Last Updated on December 24, 2017 by Lawrence Berezin
Speed camera issued a barrel full of tickets in one day
Residents of Sheepshead Bay better beware of a speed camera located on Shore Parkway between Ocean Parkway and West Avenue, at the at the very end of a 400-foot-long exit ramp.
Locals and Councilman Mark Treyger expressed outrage at the placement, calling it a trap. Councilman Chaim Deutsch, in whose district the camera is located, hailed it as a success.
Numbers never lie
Or do they?
According to Councilman Deutsch,
There were 6,000 summonses issued in one day coming off the Belt Parkway. Now it is almost to zero, so the camera is helping,” Deutsch told members of the Manhattan Beach Community Group at a public meeting last week. “But we still want to make sure that people slow down, [that they] have enough time to slow down carefully when they come off the ramp.
However, in a statement made by a DOT spokesperson to Sheepshead Bites (paraphrased):
The Department of Transportation spokesperson told Sheepshead Bites this morning that 1,551 violations were issued on July 7, suggesting that this was the peak day.
Commentary
Does it matter whether the number of tickets generated by this hard-working speed camera was 6,000 or 1,551? The point is there’s a speed camera lying-in-wait for people exceeding the speed limit by 10 mph. The cost to purchase your photograph is $50.
Is this reasonable? Does a motorist have sufficient time to adjust her speed while exiting the ramp, before the speed camera snaps a $50 photo?
According to Councilman Deutsch, it is reasonable because the camera has changed bad behavior, and eliminated speeding. It’s kind of like an evil Skinner Box.
I support that if anyone is speeding, an enormous amount of speeds, they deserve a summons,” Deutsch told Sheepshead Bites. “But I don’t want it to be a ‘gotcha’ camera, and people need to be aware there’s a camera and they should exit the ramp safely.
If it were me, I’d post an early warning sign that a speed camera is waiting for the driving public at the bottom of the exit ramp. Obey the speed limit of 30 mph.
I believe that a warning will serve as a less costly deterrent because the goal is to eliminate speeding, right?! Not unjustly enrich the Evil Empire. If a driver ignores the warning, then he has no one to blame but himself.
What do you think? Fair or foul?
[Major kudos for some great reporting by Sheepshead Bay Bites!, and our great friend Mike from Brighton Beach for alerting us to the speed camera story].
What is an “enormous amount of speed?” Who’s to say New York City won’t play with speed camera settings on a slow month? There is too much open to interpretation. I don’t trust these politicians nor New York City’s government. With anti-driver pedestrian and bicycle groups running the show, De Blasio using media exaggeration to drive his popularity, and the media grooming the public to overreact to cars as if there is a 50-50 chance of living or dying while crossing a street, well, there is not much left for drivers to defend themselves against. We’re the bad guys no matter what we do. New York City will have a surveillance state aimed at stealing drivers money, all because of media hype. That’s not good for me. I don’t want to live in a place like that. I also believe that speed cameras won’t be the end of this exertion of increased state power nor would I feel comfortable driving with speed cameras placed all over like these neurotic groups like Transportation Alternatives want. Who’s to say New York City won’t go for pedestrian jaywalking cameras? In the future if the Vision Zero initiative gets any stricter, there will probably be less cars and less money from drivers going into the New York City yearly budget. New York City is always desperate for money and governments in general have not been nice to drivers. Anyone who’s gotten tickets, been pulled over, or dealt with the DMV will attest. Drivers are always treated as rolling piggy banks. With the absence of cars, this same treatment will eventually be extended to other groups in motion just as aggressively: Cyclists and pedestrians. The problem is these bicycle and pedestrian groups don’t understand bad precedents can eventually make them victims at their own game, as I hope. Then they’ll understand my point of view a bit more. I know cyclists have gotten summonses in the past including myself for riding on the sidewalk but I don’t believe the numbers match those of fines issued to drivers. Vision Zero = Money Vision and speed cameras = a totalitarian open door. I say speed trap. Civil disobedience is what makes a country free and civil disobedience used to define America until the powers that be decided they wanted to tighten control. Maybe Transportation Alternatives should consider that one.
Emilio,
Good morning. Great to see you here.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading your thoughtful and thought provoking comment.
“With the absence of cars, this same treatment will eventually be extended to other groups in motion just as aggressively: Cyclists and pedestrians.”
Never made the connection before your comment.
Thanks for stopping by…Please continue to share your thoughts.
Best,
Larry
Thanks!
I have got a number of camera tickets without knowing I was entering a school zone. Each ticket was for driving 36mph in a 25mph zone. Had an effort been made to better alert me of the school zone I was driving through, I am sure I would have slowed down. With all the money the city has collected because of this law why not use some of that to make drivers more aware they are entering a school zone? If safety is the premise behind the use of speed cameras and not revenue, better alerting measures would be a fairer way of accomplishing thew goal.
Hi Jowe,
Well said!
(Interesting that it was 11 miles above the speed limit and only one mile above the threshold for issuing a camera ticket).
Regards,
Larry