Speed camera

madguy30

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I have a feeling semi drivers, snow plows, people with campers, trailers would not like roundabouts with interior lane curbs.

Yeah I'll go with 'slow to 10/15, and read the lane lines and signs' approach.
 

NWICY

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We have speed trap vans all over the place here. I get speeding tickets in the mail all the time from these things, and those tickets go straight in the trash.

When it takes a picture of a person's plate, a very bright flash goes off. I'm just waiting until it temporarily blinds someone and causes an accident and they get sued.
A few yrs back someone must have been pissed about getting a tkt from one of those vans,because they torched one in Ft. Dodge one night. LOL.
 

VeloClone

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42 in a 30 is almost 1.5 X the speed the engineers came up with to determine a safe speed.

Beyond the limit posted that's likely not a safe speed vs. the conditions or hazards present.
I get your point but the speed isn't always set by an engineer when designing a road. For example I used to know a guy who worked for the city of Story City. The speed limit was originally higher on a lot of the roads in town but the City decided unilaterally to lower them. It certainly kept the cops busy.

I also mentioned above the City of Minneapolis lowering the speed limit on hundreds of miles of city streets with a stroke of a pen.
 

dmclone

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Thank you DOT


I haven't been able to find which one in Des Moines is staying.

There will now be fixed automated traffic cameras in just five Iowa cities: four each in Cedar Rapids and Davenport, and one each in Des Moines, Marshalltown and Le Claire.

And this right here is all you need to hear to realize it's 99% about money.
“While revenue generation is not the program’s goal, we are also evaluating financial impacts. We are considering our next steps.”
 

cybychoice

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Thank you DOT


I haven't been able to find which one in Des Moines is staying.

There will now be fixed automated traffic cameras in just five Iowa cities: four each in Cedar Rapids and Davenport, and one each in Des Moines, Marshalltown and Le Claire.

And this right here is all you need to hear to realize it's 99% about money.
“While revenue generation is not the program’s goal, we are also evaluating financial impacts. We are considering our next steps.”
I couldn’t find anything on the Prairie City one which imo is the biggest bullsh*t camera in the state as it’s not even in town, it’s on a relatively straight flat stretch of road, and it’s on a state highway not a city road.
 

HititHard

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I couldn’t find anything on the Prairie City one which imo is the biggest bullsh*t camera in the state as it’s not even in town, it’s on a relatively straight flat stretch of road, and it’s on a state highway not a city road.
The article says that camera was among the rejected ones. Along with Webster City. Those cameras were every bit as bs as Prairie City one.
 

wxman1

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I couldn’t find anything on the Prairie City one which imo is the biggest bullsh*t camera in the state as it’s not even in town, it’s on a relatively straight flat stretch of road, and it’s on a state highway not a city road.

That brings up what at least I believe is an interesting aspect of these as clearly the CR ones that most people hate are on 380. If the city is not allowed to enforce the laws in a manner they see fit on a road going through their city does that mean it falls solely on the ISP? If accidents happen due to high speed and other bad driving behaviors that put a strain on other city resources (Fire/EMS) where does the line get drawn?

The CR ones on 380 are at places where speed has been a danger in the past. Further, this area is dangerous if not impossible for LEOs to safely execute a traffic stop without endangering themselves or other motorists. I don't like the premise of the cameras and there absolutely is a financial aspect to them but every instance is not equal.
 

NWICY

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I couldn’t find anything on the Prairie City one which imo is the biggest bullsh*t camera in the state as it’s not even in town, it’s on a relatively straight flat stretch of road, and it’s on a state highway not a city road.
Webster City says "hi"
 
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dmclone

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That brings up what at least I believe is an interesting aspect of these as clearly the CR ones that most people hate are on 380. If the city is not allowed to enforce the laws in a manner they see fit on a road going through their city does that mean it falls solely on the ISP? If accidents happen due to high speed and other bad driving behaviors that put a strain on other city resources (Fire/EMS) where does the line get drawn?

The CR ones on 380 are at places where speed has been a danger in the past. Further, this area is dangerous if not impossible for LEOs to safely execute a traffic stop without endangering themselves or other motorists. I don't like the premise of the cameras and there absolutely is a financial aspect to them but every instance is not equal.
That's probably why the DOT is allowing them to stay? or are these not the ones?

  • I-380 at Diagonal Drive (NB)
  • I-30 at J Avenue (SB)
  • Williams Boulevard at 16 Avenue SW (NB)
  • Williams Boulevard at 16 th Avenue SW (SB)
 

BACyclone

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That brings up what at least I believe is an interesting aspect of these as clearly the CR ones that most people hate are on 380. If the city is not allowed to enforce the laws in a manner they see fit on a road going through their city does that mean it falls solely on the ISP? If accidents happen due to high speed and other bad driving behaviors that put a strain on other city resources (Fire/EMS) where does the line get drawn?

The CR ones on 380 are at places where speed has been a danger in the past. Further, this area is dangerous if not impossible for LEOs to safely execute a traffic stop without endangering themselves or other motorists. I don't like the premise of the cameras and there absolutely is a financial aspect to them but every instance is not equal.

If you had read the linked article you would have learned the two on I-380 were among those approved to stay.
 

wxman1

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That's probably why the DOT is allowing them to stay? or are these not the ones?

  • I-380 at Diagonal Drive (NB)
  • I-30 at J Avenue (SB)
  • Williams Boulevard at 16 Avenue SW (NB)
  • Williams Boulevard at 16 th Avenue SW (SB)

If you had read the linked article you would have learned the two on I-380 were among those approved to stay.
Okay that part is on me. I read it last night and obviously still struggle with reading comprehension or paying attention to which list I was looking at.
 
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BACyclone

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The article says that camera was among the rejected ones. Along with Webster City. Those cameras were every bit as bs as Prairie City one.

The one in Chester on Hwy 63 has not caught me, but man is it a sinister placement.

Hudson put up a bunch of them 18 months ago. I think it was last summer or this summer last year they were already touting a sweet new Polaris UTV they had purchased for the PD with the proceeds from the increased safety.
 

cyfan964

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I got a ticket at the LeClaire one on the way to Chicago and 3 days later on the way back I got a ticket at the same location. I counted the number of tickets between the two and during those three days they would have made around $300,000 in tickets. It was over the weekend, so probably slightly higher, but that camera makes roughly $100,000 A DAY.
 

clone52

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Thank you DOT


I haven't been able to find which one in Des Moines is staying.

There will now be fixed automated traffic cameras in just five Iowa cities: four each in Cedar Rapids and Davenport, and one each in Des Moines, Marshalltown and Le Claire.

And this right here is all you need to hear to realize it's 99% about money.
“While revenue generation is not the program’s goal, we are also evaluating financial impacts. We are considering our next steps.”
Yeah, let's just ignore the reduction in fatal crashes.

Hope nobody you love gets killed in an accident.
 
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Clonehomer

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I got a ticket at the LeClaire one on the way to Chicago and 3 days later on the way back I got a ticket at the same location. I counted the number of tickets between the two and during those three days they would have made around $300,000 in tickets. It was over the weekend, so probably slightly higher, but that camera makes roughly $100,000 A DAY.

A lot of people breaking the law I guess.

I’d have a lot less issue with these if they went the route of Europe and provided immediate notice to the driver that they were caught. Maybe provide a light 1/4 mile ahead saying you are speeding and then only use the camera if they don’t slow down. Without immediate correction, I just don’t see how this really improves safety.

But, this still comes down to behavior. Drivers have grown accustomed to speeding in the US and feel like it’s the fault of law enforcement when they get caught. If these were unmarked cars on the side of the highway, would there be the same uproar?
 

clone52

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I got a ticket at the LeClaire one on the way to Chicago and 3 days later on the way back I got a ticket at the same location. I counted the number of tickets between the two and during those three days they would have made around $300,000 in tickets. It was over the weekend, so probably slightly higher, but that camera makes roughly $100,000 A DAY.
You sure that counter was for a single camera and not all cameras for that company?
 
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KennyPratt42

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Found this about Des Moines, can't verify that its accurate, but looks like most were approved in the Des Moines metro.

Oct 1, 2024


Photo: Getty Images North America
The Iowa Department of Transportation has approved the city of Des Moines's request to operate automatic speed cameras.
In total, 13 locations were approved for the cameras.
  • 4700 blk I-235, EB
  • 4300 blk Ingersoll Ave, EB & WB
  • 2800 blk SW 9th St, NB & SB
  • 1800 blk Fleur Dr, NB & SB
  • 300 blk E. McKinley Ave, EB & WB
  • 2800 blk Indianola Ave, EB & WB
  • 1700 blk Park Ave, EB & WB
  • 1600 blk E. University Ave, EB & WB
  • 2200 blk E. 29th St, NB & SB
  • 4800 blk Hickman Rd, EB & WB
  • 1000 blk SE 14th St, NB & SB
  • 2900 blk 6th Ave, NB & SB
  • 3100 blk MLK, Jr Pkwy, NB & SB
Two locations with cameras were not approved, and stopped enforcement yesterday at 9th street and Grand Avenue and the 1400 block of Grand Avenue.
Deployment of the cameras will pause while signage required by Iowa law is installed.