Peter den Haan | peterdenhaan.com | quantum computing specialist, Objectivity Ltd
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If that person is so trusting as to believe the myths peddled by the anti-camera lobby. Myths that have been thoroughly debunked time and time again, but this never makes it to the tabloid press - I guess it doesn't sell, unlike anti-camera rants, sex scandals and naked boobs.Originally posted by Jeroen Wenting:
[...] That should convince the most trusting person that the true purpose is not at all to reduce accidents but purely to generate income.
Peter den Haan | peterdenhaan.com | quantum computing specialist, Objectivity Ltd
Originally posted by Jeroen Wenting:
The problem is not so much with the existence of speed cameras but the way they are (ab)used.
The claim is that they're placed in places where accidents are common to get people to slow down.
Why then place them in places where there are never any accidents and hide them in bushes under camouflage netting?
Or paint them a shade of grey that makes them nearly invisible next to the bridge pillar they're hidden behind?
And why place 5 of them on a 2km stretch of road and none at all on the other 250km length of the same highway which just happens to be less inviting to speeding because of the narrow lanes and dangerous curves?
Why create a temporary reduction in the speed limit running for just a few hundred meter on a straight road and place a hidden camera at the end?
Vijayendra <br /> <br />"The harder you train in peace, the lesser you bleed in war"
Peter den Haan | peterdenhaan.com | quantum computing specialist, Objectivity Ltd
There are only two hard things in computer science: cache invalidation, naming things, and off-by-one errors
I think in some cases it helps to move traffic a bit more efficiently if the speed is decreased for a short part of the road, especially in congested areas. I seem to remember doing something about this in my maths A-level, but given the amount of that time that I was technically asleep, I cant remember it that clearly.....
Surely all the drivers on the road understand that the speed limit is the law, and that they run the risk of being punished if they break that law. It doesn't matter if the cameras are camouflaged or not - if you don't speed, you won't get fined.
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Originally posted by fred rosenberger:
My complaint about the cameras is not that they exist, but that they don't prove WHO was speeding. sure, they show the car and the speed the car was travelling, but not who was driving. There is no evidence it was ME driving the car - it could have been my wife, my father, my neighbor, some kid joyriding in my car without my permission who then thoughtfully returned it to the garage...
Don't these camera's kind of skip that whole "innocent until proven guilty" concept? they just ASSUME it was the person to whom the car is registered, without any actual evidence of such.
Originally posted by Peter den Haan:
Whoever persists in general speeding will find the result in points on their license and eventually lose the right to drive.
JavaBeginnersFaq
"Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift; that's why they call it the present." Eleanor Roosevelt
Originally posted by Joe King:
The average driver sees a 40mph sign and thinks "Well, I'll it doesn't matter if I do 50. Its only a little bit more.". This kind of "logic" could never apply to other areas of law. We wouldn't think its ok to mug someone and say to them "You've got �50 in your wallet, so I'll just take �10". We wouldn't consider a major fraud justified if the fraudster only took �1million when there was �50million in the bank.
-Dan
Originally posted by Dan Maples:
I don't know of any countries that use mph and �. If you don't mind me asking: were do you live?
Mark Fletcher - http://www.markfletcher.org/blog
I had some Java certs, but they're too old now...
-Dan
Originally posted by Dan Maples:
the uk doesnt use kilometers per hour?
Originally posted by Joe King:
If at the end of this process a neutral, scientific body, comes to the conclusion that increasing the speed limit from 40mph would lead to more people dying, then surely the drivers could have no complaint.
Books: Pragmatic Unit Testing in Java, Agile Java, Modern C++ Programming with TDD, Essential Java Style, Agile in a Flash. Contributor, Clean Code.
Originally posted by Jeroen Wenting:
Sure. If the limits made sense they'd be obeyed by most people but on many roads they're deliberately lowered so people will break them...
Originally posted by Richard Hawkes:
The only other way it would work would be to take acceleration, braking and steering out of the equation for drivers and have those aspects controlled by satellite aided computer. People would be able to travel at faster speeds more safely if everything was managed by computer, as obstacles, traffic density, etc, could all be processed in relation to everything else on the roads, and alot faster than drivers could do it. The more extra info drivers have to deal with (gps maps, traffic announcements, variable speeds, watching for traps, traffic calming methods), the more they will be distracted. However even though it might be technologically possible the expense of creating a system nationally would be prohibitave, plus the act of driving itself is seen as (or has been manipulated into) an expression of freedom(?!) and
people will fight for the right to use their cars recklessly.
Originally posted by Adrian Wallace:
temperature: Celcius
weight: st/lb/oz (people or food) or kg (anything else)
I guess eventually the old guard will all die out and more people will use standard measures and then it will only be the Americans who insist on being different to everyone else on the planet!
- but its hard to imagine not having miles & pints - they're too ingrained in the culture (half-litre of beer isnt nearly as inviting as a nice pint! ).
Originally posted by Joe King:
I suppose this could be seen as circumstantial evidence or some such thing. What would the alternative be though? Only prosecute people in cars with a retracted roof? If you're confident that a photo isn't evidence enough you could always try speeding and then demand a court case when they present you with a photo as evidence
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Originally posted by Richard Hawkes:
Originally posted by Jeff Langr:
[qb]Why not make the speed limit real-time based on current traffic information? It's silly to impose a 55mph limit on a straightaway 4-lane-highway road at 3am, while at 7pm (or when dusk kicks in), or during a rainstorm, even 55 is too high.
That would be the ideal solution although I think that would require drivers to pay MORE attention to what is going on (is that likely?) and to have speed signs/screens erected at very frequent intervals.[/QB]
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This is another strange one. Food must now legally be sold using metric weights (although markets often ignore this), but 90% of cookbooks use Imperial weights. That's my excuse for not being able to cook anyway.
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Originally posted by Jeroen Wenting:
This is OK, a court decided they aren't mandatory because they don't have a red rim (our traffic law states explicitly that a speedlimit sign MUST be round with a red rim, anything else is automatically an advisory speed only). Signs are currently being updated with a red rim as a result but the going is slow.
Originally posted by Jeroen Wenting:
which is why UK manufacturers sell food in 452 gram packages instead of 500 gram like they do in the rest of Europe
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Le Cafe Mouse - Helen's musings on the web - Java Skills and Thrills
"God who creates and is nature is very difficult to understand, but he is not arbitrary or malicious." OR "God does not play dice." - Einstein
Since I'm a foot taller...
There are only two hard things in computer science: cache invalidation, naming things, and off-by-one errors
Associate Instructor - Hofstra University
Amazon Top 750 reviewer - Blog - Unresolved References - Book Review Blog
1 tablespoon = 2 ounces
There are only two hard things in computer science: cache invalidation, naming things, and off-by-one errors
Originally posted by fred rosenberger:
You're 3 feet tall???
Le Cafe Mouse - Helen's musings on the web - Java Skills and Thrills
"God who creates and is nature is very difficult to understand, but he is not arbitrary or malicious." OR "God does not play dice." - Einstein
Originally posted by fred rosenberger:
Ummm... remind me not to eat what you cook.
there are actually 16 tablespoons in a cup. could you have meant
2 tablespoons = 1 ounce???
Associate Instructor - Hofstra University
Amazon Top 750 reviewer - Blog - Unresolved References - Book Review Blog
Originally posted by Joe King:
fact that has unfortunately failed to reach most journalists. When I went to school I was taught temperatures in Celsius/centigrade and I don't have a clue about Fahrenheit. I know that 30something is 0, but that's it. The problem is that, while most of the country is happy using Celsius, newspapers insist on reporting stories in Fahrenheit. They have headlines like "Temperature soars to 98F", which could be just about anything to me.
Originally posted by Joe King:
This is something I've often wondered about. Why is it that a country that prides itself on being technologically advanced refused to convert over to the metric system? Why is it so unpopular?
Originally posted by Jason Menard:
Why should we convert? The English system works perfectly well for us.
Le Cafe Mouse - Helen's musings on the web - Java Skills and Thrills
"God who creates and is nature is very difficult to understand, but he is not arbitrary or malicious." OR "God does not play dice." - Einstein
"I'm not back." - Bill Harding, Twister