Photo Radar Advice (Phoenix: neighborhood, residential, install)

[R_Cowgirl]

I don't get it. I'm not crazy about all those cameras, but changing the margin to 11 miles per hour over does help. That way we have a little variety on the road, which helps with lane changes and such. But being on the highway isn't a right, it's a privilege you pay for with taxes on your license plates and other taxes that pay for the roads, the maintenance, the lighting, and the law enforcement.

A Bill just was just enacted that you can't obscure the word "Arizona" from the top of the plates. A law was narrowly defeated in June '08 that addressed the covering of license plates with plastic film and other things to trick the cameras. Ariz. Senate cracks down on license plate covers | Arizona Legislature | eastvalleytribune.com With the passing of the most recent bill, the one about plastic covers is bound to come back up.

They want to see your license plate. That's why they issue them. It's your permission to be on the public roadway. It also helps in cases of hit and run, accidents, stolen vehicles, amber alerts. So you're happy about getting that plastic cover; then one day you walk out of the store and your car has gone missing from the parking lot. You report it to the cops. They start looking for it. But half your license plate is obscured, so it makes it all the way to the chop shop at the border because people can't see the whole plate.... and you didn't want to get a speeding ticket.

Easiest way to not get caught in the cameras is to just drive at 60 mph. You are safe if the speed limit is 55, and not going so slow to upset other drivers if the limit is 65. Phoenix has some of the most dangerous intersections and roads in the US. Three of our intersections make it in the top 11 every year: 19th ave and Northern, 7th Street and Bell, and Greenway and 32nd St. Red light running is a sport here, I guess.

Makes sense to pilot that 4,000 pound piece of metal with some caution on roads full of people with no common sense. So you get to your destination ten minutes later. Isn't your life worth a ten minute wait? What's the rush? I'm just sayin...

[notoriousM3]

well said cowgirl!

[azriverfan.]

When the speed cameras first emerged in Scottsdale on the 101, I embraced them. I had witnessed far too many people abuse the freeways and treat it as if they were in the Fast and the Furious. The 101 was dangerous and I used to feel unsafe driving in the left or middle lanes going 65-70 because of the high speed drivers who would get on your tail. I think the intent was good back then because it was indeed designed to prevent accidents while still allowing drivers to comfortably drive up to 76 mph. I respected those cameras because they were installed within the spirit of the law and to keep motorists safe.

I don't believe the inident that occurred on I-10 is within this spirit of the law. I believe it's strategic placement and suddent drop in speed limit is designed to catch motorists and generate revenue. Yes, I understand that if we all just drove 60 mph, we have nothing to worry about. However, it's not that easy. I work long hours so I often drive home late at night when there isn't a lot of traffic. I don't enjoy driving fast and in fact, I listen to talk radio and prefer to relax while driving in the right lane. Through habit, I'm intuitively used to driving 65-70 mph because I'm used to the speed limit being 65 on the freeways. At night it's easy to surpass these speed limits because there isn't a lot of traffic to warn you as there is during rush hour. I suppose you could argue that I should pay more attention but I'm human just like anyone else and after a long day of work, my mind just isn't tuned to braking on the freeways when I have been driving for years on I-10 never having to do that. I could easily drive between 65-70 when I'm not paying attention despite the fact that I'm not driving wrecklessly.

While I agree that we should obey the law, I also believe it's our responsibility as citizens to question and educate ourselves about the law instead of blindly following it. If you agree with the law, I can respect that as long as you have given it some thought as opposed to taking the totalitarian "This is the law thus I shall obey." We the people write these laws thus we the people can vote to change them. This is why these cameras are either going to be removed or the speed limits are going to be readjusted. The voters will ultimately voice their opinions. I think the majority of the population can appreciate the distinction between what first occurred on the 101 years ago versus what occurred in the past year.

[TurcoLoco]

Originally Posted by R_Cowgirl

They want to see your license plate. That's why they issue them. It's your permission to be on the public roadway. It also helps in cases of hit and run, accidents, stolen vehicles, amber alerts. So you're happy about getting that plastic cover; then one day you walk out of the store and your car has gone missing from the parking lot. You report it to the cops. They start looking for it. But half your license plate is obscured, so it makes it all the way to the chop shop at the border because people can't see the whole plate.... and you didn't want to get a speeding ticket.

I agree but those who were covering the ticket were retaliating against the screwed up system whether their methods were wise or not.

Easiest way to not get caught in the cameras is to just drive at 60 mph. You are safe if the speed limit is 55, and not going so slow to upset other drivers if the limit is 65.

Sorry, it will! If you are going 60mph and the rest pushing the 65mph to 75mph, you will be 15mph below those who are going 75 would seem like "Fast and Furious" for people like you. Who are the freaks?
Southern CA freeways (at least) have an average speed of 80mph, I kid you not. After living here for year and a half, I went back and the freeways seemed scary for a short while but you get used to it and realize in spite of the speed being 20mph faster on an average, there is a superb and sublime harmony. Oddly enough, I felt safer driving there than I did at driving 60mph on any Phoenix freeway. What was that all about?
Sadly, it is the mindset of the slowpokes and simpleton-likes who break the harmony here, not the other way around, imho. Those who think, I am driving 60mph, it is safer that way for me so I don't see any reason why anyone else should go any faster mindset is driving me nuts! The same people are the idiots I see everyday on the road who are hogging the left lane and forcing the people to get upset and driving around them in a fury then they have the face to tell people how 'crazy' the drivers on the road are.
Of course this is not always the case but I am certain the above example happens everyday somewhere in the Valley.


[/quote]
Phoenix has some of the most dangerous intersections and roads in the US. Three of our intersections make it in the top 11 every year: 19th ave and Northern, 7th Street and Bell, and Greenway and 32nd St. Red light running is a sport here, I guess.

Makes sense to pilot that 4,000 pound piece of metal with some caution on roads full of people with no common sense. So you get to your destination ten minutes later. Isn't your life worth a ten minute wait? What's the rush? I'm just sayin...
[/quote]
I hear what you are sayin...but, how will it make it any safer for anyone going the speed limit or even slower when there are idiots out there running redlights like their lives depended on it? How will it make it any less safer if they did go 10-15mph over the posted speed limit?
If I got T-boned by a redlight runner when I was travelling at 40mph on a road (posted speed limit also 40mph), would I have been hit if I was travelling 50mph? I seriously doubt it.

The above, again, was just an example to get my point across: sh.t -on the road- happens, speed is seldom the cause. If people could drive in harmony (flow of traffic regardless of the average speed) and be more courteous and more importantly a lot more attentive, would we even be having this discussion?

[dc1225]

Originally Posted by R_Cowgirl

I don't get it. I'm not crazy about all those cameras, but changing the margin to 11 miles per hour over does help. That way we have a little variety on the road, which helps with lane changes and such. But being on the highway isn't a right, it's a privilege you pay for with taxes on your license plates and other taxes that pay for the roads, the maintenance, the lighting, and the law enforcement.

A Bill just was just enacted that you can't obscure the word "Arizona" from the top of the plates. A law was narrowly defeated in June '08 that addressed the covering of license plates with plastic film and other things to trick the cameras. Ariz. Senate cracks down on license plate covers | Arizona Legislature | eastvalleytribune.com With the passing of the most recent bill, the one about plastic covers is bound to come back up.

They want to see your license plate. That's why they issue them. It's your permission to be on the public roadway. It also helps in cases of hit and run, accidents, stolen vehicles, amber alerts. So you're happy about getting that plastic cover; then one day you walk out of the store and your car has gone missing from the parking lot. You report it to the cops. They start looking for it. But half your license plate is obscured, so it makes it all the way to the chop shop at the border because people can't see the whole plate.... and you didn't want to get a speeding ticket.

Easiest way to not get caught in the cameras is to just drive at 60 mph. You are safe if the speed limit is 55, and not going so slow to upset other drivers if the limit is 65. Phoenix has some of the most dangerous intersections and roads in the US. Three of our intersections make it in the top 11 every year: 19th ave and Northern, 7th Street and Bell, and Greenway and 32nd St. Red light running is a sport here, I guess.

Makes sense to pilot that 4,000 pound piece of metal with some caution on roads full of people with no common sense. So you get to your destination ten minutes later. Isn't your life worth a ten minute wait? What's the rush? I'm just sayin...

I'd rather get my car stolen than get those dam tickets. I have auto insurance.

[Lorenzo9]

Then they can't take your picture.

[Lorenzo9]

Originally Posted by R_Cowgirl

But being on the highway isn't a right, it's a privilege you pay for with taxes on your license plates and other taxes that pay for the roads, the maintenance, the lighting, and the law enforcement.

Um, if you paid for something, it's not a privilege anymore.

[KarmaPhx]

Originally Posted by Lorenzo9

Then they can't take your picture.

What? This post does not make sense..

[R_Cowgirl]

Originally Posted by Lorenzo9

Um, if you paid for something, it's not a privilege anymore.

That's a non-sequiter.
Paying for something has nothing to do with whether or not it's a privilege.
privilege definition | Dictionary.com

It's a privilege to live in this country, and we pay for it every day with our taxes.

[KarmaPhx]

Driving is privilege, not a constitutional right.