Paul CantrellFeb 5, 2023
I used to be skeptical of automated traffic enforcement cameras on some sort of vague “slippery slope” grounds. I’ve turned around on this completely. MSP, MN, we should embrace this: https://urbanists.social/@danmarstp/109804587284378625
#msp #MNastodon #traffic #police
Dan Marshall :verified: (@[email protected])

Here’s another great @blindeke piece making the case for automated speed and stoplight camera enforcement. You’d think that *FEWER* PEOPLE WILL DIE would be an easy sell. #TrafficViolence https://www.minnpost.com/cityscape/2023/02/twin-cities-drivers-have-become-distracted-and-dangerous-we-need-speed-cameras/

Urbanists.Social
Show threadPaul CantrellFeb 5, 2023

Why? Well, camera-based enforcement works better and costs less than traffic officers pulling people over. But also: (1) it’s fairer, and (2) it kills fewer people.

(1) Why “fairer?” Read this from @mekkaokereke about the incentives that surround traffic tickets:
https://hachyderm.io/@mekkaokereke/109785330115485502 Cops choose who to pull over. They intentionally target the most vulnerable-looking drivers, because that’s how their jobs work. (Read the thread!!) Cameras can help avoid that.

#msp #MNastodon #traffic #police

mekka okereke :verified: (@[email protected])

You don't have to be racist to participate in systemic racism. US policing produces racist outcomes even from "not-racist" people. I'm going to explain (again): * why I've probably been pulled over way more times than most people you know, even though most of the times I'm pulled over, I get no ticket (because I did nothing wrong) * how I stopped getting pulled over so much (because I understand the system) * And why lots of cops say that the average voter is more racist than the average cop

Hachyderm.io
Show threadPaul CantrellFeb 5, 2023

(2) Why “it kills fewer people?” I’m not even talking about how cameras are better at preventing car deaths. I’m talking about the fact that •traffic stops kill people•. Police keep murdering people, especially Black people, during traffic stops. For nothing. Over and over.

You know what the best way to stop police from murdering Black people is? Reducing interactions with police.

Pulling people over for speeding tickets is nonsense. And we can just…not. We have that choice.

#traffic #police

Show threadPrinceOfDenmark
@inthehands I know #SanFrancisco installed traffic cameras at some of the most dangerous intersections where people are most likely to run the red light? But they don’t activate them for unclear reasons. As a #BicycleCommuter, cars running lights is my biggest fear. I have watched horrible things at intersections. Hearing that there are also #fairness reasons to turn them on, I wonder if #SFMTA might reconsider (Oak & Octavia! Every Market street crossing!) and start using them.
Feb 5, 2023 at 4:12pmWeb
Show threadPaul CantrellFeb 5, 2023
@PrinceOfDenmark I’m sure one of the biggest obstacles to traffic cameras is the fact that they push against so many ugly interests: they make it harder for the privileged and powerful to avoid getting tickets, and they give cops fewer opportunities to terrorize Black people. Who knows what’s holding them back in San Francisco, but my money’s on some entrenched interest pulling the strings they have available.
Show threadWesDymFeb 5, 2023

@PrinceOfDenmark Traffic cameras (including red light cameras) are not run by municipalities. They're run by vendors who own, install, maintain, and operate them. A large portion of the revenue generated from them (often the majority) goes to those vendors.

My guess would be that the vendor is having some problem, or there's some dispute going on.