The number's up for speeding drivers with this new personalised flashing sign being used in roadworks. Trials have shown that drivers get the 'back-off' message quicker when they see their own registration shown below the speed limit. Highways consultant firm Atkins came up with the idea in a bid to boost safety for road workers. A radar detects the speed of oncoming cars and flashes the words 'slow down' and the reg plate of vehicles exceeding 55mph. In a trial on the M42 in the Midlands, almost half of drivers breaking the limit slowed. Source: AutoExpress
While that's a good idea, why not have the system simply record the license numbers and start mailing out tickets and fines? People will respond quite well to having to repeatedly pay for speeding. That's why so many people speed now, it's easy to get away with it.
people in general respond to something personal more than a generic message. that's why the "you" tag causes such a stir whenever Danny activates it :lol:
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(galaxee @ Sep 5 2006, 03:09 PM) [snapback]314678[/snapback]</div> Don't remind him of the you tag, pleeeeese! :lol:
This would never work in the US. People would scream bloody murder about invasion of privacy and so on.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DocVijay @ Sep 5 2006, 06:43 PM) [snapback]314899[/snapback]</div> yes they would.... but they would slow down too! ..... We never seem to like discipline too much. I personally hope they don't... I like speeding!.. Its my favorite passtime! I think most of the fatalities are from people driving drunk... fall asleep.. etc... most of the time when someone is speeding and they are sober, they are very aware, alert, and in control.... its the stupid people out there that shoudn't be driving at 30 mph that causes the problems.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(windstrings @ Sep 5 2006, 10:05 PM) [snapback]314914[/snapback]</div> I appreciate that you started your final paragraph with "I think".... Almost half of all FATAL crashes are alcohol related. Those who are speeding don't seem to realize...THEY may be alert or in control, but when that "idiot" pulls out in front of them or otherwise does something stupid, their SPEED is what can make or break the type of crash they have or even IF they will crash. Speeding adds to the frequency of crashes due to the reduction in response time and evasive ability and adds to the magnitude of crashes due to...well...physics (E=MC2)
Hmmm. Would work well for the folks with personalized plates. But heck - I can't remember my plate, so the thing would have to also throw a rock at me.
When I got my personalized plates I thought about the fact that I might need to be "nicer" all the time and "behave" myself as people will remember me more easily now. Speeding AND driving recklessly is definitely something that I would like to see stopped. When all traffic is going 70-80mph it isn't speeding. When you have tight traffic going 20-30mph and some jerk on a bike comes barreling through the NO LANE area, that is speeding and driving recklessly, so is weaving faster than the rest of traffic. I would not mind cameras to catch that type of stuff.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Schmika @ Sep 5 2006, 08:27 PM) [snapback]314970[/snapback]</div> I agree Shmika that "speed kills".. just like the speed of a bullet kills... but its who is pulling the trigger or driving the car that really kills. The only problems I see with driving too fast is that people are expecting the traffic to be coming at a certain rate of speed when they look to the right or the left as they pull out. If a car is going to much faster than the flow, cars will pull out thinking they looked and no cars were there. This is also true when on the freeway and changing lanes. I have seen ferrari's etc who must have been going 140+ weave through traffic missing cars by inches... thats stupid!.... if "anybody" moves it all over on thier calculation. There are limits to anything.. I think thats why police officiers wink at speeders if they are going with the flow. I've seem where people who are actually going the speed limit are dangerous because everybody else if trying to flow around them and they cause bumper to bumper jams. I"m not knocking speeding laws, but just like all laws, many times the law was created with a thought in mind that just no longer fits due to the circumstances changing or maybe the law was created with miscalculated facts so the law is more of a hinderance than a help to society. All in all, lawmakers need to look at "whats working?" and go with that. I even back when they tried to put governors on the cars to limit speeds to 55, the miscalucated all the risks and options of doing that. Yes speed kills, but my arguement is we live in the modern age of automobiles and cover great distances. Why not put the speed to 50, or 35?... or how about 15.... even better, lets get rid of cars and just walk... thats even safer? So the arguement of what is safest doesn't hold up in court... people cannot walk everywhere and still live the way we do. Even if we made the speed limit at a reasonable 45 mph.. there would be many who could show how its much safer at 30mph or less until we are walking. Then they would say "no running!" :lol:
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(darelldd @ Sep 5 2006, 08:36 PM) [snapback]314976[/snapback]</div> What you need to do is to get a personalized plate that says: BLANK :lol:
Quite a few agencies are using a new camera system that can record a tag on a passing vehicle in the blink of an eye. it records, runs & runs the driver. so they blow by and instead of chasing the car they go to the house and wait... http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.03/lapd_pr.html Most of the agencies in Florida, have a No Pursiut policy. Unless the vehicle is being driven by someone who has commited a forcible felony. (rape, armed robbery, armed car jacking, kidnapping or murder). :mellow: They are not pursued.... :mellow: <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jtullos @ Sep 5 2006, 02:50 PM) [snapback]314663[/snapback]</div> They have to prove the driver is the one who was driving the car....
People fail to consider the unexpected things. I speed from time to time. I'm not going to lie about that. But I will forever hold to the definition of "traveling to fast" to mean "moving at a rate of speed so high that you do not have time to react to an immediate and unexpected situation." So when I say that I speed, I mean that when I'm on the Tri-state tollway, I drive 70mph with everyone else. When I'm commuting to/from work, I drive 47 in the 45 to keep up. But I witness people pulling out into traffic causing others to slam on their brakes. I see people misjudge the speed of an oncoming car and barely miss getting creamed in the intersection.. I watch as others rapidly change lanes without noticing that the car now in front of them is stopped. I know my car. I know my reaction time. What scares me is the other guy.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TonyPSchaefer @ Sep 6 2006, 09:24 AM) [snapback]315213[/snapback]</div> I agree with everything you said, another thing I wanted to add that always haunts me is that no matter what speed you are traveling you can never plan ahead for or prepare is an absolute defensive mannner for some things. but lowering your speed would abviously help, but these little problems I'm going to point out still exist at our present speed limits. Here are some examples:... 1. The oncoming driver who crosses into your lane for whatever reason. 2. Tire blowouts "especially on a motorcycle" 3. Come around a corner and a big rock or other obstacle is waiting for you. (Driving at night is esp bad) "or again on a motorcycle. 4. An animal or small child suddenly flashing out of the bushes into your lane before you have a chance to even see them. 5. Some blowing a stoplight and broadsiding you. I'm sure they're are plenty more, but these are things I always realize I cannot control. I consider myself an excellent driver "as do many", and an excellent driver is not someone who can drive safe at 35mph, but at 80. A racecar driver is an excellent driver... grandma who never goes above 50 and yet has never had an accident is not. Its all according to what your definition of "excellent" is. Women tend to err on the side of what is safe and never scares the passenger, Men tend to err on the side of who can make the corner the fastest without losing control. At any rate if you did a 30year history on my driving record you would see I have never had an accident, nor to my knowledge caused one, yet even with that good of a record, I still have no control over the 5 points I brought up.... tommorrow could be my last day on earth at any speed.
I have noticed that in some Southern California school districts, and even CalTrans work areas, they are now using "Your current speed is ___" signs. Most people slow down, especially since the speedlimits are 25 for schools and 45 for road work. We noticed the same thing in Colorado, Utah and Nevada on our family trip this summer. Specifically for construction zones. But South Dakota was the most interesting... They seemed to have state troopers stationed just past nearly every one of their interactive signs -- pulling people over for speeding through construction zones on I90.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(aaf709 @ Sep 6 2006, 08:13 AM) [snapback]315164[/snapback]</div> Better would be one that reads: "The speed-demon behind you" - but that's probably too many letters.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(priusguy04 @ Sep 6 2006, 08:36 AM) [snapback]315172[/snapback]</div> This could be solved by a law making the registered owner responsible for speeding fines. After paying a few such fines, people would be very reluctant to let habitual speeders drive their car. Then we should set speed limits more reasonably (many roads have limits which are too low for the conditions) and then strictly enforce them: one mph over gets a ticket. So, for example, Appleway Blvd in Spokane has a ridiculously-low 35 mph limit. It should be raised to 45 mph and then ticket at 46 via cameras or other automated sensors. Drunk driving (which causes almost half of all fatal crashes, according to Schmika above) should be treated as a felony and should carry a mandatory jail term and permanent loss of driving privileges on the first offense, with driving privileges restored only when the driver has demonstrated beyond reasonable doubt that he/she no longer drinks at all.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(daniel @ Sep 7 2006, 09:20 AM) [snapback]315663[/snapback]</div> The District of Columbia already has this system in place. As the not-so-proud receipient of one of these citations, I can assure you they make it stick. And, PruisGuy4, they do not have to prove who's driving the vehicle. The registered owner is responsible There are provisions for fighting it, but be prepared for a tough battle, and questions as to how the vehicle came to be in this prediciment without your knowledge and/or out of your control!
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(PatapscoPete @ Sep 7 2006, 09:59 AM) [snapback]315681[/snapback]</div> Yes, while the registered owner gets the ticket and has to pay the fine, it's the issuance of POINTS that's always in question. If memory serves me right... you pay the fine, but you do not get the points. That is reserved for the times that you are actually persued, stopped and issued a citation from a live human verifying the identity of the driver. At least that's how the Red Light camera's work in Maryland. The registered owner get the $75 ticket, but the 2 points normally assigned isn't because the identity of the driver is not definitively identified. And good luck fighting THAT in court around here....