Digital Speed Limit Signs (Big Brother Is Watching You)

In the SF Bay Area a recent trend in cities has appeared. Its those big digital speed limit signs that show your speed and blink when you are exceeding the posted limit.

I was out for a walk with my son Friday when I noticed city workers installing yet another one. My son who is almost 3 has this thing for trucks so we walked over. While the guys were entertaining him on thier truck (He can be quite charming) I took a look at the box that houses the digital readout and the radar etc. Much to my surprise I saw more than one data port on the top of the box.

Later that day I talked to a friend who works on the force and he indicated that the box tracks each and every car that passes logging time and speed and delivers a report. Early boxes requires somebody to d/l it at the box, but the new ones are wired directly in. The PD uses it to determine where to set speed traps. He also indicated that there is work ongoing to add a camera and turn them into automatic enforcement devices like the red light cameras in many cities.

Just thought this was interesting and would post it up.

I'll have to watch it since I like to speed up when i see these speed indicators. I know they have used them in the past to set up spped traps but i guess they will now use them as a roving speed trap.

I am kinda split on this. There have been areas of town that people use as a shortcut during rush hour and they go 50 mph in a 25 mph zone. someday they are gonna kill someones kid. There are only so many cops that can patrol and they certainly can't sit there everyday so maybe these speed devices could solve the speed problems in ares like I have described.

Originally posted by cryptorsa1001
I'll have to watch it since I like to speed up when i see these speed indicators. I know they have used them in the past to set up spped traps but i guess they will now use them as a roving speed trap.

Actualy these are not the modile ones but they are more or less permanantly installed where you would expect a regular speed limit signs. All of them are on telephone/utility pols for obvious reasons.

We have something like that in my area, but they're typically placed underneath speed limit signs, and the sheriff's department or whoever moves them around from time to time.

At least I know my speedometer is accurate....

I thought u were talkin' about the mobile one ! crap !

so those, are like...marketing tools ? to see if it's worth having a cop sit there ? wtf ?

first I heard about THAT ONE ... not too bloody surprised tho... the whores need their fix you know.......
I just read where 16% of the largest municipalities are dead broke... of course you know what that means come next tax year

I'll have to keep an eye out for them phone pole do-hickeys...I knew that the FBI used them on surveillance...

I'll bet they don't go over well in the rural areas , like west virginia etc...
bet them thing get shot up, just like the other signs that reference united
nations acreage , or world resource area or similar sentiment...johnny reb don't cotton to them UN/gov't control type references, at all...

eh ?

We got them here but they're not hiding them, they're ontop of the signs on highways.

For the most part, here in New Mexico, these are used as reminders of how fast you are going when approaching road work and the speed limit drops from 75 to 55 or less. I don't mind devices that are used to inform and protect the driver, rather than as a means to rob motorists.


[edit on 2005/7/4 by GradyPhilpott]

I was thinking of a fun hoax with these things.
The set up would require:
A) A safe road to pull this off
B) Reflective tape on clothing
C) A baseball or some object you can throw or propel past the radar eye, really fast, without accidentally killing someone

This is how it would work, get some people to run up to the camera, as they reach the camera's field of view, get the speed meter to activate so it snaps a picture of these people with a false speed reading of like 75Mph!

Seems like a funny plan to me, as long as it can be done safely.

Originally posted by Nventual
We got them here but they're not hiding them, they're ontop of the signs on highways.

These are in plain site. You cant miss them with thier blinking speed reading esp. at night

Originally posted by GradyPhilpott
For the most part, here in New Mexico, these are used as reminders of how fast you are going when approaching road work and the speed limit drops from 75 to 55 or less. I don't mind devices that are used to inform and protect the driver, rather than as a means to rob motorists.


[edit on 2005/7/4 by GradyPhilpott]

They also do that here in Ohio--right before a construction area, as well as around my town. I'm thinking maybe more of the elderly set can see that they're only doing 20 in a 35 zone, and maybe it'll call their attention to it.

Of course the only time people slow down around here is when they see Smokey sitting there....

I'm also kinda split on this idea. There's definitely a part of me that thinks that it's a step in the wrong direction--too much gov't interference is never a good thing, and this could be leading up to it.

Just to contradict myself though, this type of extra interference could be a good thing. It could keep speeding down as well as get more funds for the cities when people aren't playing by the rules.

I mean, even if the speed limit is ridiculously low, say 5 mph, as long as its posted you should follow it. And if you don't like the speed limit, then that's something you take up with city council; until then it shouldn't matter if a cop's watching you or not, just play by the rules. That's the way I've always been taught at least.

so , let me get this straight

they're in plain sight on TOP ? of these poles [ right ? ]

and you say you can see the lights at night,

but is there also a digital speed flashing as well ? [ just trying to be clear ]