That’s exactly why they are visible. People don’t slow down because they abstractly understand that speed cameras exist in the universe. They slow down where they know there is a camera, and that is exactly the behaviour that is being exploited. Cameras are intended as a location-specific safety intervention that (according to all practical data) makes drivers slaughter vulnerable road users significantly less than when there isn’t a camera. You can argue that it’s a bandaid but I think that would mean you were trying to solve a problem other than the one the camera was deployed for.
I agree, it’s just that cameras became targets for vandals to destroy, negating all benefits of the camera. And somehow, the law doesn’t apply to the vandals, because they belong to the angry car mob, that always gets their way, because the cops are basically just like them, sick of driving, but forced to do so.
That’s exactly why they are visible. People don’t slow down because they abstractly understand that speed cameras exist in the universe. They slow down where they know there is a camera, and that is exactly the behaviour that is being exploited. Cameras are intended as a location-specific safety intervention that (according to all practical data) makes drivers slaughter vulnerable road users significantly less than when there isn’t a camera. You can argue that it’s a bandaid but I think that would mean you were trying to solve a problem other than the one the camera was deployed for.
I agree, it’s just that cameras became targets for vandals to destroy, negating all benefits of the camera. And somehow, the law doesn’t apply to the vandals, because they belong to the angry car mob, that always gets their way, because the cops are basically just like them, sick of driving, but forced to do so.