Chicago’s ‘Race-Neutral’ Traffic Cameras Ticket Black And Latino Drivers the Most

[Dashinka 24,779]

Still wondering how traffic cameras are racist.

 

Chicago’s ‘Race-Neutral’ Traffic Cameras Ticket Black And Latino Drivers the Most

CHICAGO — When then-Mayor Richard M. Daley ushered in Chicago’s red-light cameras nearly two decades ago, he said they would help the city curb dangerous driving. “This is all about safety, safety of pedestrians, safety of other drivers, passengers, everyone,” he said.

 

His successors echoed those sentiments as they expanded camera enforcement. “My goal is only one thing, the safety of our kids,” Rahm Emanuel said in 2011, as he lobbied for the introduction of speed cameras. And in 2020, Lori Lightfoot assured residents her expansion of the program was “about making sure that we keep communities safe.”

 

But for all of their safety benefits, the hundreds of cameras that dot the city — and generate tens of millions of dollars a year for City Hall — have come at a steep cost for motorists from the city’s Black and Latino neighborhoods. A ProPublica analysis of millions of citations found that households in majority Black and Hispanic ZIP codes received tickets at around twice the rate of those in white areas between 2015 and 2019.

 

https://blockclubchicago.org/2022/01/11/chicagos-race-neutral-traffic-cameras-ticket-black-and-latino-drivers-the-most/

 

[Nature Boy 2.0 8,378]

Just when you thought the everything is racist argument could not get more absurd 

[laylalex 7,300]

There's an explanation in the article if you read it through.  It makes sense from a city planning perspective. The cameras themselves aren't "racist," no matter what the headline makes it look like. I won't give away the common sense reasoning for why more tickets are issued in majority Black and Hispanic neighborhoods in Chicago, you really should read it for yourself.

[Dashinka 24,779]

11 hours ago, laylalex said:

There's an explanation in the article if you read it through.  It makes sense from a city planning perspective. The cameras themselves aren't "racist," no matter what the headline makes it look like. I won't give away the common sense reasoning for why more tickets are issued in majority Black and Hispanic neighborhoods in Chicago, you really should read it for yourself.

It really wasn't much of an explanation.  Based on Chicago's distribution of these devices being fairly even amongst demographics, maybe the reason some people get tickets more is that they do not follow the traffic laws.  Is that a racial thing?

[laylalex 7,300]

I think it was a good explanation. It is common sense that where you encounter more traffic lights/stop signs/yield signs, there are more opportunities and reasons to slow down. Ditto where there are lots of people walking around on sidewalks, or parallel parking (meters or not), or pulling into/out of driveways that aren't leading from large shopping plazas. With more going on, we pay more attention. Think about when you drive long distance on a freeway, how easy it is to lose track of your speed. (I say this as someone who has never had a speeding ticket, but I have seen my speed drift up driving on the 5, or going cross country on the 10 or 40 or 70.) 

 

So the question is one of city planning: why do neighborhoods which are disproportionately Black or Hispanic have fewer of these "checks" on speed in the Chicago area -- provided that is actually true? Could speeding be brought down by adding more visual reminders to check your speed? 

[LIBrty4all 3,754]

I remember there was something here on VJ in the past about a small percentage of a particular group doing a large percentage of the crime.  Racist, or fact?  You decide...

[Nature Boy 2.0 8,378]

43 minutes ago, LIBrty4all said:

I remember there was something here on VJ in the past about a small percentage of a particular group doing a large percentage of the crime.  Racist, or fact?  You decide...

I would post a link to the FBI crime stats but I got suspended for that once.

[LIBrty4all 3,754]

6 hours ago, Nature Boy 2.0 said:

I would post a link to the FBI crime stats but I got suspended for that once.

EXACTLY what I had in mind.  

There is a reason why certain people get in trouble for breaking the law.  Hint: It's because they... BREAK THE LAW.

[Dashinka 24,779]

4 hours ago, LIBrty4all said:

EXACTLY what I had in mind.  

There is a reason why certain people get in trouble for breaking the law.  Hint: It's because they... BREAK THE LAW.

No No No, there are many more reasons much more nuanced as to why an inanimate object would in fact be racist.  Must be that these devices ignore the lawbreaking of those of a certain racial identity (sorry Rachel D.), and are much more sensitive of minor infractions by other racial identity categories.

[laylalex 7,300]

I explained the hypothesis of the article but I guess everyone is blocking me? Oh well. 🤷‍♀️ It's not inanimate objects that are being racist. Urban design could be improved to reduce speed in areas that are prone to speeding. 

[LIBrty4all 3,754]

16 hours ago, Dashinka said:

No No No, there are many more reasons much more nuanced as to why an inanimate object would in fact be racist.  Must be that these devices ignore the lawbreaking of those of a certain racial identity (sorry Rachel D.), and are much more sensitive of minor infractions by other racial identity categories.

Some people will just never get it, no matter how well you dumb it down. 

[B_J 2,752]

All of you.  You're all racist!