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

More Americans are using fake license plates

slate.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

71–80 of 170 posts

Re: More Americans are using fake license plates

#71

Post by kragen »

until about 20 years ago license plates were a reasonable compromise between privacy and accountability: they didn't have your name on them, and looking you up from the number could only be done by the police, who would only do it when it seemed important, and then only if someone made a note of the plate

they couldn't, for example, make a list of everyone who was parked near a protest, and then search a database to see where they were parked over the next two weeks

modern computer vision has changed all that, giving rise to massive dragnet surveillance; we should figure out how to get back the privacy we've lost

i don't think taping dead leaves to your license plate is going to solve the problem

prohibiting police from using computer vision isn't it either; they'll just buy the data from a private vendor like ring

Re: More Americans are using fake license plates

#72

Post by kstenerud »

andrewmcwatters wrote: post #2

I’m not an old person, but I know I’m going to sound like a curmudgeon saying this. I think it’s just moral decay. I can’t think of any other meaningful reason. In Phoenix, which I consider the national capitol of bad drivers, in the span of less than 10 years, I’ve noticed a staggering number of people in the metro area who just blatantly run red lights now. Sometimes seconds after they’ve turned. It’s straight up r…

> I think it’s just moral decay.

This is a cop out; a simple sounding excuse to just throw up your hands, say "kids these days" and then go back to your armchair.

The fact is, you have a lot of problems that you're not dealing with, from stroads [1] to an increase in the worst kind of "automated" driving systems that leave people less able to remain alert for road hazards, to an unhealthy increase in inequality that leads to antisocial behavior in the pissed off underclass... you got problems. Look to some of your European and Asian neighbors if you want help with solutions.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stroad

Re: More Americans are using fake license plates

#73

Post by PopePompus »

dpiers wrote: post #43
King-Aaron wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am absolutely not a fan of fixed or hidden speed cameras, but red light cameras are legitimately good because you have zero reason or excuse to go through a red or speed through an intersection.

Except some municipalities with large red light camera revenue streams use bad math to justify unsafely short yellow light times in order to increase ticket revenues. More details here: https://redlightrobber.com

The revenue from traffic tickets and other fines should not go to any level of government. It should go to NGOs. Then law enforcement would cease to be a for-profit operation.

Re: More Americans are using fake license plates

#74

Post by questime »

throwaway68911 wrote: post #47
questime wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bud, do you really think it's immigrants primarily breaking the law in Baltimore of all places?

[flagged]

Well, you are being Xenophobic but it's not thought provoking. Violent crime has been higher in the US than most third world countries my whole life, we are actually trending safer since the 80s. This is not an immigration/3rd world country thing, it's an American thing. 3rd world countries are just poorer but most of them are really safe.

Re: More Americans are using fake license plates

#75

Post by atdrummond »

melvyn2 wrote: post #46
atdrummond wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There’s absolutely a transition occurring from a country that is still mostly high trust to one that is low trust. See: the sizable contingent in SF who believes that open air drug markets and rampant violent crime are simply the price one must pay to live in cities. It doesn’t have to be this way.

SF has relatively low violent crime compared to other cities, while drug sales are to be expected where a significant amount of people think drugs should be decriminalized or legalized. I don’t think the city has much of anything to do with the point of vague “moral decay.”

I was beaten to near death in the Tenderloin near the KFC/Taco Bell on Eddy.

To this day (despite this occurring in December 2021) there have been no arrests made. The police have names, video, witnesses and audio of one participant bragging about the assault.

The former DA had zero interest in prosecuting and the current one is suffocating under the backlog left to them.

This is not how a well functioning city - let alone a high trust one - operates. And it’s not just about statistics - an assault in SF, where it is likely the culprit won’t be arrested and certainly won’t be sent to prison, is significantly more damaging than a similar assault in a properly policed and actually adjudicating municipality.

Re: More Americans are using fake license plates

#76

Post by trgn »

mjevans wrote: post #29
djmips wrote: post #3

On the other hand it feels like there's been a huge money grab with automated systems mailing out tickets or maybe I'm just at sore at the $180 red light camera ticket I just paid.

Traffic enforcement should REQUIRE a police officer to be physically present at the time of the incident OR a retroactive issue related to an accident that happened. The officer's presence would encourage safer driving at problematic intersections.

I don't get this line of reasoning.

A police officer doesn't need to be present for code enforcement (ie. property inspections etc..).

A police officer doesn't need to be present for parking enforcement.

A police officer doesn't need to be present for toll fee collection enforcement.

Why should police then be present when violating traffic rules? What makes speeding or running a red light so meaningfully special that its enforcement cannot be automated, but violating parking rules can be?

> The officer's presence would encourage safer driving at problematic intersections.

Cameras would be the exact same type of encouragement, and not be nearly as disruptive or dangerous as a cop pulling someone over.

What gives?

Re: More Americans are using fake license plates

#77

Post by prawn »

x3n0ph3n3 wrote: post #34
King-Aaron wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am absolutely not a fan of fixed or hidden speed cameras, but red light cameras are legitimately good because you have zero reason or excuse to go through a red or speed through an intersection.

One issue has been jurisdictions shortening the length of yellow lights in order to catch people running the red light as a means of revenue generation.

Should that be a federal standard? Is it in most modern countries?

Re: More Americans are using fake license plates

#78

Post by [deleted] »

caturopath wrote: post #17
andrewmcwatters wrote: post #2

I’m not an old person, but I know I’m going to sound like a curmudgeon saying this. I think it’s just moral decay. I can’t think of any other meaningful reason. In Phoenix, which I consider the national capitol of bad drivers, in the span of less than 10 years, I’ve noticed a staggering number of people in the metro area who just blatantly run red lights now. Sometimes seconds after they’ve turned. It’s straight up r…

I don't think that's a good explanation at all. People are murdering less than a few decades ago, beating their kids less, stealing fewer car stereos. There might indeed be moral decay, but that doesn't answer why fake license plates and not some other thing. I suspect the reason for greater fake license plate use is the same reason for most products picking up: people are selling them, people are hearing about them,…

[deleted]

Re: More Americans are using fake license plates

#79

Post by jjtheblunt »

kragen wrote: post #71

until about 20 years ago license plates were a reasonable compromise between privacy and accountability: they didn't have your name on them, and looking you up from the number could only be done by the police, who would only do it when it seemed important, and then only if someone made a note of the plate they couldn't, for example, make a list of everyone who was parked near a protest, and then search a database to…

You made me realize the painful difficulty in defining a distinction between legit use by police (which is occasionally used catching stolen cars, etc, and which makes the news) and creepy Orwellian surveillance.

Re: More Americans are using fake license plates

#80

Post by prawn »

andrewmcwatters wrote: post #2

I’m not an old person, but I know I’m going to sound like a curmudgeon saying this. I think it’s just moral decay. I can’t think of any other meaningful reason. In Phoenix, which I consider the national capitol of bad drivers, in the span of less than 10 years, I’ve noticed a staggering number of people in the metro area who just blatantly run red lights now. Sometimes seconds after they’ve turned. It’s straight up r…

An expressway near me has a speed limit of 100 km/h. Most times I drive it, the fastest driver I might see is In the US, a significant number of people blatantly go 10-30+ km/h over the highway limits. What causes this?
Post reply on HN