New York City obviously doesn't tell citizens where its speed cameras are, but using data on the tickets police issued last year, WNYC tracked down the location of the most absurd traps, including the city's $2.75 million cash machine.
The data shows that about half on New York's 51 cameras sit in fixed spots, whereas the other half rove around. The screenshot above from comes from the interactive map on WNYC's website.
The most vicious ticketing camera sits on the Shore Parkway in Coney Island, which issued 55,000 $50 tickets last year. Another brutal camera is currently issuing tickets to eastbound drivers at Atlantic Avenue and Essex Street in Brooklyn.
For drivers, speed cameras are an infuriating enforcement tool. They're ostensibly designed to keep people safe by slowing traffic, but it's impossible to ignore that they've got the benefit of generating loads of revenue for local governments.
Sure, slowing drivers down has the benefit of saving lives, but that alone doesn't justify cameras. A recent case of doctored photo evidence in Washington DC shows that cameras are hardly infallible, and in Chicago, critics have called the placement of cameras unfair. In part, WNYC's report seems to support the camera critique: The three cameras that generate the most tickets are right off expressways on roadways completely closed to pedestrians.
You should probably slow down no matter what. But if any of those spots above are on your regular commute, go to WNYC and check the location of the cameras that could cost you. [WNYC via Twitter] - Mario Aguilar-, Gawker Media
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