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New UK police speed gun can read license plates from half a mile away at night

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Re: New UK police speed gun can read license plates from half a mile away at night

#131

Post by brewdad »

judge2020 wrote: post #33
smnrchrds wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Because tickets aren't just monetary And the only monetary aspect is not the fine, it is the also the increased insurance premiums. The latter can be much more punishing than the former.

I didn't know this was a thing in the US until a few months ago - apparently the local police notify insurance companies (somehow) of speeding violations and thus give the insurance reason to increase your premiums.

They aren't notifying insurance companies. The violation becomes a part of your driving record and the insurance companies pull this information at regular intervals that can vary by company.

Re: New UK police speed gun can read license plates from half a mile away at night

#132

Post by dazc »

ISL wrote: post #17

I once saw speed cameras as "un-sporting" until travelling elsewhere in the world where they are commonplace. In those countries, it seems like everyone just drives the speed limit. If the point of speed enforcement is to, you know, ensure that everyone is going the speed limit or slower, they're awesome. Norway's system of timed speed cameras are particularly wonderful -- they simply photograph a car and then photog…

'Beyond that, if you don't want to get a fine, don't speed.'

Seems odd to me that Govt's struggle to raise revenue via normal taxes when they have a large pool of stupid people they could raise extra money from? Maybe making a regualr speeding fine a life changing amount rather than the negligable sum it is now would improve people's behaviour, raise some much needed revenue and save a few lives too?

Re: New UK police speed gun can read license plates from half a mile away at night

#133

Post by nitrogen »

Drunk_Engineer wrote: post #85
bArray wrote: post #77

> To the inevitable dismay of U.K. street racers who > primarily partake in their favorite illegal motorsport > after hours, the TruCam II also features night mode > whereas the first TruCam, which has already reportedly > been in use for the past six years, only worked during the > daytime. I think this really comes down to the letter of the law vs the spirit of it. To the spirit of the law, i.e. saving third-party…

In the US, there are 38,000 persons killed each year in car accidents -- and yet there are still those who think we do too much enforcement.

What proportion of those deaths were caused by something that could have been caught ahead of time by more enforcement?

Re: New UK police speed gun can read license plates from half a mile away at night

#134

Post by bigmattystyles »

nitrogen wrote: post #130
bigmattystyles wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except if you do get hurt, and even if it is just you, the rest of us are, via social contract, obligated to spend common resources to come rescue you and pay for your medical bills. I know you could make this argument against any activity like rock climbing, but then lobby your government. Even if I grant the response I’m expecting, I dont want to be saved or helped if I injure myself, one, bullshit. Two, even if th…

In the US, you are responsible for your own medical bills and ambulance costs if you are in an accident that wasn't someone else's fault.

And I’m sure all the people I see racing are insured or have the $100k+ a serious accident, injury or property damage entails.

Re: New UK police speed gun can read license plates from half a mile away at night

#135

Post by brewdad »

ryanlol wrote: post #116
scott_w wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To the people downvoting this: this is the U.K. law in this area. If you weren’t the driver, you must tell the police who was driving. If you don’t, you’re the one who gets the speeding ticket.

This is easily defeated by registering your car overseas, as is the case with most fast cars you see in London.

Brexit will put the kabosh on much of that I imagine. When the borders are closed to the rest of Europe it will be quite easy to make cars from unfriendly jurisdictions illegal on UK roads or to require the equivalent of a visa to bring a car registered in one of those uncooperative nations into the country.

Re: New UK police speed gun can read license plates from half a mile away at night

#136

Post by scott_w »

brewdad wrote: post #127
scott_w wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are exactly 0 situations that require you to break the speed limit to become “safe.” The UK Highway Code and driving lessons are very explicit in how you respond to emergencies and “speed up” is not on the list.

There can be but only after you have already been inattentive or negligent leading up to the situation. My teen is less than a year into his license. The other night he was driving us in an unfamiliar area and missed a sign indicating that the 3 lanes were merging into 2. He found himself at the merge point completely blocking a car trying to merge. Yes, the merging vehicle is obligated to yield but speeding up for a…

So either he slows down to aid the overtake or it’s not possible in time and the overtaking vehicle slows down to merge behind.

Appreciate these things are tough when you’re still new, nervous in an unfamiliar area, etc. but that’s the time you go back to basics on your driving to maximise safety.

Re: New UK police speed gun can read license plates from half a mile away at night

#137

Post by freddie_mercury »

nitrogen wrote: post #130
bigmattystyles wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except if you do get hurt, and even if it is just you, the rest of us are, via social contract, obligated to spend common resources to come rescue you and pay for your medical bills. I know you could make this argument against any activity like rock climbing, but then lobby your government. Even if I grant the response I’m expecting, I dont want to be saved or helped if I injure myself, one, bullshit. Two, even if th…

In the US, you are responsible for your own medical bills and ambulance costs if you are in an accident that wasn't someone else's fault.

No you aren't. EMTALA, the Emergency Medical Treatment & Labor Act of 1986 specifically says everyone will be treated regardless of any ability to pay.

If someone doesn't have the ability to pay, guess who ends up paying? Everyone else.

Re: New UK police speed gun can read license plates from half a mile away at night

#138

Post by 01100011 »

viraptor wrote: post #118
01100011 wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think that's stupid for one reason. As an engineer I often considered 10% tolerance to be sufficient. I think enforcing speed limits to anything greater than 10% is just silly. I often drift +/- more than 10% of my intended speed. It's just human nature. I pay more attention to potential dangers and obstacles, and less on whether I am within a % of the speed limit, and I really hope other drivers do as well.

Speed limiters and cruise control are pretty common in modern cars. You can set your mental intended speed lower and won't drift as much. This is from experience of switching to a car with speed notification beeper (very low tech) - it took maybe 2 weeks to stop drifting over almost completely without paying extra attention. We ended up treating it as a game with gf - shortest time for a 300km drive with no beeps.

You set your cruise control when driving on city streets?

Sure, I use it on the freeway, but only on long drives. I've never seen anyone use it in the city.

Re: New UK police speed gun can read license plates from half a mile away at night

#139

Post by scott_w »

brewdad wrote: post #135
ryanlol wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is easily defeated by registering your car overseas, as is the case with most fast cars you see in London.

Brexit will put the kabosh on much of that I imagine. When the borders are closed to the rest of Europe it will be quite easy to make cars from unfriendly jurisdictions illegal on UK roads or to require the equivalent of a visa to bring a car registered in one of those uncooperative nations into the country.

Unlikely, as we lose access to potential sources of cooperation from the EU and we have a government in thrall to the dangerous driving lobby.

Re: New UK police speed gun can read license plates from half a mile away at night

#140

Post by cgriswald »

Drunk_Engineer wrote: post #85
bArray wrote: post #77

> To the inevitable dismay of U.K. street racers who > primarily partake in their favorite illegal motorsport > after hours, the TruCam II also features night mode > whereas the first TruCam, which has already reportedly > been in use for the past six years, only worked during the > daytime. I think this really comes down to the letter of the law vs the spirit of it. To the spirit of the law, i.e. saving third-party…

In the US, there are 38,000 persons killed each year in car accidents -- and yet there are still those who think we do too much enforcement.

It’s reasonable to believe the death rate is too high and there is too much enforcement if that enforcement focuses too heavily on a single aspect of the problem at the expense of focusing on other problem areas.

Speed enforcement seems to be the low hanging fruit. There’s (generally) no judgment call, readily accepted evidence, it’s politically palatable, and it’s like shooting fish in a barrel: there’s always someone you can tag.

It’s a lot harder to tag someone for driving onto the freeway at 30 mph and failing to merge properly. There’s no “merge trap” to witness it so the cop has to basically happen upon it. There’s not always clear evidence, there’s probably some judgment required too. People don’t like the idea of tickets for going “too slow”; everyone acts like it is absurd. You can’t even blame the LEO because he probably knows the ticket won’t stick. Yet this behavior is extremely dangerous and happens all the time.

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