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New York is using cameras with microphones to ticket loud cars

roadandtrack.com

251–260 of 483 posts

Re: New York is using cameras with microphones to ticket loud cars

#251

On the one hand, I think red light cameras and automated speed traps are unconstitutional and there have been shady companies caught fixing them. I hate the idea of putting super sensitive microphones in public spaces and connecting them directly to police departments. But on the other hand, fuck loud cars and motorcycles, they are a menace to society, and they are the only thing that makes my blood boil, when they w…

There have been microphone arrays in many neighborhoods for years: "ShotSpotter has been in operation for 25 years, serves more than 120 cities..." https://www.shotspotter.com/

That is terrifying, I had no idea.

Re: New York is using cameras with microphones to ticket loud cars

#252
post #212

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know what it's like where you live, but in California it increasingly looks like our law enforcement organizations are either dreadfully understaffed or failing miserably at enforcing basic traffic laws. I just drove to San Diego and back from the Bay Area and counted zero cops on the way down and two on the way back, and I returned on Super Bowl eve. In the south Bay Area, I regularly see folks intentionally…

This is happening in my major metro, as well. A kind of flippant attitude toward even the most basic of compliance seems to be taking root. Cars are running Stop signs and red lights without even slowing, the number of cars with no license plate displayed at all is on the rise and all of this seems to be happening at a time when enforcement is virtually non-existent. Even more alarming is that property crime (theft,…

> the number of cars with no license plate displayed at all is on the rise

I have noticed this too, and am curious if it is:

- DMVs being slow/understaffed or plates aren't available, but people need to drive

- conscious negligence of simply not registering your car and betting it won't be enforced

Re: New York is using cameras with microphones to ticket loud cars

#253
post #203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s strange to complain about occasional motorcycle noise when emergency sirens could be heard all the time on Manhattan. Orders of magnitude more than in any other city I’ve been to. Or you New Yorkers tune that out?

Not that strange. Sirens in NYC are largely directional, and you can hear the noise diminish dramatically once you are no longer in the path of the vehicle. The same is not true of loud cars/motorcycles. Also sirens (mostly) serve a necessary purpose for society, while motorcycle noise serve to stroke their owners selfish egos.

I lived in the upper west side 7th fl and sirens are absolutely excessive. Deafeningly loud even in my apartment.

Re: New York is using cameras with microphones to ticket loud cars

#254
post #4

One egregiously loud motorcycle rolling through manhattan can be a nuisance to literally millions of people. This is unreasonable and a ticketing system like this makes a ton of sense. Police enforcement could probably solve the issue just as effectively. Cops ignore loud honking and loud cars when its right in front of them. If they would just stop ignoring such things the frequency would surely go down as well.

The cops in NYC more or less ignore everything (unless your black), I've seen people walk right past them smoking weed and they didn't even turn their heads. Every once in a while they'll set up a table in the subway to search backpacks, but they don't dare stop anyone, instead they just stand around comparing their benefit plans for 2.5 hours and counting down until they can retire with pension. Same topic every tim…

> I've seen people walk right past them smoking weed and they didn't even turn their heads.

It's legal, why would they turn their heads?

Re: New York is using cameras with microphones to ticket loud cars

#255
post #39

Tangent: We should outlaw leaf blowers in cities while at it. It's february and freezing out and for some reason the idiotic management in the apartment across the street has contracted some crew to do daily leaf blowers on nearly completely clean sidewalks disturbing probably hundreds of people WFH. Not to even mention how particularly awful leaf blowers are for the environment.

Years ago, I lived in an apartment complex that would have landscapers come once a week.

And of course, they'd begin their work promptly at 8 AM, and it always felt like they would spend extra time blowing leaves right outside my window.

Re: New York is using cameras with microphones to ticket loud cars

#256

Illegal. One has a right to face their accuser per the Constitution. I also knew a guy where the toll booth reader sent him a ticket for a car from another state with the same license plate digits. Took him forever to prove it wasn't him. More draconian AI computer police is not the answer to this problem.

Anh. The "testimony" is the recording. A lawyer cross-examining the computer would simply be met by the computer continuing to replay the recording over and over. Obviously verbiage from the 18th century isn't going to be able to deal with the concept of a modern digital computer, and needs to be updated as such. Computers are here to stay; old crufty ideas about semantics are rather more ephemeral.

If it needs to be updated, you actually have to update it, though. You can't just pretend it isn't the law anymore.

Re: New York is using cameras with microphones to ticket loud cars

#257

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But loud pipes save lives! /s We have a similar problem. Replace "motorcycle" with "bro-dozer" and make it 4am. Noise sucks. And since the pandemic lockdowns have lifted, it's even more abrasive. Those few months of relative quiet were marvelous. Where I live, it's a lot of tire noise from a highway over a mile away - just a constant background "brrrrrr" that I didn't notice before and can't ignore today.

> But loud pipes save lives! /s Bikers actually say that with a straight face. It drives me bonkers. If I look at any list on the internet about top 10 ways to stay safe on a motorcycle, none of those lists will include "loud pipes". Yet, those same bikers will ignore other items on those safety lists like wearing brightly colored high visibility jacket/vest.

Any evidence against this claim though?

Re: New York is using cameras with microphones to ticket loud cars

#258
post #226
post #209

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The example she gave is that police now cannot intervene if they see an armed individual approaching a school. That sounds unbelievable but that's straight from the mouth of the local chief of police. It’s not true but it makes more sense if they’re saying that as a negotiating tactic: the police are banking that if the media coverage is dominated by stories about crime rising there will be a big reduction in suppo…

What inside knowledge do you have that indicates it's not true? You can't just assume something is false because it contradicts what you want to be true.

I can guarantee you that if a school in my particular municipality is under threat, police are going to roll in and roll deep. Morale or no morale.

I think people are confused as to the types of crime police are backing off of policing. Shooting up Walmarts, schools, or churches will absolutely evoke a robust response here.

Of course, I can't speak for municipalities outside of this particular county here in flyover country. But knowing police and firefighters the way that I do, I find it difficult to believe that any school under threat would be ignored.

If you're genuinely curious, ask LEO you're friends with in your municipality, or LEO among your own family and friends to get an idea how professional LE is in your area. But you shouldn't believe everything you see on the internet. My assertions included.

Re: New York is using cameras with microphones to ticket loud cars

#260
post #4

One egregiously loud motorcycle rolling through manhattan can be a nuisance to literally millions of people. This is unreasonable and a ticketing system like this makes a ton of sense. Police enforcement could probably solve the issue just as effectively. Cops ignore loud honking and loud cars when its right in front of them. If they would just stop ignoring such things the frequency would surely go down as well.

I really don't get why motorcycles are legal at all - loud, terrible emissions, used for crimes, huge fatality rate, usually driven by a psychopath who loves revving his toy at 5AM at a residential neighbourhood.

> used for crimes

This gave me a chuckle. I have absolutely no data but I'm quite certain cars are "used for crimes" at a much higher rate than motorcycles.

Motorcycles are almost all manual, nearly invisible to other drivers, and prone to issues with the smallest of road hazards/obstacles, making them really risky to use as a getaway vehicle seeing as you'd need to be outpacing law enforcement much of the time. Add the adrenaline of "doing a crime" on top of that of high-speed motorcycle riding and you've really got a recipe for disaster in most cases. There was a stolen bike in LA being chased by the cops last month who collided with a car and the rider died. https://www.latimes.com/california/newsletter/2022-01-24/mot...

Maybe being "used for crimes" would be better since you're less likely to actually get away on them!

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