CHAT: Speed cameras

Muke Tever wrote:
> Tristan McLeay <conlang@...> wrote:
>
>> On the subject of speed cameras---the other day I was watching a bit of
>> documentary on pay tv about the German autobahns apparently meant for
>> an American audience. They were talking about all the high tech
>> involved. At one point, they mentioned these awesome cameras that can
>> actually automatically take a photo of the numberplate of speeders and
>> send a fine to the owner of the car after the fact when they thought
>> they'd got away with it (I assume because they weren't pulled over by
>> cops). Don't Americans have speed cameras? (Or are they relatively
>> new?) They're everywhere here.
The first time I came across such technology was in and around Toronto
in 1996; they had a toll road there that used cameras to photograph
your registration plate, and send you a bill; alternatively, you could
buy some kind of transponder that allowed unpaid passage for a certain
period of time. I wish they'd introduce something like that here; the
idea of sitting in a queue for the toll booth on the M50(*) is mind-
boggling. You wouldn't have entered a toll motorway if you wanted to
wait around...

* Ring road around Dublin

s.
--
Stephen Mulraney    ataltane@ataltane.net   http://livejournal.com/~ataltane
I remember that I tried several times to use a slide rule, and that, several
times also,  I began modern maths textbooks, saying to myself that if I were
going slowly,  if I read all the lessons all in order,   doing the exercises
and all, there was no reason why I should stall             -- Georges Perec