# Do speed limit cameras cut some slack? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 31, 2022, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-speed-limit-cameras-cut-some-slack/965450 "2022-05-31T18:07:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2022, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-speed-limit-cameras-cut-some-slack/965450/41 "2022-06-04T04:37:54Z")
Heh. We all need to go hang out at a dive bar. First and last round is on me! ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2022, 9:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-speed-limit-cameras-cut-some-slack/965450/42 "2022-06-04T09:36:26Z")
> [@SmartAleq](#): > > this Japanese proverb: “Do not make the error of claiming twenty years of experience when what you have is one year repeated twenty times.” cite? Is this really a Japanese proverb? ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2022, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-speed-limit-cameras-cut-some-slack/965450/43 "2022-06-04T17:22:06Z")
Well, Trevanian claimed it as such when he included it in _Shibumi_ but it’s never bothered me enough to go researching it. Seems fairly self evident that it’s a bit of good advice and probably has been arrived at multiple times in various cultures. In _Shibumi_ it’s Otake-san’s final advice to Nicolai: “Do not fall into the error of the artisan who boasts of twenty years experience in his craft while in fact he has had only one year of experience — twenty times.” ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2022, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-speed-limit-cameras-cut-some-slack/965450/44 "2022-06-04T17:27:00Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > But eventually local governments get abusive with them and they become nothing more than a revenue making scheme. In my town, the city placed red light cameras at several intersections where red light running was a serious problem. So I believe that the intent was to honestly address the issue. However, the city did not purchase the equipment, rather it was leased or otherwise installed in a partnership with a private company for free with a revenue sharing agreement between the city and the company. This is such an obvious conflict of interest that I am surprised that the city attorney allowed it at all. And yes, yellow light times were reduced as well. Eventually the state passed laws preventing their use on any road that was a state road or was maintained with state provided funds, which was about 75% of the intersections. The remaining 25% didn’t provide adequate revenue for the private company and they were removed. But the obvious corruption should never have been foisted on the public in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2022, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-speed-limit-cameras-cut-some-slack/965450/45 "2022-06-04T20:29:36Z")
> [@SmartAleq](#): > > Well, Trevanian claimed it as such when he included it in _Shibumi_ but it’s never bothered me enough to go researching it. In other words, it’s not really Japanese. Carry on. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2022, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-speed-limit-cameras-cut-some-slack/965450/46 "2022-06-04T21:15:13Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > In other words, it’s not really Japanese. > > Carry on. There is a quote attributed to Yukiso Yamamoto that goes “It has been said that a person may have ten years of experience, or one year of experience repeated ten times.” I have not found any definitive source, though, and you know how many apocryphal quotes there are on the net. But if you want to sniff in a direction, that’s one to try. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2022, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-speed-limit-cameras-cut-some-slack/965450/47 "2022-06-05T00:49:23Z")
I don’t understand SmartAleq animosity towards me in the first place. I’m truly glad that the set up in his area is doing what is originally promised. But in most areas, according to every article and study I have read, they become nothing but a shakedown. Many of the violations would be met with a warning if a live officer had made the stop. Giving a verbal or written warning on first time traffic offenders is effective. And fighting camera tickets defendants feel railroaded. I would think many of the left leaning folks on these boards would agree with me that the system stinks and violates defendants rights on several fronts. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2022, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-speed-limit-cameras-cut-some-slack/965450/48 "2022-06-05T01:39:52Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > There is a quote attributed to Yukiso Yamamoto that goes “It has been said that a person may have ten years of experience, or one year of experience repeated ten times.” I have not found any definitive source, though, and you know how many apocryphal quotes there are on the net. Whatever it is, it’s not some Japanese proverb, as @SmartAleq claimed. Perhaps it’s the saying of one Japanese person, perhaps not. But it’s not some traditional saying, or at least one my Japanese friends are aware of. /hijack ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2022, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-speed-limit-cameras-cut-some-slack/965450/49 "2022-06-05T05:38:18Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > Whatever it is, it’s not some Japanese proverb, as @SmartAleq claimed. Perhaps it’s the saying of one Japanese person, perhaps not. But it’s not some traditional saying, or at least one my Japanese friends are aware of. > > /hijack _“Don’t believe everything you read on the internet”_ -Abraham Lincoln ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2022, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-speed-limit-cameras-cut-some-slack/965450/51 "2022-06-05T12:10:34Z")
That quote was in an actual book, though. (Which are often equally responsible for passing on apocryphal quotes. The ironic thing is that the Internet made it possible for me to realize that I should take unsourced quotes in any form with a grain of salt.) ---
**Author:** ![Orville\_mogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/aeb1de/32.png) [@Orville\_mogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orville_mogul)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2022, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-speed-limit-cameras-cut-some-slack/965450/52 "2022-06-13T08:02:41Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I’ve also seen a few roadside radar installations with an electronic sign that shows your speed. this reminds me of a question I have had for some time. We have these sort of installations in a number of villages around me. I guess they are kind of useful as a reminder, but I’m glad they don’t result in actual tickets. But unlike the real speed trap cameras that very clearly have a camera mounted to them, these ‘informational’ speed readouts don’t have any obvious camera installation. All I see is a square dot matrix bulb display (sorry, I have no idea what these are called) mounted on a pole. Where is the speed sensor? And these things seem to start capturing my speed from fairly far away, at least 50 meters. How do they do it? ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2022, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-speed-limit-cameras-cut-some-slack/965450/53 "2022-06-16T17:32:48Z")
A simple radar gun can be made in any shape or size. It’s placed inside the sign itself. It just takes a gunn oscillator which are quite small. There is no camera. These are known as “traffic calming devices” as are speed bumps and rumble strips. The signs keep people alert of their actual speed by displaying it and setting off every fuzzbuster within a mile. ---
**Author:** ![Orville\_mogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/aeb1de/32.png) [@Orville\_mogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orville_mogul)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2022, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-speed-limit-cameras-cut-some-slack/965450/54 "2022-06-17T07:26:12Z")
that’s kind of what I figured. I’ll have to google oscillator to get a better idea of how they work. But can something so small really catch your speed from more than 50 meters? That’s a lot. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2022, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-speed-limit-cameras-cut-some-slack/965450/55 "2022-06-17T10:14:26Z")
That’s not very far at all. Using a small Ka band radar gun on a long straight road I can pick off targets up to 3000 feet away. While that’s not typical it can be done in some locations. What’s on the road such as bridges and concrete barricades can affect beam scatter. But 50 meters is nothing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-speed-limit-cameras-cut-some-slack/965450.md?page=2)