Posted on 05/06/2008 1:45:18 AM PDT by dbehsman
Listen up drivers! If you're planning routes that include highways in Illinois, be especially alert through construction areas.
That's because a state program there has assembled a squadron of white photo speed enforcement vans that are loaded up with the latest in photo radar technology that are to be used in those locations.
The vans are set up to record the speed of vehicles and "capture clear images of the driver and the license plate."
The result, state officials say, is like other photo radar programs in that citations for speeders are sent by certified mail requiring a court appearance, and imposing a minimum first-time fine of $375. A second fine totals $1,000 plus a suspension of your drivers' license for 90 days.
"The vans are staffed by specially trained State Troopers," the state says. "They are used in work zones where workers are present."
(Excerpt) Read more at worldnetdaily.com ...
Y’know, if liberals treated real criminals the way they do with those guilty (or barely guilty) of minor traffic violations, we’d never have crime problems ever again in this country.
So does the State of Illinois.
That's why they have made the coating illegal.
Then they will bust you for "obstructing traffic".
They're taking a different approach in England, however.
Or, one could just obey the law.
Speeding in construction zones kills numerous workers every year. Enforcing the laws against this is hardly unreasonable harassment, certainly not when compared to many other regulations.
The problem is, this new style of enforcement won’t stop at the construction zones.
It’s not about safety, IT’S ABOUT MONEY!
I know it’s not a popular opinion, but one could still obey the speed limits. They are in general some of the more reasonable government regulations.
And there is a sticker on every gas pump in California warning to turn off your cell phone while pumping gas to prevent the likelihood of a gas pump fire.
And many states have mandated emissions reductions to stop global warming.
It's illegal because the implication is if you buy it, you're trying to counter the photo radar units, and therefore, it must be bad.
Yes.
I especially enjoyed the ones promulgated by the Jimmah Cahtah administration to "save energy," like 55 mph speed limit om interstate highways. That one was really reasonable, huh?
So I keep hearing. But, what about all of those marked "construction zones" where no one is working but the cops?
Double nickel was dumb, I agree.
Most people agree that speed limits are in general necessary.
Do you disagree?
That’s a problem, I agree.
Here in Florida they seem to take at least twice as long to complete a project as anywhere else I’ve lived. I have no idea why this is so.
Try Alabama or Mississippi. I lived in both places and they can't finish a project to save their lives.
At one point, a councilman in Montgomery proposed "Men NOT Working" signs.
So very right you are.
An Alabama trooper nailed me in one of the those - the only things in sight were orange barrels.
“It’s not about safety, IT’S ABOUT MONEY!”
You got that right. Illinois, where I live, is now a totally blue state. Rod Blagojevich, the Gov, is a Dem, as are both houses of the state legislature. We are in the hole big time financially, as the Dems only know how to spend up money faster than it is brought into the state coffers. We are millions in debt here. Therefore, the Gov and his henchmen Dems are looking every which way to find money generating taxes from the general populace.
I can speak firsthand of one scheme recently enacted by these rapacious IL Dems that directly affects not only my entire condo association, but offices and condos throughout the state. Elevator repairmen were all required to be licensed by the State (for a fee of course), and have to pay a yearly fee to keep their licenses up-to-date. Now the State is also requiring all elevators in any building that has them in IL, to do upgrades to meet new State standards, and then they too must be inspected every year (of course for a State inspection fee). So, think of it, every elevator in the State now has to be upgraded and inspected for a fee each year and can only be worked on by an elevator repairman who is licensed and up-to-date w/the State (for a fee of course). The upgrades to our 4 condo building elevators alone will cost our Association almost $350,000 and we have all been special assessed to pay for it. We now have to pay from $120-140 per person (or thereabouts) each month on top of our regular monthly condo dues (about $288-305) each month.
Thank you Gov Rod Blagojevich (there is talk of a recall movement in our state because he is so disliked, even by his fellow state legislators). And thank you Dems, whose favorite past-time is to regulate you to death, or ticket you to death on the highways, or charge you for the very air you breathe. It is incredibly disgusting. I have been letting anyone in my condo building I talk to know how this is the Dem regime in this State’s fault for our having to pay the special elevator upgrade assessment (it lasts for 1 full year) so that the Dems can gather more state money to pay for more social programs (Blagojevich has a special affinity for illegal aliens benefits). I despise them all.
I got $100 dinged for my first ever speeding ticket in 40+ years of driving by a mobile (parked) camera. They set it up on a section of a 4 lane road (with center turn lane) that doesn’t get much traffic. Why? Because they only want one car in the photo to prevent disputes. The road should be 35 but it’s marked 25 and I was going a very reasonable 37. I got the ticket in the mail a full month after the event. Luckily I didn’t pick up twenty more in the interim.
We have some stationary ones, but people have caught on. The whole chunk of traffic slows down for them and then speeds up when they are past. The income (that’s why they are there) has dropped so much that they are not earning the fee the city has to pay the folks who run the system.
The mobile ones are tougher. Since they get you after you drive past, radar detectors don’t pick them up as quickly.
The ticket doesn’t go on your license, just your wallet.
But I do think something needs to be done about construction zones and the idiots who fly through them. There are some sad stories. They should put up a sign that says “Speed enforced by camera” if they really want to stop speeders. If they just want the income, keep it a secret.
That stuff doesn’t work ,, after all it’s just a gloss clear paint ,, nothing special about it except the marketing, in some situations it might work to some degree, such as is pictured where the “flash” is improperly positioned too close to the camera lense,, that is why pro photogs use off camera flashes,,, the effect that “photoblocker” is supposed to achieve is the license plate equivalent of redeye... all traffic cams I’ve seen lately have the flash unit either removed as unnecessary or moved a few feet up or down the mounting pole.
If you want real evasion from photo tickets get a fresnel lense license plate cover that makes the plate readable ONLY from directly behing the car (but make sure it isn’t illegal in your state first).
Thin-blooded girly-man surrender monkeys all agree with you.
Do you like to eat cheese?
They didn't have to make it illegal. Mythbusters showed that all of those gags don't work at all.
That's the key. Low speed limits. In Houston, the speed limit on one of the biggest "superstreet" commuter-routes, eight lanes' worth not counting turn lanes, is 35 mph. So the City surges its traffic units whenever the mayor calls for more dough, and they can sit there and just write tickets like crazy. A reasonable speed limit would be 45, so that's why it's 35.
Not necessarily. Most of the speed limits today are unchanged from what they were 50 years ago, but the car of today has far better handling and braking than the wallowing behemoths of the 50's. There's nothing wrong with speed limits, as long as they are reasonable in terms of conditions that exist today, not a half century ago.
The reason cops prefer to go after speeders is that they are the easiest laws to enforce, and produce a very favorable revenue stream. They target certain areas because they know the speed limits are well below the speed at which people feel safe driving, and they know they can pick off a lot of unlucky drivers there with very little effort on their part.
If the cops were truly interested in promoting safety on the road, they would be out there busting people for tailgating, running lights or stop signs, for weaving all over the road, making illegal turns, dangerous lane changes, reading a map or newspaper on the steering wheel, applying makeup while driving, cell phone zombies, and the like.
But financially, it's much more productive to target those maniacs going 50 in a 45 zone.
Slowing down in construction zones, school zones, and truly dangerous situations is just common sense. But as more and more investment is made in speed control technology, the use of that technology is sure to spread into areas where speed is a minimal factor in accidents.
As they force greater and greater compliance, that will choke off the revenue stream. The states/municipalities have a never ending thirst for more money, so they will force the cops to constantly increase their ticket writing operations. If that means further reducing speed limits, or curtailing their anti-crime patrols, they will surely do just that, as always, in the name of "safety".
The European thought police have come up with a way to identify your car on TV cameras and track it from point to point, averaging your speed and ticketing you by mail. There are at least two of these systems in use in Europe. The Dutch one, by Gatsometer, is bragged about as being able to police an entire superhighway from end to end and track a car the entire distance, even with lane changes, from entry to exit.
It's an automated version of Russian KGB intercity traffic enforcement 20 years ago.
Minority Report, anyone?
The mobile ones are tougher. Since they get you after you drive past, radar detectors don’t pick them up as quickly.
A high-end radar detector should solve that problem. It'll see scatter from shots taken of the traffic ahead of you. Of course, if you're driving by yourself or in very light traffic at night, forget it.
Just do what the insurance companies want you to do. Park it, stay home, go to bed early, get under the covers, and drink warm milk.
For the politicians, it's all about fine money. For the insurance creeps, it's all about behavior modification, which by definition isn't people-friendly.
Illinois is full of those. I spent the better part of two years working in Illinois and saw non-working "work zones" (staffed by state troopers) regularly.......
“one could still obey the speed limits”
I drive a classic VW beetle to work daily. My commute is all on city streets, not the freeway. However, sometimes I have to take it on the freeway. Now this car was not designed to go 70 - 75 MPH, at least I don’t feel safe at that speed in it. So I drive 60, in the 55 zones around the city. And people fly by me, seem to want to run me off the road!!!! How can one obey the speed limit when everyone else is pushing one down the road???
How I would love it if people drove on the freeways here in the US like they drive the Autobahn in Germany.
A good coat of Georgia clay goes a long way in preventing those cameras. A dirty truck is just being used that’s all.
You are quite correct that it is difficult to obey speed limits when everybody else exceeds them. On one route I drive, the SL is 70, but almost everybody drives at least 80. Traffic is safest when everybody drives at about the same speed, so driving significantly slower than the general flow creates a hazard.
Before the 50's, the speed limit was indeed "reasonable and prudent" -- until the insurance industry got involved.
In the 50's, the insurance lobby pressured state-police authorities to instruct accident investigators always to list speed as a "contributing factor". They then played that back as a statistic and said, "see? -- excessive speed!"
The result was the universalization of artificially low speed limits and a bonanza of fine income and, for the insurance companies, behavior modification and a way to get out of paying damages if the driver was "at fault" for "excessive speed".
Speed limits are essentially a turnstile system for cooperative exploitation of drivers by municipalities and insurance companies.
Another reason why “state” police need to be disbanded - “state” police do the bidding of the state.
They need to be replaced by elected sheriffs accountable to the people’s vote.
We actually have a sheriff in my county who engages in things like busting criminals and setting up stakeouts in areas to catch burglars working remote areas. He’s also a strong second amenmdment proponent and enforcres the old common law edict that he’s the highest law enforcement official in the county.
All his deputies are courteous and professional and don’t engage in stupid revenue enhancement for the communist county commissioners.
Accoutability in local goverment via the ballot box can take our country back township by township.
Correct. Slow drivers are 10-15% more likely to cause an accident.
That's why I mention it. My daughter got hit on 65 S just past Montgomery. My advice to her: don't speed.
A trip to Chicago demonstrates the nose-thumbing of those drivers. In the 45 mph zone, everyone was driving at 70.
Davenport Iowa did this with cameras and ultimately had to refund the money because it was declared illegal. Can’t remember why.
I recommend that everybody in Illinios drive twenty miles under the speed limit as a form of protest. Sooner or later the demonazis will get the idea.
In construction zones with workers present just follow the damn speed limit........
How are they going to enforce that law? Do they make random sweeps in parking lots or perform a test as part of the annual safety inspection?
If it’s illegal, it must work.
You could try a radar jammer, risky if caught but probably harder to detect.
Well, how else are they going to pay for those white vans?
Those constitute the most common construction zones - the "unmanned" construction zones. In my numerous travels on the interstate highway system, these are by far the most common.
It takes twice as long because half of the workers are standing around leaning on their shovels while the other half are watching them.
If there were actually workers being protected that would be one thing. Unfortuantely the laws are written so that even at night or during weekends when no work is being performed you are subject to them.
I have a problem with that.
When people are actually working, thats one thing. When they are not...thats another.
I drive through there every day, and most people are driving 70 in the 45 zone. I actually drive 65, because I’ve found that’s the speed that I get the best gas mileage.
$275 fine.
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