Submitted by thegrumpycarp t3_z7d76z in washingtondc
cptjeff t1_iy6bzt9 wrote
Reply to comment by KatzMwwow in You must STOP for pedestrians in crosswalks! by thegrumpycarp
And DC is far better about having people actually stop than most places in the US. Would be nice to see cameras used for this somehow instead of giving people tickets on freeways.
mediocre-spice t1_iy6dlbd wrote
The cameras are there so people to slow down as they exit the freeway and enter a pedestrian area...
cptjeff t1_iy6jk9v wrote
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%
Quelcris_Falconer13 t1_iy6pw3e wrote
Lol they don’t use that. They put them on the ON-ramps
mediocre-spice t1_iy6teuc wrote
You can go look up where they are. All the ones i'm familiar with are near high pedestrian areas. I don't even see any on on ramps...
Quelcris_Falconer13 t1_iy6v3z3 wrote
There’s several in the tunnels where pedestrians can’t even get to. There’s a few right after the bridge on NY Ave like right as your coming down hill. It’s not even a freeway they just put them at the bottom of steep ramps to catch people.
They need them in front schools and such. But really the cops need to start issuing moving violations. You shouldn’t be able to run a red light or make an illegal U-turn and double park blocking 2 lanes directly in front of cops. That’s fucked
mediocre-spice t1_iy7g25w wrote
The idea is you slow down before you get to the pedestrian area, like K St in Foggy Botton where people are just whipping though coming off the freeway.
Deep_Stick8786 t1_iy7l62v wrote
South dakota ave NE going into US 50 is a speed trap camera. Outside costco
invalidmail2000 t1_iy77nmf wrote
So? Speed limits exist on on-ramps as well.
Quelcris_Falconer13 t1_iy782n5 wrote
Oh god your that Maryland driver… the on ramp for accelerating to the speed of traffic. You’re not supposed to merge at 20mph and then speed up once you’re fully on the freeway. That’s why the beltway be so bad
invalidmail2000 t1_iy78jop wrote
DC.
You can accelerate and also not go over the speed limit. They are not mutually exclusive.
Quelcris_Falconer13 t1_iy79koi wrote
What is the speed limit? You make more traffic when you make everyone slow down because you’re too weak footed to step on the gas and get up to speed
invalidmail2000 t1_iy79xdh wrote
Depends which highway where.
Not my fault if people are speeding and have to slow down for someone who isn't speeding and is following the law.
cassiecat t1_iy8icvy wrote
Nah. If you're trying to merge into the RIGHT-HAND LANE of a highway and everyone else is "going too fast", you're actually the one that sucks. Speed the fuck up and merge. Stopping is unsafe, and so is pulling out going 35 in front of a line of cars going 50.
kngotheporcelainthrn t1_iy9he95 wrote
In the eyes of the law, flow of traffic on freeways is the speed limit. If you get rear-ended because you were doing 20 under coming onto the interstate, you will get a ticket for impediment of traffic, as well as being at fault for the crash.
VodgeDiper_10 t1_iy6fz52 wrote
There’s literally a camera right before the entrance to the BW parkway
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