Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Another Reason Not to Drive in D.C.


Ever received a traffic ticket in the mail from a camera that nailed you at a time and in a place you can't even vaguely remember being? On a street you could swear you've never heard of?

I have. In D.C. last year. And the situation is getting direr and direr.

Unless you've lived or driven there and had this experience, you haven't really lived. (This is on top of the granite curbs that Lady Bird Johnson put in all over the District. Granite will blow out your tires quicker than a jack rabbit if you swipe it. I'm used to the much more forgiving limestone curbs that your tires bounce off of. Anyway, hitting a granite IED happened to me in front of the French Embassy years ago, and I can tell you that a blowout there is an adventure magnificque, and yes I made the spelling up!) But back to traffic cameras.

This, in my opinion, is something useful that the ACLU can spend its time on. But realistically, we live in a camera ready world, far, far beyond our control. Only time will tell where this will all end.

Time and countless lawsuits.

5 comments:

John R. said...

I agree with you.

A camera has no common sense, sense of justice, or flexibility to handle real life issues.

It's just...click..."You're nailed." No human element at all.

More and more of our lives are "on the grid."

A real problem for freedom... and something smelly in the 4th Amendment realm, I'd say. But there are enough "technicalities" to get that pesky thing called the "Constitution" out of the way.

John R. said...

Check this out:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080409/METRO/769331158/1001

Anonymous said...

As a steadfast proponent of all the latest technology and the lightning fast advances in the wonders of the www, it is amazing that you decry the advances by our technocracy. Quit whining and pay up.

Bob's Blog said...

This is a hot issue here in Colorado. One of the newspapers recently editorialized about the need to extend the yellow light time another second.

Bob's Blog said...

One of the Denver newspapers recently editorialized about the need to add another second on to the yellow light time.