All Midtown (New York) Could Soon Be A Toll Zone (Camera Enforced)

New York Post ^ | February 19, 2003 | Stephanie Gaskell

[freeeee]

New York officials will soon be heading to London for a firsthand look at a controversial new program to limit traffic by charging motorists $8 to drive into the central city during rush hours, officials said yesterday.

"We're watching it with interest," said Tom Cocola, a spokesman for the Transportation Department. "We'll see how it goes."

[freeeee]

From London uses cameras and databases to track license plates for tolls and fines

"The vehicles that are unaccounted for are explained by the fact that the figures are approximate and the 700 cameras scattered around the zone capture about 90 per cent of vehicles and number plates. These are then checked against payment records."

Let me for the record repeat a few lies frequently heard in the red light camera debate:

"Red light cameras won't be used for other purposes."

"If you don't run red lights, you don't have anything to worry about."

"If you think these cameras are going to track your movement, you're wearing the tin foil hat."

And as I predicted (which isn't that hard), all of those were lies, designed to ease our fears as total public electronic surveillance is incrementally established.

Here we see the inevitable results of politicians empowered with the tool of camera saturated cities combined with databases. And it only gets worse.

Land of the free???

[freeeee]

Disgusted ping

[Publius]

William F. Buckley made this idea part of his platform when he ran for mayor of New York in 1965 on the ticket of the Conservative Party.

When asked what would be his first action if elected, Buckley said, "Demand a recount."

[Fudd]

Well, it seems to me there should be a market for technology to defeat these plate-grabbing cameras. I have one idea on how it could be done...

[freeeee]

Disgusted ping

[NativeNewYorker]

Such cameras in NY wouldn't last a week without cops guarding them.

[Petronski]

Well, it seems to me there should be a market for technology to defeat these plate-grabbing cameras. I have one idea on how it could be done...

I believe that technology is called 'mud.'

[freeeee]

I'd like to think New Yorkers are that fiercely independent, but I understand your red light cameras are still up...

[ikka]

London's imposition of the toll is expected to generate about $300 million a year in revenue.

And the money received will go into making London's roads better, right? RIGHT.......

[IncPen]

Well, it seems to me there should be a market for technology to defeat these plate-grabbing cameras. I have one idea on how it could be done...

Yes. A simple ping to the 2nd amendment list ought to take care of things nicely.

I can see it now: a website that judges form and awards points for snipering the Big Brother Cams...

[freeeee]

Nah, they'll just throw it into the bottomless pit of socialism. Or maybe they'll use it to research new and clever ways to pry and spy and make life in general a living hell.

[NativeNewYorker]

I drive so infrequently that I didn't know that. Hard to imagine them being used to collect $$ tho.

[FreedomPoster]

That technology market already exists.

[July 4th]

$27/hour to park in Midtown was toll enough for me.

[B4Ranch]

That's a long shot from Nevada. I would probably use a can of spray adhesive attached to a pole.

[freeeee]

I think the toll issue is secondary to the enforcement mechanism.

Public areas of cities are being saturated with cameras. These cameras, in this case, will automatically scan and enter license plate numbers into a central database. The alleged purpose of this is to check against a list of people who have paid their toll. But it can and will be used for much, much more than that.

This is part of a much larger effort to track all individuals. The ramifications of this are mind boggling.

[FreedomPoster]

Just add "Nevada" to the search string, it'll home right in.

[StriperSniper]

I believe that technology is called 'mud.'

LOL! (Right now it's kind of a frozen salt/slush mixture on mine ;-)

[par4]

A few years ago, I recall seeing a license plate cover that was purported to be able to defeat the camera at toll booths etc. As I remember, it was a clear cover with some kind of prismatic grooves which enable the plate to be read from directly behind at up to about a ten to fifteen degree angle downwards, so that law enforcement personnel in vehicles would be able to read the plate without noticing anything out of the ordinary. However, the grooves (or whatever the technology was) would make the plate unable to be read from an angle over 10 degrees, making a camera mounted up high useless.

Of course, such a thing would probably be illegal and I would never recommend that someone pursue it, the above is strictly for informational and entertainment purposes, your actual mileage may vary, blah, blah, blah....

[B4Ranch]

1200 miles is still a long shot for a rifle.