02-23-2012, 07:06 AM | #91 |
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No, those are for everybody, gender being irrelevant. I also get offers for loan applications, classes that would give me a diploma in practically any field etc.
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02-23-2012, 07:25 AM | #92 |
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Well, thank god for that. I was worried they'd been talking to my ex-girlfriends.
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02-23-2012, 07:36 AM | #93 |
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The first stage warnings seem largely useless, as there will be so many fake email addresses, spam filters or people just assuming they are fake emails.
The second stage warnings are sent out by registered post though. That should really be considered where the process really starts. |
02-23-2012, 08:40 AM | #94 | |
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Driving me mad...
Quote:
I didn't mean to comment on whether I found the French idea good or bad - I can see a sort of merit in it, but, given the possibility of giving a "test as you drink and still make it home" syndrome, am not too sure.... However, as someone who drives thousands of miles at home and abroad, and also has been flagged for speeding, in the UK, a few times, not by much on each occassion, but definitely "a fair cop guv" , I have to say a lot of people [ including, at times, myself] seem to miss an important vital point. SPEED KILLS. There's no way around this simple statement, it is true, and even if you think you are the best, most skilled driver in the world, with the safest car that can be made, it still applies to you. Your vehicle is dangerous. And despite being fined and given points myself, I agree with our law that will take away your license if you exceed the points maximum, whether for exceeding the speed limit/crossing white lines/drinking too much/test your car to the limit because it's "your right".... or any driving transgression. And gives even tougher penalties for really bad cases. Even a quiet country road, few houses, not much traffic etc.. a child/dog/wheelchair/cyclist/walker.... can still appear from nowhere and go across in front of you. Don't forget, you travel around 45 feet in a second at 30mph, 105feet at 70mph. This translates, very roughly, into stopping distances of 100 feet @ 30 mph and an eye-watering 370 feet @ 70 mph. Bigger car, badly maintained vehicle,wet road, more speed, slower reaction time = further. Which, in a way, makes it unbelievable that the car driver is treated so relatively mildly, especially when a moderate fine would appear to offer little disincentive to reform driving habits. And despite the freedom of the individual, democracy, anti-motorist law lobbies, and all the parephenalia [?] of modern society, these stark figures can, in an instant, translate into a dead or maimed person. Sometimes the driver. I lost a very close friend in a head-on crash, in an "idylic" country lane, in perfect conditions, good visibility, two vehicles in good repair, nobody "in drink",with sufficient room for both vehicles. One of them was travelling too fast to stop in time to avoid the collision. I try my best to obey traffic laws, but none of us can be perfect. But it surely is our responsibility to try our best - and don't feel affronted if we're found to have broken sensible and neccessary laws. Whatever country we live in. |
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02-23-2012, 08:45 AM | #95 | |
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Quote:
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02-23-2012, 10:02 AM | #96 | ||
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Quote:
C'mon, man. There's little reason to doubt that most of them were pirating, and most of them got scared off. As to how it works: Last June, Hadopi had sent out 400,000 emails, and 20,000 certified letters. Out of that, only 10 people went to the third stage. Quote:
And if we were discussing "sending spam" rather than "downloading or uploading pirated content," at least some folks would change their minds about who is responsible. If your computer is sending out spam, and someone tells you that you're flooding the Internet with viagra ads, how is cleaning that up not your responsibility? |
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02-23-2012, 10:03 AM | #97 | |
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Quote:
Greg Weeks |
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02-23-2012, 10:17 AM | #98 | |
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Quote:
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02-23-2012, 10:35 AM | #99 | |
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Quote:
A couple of miles from where I live lies one of the most dangerous roads in the area, mainly because it's a great place for kids to test how fast their cars can go. When speed cameras were installed, the number of annual fatalities dropped by 40% and serious injuries by 32%. I'm sure the county (or wherever speeding ticket income actually ends up) has made some extra money as well, but that's frankly neither here nor there. |
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02-23-2012, 10:56 AM | #100 | |
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Quote:
How it usually works is that a company approaches a city and offers to install 10-20 red light cameras, for free, and also offers to pay the city, say, $200,000. In exchange, the company gets to keep the fines from the cameras. The problem is that the cameras were placed by the companies not at the most dangerous intersections, but at the intersections that were most likely to generate revenue. And, at least in one well-known case, they did shorten the yellow. All of this has tainted the red-light camera idea in the US (not that the idea was that popular to begin with). My state has tried to pass authorizing legislation for the past 5 years of so, but even with safeguards (yellow must run for 5 seconds; camera location must be at the most dangerous intersections with respect to red light runners as determined by the department of transportation, etc.), the bill has not been able to pass. So while I do like the idea in principle, it has been severely compromised in practice. |
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02-23-2012, 11:02 AM | #101 |
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It isn't speed that kills, otherwise all car races would end in carnage. It's a lack of concentration and poor observation skills, and those can strike at any speed. I ride a Triumph 900, usually at or below the limits but not always, and I often see people in cars texting on phones or fiddling with CD players. I saw one watching TV once. I don't know what it is about cars that makes people drive as if they are immune to all damage, but I blame all the safety devices and in-car entertainment. Get rid of all those and have a big metal spike sticking out of the dashboard and driving standards will improve.
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02-23-2012, 11:05 AM | #102 |
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Even if red light cameras are installed with the greatest of intentions, it's not a foregone conclusion that they will reduce accidents:
Texas: Red Light Cameras Boost League City Accidents |
02-23-2012, 12:24 PM | #103 |
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Sorry, I think it is just you. I generally get breast enlargement emails.
Which is ironic as I am very much a bloke (last I checked). My wife however, tends to be the recipient of penis enlargement spam. Though maybe it is all by way of, "get you special man or lady a gift that benifits you!" |
02-23-2012, 01:46 PM | #104 |
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There have been several studies on red light cameras that have found that in general they increase accidents. However, a couple of those studies and some more indepth ones found that if you also paint the issue with a broad stroke, they tend to reduce fatalities and serious accidents (though not by much, in general).
Now a person's life is worth quite a lot, but if a camera say reduces fatalities from 10 every 5 years to 9 every 5 years, but increases the number of minor accidents and minor injuries from 100 every year to 200 every year...what is the societal benifit? Yes, one person is now alive (though they might be paralized/permenantly injured instead of simply dead), but now you have double the amount of damage and minor injuries. Just about every study has found that a more effective way to reduce minor accidents and injuries AS WELL AS serious accidents and injuries is to length the duration of the yellow light. Sometimes by as little as 1 second can make a major impact. A local study to me in Maryland found that a number of places that implemented red light cameras also shortened yellow lights, which dramatically increased accidents AND fatalities. In one case by over 300% at a red light (for minor accidents at least). In some cases the yellow light was as short as 1 second in a 55mph zone. As for speed cameras, there has been few studies done in the US so far, but most point to them being revenue generating and have had little impact on accidents or fatalities. Most of which occur because of distracted driving, alcohol or drug use or reckless driving. Not actually speeding. |
02-23-2012, 02:58 PM | #105 | |
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Quote:
In other words, less speed is safer for other people and you. And a very large number of studies have shown that car drivers develop a "cocoon" mentality inside a "safe" cradle of metal and safety measures designed to keep them safe - it's natural. The real struggle is not that people drive as if they are immune, but that they often drive as if everybody else is, instead of protecting others from damage or harm through their own actions and behaviour. And in the UK , speed cameras were painted garish colours and designs, generally placed at dangerous positions, and "accident" rates did drop by more, but, the fixed camera policy has largely been abandoned because the "revenue" arguement won the day. [Presumably applauded by drivers who wanted to speed past the camera site they knew was there ? Why for goodness sake - oh yes, it's undemocratic or against their human rights..... ? ] And "accidents" are going up again, despite the new policy of mobile speed devices. Sorry to bang on, but vehicle drivers do seem unaware of their own stupidity at times - and I am among them. |
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