State OKs lower Highway 99 speed limits in south Everett

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

EVERETT — Lower speed limits are on the horizon for Highway 99 in south Everett.

The Washington State Department of Transportation recently approved the change, as requested by the city.

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Everett had to get the state’s approval because Highway 99, also called Evergreen Way north of 112th Street SW in Everett, is a state route.

Speed limits will drop from 50 to 40 mph between Airport Road and Everett Mall Way, and from 40 to 35 mph along Everett Mall Way from Evergreen to Seventh Avenue SE.

https://www.heraldnet.com/news/state-oks-lower-highway-99-speed-limits-in-south-everett/

[FoxNewsSucks]

1. Sounds like the city would rather fleece drivers

with their radar fund-raisers than improve traffic flow.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

2. Several pedestrians were killed along that stretch.

[FoxNewsSucks]

3. Yes, and their proposals would likely do nothing to help that

In fact, several studies have shown that automated speed cameras, and red light cameras in particular, result in increased accidents.

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=traffic+cameras+increase+accidents&hps=1&ia=web

There are several busy roads like that here, and where I used to live. The danger was abated not by mailing out tickets, but by installing pedestrian overpasses. Vegas has them as well. It keeps traffic moving, and improves pedestrian flow and safety.

The camera companies referenced in the article are highly profitable. They make deals with the cities, and keep up to 65% of the ticket money. It's just a racket. Sold to tight-budget local governments as "free money" for them, and in turn sold to the public falsely as increased safety. In most agreements, the tickets are not reported to insurers or put on drivers' records. If the driver can avoid process servers for 90 days, since that's the time deadline on most agreements or specified by the law authorizing cameras, they simply don't pay.

The real damage is that if a live cop stopped a speeder or red-light runner, and that driver were drunk or otherwise impaired, they'd be jailed for DUI. The cameras just take a picture and assuming the drunk makes it home without killing themselves or others, the drunk just gets a speeding ticket which can likely be ignored in the mail. Car thieves, and drivers with warrants or who are otherwise wanted also go on down the road instead of being jailed.

Automated cameras are a bad idea. Profitable, but bad.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

4. We'll see