Speed Limits

Seen in the Courant:

State police issued a total of 66,864 citations for speeding in 2007. During the first six months of 2008, state police issued 37,615 speeding citations, 16 percent more than the same period for 2007, Vance said.

The article is actually announcing the introduction of newer LIDAR (laser) units with faster acquisition times.  For some reason, the article doesn’t mention the recent expansion in the breadth of vehicles used in undercover speed enforcement, and the potential correlation with the increase in speeding citations.

I think having record-high fuel prices at a traditional vacation week has really focused the media attention on national energy policy (or the lack thereof).   Many of the interesting articles I

have encountered in the past few days have been energy-themed.   Consider:

WSJ.com’s Deal Journal:

[JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon] On oil, which recently hit a record $143 a barrel: We almost deserve $4 gas. We knew in 1974 that we had a serious issue but we don’t have the political fortitude to do anything about it. That’s the issue, not Russia.

New York Times article, “Asleep at the Spigot”:

Over the last 25 years, opportunities to head off the current crisis were ignored, missed or deliberately blocked, according to analysts, politicians and veterans of the oil and automobile industries. What’s more, for all the surprise at just how high oil prices have climbed, and fears for the future, this is one crisis we were warned about. Ever since the oil shortages of the 1970s, one report after another has cautioned against America’s oil addiction. […]

“Much of what we’re seeing today could have been prevented or ameliorated had we chosen to act differently,” says Pete V. Domenici, the ranking Republican member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and a 36-year veteran of the Senate. “It was a bipartisan failure to act.”

CNN:

Sen. John Warner, R-Virginia, asked Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman to look into what speed limit would provide optimum gasoline efficiency given current technology. He said he wants to know if the administration might support efforts in Congress to require a lower speed limit.

(Haven’t we tried the national speed limit before?  And, wasn’t it so poorly enforced and blind to local circumstances as to foster an entire culture of disregarding traffic laws?  You’d think that improving enforcement of existing traffic laws and improving education on optimal speed:efficiency ratios would be more effective.)

Wall Street Journal on GM’s plans to bring a mini-car intended for foreign markets to the U.S. (subscriber link):

General Motors Corp. said it is giving a higher priority to deciding whether it will bring the next-generation Chevrolet Beat mini car — a vehicle it sells overseas — to the U.S. market in the 2012 timeframe.[…]

GM is conducting major surgery on the product plans it had set for the next decade, scrambling to react to falling demand for vehicles that consume a relatively large amount of gasoline. The next generation of GM mini cars, on which the Beat is based, is slated to debut in several global markets in coming years and should be capable of at least 40 miles per gallon.

And meanwhile, regarding the ethanol kool-aid, from The Guardian:

Biofuels have forced global food prices up by 75% - far more than previously estimated - according to a confidential World Bank report obtained by the Guardian. […]

The figure emphatically contradicts the US government’s claims that plant-derived fuels contribute less than 3% to food-price rises. It will add to pressure on governments in Washington and across Europe, which have turned to plant-derived fuels to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and reduce their dependence on imported oil.

OK, now that the media…and presumably the American public… is aware of some of the issues of our addiction to petroleum, one wonders if political leaders and the public have the stomach to make some of the more difficult changes that will be called for.

This should be interesting to witness.

And now, I’ll go back to my weekend project of improving my “summer office” (the basement) for telecommuting.

I have a weird sense of humor.

In response to a discussion on misc.transport.road, in which the pros and cons of reinstituting a national speed limit in the name of conservation and stopping global warming are being debated, my silly idea for a new (and presumably ignored) national speed limit has been stuck in my head.

Thus, some artwork is required to get it out:

I know, the alignment and sizing of the text isn’t SHS-spec….but I have too many other things to do this evening to spend arguing with Photoshop. 

Seen in the Courant:

In a high-profile defeat for Gov. M. Jodi Rell, a key legislative committee on Thursday rejected her plan to install radar cameras to ticket speeders on a dangerous stretch of I-95.

Invoking fears of Big Brother, lawmakers shot down Rell’s plans for a pilot program in southeastern Connecticut by a 13-9 vote. The Democratic committee co-chairmen were split on an issue that came down to an unusual philosophical discussion over the rights of drivers and the power of government.

The majority on the committee said the public’s right to privacy outweighs the risks to public safety from speeding. They said more troopers should be on the road to saturate the area and stop speeders and drunken drivers before they hurt or kill someone.

Seen in the Courant:

Although fueled by major political muscle, a controversial bill to install automated radar cameras to ticket speeders on I-95 faces uncertainty in its first legislative test next week — a vote by the legislature’s public safety committee on whether to advance the bill for further consideration by other committees.[...]

Stillman’s district includes the stretch of I-95 between Old Lyme and New London where Gov. M. Jodi Rell has proposed establishing radar cameras in a “pilot program” prompted by longtime problems with speeding and a horrendous accident last year. But Stillman said her constituents seem “about 60-40″ against the technology; “people just don’t want cameras watching them,” she said.

The other committee chairman, Rep. Stephen D. Dargan, D-West Haven, said that although the bill raises many questions, he still is inclined to approve it in committee “so we can continue the dialogue.”

You know, technically I don’t think you have to advance it out of committee to foster more dialogue. You could have a few more public hearings….

I’ve written previously about Governor Rell being determined to do something about certain hazards on the state’s roads. One of her ideas is to start using speed-enforcement cameras.

There’s one problem with that idea, which George Gombossy highlighted in a blog post this weekend:

One of the lesser-known facts in the Connecticut Motor Vehicle Department is that there are at least 83,000 vehicles that share the same license plate numbers. The department doesn’t have a clue as to the actual number, so it’s probably much higher.[...]

For instance, Dr. Ahmed Khan, a West Hartford neurosurgeon, received a ticket from New York City’s finance department, billing him $50 for driving through a red light last year. The camera took a picture of the rear of the vehicle, which included the license plate.

There is no question that the license plate number was the same as the one on Khan’s van, but the vehicle that went through the red light — as is clearly shown in the photograph — was a 40-passenger bus. Khan said he has never driven his car in New York City.

That fact, of course, did not stop New York officials from trying to collect the $50. I called New York City officials and told them that the owner of the bus agreed it was his vehicle, but they would not tear up the tickets without more proof.

One of the key underlying assumptions for electronic tolling, urban congestion pricing schemes, and photo traffic law enforcement is the uniqueness of license plates. I’ve read, for example, about the hellish time programmers have been having in training software to recognize the umpteen bazillion different specialty plates and license plate fonts in North America.

But if license plate numbers aren’t unique to begin with, this would seem to be a problem in jurisdictions where local traffic authorities aren’t always known for their attention to detail.

In the wake of Governor Rell’s call for photo-radar speed limit enforcement on one stretch of I-95, the Courant took the opportunity to see what some users of I-95 thought of the proposal:

“It’s a public safety issue,” said Frank, who supports the cameras. “Speeding is not a matter of privacy, it is not a First Amendment right. Jeopardizing the lives of others is not constitutionally protected. … What bothers me on I-95 the most are the guys who go 90 mph don’t get ticketed. When I go as fast as I think I can, and then probably some more, guys tailgate and fly by me.”

Holub, who agrees safety is compromised by I-95 speeders, argues a bolstered state police presence is the answer to deter dangerous drivers — not a highway Big Brother.

I’m leery of the idea, myself. I’m not as concerned on the privacy rights aspect as others might be. Instead, I’m concerned about the implementation.

If, for example, the cameras were a fixture at a predefined point on the interstate, I would question whether that would solve the problem of crazy speeding. Folks would slow down for the known location of the camera, and then speed back up once clear.

If the cameras were more mobile, I’d wonder about the ability for “fair warning” to be granted. The automated nature of the cameras would make it rather difficult to defend one’s self from them unless you knew where they were. And true, you’d think that “just obey the speed limit” would be sufficient defense—given the imprecision of speedometers, as well as the risk of being rear-ended that one faces if one obeys the speed limit when traffic is free-flowing, obeying the speed limit is something easier said than done.

I think that I’d have to come down on the side of increased enforcement being a better answer. I believe that enforcement has been stepped up CT and MA in the past few years, at least in the sense of seeing more state troopers on the freeways, and more drivers pulled over for speeding. Connecticut has even been doing a much better job of cloaking its unmarked cars. So, I assume that it’s not my imagination that speed (when free-flowing) is a little bit lower on the freeways I’m familiar with around here.

Of course, I’d think that a better answer would be a combination of:

• Speed-enforcement,
• selective redesign of the highways to make them safer (including closing some interchanges, getting reflectors on lane markers, and even tolling existing roads to discourage casual use and to pay for the enhancements), and
• Adjusting speed limits where appropriate, to make them credible indicators of safe traveling speed, rather than seeming to be a revenue-generation tactic and/or product of political whim.

I suspect that I’m not the only person in Connecticut who has noticed an increased presence of state troopers on Nutmegger highways over the past couple of years.  Where some stretches of highway were once seemingly autobahns (albeit very congested autobahns), now it’s common to see bears working the road, pulling people over.

Why, it was a couple of weeks ago that I noticed that Connecticut troopers had acquired some new toys — unmarked cars that look “normal”, without extra antennas, without distinctive license plates, and with low profile emergency light bars that are nearly impossible to notice until they’re lit.

So, it was with some bemusement that I encountered this article in the Courant over the weekend:

When Gov. M. Jodi Rell unveils her new budget Wednesday, she will call for cutting business taxes and hiring 100 new state troopers over the next five years for increased traffic enforcement.

Declaring war on dangerous drivers, Rell will ask for funding for a pilot program of speed detection cameras along a treacherous stretch of I-95 — enabling the state to capture images of speeders and then mail them tickets. [...]

Rell envisions a traffic enforcement effort that will rely on a system of cameras. A controversial traffic-camera radar system would initially be set up in the Lyme-Old Lyme stretch of the Connecticut Turnpike, close to where three motorists died in November when a tanker-trailer barreled through metal dividers in East Lyme at Exit 75 and crashed head-on into traffic at high speed. Three other drivers were seriously injured in the crash that veteran troopers said was one of the most horrific they had ever seen.

The article, however, makes no reference to Governor Rell’s prior pledge to get speed-enforcement cameras on Avon Mountain as a pilot project.

Seen in the Daily Telegraph (via a mention in the misc.transport.road):

Speeding drivers could be banned after just two offences in a tough new crackdown.

Ministers may double the penalty points handed to those who exceed the limit by a big margin - making a six month driving ban harder to avoid.[...]

The new super-penalty would also apply to people speeding at 94mph or over on motorways, 82mph on trunk roads with a 60mph limit; and 45mph where the limit is 30mph.

You know, with gravity alone getting folks up to 40-50 on my 30mph street, the town police would have a field day with this sort of a law.

A little over a month ago I wrote about changes in laws in Virginia that promised to lead to some truly obscene fines.

The Washington Post has a front-page story discussing life under the new law:

The fees, which range from $750 to $3,000, were passed by the General Assembly in the spring as part of a package aimed at funding scores of transportation projects. Backers said the fees would both raise money and improve highway safety by targeting the state’s worst drivers—those guilty of severe traffic offenses such as DUI, reckless driving and driving on a suspended license.

But the fees have since been vilified by an angry public (more than 170,000 people have signed an online petition to repeal them), denounced by lawmakers who once supported them and ruled unconstitutional by judges in two localities who said they violate equal protection rights guaranteed under the 14th Amendment. A Centreville man convicted of reckless driving filed a challenge to the fees in Arlington County General District Court on the same grounds.

Nonetheless, the penalties remain in effect, and offenders have started to feel their pinch. Melissa Norquest, 33, of Manassas shelled out $522 Tuesday after being found guilty of reckless driving for going 56 mph in a 35 mph zone July 3. She will pay the rest in installments.[...]

Norquest, who works for Fairfax County Family Services, also said she did not see the point of hiring a lawyer at a cost of hundreds or thousands of dollars. “You’re either paying for one or you’re paying for the other,” she said.

I see two big problems with the law—that the fees are ridiculously excessive, and that there’s inequal treatment between Virginians and out-of-state drivers.

However, a more interesting notion is considering how much of this outrage is the result of a rather troubling attitude of the country towards speeding laws.

It’s tempting, for example, to ask why can’t these folks simply obey the law?

However, considering how arbitrarily low some speed limits seem to be set, and how erratically enforced speed laws tend to be, it’s perhaps understandable that so many folks ignore speed limits as being a bureaucratic hurdle, rather than guidance for safety’s sake.