Sunday, November 4, 2012
Slow down, and pipe down
The Post has a good response to motorists who complain because they get caught driving at least 10 mph over the speed limit in DC: Slow down, and pipe down: Traffic scofflaws have no standing to object to candid cameras. Only the worst of the worst traffic offenders are ever caught speeding, and when they do they (and their enablers at AAA Mid Atlantic) complain about the unfairness of speed cameras (in typical Post fashion, the online headline is different that than the print headline). The Post has no sympathy for those drivers:
HERE’S AN IDEA for motorists who complain about having to pay the fines assessed by the District’s traffic cameras: Obey the laws. Driving the speed limit, stopping at red lights and not making prohibited right turns on red are the best defense against getting a ticket. More important, compliance with traffic laws—something indisputably boosted by these much-maligned cameras—enhances safety.
Labels: speed cameras
Friday, September 14, 2012
TheWashCycle on the Milloy's column on DC speed cameras
You may have read the Post's Courtland Milloy's column Speed cameras: Traffic enforcement or highway robbery? The first sentence gives you a flavor of the rest of the column: "I confess, I enjoy driving fast." He thinks speed cameras "kill that feeling" of being alive, as expressed in a Mercedes commercial. Later Milloy quotes AAA's John Townsend who berates the city for promoting cycling and walking.The title of TheWashCycle response says it all: I'd rather kill the feeling of aliveness that speeding creates, than kill a mother of three. Courtland Milloy feels differently. The post corrects many of the factual errors in the column. I suggest taking the time to read the it. Here's a brief excerpt:
But unlike scofflaw cyclists, who break the law sometimes for safety or need, and sometimes out of expediency, drivers - it appears - break the law for the sheer joy of it.
I enjoy driving fast. Not reckless driving, just cruising at speeds more appropriate for road conditions than the posted speed limit sometimes permits.
OK, so you like breaking the law. How adorable.
Lately, though, some jurisdictions have ramped up efforts to kill that feeling — to actually steal the joy of driving altogether — by “getting people out of their cars,” as D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray (D) likes to say.
Why, drivers just want to enjoy the fun of breaking the law and here come the mean old cyclists who want to take that away just because they selfishly want to make it home without having their pelvises crushed. If "killing the feeling" is what it takes to avoid killing our neighbors, that seems like a fair trade to me. His claim that the "joy of driving" is being stolen is also pretty over the top. Cry me a river. What exactly is it about promoting roadway safety for vulnerable users does Milloy find objectionable?
Labels: courtland milloy, speed cameras
