Cowardly GPS Users

The poi factory made news in washington dc. whoooo hoooooooo....

I have made a comment on the story. POI Factory is the data source for the application Cams Ahoy!!! on the Iphone.

Very cool article, thanks for sharing.

Miss POI

Or Police hidding behind telephone poles with the speed radar gun??

That should produce a jump in registered users at "The Factory!" "I just read about your website in The Examiner and..."

They should have included the dash(-). Wonder if we can get them to publish a correction?

We have things set up so that people can find us even if the dash is missing:)

Miss POI

WOW! I just manually typed the url (without the dash) into my browser's address line and voila, here I am!

I learned something new today.

Jon is a very smart guy;) I am always impressed with the new things that he comes up with for our community.

Miss POI

Yup, he's a keeper

Thanks for the article. Lanier said the technology is a "cowardly tactic" and "people who overly rely on those and break the law anyway are going to get caught" in one way or another. Sounds to me, that the "technology" made reference to by the Police Chief is actually helping law enforcement to “decreased traffic deaths,” thus accomplishing their stated goal. If this be true, I don’t know what she bellyaching about.

I can just imagine the rhetoric that will go around to make GPS warnings of traffic enforcement cameras illegal. After all, these devices could perceivably be cutting into their municipal revenue streams. Who cares if GPS devices could actually be helping to make streets safer also.

the nerve of them. huh.

I'd love to see the stats on accicents caused by folks trying to "be good" in the vacinity of these cameras. I wonder how it compares to accidents before the installationa.

That is just the first shot across the bow.

So let me get this straight: They publish in the local papers the location of these "Safety Cameras". So all the locals know where they are. Remember they are selling this concept as a safety issue, so everyone will mind their P's and Q's.

So now it's "Cowardly" to know exactly where every "Safety Camera" is. It appears that:
1. Something besides "Safety" is the real issue (read money grubbing local governments).
2. They would gladly welcome an influx of cash from "outsiders" (Hey is better than a hotel tax as far as rates).

Don't be fooled about the "Safety Cameras" label, it's just a revenue generating machine that steals a little more of your freedoms.

Every time I have seen something of interest to start a new post recently, somebody always beats me to the punch.

You guys are on top of things.

Love this site.

Keep doing what you do

The accident rate for the monitored intersections in DC are lower than they were "pre-camera." They still get enough tourists coming through the area (it is a top vacation area) the cameras remain profitable. It's really strange to see a cabbie actually come to a full and complete stop rather than bulling their way through a cross-walk filled with people when they want to make a right turn.

I don't see why the fuss. In my area they put up warning signs at the intersections using cameras. The GPS just does the same thing.

Seems just like they resent the out-of-towners being clued in and not paying the exorbitant fines.

COWARDLY!!!

What is it about living in DC that makes officials so clueless? Must be the water.

Pot, meet kettle.

That is a big part of all money making schemes (I mean red light cameras) run by local governments. If you get a ticket while out of town what is the percentage of people who just pay? My guess is 95%+ and that's what cities/counties want. Most can't afford to take the time off let alone travel to fight the ticket even if they think it's wrong so they just pay it.

In DC it was until recently, illegal and cowardly to own a handgun. The money from the cameras must be decreasing, I imagine it is hard for DC to balance its budget with a measly 14.5% sales tax on hotel rooms and 10% on restaurant meals.

There was just a news report about red light cameras and their affect on safety. I think it was three of the top ten revenue generators were some of the lowest in accidents BEFORE the cameras were installed. Hard to make a case for safety with those stats. Especially one near Woodfield, one of the largest shopping centers in the area....folks who roll through right turn on red are the main targets.

I thought the whole point of the red light cameras was to stop people from running red lights. It seems like if someone knows that there is a red light camera there (by being warned by some app or the garmin poi's) then they are even less likely to run that red light. Bada bing bada boom the law is upheld which keeps people alive.

After nine months, this suburb made $1 million. And they put it at an intersection that was not even in the suburb's top 10 in accidents...only the busiest since it was near a major shopping center. (And it resided fully within local streets). Money, not safety, seemed to be the motivation no matter how much the village protests. They did remove, but only after thousands of shoppers and locals complained. Here's the story:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-red-light-camer...

they're just upset that every tactic they try, we counter it. we're just smarter, "Don't Hate"!

Rear end accidents go up sharply at Red Light Cam intersections.

have no problem with GPS or POI Device alerting drivers to Cameras.
(not including Radar Detectors)
Our Chief, (Calgary) mentioned that may add a level of safety as it actually slows down those drivers.
It also allows them to be aware of other drivers that tend to slow down or may panic and slam on thier brakes unexpectantly when they spot a camera, whether it may be Speed or Redlight Intersection

Of course it is alwalys about Safety, but the generation of revenue is always the nice bonus.

I live in the Washington, D.C. area. All the jurisdictions are so far overspent in their budgets that they FEEL that they have little recourse but to TAX people further to boost their revenues.

The area is SO political, that all jurisdictions assert that it's for citizen safety reasons. They omit the additional revenue as a motivator.

I wonder how long it'll take to find someone to run for office at the local level who will have a platform of removing the cameras. In a year from now, I venture a guess they'd have a good chance of winning.

Fred

Nope. They will lose due to no funding of their campain by the companies and the other polictial groups who would then have to explain the horrendus budget problems.

Most ridiculous notion to fuss about

CBS 5 just picked up the same story

Yup, that's my main use...if I don't know the area, I don't want to get stuck into a gridlock intersection and see FLASH...you're on Candid Camera. A lot of these cameras are in areas that get gridlock and if you don't know the flow, cars can be moving and all of a sudden stop and you're stuck.

Cowardly, no. Smart, yes.

He can save his cowardly comments for describing officers injuring unarmed people.

Red light cameras and speedtraps are fine with me as long as they serve the public safety purposes. But being alert on where to slow down and to be careful is also good because that will prevent disasters.

Radar and other speed enforcement techniques keep us safe. That's why our taxes pay the salaries and equipment costs. It's not cowardly to keep drunk drivers off the road and make it harder for wreckless drivers to put families at risk.

Red light cameras might be a net benefit. If cities place them at high-risk intersections and the people who use GPS navigation slow down when notified of a red light camera, everybody wins.

That's why I contribute to this forum, to keep children safe.

If your goal is to break the law because you think that you are above it, I hope that you get caught and punished.

Jen

Radar and other speed enforcement techniques keep us safe. That's why our taxes pay the salaries and equipment costs. It's not cowardly to keep drunk drivers off the road and make it harder for wreckless drivers to put families at risk.

Red light cameras might be a net benefit. If cities place them at high-risk intersections and the people who use GPS navigation slow down when notified of a red light camera, everybody wins.

That's why I contribute to this forum, to keep children safe.

If your goal is to break the law because you think that you are above it, I hope that you get caught and punished.

Jen

The Polcie chief should be glad about these POI's it makes a person slow down in these areas and it keeps the traffic flowing smoother because now no one wants to block the box. Also they keep putting up these camera eventually the police officers will be replaced; Great More Job Losses in this already tough economy.

I have installed Cams Ahoy on my Iphone and it works very well. POI factory database I think missing lots of locations in Greater Toronto Area.

You could also look at it that it would free police from the mundane task of traffic enforcement to patrol the streets more effectively. And the extra money generated could support a larger police force.

This is pretty funny. I remember back when I was living in DC that the first attempts for red light cameras etc were prompty shut down after the photo arrived at some congressmens house and the passenger was not his wife...Oooopsss

soon GPS systems will be illegal just like radar detectors in some states , because it complicates cop's life just like tinted windows.

The only reason that I can see why anyone have for not wanting people to know where red light/speed cameras are is loss of revenue. Period.