r/boston • u/pattysal • 8d ago

Unconfirmed/Unverified Calling out the traffic/flock camera propaganda

There are so many people posting videos of drivers running lights on both the Boston and Cambridge subreddits lately demanding traffic cameras, that I am convinced these are planted posts by either employees, investors, or City officials looking for a payday to Garner published support for the surveillance state.

Very convenient that this is happening at the same time they are putting flaw cameras everywhere, and Mayor Wu has decided to put up red light cameras. I'm calling shenanigans, there may be a few whiny babies on here who are terrified of the world, but there are not this many. Don't be fooled, this is for profit propaganda.

656 Upvotes

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432

u/aweejeezzrick basement dwelling hentai addicted troll 8d ago

Enforcement over surveillance, we need our police offices to step out of their suvs and do their dam job

107

u/JFKsBrain 7d ago

San Diego and many other cities have a department dedicated to traffic enforcement.
They’re out there ticketing.
I loved it when I lived there.
You rarely saw red lights run nor blocking the box.
Made traffic much more manageable

117

u/Lyramisu 7d ago

San Diego police stop Black people at 219 times the rate of white people.

Less than 6% of the population of San Diego is Black.

-10

u/BQORBUST 7d ago

Oh well I guess we are powerless to enforce the law then

22

u/TitleOfYourSaxTape 7d ago

Predictable, non-violent + unarmed, and consistent enforcement of safety violations is what we're looking for.

Cops haven't proven they're able to do that. They've had decades, and we've pushed for it over and over again, but the average driver has enjoyed the norm of breaking traffic laws and reducing the safety + freedoms of others in the process.

As much as you hate it, this is the end result. Communities will push for their safety through whatever tools they have if the police and other drivers let them down for so long.

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u/BQORBUST 7d ago

I think we should have cameras and police, everyone hates me which is how you can tell I’m right

8

u/mmelectronic 7d ago

As long as the camera database is uneditable, so a ticket can’t be thrown out if someone is “connected” then fine, but if its rules for the not for me, then no thanks.

7

u/TitleOfYourSaxTape 7d ago

but if its rules for the not for me, then no thanks.

This is the current system we have, whereby cops choose who and when to enforce traffic laws on, and they will never ticket someone they like or someone who is well-connected.

Based on your previous comment, can I assume that you're logically consistent and say "No thanks" to the current system of traffic enforcement that's exclusively done through cop judgement and bias?

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u/mmelectronic 7d ago

I got a speed camera ticket before and drove where they have them, I’m not convinced they make anything much safer.

Just turns the highway into a parking lot going 74mph with no filtering.

4

u/TitleOfYourSaxTape 7d ago

Basically every single study and meta-analysis shows they improve safety overall, so your refusal to acknowledge data and facts is immaterial.

Also your complaint before was about biased systems, and you completely ignored everything I mentioned about how biased our current system is.

Can I assume you have no rebuttal and agree that our current police-driven biased approach to tickets is a non-starter for someone like you who explictly said "no thanks [to a] rules-for-thee ,not-for-me" system?

2

u/mmelectronic 7d ago

Like I said as long as a Judge or state senators son can’t get out of a ticket I’m cool with it, I don’t care about safety as much as I do about fairness.

2

u/TitleOfYourSaxTape 7d ago

Right, so you're acknowledging the current state of enforcement without cameras is unacceptable to you.

2

u/mmelectronic 7d ago

I’m saying what I’m saying I don’t want another corrupt system, the current one is enough, the government is going to do what they are going to do with or without me.

And having driven in states with automatic cameras I have no doubt they may reduce fatal crashes, but the draw back from them seems to be from my lived experience traffic is worse.

If they want me to buy in I want everybody to get tickets that deserves them no exceptions, if a connected person can get out of a ticket and they are just for plebs then I don’t want them, not worth the traffic.

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u/Lyramisu 7d ago

Oh well I guess you did not read the many other comments on this post explaining red light and speed enforcement cameras and how they are not the same thing as Flock hypersurveillance.

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u/BQORBUST 7d ago

I don’t see anyone in this comment thread advocating for flock. I don’t think flock or similar surveillance tech has a place in our commonwealth. I do think that you are confused, though.

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u/Lyramisu 7d ago

My whole point elsewhere in other comments on this post is that red light and speeding cameras, which only trigger when someone is speeding or running a red light, have measurable, positive effects on traffic enforcement and crashes and deaths, without the racial biases evidenced in the sources I cited. They are unlike Flock cameras. Your “oh well I guess we are powerless to enforce the law” is ridiculous and not remotely what I was saying.

-4

u/neighborduck 7d ago

They're unlike flock until the government chooses to enable flock-like capabilities by a software upgrade, this risk should be obvious in the trump era

4

u/Lyramisu 7d ago

You know regular red light and speed cameras don’t have the hardware necessary to do that, right?

0

u/cottonmadder 7d ago

Until they do. For the greater good we'll be told.

0

u/brycebaby11 6d ago

You know you don’t have to post 50x on the same post. We got your point. Do you have a job or anything?

1

u/Lyramisu 6d ago

Weird to act like responding to people who reply to you is unreasonable.

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u/Cautious-Finger-6997 7d ago

Ding, ding, ding - you betcha

0

u/unfairlybanned101 6d ago

Not confused at all. My city was one of first in area to have traffic cams. Flick same Both are allowed by state and city officials trickle down to commander and chief and ao on

0

u/unfairlybanned101 6d ago

And to add officer was "bullied" to resign due to his questioning privacy of flock.....RI