Photo radar is garbage!!!

[DementedReality]

Originally Posted by fotze

You are not allowed to go over the limit when passing as well. Pretty simple, don't do it.

thats right and the left lane is not the FAST lane, as a matter of fact it is the right lane that is the SLOW lane (if required to go slow).

no where in the "rules" does it say its ok to go above the speed limit in the left lane, it is simply recognized that if you need to go below speed limit, you should do so in the right lane.

right?

[flamesfever]

I've been told that if you go on long trip across the country, limit your speed to no more that 8 or 9 km over the speed limit, as the cutoff for most traffic officers is 10 km or more.

I tried that on a trip to Ontario and I think I only passed a few cars the whole way and was continually being passed by cars doing from 20 to 30 km over the limit.

I find that most drivers drive close to the limit. However, there seems to be an increasing number of drivers who are away over the limit. I imagine in the long run, those drivers will pay the cost in speeding tickets, increased insurance, car repairs and traumatic injuries, if not worse.

[Sylvanfan]

Originally Posted by hulkrogan

Don't speed. Its really easy.

Well I admit I've been nailed with too many of these ****ing things for going 62 down a 4 lane road in St.Albert where the speed limit is 50. I'm not against the idea of having photo radar out there as a deterrent from speeding. But right now in St.Albert where I live it is an obvious cash cow. They hide the vans behind trees and in locations where if you do speed, you're probably not going to hurt anyone. If photo radar was actually there to be a deterrent they'd have the van in front of a school zone in plane site so that 100% of the cars coming through that zone would slow down. Ultimately thats whats safer on the roads is to get everyone coming through a busy area to pay attention to limits. Not hiding it in a bush and giving tickets to those who were speeding 30 days after the fact. That did nothing on that day to slow me down and make sure I didn't plaster some poor pedestrian.

[JohnnyFlame]

The glib crew always do the usual -- Hey don't speed. The holier than thou attitude prevalent no doubt in this one area of life for in others no doubt they ain't quite so HOLY.

But to me it's besides the point. The photo radar is supposed to deter speeding and does it? Not to my observation. Does it cut it down? Again statisically it appears the numbers of tickets have gone up.

So NO it does not do what it is supposed to do so why is it in place? Only reasonable conclusion is a straight cash grab. Might as well put in place a law for spitting on the streets, swearing in public etc. etc.

Then the holy crowd can say hey don't spit, dont swear. Heck we could have a list a hundred miles long and cash could be collected all day.

Of course people would just go right on doing what they do so I don't see the POINT!!

[Bring_Back_Shantz]

Originally Posted by Sylvanfan

Well I admit I've been nailed with too many of these ****ing things for going 62 down a 4 lane road in St.Albert where the speed limit is 50. I'm not against the idea of having photo radar out there as a deterrent from speeding. But right now in St.Albert where I live it is an obvious cash cow. They hide the vans behind trees and in locations where if you do speed, you're probably not going to hurt anyone. If photo radar was actually there to be a deterrent they'd have the van in front of a school zone in plane site so that 100% of the cars coming through that zone would slow down. Ultimately thats whats safer on the roads is to get everyone coming through a busy area to pay attention to limits. Not hiding it in a bush and giving tickets to those who were speeding 30 days after the fact. That did nothing on that day to slow me down and make sure I didn't plaster some poor pedestrian.

You, and I think most people, are completley missing the point.

The point of photo radar isn't that you'll slow down when you see are radar van parked in front of a school zone. What good does that do? None, you might as well just park a cop car there.

The point of photo radar is that you never know when or where it is going to be, so you if you don't want to get a ticket you don't speed. Will it work in all areas, no, but in some it will (I know there are a few spots I no longer speed through because of photo radar).

It's not a matter of slowing people down for the day, it's about getting people to change their overall driving habits.

[Bring_Back_Shantz]

Originally Posted by JohnnyFlame

The glib crew always do the usual -- Hey don't speed. The holier than thou attitude prevalent no doubt in this one area of life for in others no doubt they ain't quite so HOLY.

But to me it's besides the point. The photo radar is supposed to deter speeding and does it? Not to my observation. Does it cut it down? Again statisically it appears the numbers of tickets have gone up.

So NO it does not do what it is supposed to do so why is it in place? Only reasonable conclusion is a straight cash grab. Might as well put in place a law for spitting on the streets, swearing in public etc. etc.

Then the holy crowd can say hey don't spit, dont swear. Heck we could have a list a hundred miles long and cash could be collected all day.

Of course people would just go right on doing what they do so I don't see the POINT!!

First of all, I'd like to see these statistics that you mentioned.

Secondly, what about regluar traffic cops? Are they a cash grab? What about the new highway patrol sherifs in the province? Are they a cash grab? Obviously people still speed, so it would seem that these people are useless and we shouldn't bother, becasue it is just a cash grab.

What about regular cops? People still steal, and people still comit murders, and these thigns are definatly on the rise in Calgary. The city uses the police force as an excuse to raise taxes (clearly just a cash grab). We need to get rid of the cops, so we can all keep our money.

The point is, that photo radar is another method of enforcing a law. I speed, I haven't gotten a ticket in a while, but if I get one on the highway today I'm not gonna complain because I knew the risk and I did it anyway. You can say people who say "if you don't like it dont' speed" are using a holier than though attitude, but what kind of attitude is "I got caught breaking the law, and it's unfair that I shoudl have to suffer the consequences".

Suddenly holier than though seems more like taking responsibility for their choices.

[Engine09]

Due to the risk of wildlife collisions and the numerous fatalities resulting from them, 90 km/hr is a reasonable speed for that stretch.

I'm glad a couple people mentioned this.

I can't believe that someone would complain about that stretch in Banff. I remember a few years ago that people were plowing over bears like crazy.

But hey, we got home 20 mins early!

[troutman]

Originally Posted by JohnnyFlame

The glib crew always do the usual -- Hey don't speed. The holier than thou attitude prevalent no doubt in this one area of life for in others no doubt they ain't quite so HOLY.

But to me it's besides the point. The photo radar is supposed to deter speeding and does it? Not to my observation. Does it cut it down? Again statisically it appears the numbers of tickets have gone up.

So NO it does not do what it is supposed to do so why is it in place? Only reasonable conclusion is a straight cash grab. Might as well put in place a law for spitting on the streets, swearing in public etc. etc.

Then the holy crowd can say hey don't spit, dont swear. Heck we could have a list a hundred miles long and cash could be collected all day.

Of course people would just go right on doing what they do so I don't see the POINT!!

Talk to a paramedic about removing people from car wrecks with the jaws of life. After alcohol, speeding is a leading cause of death and injury on our roads.

[JohnnyFlame]

Originally Posted by Bring_Back_Shantz

First of all, I'd like to see these statistics that you mentioned.

Secondly, what about regluar traffic cops? Are they a cash grab? What about the new highway patrol sherifs in the province? Are they a cash grab? Obviously people still speed, so it would seem that these people are useless and we shouldn't bother, becasue it is just a cash grab.

What about regular cops? People still steal, and people still comit murders, and these thigns are definatly on the rise in Calgary. The city uses the police force as an excuse to raise taxes (clearly just a cash grab). We need to get rid of the cops, so we can all keep our money.

The point is, that photo radar is another method of enforcing a law. I speed, I haven't gotten a ticket in a while, but if I get one on the highway today I'm not gonna complain because I knew the risk and I did it anyway. You can say people who say "if you don't like it dont' speed" are using a holier than though attitude, but what kind of attitude is "I got caught breaking the law, and it's unfair that I shoudl have to suffer the consequences".

Suddenly holier than though seems more like taking responsibility for their choices.

I don't really care about people's attitudes if they caught or about the hypocritical holier than thou types either. Just think it's a waste of people's money and dosen't do what it is supposed to do.

Montana had no speed limit for decades and I've never heard anything about it resulting in more accidents. I'd put the enormous amount of the police budget dedicated to traffic into those other crimes you speak of. Those are crimes with some consequences -- sending in a cheque dosen't change people's habits. Take a drive down Deerfoot anyday of the week --Heck just take a drive and you will see how much the radar system is deterring speeding -- NOT one bit.

[JohnnyFlame]

Originally Posted by troutman

Talk to a paramedic about removing people from car wrecks with the jaws of life. After alcohol, speeding is a leading cause of death and injury on our roads.

Patrol with actual cops -- hand out tickets that mean something to the actual person caught. Radar is just another stupid thing that government does that costs money and dosen't work --- One of their favorite activities.

[Jayems]

Was the pictured changed because i wasn't allowed to post it, or for another reason?

[Sylvanfan]

Originally Posted by Bring_Back_Shantz

It's not a matter of slowing people down for the day, it's about getting people to change their overall driving habits.

Well I'll admit that I'm finding it hard to keep it under 59 on a downhill stretch of road where every other street in the area has a limit of 60, and theres no risk of me killing anyone if I drive 62 because theres it's not really a residential neighbourhood, nor are there any cross walks on that stretch of road.

I see people rip through contstruction and school zones all the time when I'm one of the 15% of the people doing the speed limit.

Tell me who the people are who need to change their driving habits.

Than again, not to worry, I'm trying to phase driving out of my ****ing life because it's too freaking expensive for me since I have a tough time driving less than 60 on a 4 lane divided stretch of road where no is.

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by Jayems

Was the pictured changed because i wasn't allowed to post it, or for another reason?

I've always seen it as the green face. My guess is the place you linked to it from; they didn't like it being used on another site without their permission.

Some sites change it into a banner that says "I'm a bandwidth thief."

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by Sylvanfan

Well I'll admit that I'm finding it hard to keep it under 59 on a downhill stretch of road where every other street in the area has a limit of 60, and theres no risk of me killing anyone if I drive 62 because theres it's not really a residential neighbourhood, nor are there any cross walks on that stretch of road.

Let me start off by saying that I always speed. Unless it's a playground zone.

But I saw an interesting ad a while ago about 2 cars; one doing 100 km/h and the other doing 107 km/h (or some numbers like that.) At the same point they each had to slam on their brakes to avoid a semi that was blocking the road. Both ended up hitting the semi, but the car doing 100 to start hit at 15 km/h, and the other car hit doing 45 km/h. Was really an eye opener.

That's why I only do 10 over the speed limit now.

[habernac]

not a big fan of photo radar, I'd like to see more actual cops on the road. Photo radar won't catch the morons who tailgate or weave in and out of traffic like idiots. That said, I've never had a ticket because I can spot those vehicles from a mile away.

And add me to the list of people who totally agree with the reduced limit in the National Parks.

[habernac]

and welcome back, JohnnyFlame ya cranky old coot. We've missed ya around here.

[Sylvanfan]

Originally Posted by troutman

Talk to a paramedic about removing people from car wrecks with the jaws of life. After alcohol, speeding is a leading cause of death and injury on our roads.

And these accidents usually occur in places where photo radar isn't present or late at night when they've shut it down because it's not making enough money per hour. I'll bet that more people per capita are speeding and speeding excessively and driving dangerous after 11PM than any other time of the day. I don't drive around often at those times but I've never seen a photo radar van at those hours. Heck in St.Albert they're usually disappeared after dark.

Again, it's being used as a cash cow and not as an actual speed deterrent. My opinion can't be changed on that one.

[mykalberta]

When I was in School in Edmonton there were rumors of a truck with a Washer/Dryer in the back that used to park on the shoulders on Whitemud with its 4 way flashers on. I know alot of people who have been caught driving on the mud and each of them sware not to have passed a cop or the classic edmonton "hidden" cop - the black crown vic, the red Jeep Cheroke or the blue Taurus.

MYK

[troutman]

Originally Posted by Sylvanfan

And these accidents usually occur in places where photo radar isn't present or late at night when they've shut it down because it's not making enough money per hour. I'll bet that more people per capita are speeding and speeding excessively and driving dangerous after 11PM than any other time of the day. I don't drive around often at those times but I've never seen a photo radar van at those hours. Heck in St.Albert they're usually disappeared after dark.

Again, it's being used as a cash cow and not as an actual speed deterrent. My opinion can't be changed on that one.

It deters me from speeding. What's the hurry Jack?

[Draug]

Actually, the more of these they have the better!

The more money spent on photo radar enforcement the better. It means less is spent on traditional speed enforcement, so the Police can spend their precious resources on more critical law enforcement.

Plus, buy a Valentine One, and you're done. You never have to worry about any photo radar being hidden.