Which is worse, speeding or homicide?
A couple years ago I wrote about New York City Administrative Code section 19-190, which says you’re not supposed to hurt a pedestrian who has right of way. The city posted the disposition of every AC 19-190 case online. As I write this, 3,417 tickets have been written, or about one ticket per ten pedestrian […]
Falling from on high
I’ve written before about Belmont, Massachusetts’ attempts to punish drivers on Lexington Street by posting nuisance stop signs, a car-eating speed table, and an illegal speed trap. That street is in local news recently after an accident on the speed table killed a pedestrian. None of the traffic obstruction measures made a difference because they […]
Nuke the Frankenveto
As soon as I wrote about the death of New York City’s speed cameras, the governor brought them back to life by unilaterally re-enacting the law authorizing them. Those of you who took civics classes might be wondering how he can do that. Governor Cuomo says he can use a Frankenstein Veto. That’s where the […]
Boston’s speed limit experiment failed
The IIHS got some press this week when they found reducing Boston’s speed limit did not slow down Boston’s traffic. That’s what the data said. They lied to the press, saying the city cut down the number of speeders, and got their spin all over the news. Anybody who knows how speed limits work knows […]
An accidental victory
Some petty bickering among New York politicians led to a surprising if accidental victory for drivers. The state legislature refused to renew authorization for most of New York City’s speed cameras. I’d like to think this followed the Daily News report saying people with money were ignoring camera tickets, which don’t put points on licenses. […]
A tale of two troopers
I knew I was back in the East when my laser alarm went off 12 miles into Ohio. After some time trying not to be a ticket machine the Highway Patrol turned up visible enforcement in the past few years. The real speed limit is a secret, of course, but apparently I was under it. […]
New Hampshire terrorists win a round
I used to enjoy hiking in the White Mountains. Those days are over. The federal government decided that the chokepoint where I-93 crosses Franconia Notch is a good place to set up a roadblock. They had one last year, and another this year. Ostensibly the roadblocks were to enforce immigration law. Not really. Agents’ dogs […]
Rumors and lies
People contact me with job opportunities because they’ve heard good things about me. That doesn’t mean I’m the greatest worker on Earth. In my field you get a job based on the most favorable impressions you make. People who like me recommend me to others. People who don’t like me recommend somebody else. Now let’s […]
Quotas are serious business
One Massachusetts state trooper is headed to federal prison for a year and dozens more may follow him. They failed to make ticket quota. The crime officially charged is theft from an agency receiving federal funds. They got paid overtime to run speed traps and they didn’t run speed traps. State Police Troop E, disbanded […]
Bleeding revenue in Pennsylvania
A police lobbyist in Pennsylvania complained recently, “All the work we’d done was eviscerated.” The work he did was gathering support for a bill allowing local police to use radar. The evisceration was an amendment requiring radar to be used for safety rather than revenue. Bills to let local departments use radar are a perennial […]