Is it? I don't think so.

1) Let's say that you are routinely driving through a speed camera unknowingly, and, two weeks later, you get a ticket in the mail every day, and on day five or someting your license is suspended. All this has happened before you even know that you were being ticketed. Is that fair?

2) A camera is not going to be fair. Let's say that we have a speed limit on Rt. 3 here in MA set according to the highway department's own standards -- it would be 75 or 80, based on my experience on the road. Now let's say that there's a lot of traffic on the road, such that no-one is going over 65. The camera will not tag the guy going 80, even though it should. A cop (hopefully) would.

I think that if highway speed limits were set to reflect the 85th-95th percentile speeds (according to MassHighway, roads moving at >40 should be set somewhere in that range), then speeders would be infrequent enough that speed cameras would be silly proposition, especially since you'd still want cops enforcing tailgating and dangerous passing laws. Also, I would think that cameras would be easier to avoid than cops.
You can look at the post numbers. For example, there are 91 posts in this thread now.

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"Senior Luna, your sense of humor is still loco... but we love it, anyway." -rickymay ____ "Your sense of humor is still loco... " -MBeige ____ "Señor Luna, your sense of humor is quite järjetön" -Delibes

1982 300SD -- 211k, Texas car, tranny issues ____ 1979 240D 4-speed 234k -- turbo and tuned IP, third world taxi hot rod

2 Samuel 12:13: "David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die."

Not quite, but it does get very rural outside of the DC, Richmond, and Charlottesville areas.

I don't follow your example. Are you saying that you weren't speeding? If you were, after you get the notice of suspension, what of it? You DID speed all 5 days, right? If I robbed 5 banks and they caught up to me 6 months later, are you going to say I should only be charged for 1 robbery?

Everyone is going 65 and you manage 80? How? Also, how would a cop know the difference and the radar won't since they radar will be focussed on a target?

Cameras are easier to avoid? Not sure if it is so. A cop can be asleep or surfing porn. The camera is always trained on that section.

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1) I suppose I'm saying that I should not be charged of the same offence twice before I've been informed of the first offense, especially when what I am doing is not unsafe, dangerous, or inherently evil, unlike a bank robbery.

2) I am not pulling 80 when everyone else is going 65. I am going 80 when the majority is going 70-80. I am going 65 at most when almost no-one is going over 65. There are times when traffic is going ~65 at most, but you have some self-important people who are bouncing between lanes doing their very best to maintain 80. These are the people changing three lanes at a time, passing on the right, and generally going suicidal. Massachusetts has more than its share .

3) Cops can position themselves more unpredictably than cameras. Granted, cameras can be towed around to different locations on trailers, but paying for some fellow to haul it around everywhere all day kind of starts to negate the cost savings.

Besides, I think you missed my main point in the third part, which was that, if speed limits reflected reality, speed cameras would most likely be unprofitable. Rather than using cameras to enforce dumb laws, we should smarten up the laws and save money with more effective enforcement.

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"Senior Luna, your sense of humor is still loco... but we love it, anyway." -rickymay ____ "Your sense of humor is still loco... " -MBeige ____ "Señor Luna, your sense of humor is quite järjetön" -Delibes

1982 300SD -- 211k, Texas car, tranny issues ____ 1979 240D 4-speed 234k -- turbo and tuned IP, third world taxi hot rod

2 Samuel 12:13: "David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die."

I should clarify a couple of points:

Violating speed limits in MA is considered prima facie evidence of not operating in a reasonable and prudent manner. This means that is is legally possible to violate a speed limit as long as you can show your speed to be reasonable and prudent. In other states, such as Maine, where the limits are absolute, I follow them to the letter as long as they do not require me to operate at a speed more than 15 MPH lower than the average speed of traffic. Fortunately, I haven't run into a limit in Maine that does that yet.

Also, since 80 would be unreasonable on most 55 roads I've seen, I should clarify that this particular road was significantly expanded from two narrow lanes to three wide lanes + massive shoulders about ten years ago. The road is all straights and slight curves, and although there have been multiple recommendations made by engineers employed by the state the speed limit should be raised to reflect the changed nature of the road, they have been ignored, presumably for political expediency.

__________________
"Senior Luna, your sense of humor is still loco... but we love it, anyway." -rickymay ____ "Your sense of humor is still loco... " -MBeige ____ "Señor Luna, your sense of humor is quite järjetön" -Delibes

1982 300SD -- 211k, Texas car, tranny issues ____ 1979 240D 4-speed 234k -- turbo and tuned IP, third world taxi hot rod

2 Samuel 12:13: "David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die."

I been to that part of virginia where that writes was talking about. The road he traveled on is just a Tools average size 2 lane black top. The fact that he pushed the vehicle to 94 on a 55 MPH back country Road, I'm surprise the police didn't take him to the jail right away. Talked about how he is from Texas and he used to drive 80mph. Did back roads of Fredricksburg looked like west Texas? You can drive without speed limit on Autobahn, but so what? He saw the speed limit for 55mph, and he should respected the local law.


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Or at least be willing to take the consequences of his actions and not try whine and hope for sympathy

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01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke
99 E300 Turbodiesel
91 Vette with 383 motor
05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI
06 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Yellow
04 Tailgator 21 ft Toy Hauler
11 Harley Davidson 883 SuperLow