Submitted by thegrumpycarp t3_z7d76z in washingtondc
cptjeff t1_iy6jk9v wrote
Reply to comment by mediocre-spice in You must STOP for pedestrians in crosswalks! by thegrumpycarp
They're not placed at exit ramps, at least on 295. They're placed on the highest speed areas, which are often the places furthest from any exits, to maximize revenue generation.
just_another_classic t1_iy8aume wrote
Honestly my least favorite one is the weird speed trap by RFK where you have to sometimes speed up to merge, then slow down to 25, then the speed limit goes right up to 40. The lanes are also super wide, which generally encourage speeding.
cptjeff t1_iy8qb94 wrote
The speed limit there used to be 40, and it was much more functional when it was. They dropped it to 25 and added the camera when they were rebuilding the bridge, but surprise surprise, they just left the lower limit and camera that actually makes that merge substantially more dangerous by bunching traffic at the worst possible location- because that camera prints money.
It's also a nice little tax on Ward 7 residents who have to loop around RFK to go south on 295.
invalidmail2000 t1_iy77l11 wrote
No you mean to maximize the impact of the camera. If nobody was speeding there the camera wouldn't issue any tickets.
cptjeff t1_iy865tq wrote
So you're saying that the point of the camera is to be placed where the most tickets can be issued rather than in the places where it has the most impact on public safety? Are there, perchance, some financial incentives for prioritizing ticket generation over safety?
invalidmail2000 t1_iybdwa5 wrote
It's both. Presumably the place where people are speeding the most is where it's most dangerous.
Honestly though I couldn't care less about it it was for revenue generation (I don't think it is though) I just want people to drive the speed limit and if cameras help even in the slightest amount then great!
cptjeff t1_iybrztb wrote
> Presumably the place where people are speeding the most is where it's most dangerous.
This is so stupid I don't know what to say.
No, speeding in an area where traffic flows smoothly and evenly and where no pedestrians or bikers are ever present is not more dangerous than speeding in a school zone where kids are walking home. Yet far, far more people will exceed the limit dramatically on the highway, especially when limits are set artificially low.
Speed is not in itself dangerous. Speed differential is. The most dangerous situations are where you have things moving fast next to things moving slow. Things moving fast next to things moving fast is actually quite safe.
mediocre-spice t1_iy6saxp wrote
I mean, you can look it up. People have even done overlays with safety data. They're around transition points to heavy pedestrian areas.
franch t1_iy7947u wrote
ah, all the pedestrians wandering around the 395 tunnel?
tbh if they got rid of the most notorious cameras (395 and 295 with a dishonorable mention to independence ave SE heading onto 295), there'd be a lot less hostility to them. the 295 camera was even in a fake construction zone to extract more grift from residents. yet i am regularly passed by cars in fucking bike lanes for daring to approach the speed limit on 17th St SE, a residential street, which can't get so much as a solitary speed bump. line streets like that with cameras and stop pulling the predatory bullshit.
cptjeff t1_iy8qyc6 wrote
> tbh if they got rid of the most notorious cameras (395 and 295 with a dishonorable mention to independence ave SE heading onto 295), there'd be a lot less hostility to them.
Which of course they won't do because the entire point of the camera program is revenue generation, not safety.
franch t1_iybji1r wrote
100%
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