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Re: Unmarked police cars a no-no in Ohio.



Lord Kittenslayer <nbassett@hmc.edu> wrote:

>No. At least not until we have speed limits which actually represent the 
>actual maximum "safe" speeds (i.e. speeds higher than that are INHERENTLY 
>dangerous). I'm pretty sure Americans wouldn't put up with that kind of 
>covert wasting of resources.


Actually, Americans probably will put up with photo radar to some degree. 
Look at the 55 mph speed limit, we foolishly believed it was a good idea.
The NMA however, can't stand photo radar because it turns the judicial 
system on it's side (guilty until proven innocent), you can't cross- 
examine a camera, and when did a photo radar unit catch a drunk driver?  
We're still waiting for the IIHS to tell us that photo radar has stopped 
a drunk.  Someday their spinmeisters will figure out a way to say that.

You're right on one thing though.  Photo radar is nothing but a waste of 
resources.  The devices cost over $75k and because of that they're 
rented, which allows the city to skirt the inconvenient budget process 
where if they bought them outright, they'd certainly investigate the 
device to see if it would live up to it's claim of increased safety and 
see if it's worth the chunk of cash they're asking.  Note too that the 
rental company charges an exorbitant fee ($50,000 in one case) if the 
rental contract is cancelled.

Usually, a paid, uniformed officer must babysit the robot.  Why not just 
have that officer do the actual work instead of getting paid to read the 
newspaper?

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