Zipped home for lunch today. Normally, such a journey costs $1.50 in tolls, a little less than a gallon of gas, and about an hour of time. Today, you can add something like $150 to that.
I got a speeding ticket - 70 in a 55 zone. It was deserved, and I’m going to pay it. I bring this up because I can’t decide whether to be upset or to just ignore it. Speeding’s pretty much my only traffic-law-vice, and I’ve been called on it twice now. I’m aware that it’s illegal (which makes me more likely to just pay and move on), but I’m also aware that tons of people speed, change lanes without signalling, and break all other sorts of traffic laws without being caught. People (including some I know personally) regularly speed by more than 30 mph on the Dulles Toll Road (where I was caught). Argh!
What we need is a foolproof method of catching violators - transponders in cars, smart cameras on roadsides, etc. The public would never stand for that, though, as it smacks of the Big Brother vibe. Of course, such devices could be used improperly - but they could also do a lot of good. Look at the benefits of red-light cameras, or speeding cameras. Assuming there’s a viable way to protest errors in the technology, they can work wonderfully and relieve a great deal of pressure from the various law enforcement agencies. If the privacy concerns can be answered, I see no real downside to this sort of advance.
At the very least, with the promise (or threat) of such technology, I might have avoided a ticket today.