I was talking with some friends of mine yesterday about how Minneapolis has just set up a number of automated systems that send tickets to red light runners. Don't get me wrong, I really would like to see people get nailed for running lights, but the automated, big-brother system really freaks me out.
There is so much circumstantial information that is missed by a mere photograph. To not have a human involved to make a judgement call is a real step in the wrong direction. A lot of information is stripped away from the event when an automatic ticket is served.
What's really awesome is when new technologies are used to actually assist justice, not simply increase the number of ticketable offences.
In this story, Google Maps and a spur of the moment WiFi connection successfully assisted a defendant charged with running a red light in NY. He was able to prove to the judge that the officer had mistaken the facts and the violation was dismissed.
[via Make Blog]