[bigiain]

Where I am (Sydney Australia) we have fixed speed cameras that automatically create speeding fines to drivers going too fast (well, technically the registered owner of the vehicle via ANPR).

They eventually had to equip pretty much every speed camera with a speed camera camera, usually on a much higher pole to make vandalism more difficult.

[alexpotato]

Reminds me of the story about Aeroflot (Soviet National airline) and hijackings

- Aeroflot flights get hijacked and flown to West Berlin

- Soviets decided to put Spetsnaz (Soviet special forces) on the planes much like we have Air Marshals today

- Spetsnaz figures "we have guns and are on the plane already" so they start hijacking flights

- So Soviets put TWO Spetsnaz teams on the flight

- Team 1 decides to hijack flight, realize there is a Team 2 who ALSO agrees to hijack the flight

[pandaman]

Which Aeroflot flights were hijacked and flown to West Berlin? I've never heard of this. Funny though that Windows Copilot believes this happened and says that:

"On December 12, 1978, two Soviet citizens hijacked an Aeroflot Yak‑40 on a domestic route and forced it to fly to West Berlin’s Tempelhof Airport, which was under U.S. control."

But then, when asked about any reference to this event, gives this:

"1. LOT Polish Airlines Flight 165 (30 August 1978) A LOT Tupolev Tu‑134 was hijacked by East German citizens seeking asylum and forced to land at Tempelhof Airport in West Berlin."

Are you an AI?

[KMcCMedia]

That sounds like a typical kind of Soviet genre of joke; Like the guy leaving the breadline in disgust to go kill Gorbachev, but he comes back when he finds that line is even longer...

[terminalshort]

This will never be a thing in America. Good luck putting the camera on a pole higher than a redneck can shoot a rifle.

[andwur]

Sounds like a new remit for the NRO. Park a billion dollar satellite over an area to keep an eye out for petty vandalism. Then the sheriffs office can team up with Space Force: papers will be served immediately by LEO MIRV deployment, which may also count as execution depending on visibility and aim on the day.

/s - but it wouldn't surprise me at the rate things are going.

[ErroneousBosh]

In the mid-2000s the company I worked for in Glasgow fitting microwave links to buildings (broadband wasn't readily available outside cable TV aerials) had a pile of ODUs that had been shot off roofs.

Mostly from one particularly benighted area, Easterhouse. If you extensively gentrified Easterhouse back then, it would look like Detroit in the 90s. It's improved a little since then.

[etrautmann]

We already have speed cameras Al over NYC. Often the posted speeds there are 25 leading to some absurd tickets.

[vkou]

1. Shooting rifles in an urban area sounds like a great way to go to prison.

2. As of 2026, most rednecks seem to be all for the police state. Don't expect them to come save you.

[stavros]

Oof, I really hate this automated enforcement. Might be time to get a paintball gun.

[bigiain]

Also here:

"In NSW, paintball is classified as a "prohibited firearm" under the Firearms Act 1996. However, it can still be legally played under strict licensing conditions. Unlike in some states where it is more loosely regulated, players and operators in NSW must comply with a range of legal requirements to ensure safety and legality."

These rules have changed, I think back before COVID they reclassified them as sporting equipment instead of firearms, but still brought in a whole bunch of licensing rules and requirements similar to gun ownership.

You can't just walk into KMart and walk out with a paintball gun here. |Or paintball markers.

[seanmcdirmid]

And this is the reason I can’t wait for self driving cars that just follow the speed limit.

[staringforward]

> Might be time to get a paintball gun

Just wait until you find out that paintball guns are considered firearms are require licensing in the aforementioned region.

[lotsofpulp]

What else could make life safer at a realistic cost for people outside of vehicles?

[appplication]

Tbh an overpowered laser off alibaba probably works a lot better at longer range