This may be a little O/T but I want to give a heads up to illinois hambers, big brother is watching.This was on the news at ten last night so its no bullshit. Photo Radar Starts in July!! I thought all of you should know about this, word has it that they are not going to give an inch on this. One mile per hour over the speed limit and the machine will get you. Illinois will begin using photo radar in freeway work zones in July. Second offense tickets are $1,000 with license suspension. Beginning in July the State of Illinois will use speed cameras in areas designated as "Work Zones" on major freeways. Anyone caught by these devices will be mailed a $375. ticket for the FIRST offense, but he SECOND offense will cost $1000.00 and comes with a 90-Day suspension. Drivers will also receive demerit points against their license, which allows insurance companies to raise their rates. This represents the harshest penalty structure yet for a city or state using PHOTO enforcements. The State will begin with TWO camera vans issuing tickets in work zones with speed limits lowered to 45 MPH. Photographs of both the driver's face and license plate are taken. Pass this on to everyone you know!!!! For more info: http://www.dot.state.il.us/press/r033005.html
damned if that doesn't suck. You have to admit though that people out there drive like animals. I figure one sure fire way around this system is to drive 44mph through construction zones.
Excellent, another good reason not to speed in work zones! Maybe people will worry about their wallets even if they're not worried about the guys working next to speeding traffic!
I already do. Man it pisses people off but so far nobody's offered to pay my tickets if I'll just speed up. Besides, I don't want to hit a worker (or anybody) and have that on my head for the rest of my life.
Coming to a town near you ! Well guess what . The municipalities and states have found the traffiic and red light cameras are very good at bringing in new revenue. Just think about the money $375.00 x number of violations per hour = cash cow . This will spread like wildfire once the rest catch on. Who said George Orwell was a fiction writer?
I don't mind the work zones as you shouldn't speed through there anyway, but where does this stop? When does it become cost efficient to put these on long boring stretches of empty highway or old country roads. When does every stop sign time your complete stop at an empty four way stop? When do they make devices that fit in your car and clock your own speed and print your own ticket via your dashboard fax machine? When do they start inspecting what really goes into hot dogs? I've got an idea...why don't they put all of these camera's and fines on the borders and then use that revenue to update our school systems so that we can raise kids with enough common sense on their own not to kill workers on the highway? it IS money. Police have been reduced to little more than self sustaining armed tax collectors that get to solve most of their crimes through incidental traffic stops. Not to say that's any fault of police, I actually like police. But it's about fundraising. When are they going to heavily fine child molestors, murderers, drug dealers and everyone else. It seems like only the folks who commit mild infractions are paying all the fines....AND we are paying for the jail, meals, and cable TV of the real criminals. If you molest a kid, they should take your house, your car and 40% of your money for the rest of your life via garnished wages instead of going to jail and getting free housing and meals courtesy of my taxes. If they don't pay, I should get to feed them to my dog and save a few bucks there. I'm not opposed to speeding tickets or big fines for speeding tickets. I just hate being the primary resource for legal revenue. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a dead hooker in the trunk of my car that I need to dispose of.
Thanks for the Heads Up! Calibrate those Speedo's. One mile over is a thin line. I'm in & out of Chicago
This is just the start. In 10 years time you will have these revenue generaters, Opps! sorry I meant Safety cameras everywhere. After you have had these for a few years the next logical step is the introduction of black box recorders in every car so they can tell where you are and at what speed you are traveling. I agree strongly that there is no need to speed outside a school, in a residential area or through road works amongst others but..... What happens at 2am when there are no workers? Or where the 2 lane highway is deserted with great visibility and is traveling through open coutryside? Speed cameras are not the answer. Education is the answer. People feel so safe in modern cars, and so removed from the act of driving, that they have no real sense of speed anymore. Since cameras became a regular fixture here in the UK the driving standards have got worse without a shadow of a doubt. Why? because there are no cops patroling the roads, pulling drivers up for driving like a cock and generally doing there job. Nearly everyone has Satellite devices that tell you where the cameras are, so what happens? Warning device beeps, you slow down until you are past the camera and then speed up again. Yup they are a great idea Safety cameras....... P.
I honestly dont mind at all. Work Zones are something I take very seriously, I know if i was one of those people doing my job on the roadside I wouldnt want everyone flying past me. Thats a dangerous job. Now if they take it to regular highways with no work zones, then that would be kinda lame. Work Zones are a different subject though. If you speed through them you deserve to get a ticket.
I don't know how they can get away with the 1mph thing, when cars speedos aren't required to be that close to perfect. If you get a ticket for 1mph over the limit, you're paying for the factory's imperfection. I got pulled over for not stopping at an empty intersection on friday. I actually got off with a warning, first time that's ever happened. I thought for sure I was going to be dinged for that one. I didn't make a full stop, I broke the law. I was ok with getting a ticket, even though I think it's bullshit. I wouldn't be ok getting a ticket for 1mph over the limit.
does this include construction zones with no one working in them? youd think theyd have the curtosy to turn off the cams when no ones there. i dont want to spend any more time in illinois than i have to when i go up there in a few weeks.
I read an article in one of the major news papers (USA Today I think)about a year ago that somewhere in Canada they were looking at a GPS speed control system for autos. Some type of tranceiver was involved that told teh car the speed limit and that was as fast as the car would go no matter how far you press the accelerator pedal. If that comes into to production then new cars speeding woud come to an end for sure. Also a lady I work with bought her husband a new Saleen Mustang and he found out that Ford put a "black box" on the car that tells the dealer if he exceeds certain speeds, rpms, etc. It he breaks any of Fords rules his warranty is voided.
Good thing there's not much construction going on in Illinois right now I drove from mid Michigan to Rockford last weekend and probably wasted an hour and a half slowed down staring at orange barrels. Ample opportunity for the state to collect some revenue.
This is being enforced 24-7 workers or not! This is a way for the state to raise more revenue wothout raising taxes. Construction zones now, the whole interstate system next?
This has actually been going on for some time. Look at the date on the press release..... Also, I've seen the camera equipment in a fair number of places since the summer of 2005. Mostly Chicago area & E. St. Louis, but Peoria as well.
Hey that's great. Since Gov. Blagoyavich can't balance a budget to save his life might as well increase revenues, just to mismanage that income. Unfuckin' real. Just finished my RPU and want to get out on the open highways to let 'er rip. Guess it might cost me more than the tolls and $3/ gal of gas!
Ha, I caught that one, cheese head. Have you driven in Dodge County lately? Good God! Anyway, I say fuck people who speed in work zones. They aren't that long, damn it. Is it worth killing some dude doing his job cause you need to get to Starbucks quicker? But, yeah, I must ask, were will it stop?
It's all about the money. They have concrete barriers along the whole route. Just ask the dumb mf'er city councilman from Chicago - he was trying to outlaw a red light camera detector and complained about lost revenue and NOTHING about safety. BTW, they did studies on these red light cameras in AZ and they caused MORE accidents (rear enders)!! Spend time and money on other crime.
I was figuring this will happen in CA soon too. They've post those signs that tell you your speed as you pass by, all they need is to add the camera setup.
Until it expands to the rest of the interstate system (or other roadways, even), I don't have a problem with this. A little something I learned while driving back and forth between here and Detroit.....and ocassionally Grand Rapids. On I-57 in Illinois, 75mph leaves you in the right lane being passed constantly with a 65mph speed limit. 75mph on I-65 in Indiana pretty well keeps pace with traffic with the same 65mph limit. 75mph on 94 or 96 in Michigan will have you dicing in and out of traffic in a state with a 70mph speed limit. I've followed plenty of vehicles through work zones in IL that have flat left me behind when I slowed down to the work zone speed limit. Anyone pay attention to the current fine amount for speeding in a work zone? Or the penalty for hitting a worker? I just see it as another way of enforcing the existing laws. At least Gov. Blowjobbitch and the others aren't passing new laws without proper enforcement of the old ones.
I hate to tell you this, but this is already reality. Certain car rental companies have installed these devices as an attempted revenue generator. The idea is that if you go more than 10 MPH over the posted speed, they add a charge to your rental bill. They were sued and lost, but the technology is there now. It's how logistics companies keep an eye on long haul truckers. The idea of a black box like the airlines have is also a reality. The ECU in most, if not all cars sold today have the capability to record data in case of an accident. This usually goes back to the last 30 seconds prior to an impact. Like the boxes used on aircraft, the ECU measures speed, brake pressure, etc. The only real difference is the aircraft boxes are almost indestructable. Automobile ECU's are not. It should also be noted that not just any person can pull down this information. It's usually done in cases of a fatality, and in cooperation with the car manufacturer and law enforcement. It's also in response to the car manufacturers who have become tired of being the patsies in law suits brought by those who want to get rich quick at someone elses expense. Somewhere, George Orwell is smiling...
I know i have seen videos of cars in japan that have the front license plate on a hinge. So when you are going over lets say 50 mph, the wind is strong enough to lift the license plate to a horizontal position. This is so that cameras on the highways cannot see the plate. Hummmmm..
I was being kind of flipant. In the UK they are going to implement 'road pricing' based on the amount you drive, what roads you drive on and the time you do this. To enable the pricing to be applied to the individual vehicle they will have to fit cars with a GPS transmitter. This transmitter, or black box, will then provide realtime data as to your exact location, the time you were there, the origin and final destination of your journey and the speed you are traveling at. Part of the suggestion is that the government will have the ability to take money directly from your bank account to pay for the road use, but what is to stop them taking a bit extra because you were traveling at 5mph over the limit on a deserted road? Hold on though, dont most modern cars have a gps system fitted for the sat nav? Mmmm, do you think they can do this already.... Oh yea, the first pilot scheme is due to start here in the UK later in the year.... As for the black box already being in your car many manufacturers have had the ability to down load info about your driving style for quite a while. Porsche can tell the engine speed of the vehicle, how many times you have hit the rev limiter, locked up the wheels (or activated the ABS) and when you had the traction control switched on and off. Dont know if they have ever used this in a prosecution case but the info is there. Oh and the bit about 1mph over the limit is just scare tactics. A modern speedo is pretty accurate but most of them over read by a good factor. If you have a sat nav system compair the speed on it with the speedo in your car, bet the GPS reading is lower than your cars. Not sure in the US but in the UK there is a +/- 10% allowed which is why you can go 33mph in a 30 zone 77mph in a 70 etc. That is of course on the proviso that you speedo is correct...... Safety camera are just the beginning. You have been warned....... P.
Will the road pricing or GPS stuff apply to walking or bicycles? Tax walking and that's when I'll definitely be taking up arms. I hate to say it, but perhaps everyone is tear assing around a bit too much. Perhaps I'll be the devil's advocate and say that maybe if the government taxes the shit out of driving it may slow traffic down and may help people to appreciate a slower pace??? (eh I doubt it ) A few generations ago, it was a big thing to take a trip 30 miles to the next town. You did that only once in a while. (at least where I grew up). The simpler times that we all yearn for and supposedly appreciate was marked with a hell of a lot LESS travel. People didn't own 4 or 5 cars and a TV for every room. People drove slower if they drove at all. I have memories of elder family members who never got a driver's license. It just didn't fit into their world. WTF do we need to go 100mph to work for? WTF do we need with 2500cc motorcycles or gigantic plush SUV's with DVD players in them? WTF do we need with cell phones attached to our heads 24/7? Everyone on here gets misty eyed when anyone mentions Route 66 and the "golden era" it represents. Well, the 75mph interstates and the morning commutes KILLED that golden era. The government infiltration is our own faults for wanting to go faster. Its our own faults for wanting the convinience of a freeway or the convineince of our plush SUV's that cruise at 100mph on our 50 mile commute every morning. All this shit is our own damn faults. You can't sell your soul to the devil and expect not to get fucked with. Put that in your pipes and smoke it.
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