Iowa Moms
A new list of locations for mobile speeding cameras and permanently mounted traffic cameras in the Des Moines area has been released. While it is probably helpful for me to note that there is a new camera up in an area that I drive in every day, I still can't shake my (probably irrational) feeling like there is something sort of unfair about these speed traps.
I should confess that, although I've slowed down a lot since my kiddos were born, I can be a bit of a lead foot. I count on being able to go 5-7 miles over the limit on the interstate without getting a ticket and while I drive safely, it makes me a little crazy to get behind people who go below the speed limit, especially during rush hour.
So, I've had a few speeding tickets in my life, but none that have annoyed me as much as the one I got from the city of Cedar Rapids a few weeks after I drive through there for the first time.
Part of what annoyed me was the fact that I didn't really remember speeding. There were a few times where I didn't know what the speed limit was, so I stayed out of the left lane and drove with the flow of traffic. I doubt, very much, that I would have been pulled over by an officer. When I go the ticket it just felt unfair. Did everyone around me get a ticket too?
I know speeding is speeding, whether an officer catches you or not, but this feels unfair somehow.
What do you think? Have you gotten a ticket from a traffic camera? Are you opposed to them?
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Replies
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I dont see it as unfair. Speeding is against the law. You are given the locations of the speed things (there is one in Fort Dodge that is a car) so you have a choice whether or not to speed or drive by the thing.
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I don't think they are unfair what's so unfair about a camera reminding you that youare speeding?? I have never gotten a ticket for anything but I don't drive. I am not opposed to them either I actually think they are a good idea
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I have not received a ticket from a traffic camera nor do I have a problem with them.
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Most cameras (at least in Iowa) give you a 9mph leeway before ticketing you. That means that if you're caught it is because you are going at least 10mph over the posted limit. I think because of that fact alone the way they are set up is actually very "fair".
The only people I ever hear complain about the cameras are those who speed and get caught. Whether it is because they were knowingly speeding excessively or because they weren't paying attention to their surroundings and say they didn't know the speed limit doesn't really matter. As another driver on the road l find both of those ideas concerning.
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I have never had a ticket. I don' think they are unfair. Like the previous posters said, you shouldnt be speeding to begin with.
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I guess I must be the only lead foot in the crowd... :)
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I have no problem with the speeding cameras or the red-light cameras in Des Moines. Now if I see the signs for cameras in other cities then I start getting nervous because a friend told me about one in Sioux City that will send you a ticket if you turn right on red without sitting for something like 10 seconds...that is definitely not fair.
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Hmm....I know in Minneapolis they had red light cameras..it was found to have "violated state law," and the tickets were refunded.
Here is a link to a statement about it.
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I got a ticket once. I have a lead foot. But that doesn't mean it is unfair. -
there are a few in my hometown of cedar rapids and a few here in muscatine... I think there are too many traffic incidences and police need a break on minor things so they can respond