I love gadgets and innovations of all kinds ? especially those involving transportation and technology. Around the world, companies are inventing all sorts of things that can either make our traveling lives easier or make it easier for law enforcement to catch us doing something wrong.
In the latter category is a new form of traffic camera. You?ve heard of and seen red-light cameras that take a picture of those running through intersections after the light has gone from amber to red. You?ve probably heard of the newest speed enforcement cameras that take pictures of those exceeding a certain speed.
Now there is a new type of enforcement camera that?s being tested in Australia. This one is aimed at catching those whose exhaust systems are too loud or who are playing their car stereos at volumes that shake the pavement. These cameras are connected to microphones that monitor the sound of traffic on roadways and, when a vehicle makes the level meters connected to the microphones spike, the camera takes either a still picture or 10 seconds of video. The vehicle?s owner is then sent a ticket.
Down in Charlotte, N.C., there is a program around the sports arena that makes parking easier by giving you a guaranteed space. All you have to do is go onto the Web site that provides a list of the lots near the arena (with the approximate distance) and the number of spaces available. After picking the lot where you want to park (the closer you are, the higher the fee), you then enter your credit card information. Once the business end of the deal is complete, you print out a parking permit for that lot that includes the number of the space to which you have been assigned. This plan would seem to be perfectly suited for all those surface lots and garages around Camden Yards.
Another thing being rolled out in cities in the west is a parking meter that resets every time a car pulls away from it. This means that you can?t expect to find an extra 20 or 30 minutes that somebody left on a meter. Insofar as this all means more money for the jurisdictions that add them, I?d expect to start seeing them in a neighborhood near you very soon.
Steve Eldridge is an award-winning traffic and transportation reporter. You can contact him with your thoughts, ideas and questions by writing to: [email protected]. Only your first name will be used if your letter is published and e-mails will only be forwarded for response with your permission.
