How many people out there have EZ-Pass or some other toll-paying transponder device? It has all the same privacy concerns, and I'm sure there were lots of people afraid of "the man" who complained about that system too. I use it, and I know I'm giving up some privacy in the process. But you know what? It rocks. I save frustration and get a discount on tolls in the process. I cruise with the rest of traffic at 15mph over the limit and haven't gotten any speeding tickets mailed to me (yet). They could easily start handing them out that way with timing data from the toll booths. If the govt starts abusing the information they collect a lot of pissed-off drivers will start voting the responsible politicians out of office - and politicians sell their soul to keep their jobs.
There's probably an argument to be made against this Texas system based on a govt procurement process that will probably result in paying a lot of money for a crappy system that will only solve a minor societal problem if it works properly (which it won't until it's 5 yrs late and 400% over budget.)
On the other hand, there was one of those photo-ticket systems at an intersection I drove past in WA state, and it definitely stopped me from trying to beat the yellow light a few times...
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How many people out there have EZ-Pass or some other toll-paying transponder device? It has all the same privacy concerns, and I'm sure there were lots of people afraid of "the man" who complained about that system too. I use it, and I know I'm giving up some privacy in the process. But you know what? It rocks. I save frustration and get a discount on tolls in the process. I cruise with the rest of traffic at 15mph over the limit and haven't gotten any speeding tickets mailed to me (yet). They could easily start handing them out that way with timing data from the toll booths. If the govt starts abusing the information they collect a lot of pissed-off drivers will start voting the responsible politicians out of office - and politicians sell their soul to keep their jobs.
There's probably an argument to be made against this Texas system based on a govt procurement process that will probably result in paying a lot of money for a crappy system that will only solve a minor societal problem if it works properly (which it won't until it's 5 yrs late and 400% over budget.)
On the other hand, there was one of those photo-ticket systems at an intersection I drove past in WA state, and it definitely stopped me from trying to beat the yellow light a few times...