you if you don't pick up your phone even when driving?

Re: Australia uses new technology to catch drivers on phones

#170

Post by o-__-o »

jimmux wrote: post #153
DEADBEEFC0FFEE wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I drive in Australia, and I'm not like what you have described. My general attitude is to be courteous. That doesn't mean I dont nip through on amber, or go over the speed limit by a couple kph, or park. However I do behave as I would want other to behave. I don't drive too close to cars in front. I zip feed always . I indicate, even if nobody is around. I treat bikes and bicycles like other cars. I defer to busses.…

Courtesy makes all the difference, but it's not easy sometimes. Too many drivers are happy to take advantage of 2-second gaps, or use an early indication of lane change as a sign to beat you to a gap. I always wonder how people like that act outside vehicles. It's really no different to jumping a queue, but I bet of you did that to them outside a metal box they would call you out.

It really is different from jumping a queue, though. You have no means to call that person out.

In a queue, you can appeal to the emotions of a clerk, attendent, or some other agent with power. Further, if no power agent exists or is sporadic enough that they virtually don't exist (like, say, police on the same roadway you describe) then the action of calling out devolves to simple game theory in which the best mode of action is to simply not participate.

I challenge you to change your mindset:

>take advantage of 2-second gaps

that 2-second gap is simply a buffer. when buffers are filled do we call it 'being taken advantage of' or do we simply empty the buffer and continue our routine?

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