Traffic cameras or something else?

So lately I`ve been noticing cameras being installed at almost every traffic light in my town. Also RT91 and Mass Pike have giant pole mounted cameras being installed all along the routes. There has been nothing on the news about the install of all these cameras, seems a little weird. Big brother or big business?


Bill

reply to post by Camperguy

buddy of mine pointed out all the cctv's that have gone up recently in this small canadian city of 100 000. on the tops of all traffic lights all four directions. now who would be monitoring all of these and for what purpose?

I do not know about Canada but here in the US many of these are put on traffic lights to catch people who run red lights. If you run a red light it snaps a pic of you running the light with your plate number. You receive it via mail with the picture and citation included. Now, a way to beat this...put your tailgate down. If your driving a truck and you keep your tailgate down, your license plate will not be visible.

I am here in Florida and I see domed cameras mounted at every major interstate on/off ramp, on bridges, and at most nearly every intersection. I remember speaking to a law enforcement officer once and was told that these were traffic cams that monitored traffic flow and were patched into a 'central system' that recorded/monitored the data/video. Most of this being purchased with government grant funds.

I personally would not be surprised if all these cameras were indeed patched into a centralized intelligence gathering/monitoring system run by the government utilizing some highly intelligent algorithms to watch and monitor the flow of people in our country. This will come in handy during martial law and movement restriction campaigns.

But who knows, it is all hearsay unless someone else with first-hand knowledge can chime in.

thats just so the can monitor traffic... wink wink
now the real scope from "InsideSam" - RFID
identifies you to your car and your car just sped through
15 miles of city of Austin clocked by the cameras which
automatically will deduct the appropraite fine for reaching
those cameras faster than allowed by law.
also, the camera can see light waves not visible to human eyes
so they could like turn the gain down and just read license plates.
which says you were downtown april 3rd. now why did you rob the bank. criminal. AH?
geez, what ever you could possibly dream up - they have it in the works. it would appear.

reply to post by Camperguy


Well, in my small town they have put them up everywhere. It is scary when you are driving on farm roads and they have cameras at every turn. they also recently put them up every 50ft on the highway with digital message boards every 5 miles or so. makes me wonder what they are planning or preparing for. The simplest solution is normally the right one. It's for us.

As, for Canada, were not to behind in this issue,

In my hometown there are at least 4 of these camera's in use.

As for speeders, we all know that they are there and slow down for them, so really, who are they trying to catch? If its not stopping the speeders.....



Unrelated, a guy in my hometown was pissed at the cameras so he shot at them (yes some canadians do own guns) and ended up hitting a car and injuring a 12 year old boy.

This could well be a mix of both.

In my current city, there are a mix of cameras set up around major traffic ways.

Dept of Trans uses some to collect traffic data and monitor areas for future project consideration.
A couple of local news stations have cams at the busiest areas of interstate and intersections to offer live 24hr coverage of these areas for commuters.
Of course, the city is playing eye spy at some areas, which I attribute to why certain areas get more radar-running cops than others.

There are a bunch of reason for these cameras. I would start with checking with some of the more passive groups that are watching for less than nefarious reasons before heading down to the local courthouse to demand answers.

Other Cdn cities, same thing.
See a pattern here?

reply to post by Camperguy


Definitely Big Brother! Technology is an evil demon sometimes and all the cameras that they pu up at intersections and the like all have a zoom capability. I can umderstand that not all the cameras are being watched all the time, but knowing that there is someone watching them and might just be looking at you is a sort of eerie feeling. Then again, the record and playback feature does help catch things that may lead to crimes being solved that may have had no other witness, so it's a tradeoff I guess.

Smile people as you now have a starring part in the Trueman show. I hope you have brushed your hair.
This is blantant identity analising at it best. You would have already been photographed in your car, TPTB know you an if they want you they can get you.
Scary but true

keepin' an eye out on them drug dealers on the corners.

Many of them have sensors which trigger when a car runs a red light. Many people are killed running red lights. This is a tool which helps.

Big brother or big business?

I think it's a little of both.The amount of income these cameras generate is staggering.
One camera not far from me,was reported to have amassed several hundred thousand dollars in just one month.
Counties everywhere are installing them because all their budgets are blown and they need the cash.

Regarding big brother the possibilities are endless.Including access to county database,license plate scans,future or already capable facial recognition programs,surveillance etc.

Having already received a $180.00 ticket from one of these cameras, I can say the photos were very sharp.

Either way it's just another intrusion to our freedom.

reply to post by DJM8507


I know what you mean, I am in Fl. as well, I75 is full of them.
You just got to know those are being used for more than just traffic alerts.

reply to post by gatewaywithin


Can I ask what the ticket was for? I think its a great idea having the ones that catch people who run red lights and such.

I live in NY and these have been around for a long time but they are putting more up every day. I think they are targets for sighting in paint ball guns.
On a more serious note, most vehicle license plates are highly reflective and have built in areas for cameras to focus on. NEVER wash your license plate, you can't legally cover or conceal it but mother nature can make it harder to see. When you wash the car put a shower cap on the plate.

reply to post by LoverBoy

Many of them have sensors which trigger when a car runs a red light. Many people are killed running red lights. This is a tool which helps.

Yes and Know.
My ticket came from the idiot in front of me who wasn't paying attention.By the time he noticed the light was green, it had already turned amber and I was the one behind him that got the $180.00 ticket.
They are basically a Bull$hit scheme to pay for their wasteful spending of tax money.

reply to post by Trublbrwing


Although...if you drive a truck, put your tail gate down and the camera will not be able to read your plate. No citation then. This is from a police officer.

You should see how many cameras have been posted on the brand new NTTA mega tollways here in Texas...121 for example...I have a video on my phone driving & it's literally every 1/2 mile there are stacks of 4-8 cameras posted on poles above the road (about 30-40 ft maybe) facing all directions.
On top of that we have red light cameras (which also record video) & toll booths with RFID tags (they've done away with all of the manned booths as of this year...you can either get with the RFID or pay $1.50 for every dollar & a processing fee when they send you the bill).
I've been pissed off about the tollways here because 121 used to be a free road and they move in some foreign based company and let them completely take over...it's a friggin scam!!! They're taking all the free roads away...