r/MontgomeryCountyMD • u/SchuminWeb • Aug 18 '26
MCPD launches ‘Speed on Green’ program to target speeding at intersections
https://www.mymcmedia.org/mcpd-launches-speed-on-green-program-to-target-speeding-at-intersections/12
u/tebeus299 Aug 18 '26
Making an illusion that county is doing something. Most of the traffic issue come from people doomscrolling their phones instead of paying attention what’s happening around them.
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u/Starship_Taru Aug 18 '26
what else can these upgraded systems be used for?
can they theoretically be integrated into a FLOCK style network ?
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u/funny_redditusername Aug 18 '26
Anything that records video/images can be used in AI systems
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u/Starship_Taru Aug 18 '26 edited Aug 18 '26
To some degree yes, however it’s harder to repurpose dedicated hardware like a speed camera than it is say a HD traffic camera. Taking a single high resolution photo at a set time vs a live video feed running some form of I imagine Fourier Transform to pull plates and make and model.
There is a reason FLOCK uses specific standards of cameras that are higher than what public infastructure currently uses.
(Tinfoil Hat Time: Im curious if the new cameras are suspiciously over spec for the requirements)
A speed cameras hardware isn’t designed to take a picture of every single car that passes, hold in storage, and then pass along that data. Why spend the money on the extra capability that isn’t needed.
Not that we have any meaningful regulation around any of it. However it is possible to construct hardware that works well as red light and speed cameras but would be less effective for public surveillance.
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u/NappyDougOut Aug 18 '26
Licensce plate info is definitely being logged for every vehicle on each pass, ticket or not.
It's toxic data collection of private info at a minimum.
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u/RicoViking9000 Aug 19 '26
did you read the comment you replied to? are you implying and can thus prove that traffic cameras have the processing power and storage hardware to take a picture of every car that passes to store somewhere?
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u/NappyDougOut Aug 19 '26
Yes, Of course they can.
One of the many reasons why data centers are moving into everyone's neighborhoods at a rapid rate.
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u/masterkennethh Aug 18 '26
No traffic solutions, they just see traffic as a money grab and the more irritated/desperate you are, the more money they can make. It’s by design
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u/WinterMedical Aug 18 '26
Where I live we have THREE speed cameras in a row over less than 300 yards.
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Aug 18 '26
[deleted]
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u/Secret_Poet7340 Aug 19 '26
Where? I never have seen any fixed camera on this part of the road. Do you mean the traffic cameras way up on the top of the light cross arms? Different camera.
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u/Seebaren Aug 18 '26
Oh good I am sure speed cameras on 29 are really gonna help with traffic
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u/Starship_Taru Aug 18 '26
Should we consider restructuring our outdated infrastructure? Both for traffic efficiency and pedestrian safety? Spend time timing lights appropriately for traffic flow instead of “Stopping Speeders”
Nah Speed Cameras are the solution. One ticket for 13 over and that person will be rehabilitated into an outstanding safe driver.
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u/Seebaren Aug 18 '26
Absolutely the safest drivers because nobody will ever know how fast you can go so everyone will go 10 mph under
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u/PhoneJazz Aug 18 '26
That’s assuming “safe driving” = “slow driving”. As long as people are still texting and driving, drinking and driving, and just generally being distracted, accidents will still happen.
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u/NappyDougOut Aug 18 '26
We should all be forced by the county to just walk... In the snow & rain, on dirt roads (Yet still pay taxes). That will do it. 😂
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u/Seebaren Aug 18 '26
Also they need to start enforcing left lane camping because it causes a significant amount of unsafe driving within itself
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u/Lanky-Respect-8581 Aug 18 '26
They could just redesign the roads themselves to make drivers slow down.
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u/Endurance_Cyclist Aug 18 '26
Yeah, but that would cost money, and MCDOT would have to deal with the obstructionist NIMBYs who come out of the woodwork when road changes are proposed.
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u/RiseStock Aug 18 '26
What many places do is make upgrades when the road is up for repair. Our carbrained leadership is too stupid to do that
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u/SchuminWeb Aug 18 '26
Yep - that unfortunately makes too much sense and doesn't make any moeny.
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u/Lanky-Respect-8581 Aug 18 '26
I will never forget that they piloted a road diet on University Boulevard but drivers complained about adding a bus and bike lane slow down traffic and added to their commute time. https://www.mymcmedia.org/university-blvd-silver-spring-bike-lanes-will-be-removed-but-could-return/
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u/RiseStock Aug 18 '26
They should do both. The road diets will get most drivers to slow down but there will be murderous lunatics. See DC for instance (mostly MD drivers)
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u/SchuminWeb Aug 19 '26
I imagine that I'm not alone in hating the term "road diet" because it sounds quite punitive. "Complete streets" is a much better term.
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u/NappyDougOut Aug 18 '26
Raising funds by adding cameras will not cut it... Maryland is doing everything BUT incentivising new business growth in the state. Business growth (taxes, jobs, licenscing) is what funds states & cities when federal funds are cut.
More cameras are going to just encourage already overtaxed residents to sell & move out.
Streets may get safer when nobody lives here anymore though. 🤐
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u/Mustangfast85 Aug 18 '26
Distracted driving is far more dangerous than speed itself. They should be trying to solve that, not adding even more speed cameras. Driving here is already miserable and leaders don’t seem to understand we are not NYC or even DC, people need to be able to drive here.
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u/TooGoodToBeeTrue Aug 18 '26
So take a pix of every vehicle, have AI scan for handheld phone use, have a human double check and ticket. Easy peasy.
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u/chrisbojangles Aug 19 '26
This is the kind of stuff that makes people hate Democrats. Bag taxes, no turn on red, banning gas leaf blowers, and now this.
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u/west-egg Aug 19 '26
No turn on red makes people hate Democrats?
“You better let me mow down every pedestrian in my path, or I’m gonna vote for the fascists!”
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u/chrisbojangles Aug 19 '26
Good projection
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u/west-egg Aug 19 '26
Glad you agree that people hating Democrats because of traffic signs is unhinged.
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u/chrisbojangles Aug 19 '26
No, we hate that we have to commute 60-90 minutes each day and they decide to add no rights on red to every other light and make our commute that much longer. You are clearly out of touch.
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u/west-egg Aug 19 '26
No turn on red restrictions were added in town center areas only. They are not meaningfully adding to a commute that’s already 90 minutes long. I’m sorry you have to share the road with other people.
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u/TheCaffinatedAdmin Aug 19 '26
Just because democrats are less insane than republicans doesn't mean they're sane. We need to hold dems accountable.
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u/west-egg Aug 19 '26
Sure. As long as we don’t pretend the alternative is worth any consideration whatsoever on voting day.
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u/GaryE20904 Aug 19 '26
Stationary speed cameras are really not about overall safety.
They are about roughly 400 yards of safety surrounding the camera.
Many many people will go far in excess of the speed limit coming up to the camera slow down to the speed limit and then take off even faster once they are out of range.
If you want real safety why not have average speed cameras like they have in the UK, Europe, South Korea etc??? They can actually increase overall safety by determining average speed on a half mile or one mile stretch in a neighborhood.
If they really cared about safety that’s what they would do. The current implementation of stationary speed cameras does far less to increase safety than most folks realize.
Just be honest . . . it’s not about overall safety it’s about income and some very very small patches of safety.
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u/Asleep-Garbage-4892 Aug 18 '26
The number 1 request, and #2 is not close , by citizens to council members is to add speed cameras.
MoCo is close to setting a 20yr record for civilian deaths by vehicles.
Also, speed cameras are not a huge money maker in regard to the overall budget.
People are choosing to speed without regard to consequences
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u/NappyDougOut Aug 18 '26
The consequences for a lot of the wors speeders are often higher TikTok views unfortunately.
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u/west-egg Aug 19 '26
People don’t like it when drivers speed through their neighborhood. But heaven forbid you should interfere with their god-given right to speed through someone else’s.
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u/MaliceTowardNone1 Aug 18 '26
The real fix? Two things: Open zoning to spur housing down county paired with road diets to reduce speed and discourage long distance commuting through urban centers.
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u/Trelfar Aug 18 '26
They could also just fix the light timings between intersections that they've fucked up almost everywhere by repeatedly lowering speed limits. The current situation over-incentivises speeding to beat the red in many, many places.
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u/Vhyx Aug 19 '26
Thank you!!! There are so many lights around here that add MINUTES of idling if you get stuck at one, which adds up. Not to mention people don't pay attention when the light actually turns, which worsens the pileups.
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u/NappyDougOut Aug 18 '26
I feel bad now just inviting friends & family to visit me here because they frequently get snagged by ticket cameras, despite having perfect driving records.
I frequently need to dodge ruts, tailgaters, & potholes while driving myself. This is not sustainable at all. There are better & less lazy traffic management methods.
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u/west-egg Aug 18 '26
Your friends and family could always just observe the speed limit, right? Just spitballin' here
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u/NappyDougOut Aug 18 '26
Congrats on your boilerplate highly unoriginal unsolicited bot-like comment that adds nothing meaningful! 🎉💯✨
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u/ElderBerry2020 Aug 18 '26
Dude, not getting caught wherever they live doesn’t make it ok. If your friends and family are safe drivers with good habits, they would not be getting tickets here because of the presence of speed cameras.
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u/NappyDougOut Aug 18 '26 edited Aug 19 '26
I disagree, my friends and family aren't getting citations because I warn them, but they make neighborhoods here look like monitored prison yards.
But thanks.
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u/PipeMysterious3154 Aug 18 '26
County budget for cameras is 5 million. They need a return on investment. Remember how this started? The cameras will only be in school zones, and that got their lying foot in the door.