My b8&5H about the cameras has nothing to do with traffic control, I think places that have them may have lower accident rates since at least some of the folks in that town are aware of them and perhaps are a little more cautious in those areas. They are not, however, "still" cameras, thay are in fact video "EYES", and the "still pic" is a software function of that particular device. These are Surveillance cameras, anyone can buy them nowadays, you can buy a 4pack down at Fry's and mount them on the four corners of your roof and maintain a video log of everything that happens on the viewable property. Surveillance...get used to the word, that's what it is and knowing what the word means, hopefully, makes it less scary. "They" are watching. one cop in a room with 6 video monitors is almost the same as having 6 cops, one on every corner, and the cop doesn't even need to stay in the room with the monitors all the time, they can be on the street, and refer to the vids only when necessary. Video reproduction is amazing these days so while a cop watching the vid on the corner can't do anything to stop a crime in progress, they do have the capability to compile damning evidence in any surveilled area. They aren't watching "you" all the time, at least at this point, but the cameras DO have the ability to observe and record real time action where ever the camera is pointed, and if you happen to be in the scene, good or bad, it is up to "them" to decide whether that particular data stream is worth backing up as evidence. And don't think that the grainy low def vids you see of guys robbing a 7-11 are cutting edge cameras..those have been in place a LONG time and 7-11 isn't a leader in cutting edge "stop loss" technology. We've got redlite cameras in Beaverton, my neighbor got one for exceeding the speed in an area where pretty much everyone does it, not sayin it's right, but I will say LOTS of people around here tend to have their own interpretation of "speed limits", anyway, he mentioned it when he got back that nite and figured, heck it was night, he didn't think he looked directly at the camera and the dirt on his windshield may have occluded the view..no, a couple weeks later he got a decent pic of himself with a pic of his license plate and that "OH S%$*" look on his face, everybit the quality of his driver's license photo, along with the $185 ticket. They're coming, no ones gonna stop them, the only way to stay out of view is to stay on the fringes where there are no cameras. But eventually, there will be no fringe left..Not paranoia..just part of life in the 21st century. The only way to protect yourself is to make sure there are laws giving you the same rights they have, this Illinois (?) law that makes it illegal to vid a cop "doing his job" is a BIG step toward big brother control and abuse of this particular "power". Fight back !
