NewUsed

Find by category:

Exhaust Notes

Mayor Bloomberg Suggests Posting Names and Photos of NYC Speeders

Quirky solution is prompted by the defeat of a bill to fine speeders caught on camera.

By Claire_Martin Jun 27, 2012 9:14AM
Ford Fiesta photo by FordA bill that would have allowed New York City to levy fines against motorists caught speeding on camera was snuffed in the state legislature last week, prompting Mayor Michael Bloomberg to brainstorm alternative methods for taming errant drivers. One idea: shame.

"We'll put up their names and pictures someplace, maybe we can shame them," Bloomberg said on his radio show last Friday. "We should look at that because if Albany is not going to let us do this stuff, we’ve got to save lives."

Bloomberg had wanted to install 40 cameras to enforce New York City's 30-mph speed limit at dangerous intersections throughout the city. The cameras would have measured cars' speeds and photographed license plates, and a citation for up to $100 would automatically have been issued to speeders.

Nothing is stopping the city -- which currently uses cameras to monitor traffic lights and bus lanes -- from going ahead and installing the speed-monitoring cameras on its own. But in order to collect fines associated with the cameras, it needs state approval.

"Mr. Bloomberg came upon the shaming idea while thinking about ways to use the cameras without raising revenue from the violations," Michael M. Grynbaum of The New York Times wrote, "which the city is blocked from doing until Albany gives permission."

Bloomberg expressed his frustration over the defeat of the bill during last week's radio broadcast. "We have thousands and thousands of corners, and we don't have the money for thousands and thousands of cops standing on every corner," he said. "Using technology, you would think, would be the most efficient thing. It would stop people from breaking the law." 

< Back to Exhaust Notes
User Picture
Write a comment...
10Comments
buddy miller
Jun 28, 2012 10:59AM
avatar

Is speeding really an issue in NYC?  I lived there for 20 years.. when I drove, I would be lucky if the traffic was moving 15mph.  How about finishing the never ending contruction on the subways and spending a little more on the bus routes.. maybe then, more people in the boroughs other... than Manhattan would be more likely to take mass transit and less likely to speed on the mayor's pecious streets. 

This mayor is so Anti-Car its not even funny, between red light cameras, speeding crackdowns, reducing the number of available parking spaces, reducing the number of available streets and lanes..  all while cutting budgets on bus lines and doing construction on the subways.

 If he keeps it up, traffic will be gridlocked 24/7, and he really wont have to worry about speeders.

SoCalM
Jun 27, 2012 10:28AM
avatar
Big Brother is getting bigger everyday
The NonGoggleGuy
Jun 28, 2012 8:03AM
avatar

Oh no!  Not my picture!  Then everyone will know I'm a speeder.  I will be ashamed and can never face my family and friends ever again, for I am a rebel without a cause behind the wheel.

 

Please.  Bloomberg is just like every other politician out there: 110% useless.  That's right - they give 110% - but in the wrong direction.

Mabolzich
Jun 27, 2012 5:04PM
avatar
Where did you get this guy Sears-Roebuck  or Walgreen?  Gee, that would sure stop me.  How about enforcement?  I don't believe the crap I'm reading these days.
VerumEternus
Jun 28, 2012 7:31AM
avatar
Nanny Bloomberg is at it again.  Not to mention he apparently doesn't know his constituency very well.  Shame New York city dwellers???  Is he on another planet??  They don't know the meaning of shame in NYC.  The place is a cesspool on so many levels.
buddy miller
Jun 28, 2012 10:28AM
avatar

Just make sure you get my good side.

TXMX-5EE
Jun 28, 2012 6:09AM
avatar
I would probably treat it just like the radar speed signs we have around here.  The ones where it says up top "Speed Limit 40mph" and underneath is a 7-segment LED sign indicating your actual speed, and it flashes if you exceed the limit.  No cameras attached to it (yet), it's just a "nag sign".  I confess, especially late at night, I like to see how high I can get the sign.  Of course I don't speed excessively, but it can be fun to see it angrily flash "60!!!" then pop back down to 45 or so.

If they added a non-fee inducing camera where pics would be posted to the internet, I would blow by it with a thumbs up and a giant grin.  Then post the link on Facebook (set to close friends and family only, of course, I am not that stupid).

John Bruce
Jun 27, 2012 11:32AM
avatar
   Back when I was a kid, in the fifties and sixties, New York had an excellent method of controlling speeders: we inherited it from our forefathers. Many of New York's avenues and main thoroughfares were paved with cobblestones. Big, heavy, often out-of-alignment cobblestones.
    How many of you can remember when you, or your parents used to slow down to avoid destroying the alignment, or the whole front suspension of the family car?
    Admittedly, the modern craze for driving large SUV's might seem to blunt the effectiveness of returning to the good ol' days of road construction, but I know for a fact that many of these late-model behemoths couldn't survive as long as a '49 Plymouth, or a '63 Studebaker on the avenues of my childhood NY.
   Now if we could just bring back the Horn & Hardart Automats...

insert random name
Jun 28, 2012 5:20AM
avatar
They already do that where I live.  My name was in the paper for speeding.  Will that deter me from speeding in the future?  Not likely.  I pinned the article up on the wall for good laughs.
SoCalM
Jun 27, 2012 10:27AM
avatar
Big brother is getting bigger everyday
Report
Please help us to maintain a healthy and vibrant community by reporting any illegal or inappropriate behavior. If you believe a message violates theCode of Conductplease use this form to notify the moderators. They will investigate your report and take appropriate action. If necessary, they report all illegal activity to the proper authorities.
Categories
100 character limit
Are you sure you want to delete this comment?

EXPLORE NEW CARS

MORE ON MSN AUTOS

‘Eleanor’ Mustang sells for $1M‘Eleanor’ Mustang sells for $1M

'Gone in 60 Seconds' movie car driven by Nicolas Cage has a new home.

ABOUT EXHAUST NOTES

Cars are cool, and here at MSN Autos we love everything about them, but we also know they're more than simply speed and style: a car is an essential tool, a much-needed accessory to help you get through your day-to-day life. What you drive is also one of the most important investments you can make, so we'll help you navigate your way through the car buying and ownership experiences. We strive to be your daily destination for news, notes, tips and tricks from across the automotive world. So whether it's through original content from our world-class journalists or the latest buzz from the far corners of the Web, Exhaust Notes helps you make sense of your automotive world.

Have a story idea? Tip us off at exhaustnotes@live.com.