Photo Red - Some Numbers

There's an article in today's Spokesman Review about how the photo red traffic lights have done for the past year. Kudos to the Review for digging into this.

The verdict? The photo red enforcement hasn't made a difference one way or another, except for the collected revenue.

I'd like to know the basis for this statement.

“Typically, there might be a slight increase (in the first year),” said Officer Teresa Fuller, who examines camera violations before tickets are issued. “But those go down in the second year of the program.”

In all the photo red stuff I've read, I've never seen that before. If this is typical then why weren't we told that in the first place? Why are our expectations different? I'm thinking that loud POP we heard was Officer Fuller pulling that out of her--ahem, derriere.

We also hear from Mayor Verner.

Spokane Mayor Mary Verner called the data “interesting,” but cautioned that it’s too early to make a final judgment on camera enforcement.

“The program has been effective in that we seem to have caught a lot of people running red lights,” Verner said. “If we’re not seeing a decline of injury collisions, then we need to figure out why not.”

I think Mayor Verner should have a look at the Spokane Police Departments web site and read about photo red.

This is a safety program. Automated safety systems have been shown to reduce red-light violations and intersection crashes. Numerous studies throughout the U.S. and worldwide, as well as the experience of many other cities, indicate significant decreases in red-light running violations and collisions after cameras were installed. Often times, a spillover effect results from automated enforcement: other intersections not monitored by automated enforcement also see a decrease in violations and accidents because of the presence of enforcement in other areas of the community.

Unfortunately, that means there's one thing missing from the Review's report. How many citations are being issued each month at each intersection? If this is truly a safety program that's going to reduce violations and accidents then we should be seeing a reduction in both. And how about that spillover effect? I can't imagine the difficulty in gauging that, but we'd probably hear more popping.

Spokane issued 5,690 camera tickets that resulted in revenue of $419,000, Fuller said. After the contracted camera company, Arizona-based American Traffic Solutions, is paid and other expenses subtracted, police estimate a profit of $103,000.

In tough economic times it's difficult to turn down $103,000 a year.

Cashing In On Debit Cards

Have you noticed that when you use a debit card at some businesses you sign the receipt and at others you enter your PIN? And some places, usually coffee shops, restaurants, etc., they require a minimum charge if you use a debit card.

I always thought that something was costing someone some money--and I suspect it was me, the customer. I wasn't far off the mark. In today's New York Times there's an article about how Visa and Mastercard cash in on debit cards.

When you sign a debit card receipt at a large retailer, the store pays your bank an average of 75 cents for every $100 spent, more than twice as much as when you punch in a four-digit code.

The difference is so large that Costco will not allow you to sign for your debit purchase in its checkout lines. Wal-Mart and Home Depot steer customers to use a PIN, the debit card norm outside the United States.

Despite all this, signature debit cards dominate debit use in this country, accounting for 61 percent of all such transactions, even though PIN debit cards are less expensive and less vulnerable to fraud.

How this came to be is largely a result of a successful if controversial strategy hatched decades ago by Visa, the dominant payment network for credit and debit cards. It is an approach that has benefited Visa and the nation’s banks at the expense of merchants and, some argue, consumers.

My favorite quote from the article:

The fees are “not a cost-based calculation, but a value-based calculation,” said Elizabeth Buse, Visa’s global head of product.

I'm thinking the cost-based calculation would be way less. Otherwise, they would use it.

*** Update ***

I spoke with a coffee shop owner who informed me that he gets charged twenty cents plus a percentage of the sale for each credit card transaction which includes signed debit card transactions. Debit card transactions using a PIN cost him thirty cents. So since his sale transactions are low in price, it's more economical for him to do the signed transactions.

This Could Be Your Lucky Day

I bet you are familiar with those good luck emails our friends and relatives so kindly forward you. Unlike spam or phishing attacks, nobody wants your money. It's just people who mean well forwarding it one because...well...you just never know. The subject line of FW: FW: FW: FW: FW: You Won't Believe This!!! is not untypical. It's the high-tech version of the good luck chain letter that allegedly had its start back in the 1930's.

Well, I received another one and it gave me an idea. First, here's part of the email.



The email also includes short testimonials attesting to the good luck this email can bring. But there is a warning.
And my idea? Add a testimonial of my own.


Makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, doesn't it? Okay, I'll play nice and not send it. Lucky you, huh?

Just Say, "No"

A couple of generations ago, a few boys at Madison Junior High School (grades 7-9 at the time) in Abilene, Texas, started selling cinnamon oil soaked toothpicks for a nickel apiece. Pretty soon boys were walking around school gingerly holding a toothpick between gritted teeth in an effort to look cool and taking great efforts to avoid burning their lips, which met with little success.

This activity--remember now this is 1969 and rebellious activity of any type and degree was severely frowned upon--set off alarms with school officials who then banned selling and possessing these toothpicks. The consequence of that decision made a fad that was sure to pass quickly--it was impractical and uncomfortable to hold a fireball in your teeth without touching your lips--and turned it into an illicit activity which enhanced its cool factor.

Exchanges of foil wrapped toothpicks and nickels were hidden in plain sight. A handshake, a food trade at lunch, an item left on the bench, getting change for a quarter from someone; there was no limit to the creativity of those engaged in the illegal activity of selling and possessing cinnamon toothpicks. These were heady times for a 12-year-old Catholic boy in Southern Baptist Abilene. Absolutely intoxicating, figuratively speaking.

Times have changed but how school authorities react to certain things haven't. In this case, a young girl was providing peppermint oil to her classmates for free.

Sara Greiner, 10, a fifth-grade student at John Mandracchia-Sawmill Intermediate School, was suspended for one day after bringing organic peppermint oil to school and putting several drops in her water bottle and several classmates’ water, said her mother, Corrine Morton-Greiner, 46.

The Commack School District posted a news release on its Web site saying a student was suspended for "bringing, and then distributing bottled peppermint oil to other students."

"Peppermint oil is an unregulated over-the-counter drug," the release reads.

And she wasn't trying to be cool or rebellious.

Barefoot Running Fad

If you get the Sunday paper, then you may have noticed the article on barefoot running yesterday. If not, it's online. It's a nive little intro to the sport. The author, Christopher McDougall, also wrote the book Born To Run.

The February issue of Runner's World magazine has an article in which Barefoot Ken Bob and Dr. Kevin Kirby, a runner and podiatrist, give their perspectives on barefoot running.

Unfortunately, the article is not available online. Both participants agree that barefoot running is a fad. Kirby thinks it's overhyped because the media likes it since it's different but we won't see much change in the number of runners who adopt barefoot running. Ken Bob also thinks it is a fad, but that it's okay because shoe manufacturers have been hyping their product for years now. He thinks barefoot running will catch on but only if it works for people. I agree with that, but the first obstacle is getting them to try it in the first place. Then they have to have the patience to learn it. I can't tell you how many people are incredulous when they learn I run barefoot.

Kirby posted an interesting thought on a forum last October.

We have had quite a few discussions before here on Podiatry Arena on the question of barefoot running. I actually think it is good idea for runners to try running barefoot on occasion to see what it feels like. However, I will seldom recommend barefoot running to my patients for the simple reason that I don't want to be responsible for any injuries, such as puncture wounds, plantar abrasions and contusions and bee stings, caused by the barefoot running. These are not insignificant risks of injury to the average person that normally wears shoes and does not normally walk outside barefoot.

From my own occasional personal experience of running barefoot during my collegiate cross country and track years, doing one mile intervals on a grassy field at about 5:10 mile pace, the biggest change I noted with running barefoot was that I simply was faster, presumably due to the reduced mass on my feet. Barefoot running for me generally amounted to a 5 second reduction in my mile interval time (i.e. instead of a 5:10 mile I would run a 5:05 mile) for an equivalent perceived exertion level. I never ran a race barefoot since my feet were not tough enough to run over other surfaces other than grass without hurting my feet, but barefoot running was definitely faster than running in shoes for me while on that surface.

Therefore, there is no problem with running barefoot, if people want to give it a try, then I don't have a problem with it. However, as far as me actually recommending it as the preferred method of running as a medical professional to my patients, I think it would be unethical for me to do so since the vast majority of my patients would be more likely to become injured as a result or running barefoot.

First, he doesn't want to be held responsible for injuries. Second, you are faster on grass. But grass also allows you to cheat and break the proper running form. That doesn't happen on hard surfaces. And third, he doesn't want to be held responsible for injuries. That's pretty much the tack he followed in the article. Ken Bob's thoughts on barefoot running are on his site.

Just a thought, but I hope we don't end up with an excess of "Barefoot" monikers. I think we have enough already.

So Many Questions

A couple days ago a flight leaving Lambert Airport in St. Louis was called back.

Trouble began when flight 7445 was boarding in St. Louis. At the time, computers at the gate were not working, Oxley said. So airline staff used normal manual back-up procedures to run passengers through a last security check, he said. Oxley declined to say what those procedures were.

The plane -- a mostly-full Bombardier CRJ-700 regional jet -- left St. Louis shortly before 8 a.m.

Then the computers kicked back on. And the name of one passenger was found to be similar to a name on TSA's terrorist screening watch list -- which recently had been expanded with thousands of new names. "Which is what sent the alarm bells off," Oxley said.

Airline officials decided to order the plane to return to St. Louis. A TSA spokesperson said the federal agency was notified about the incident but was not involved in the decision to recall the flight.

Once the flight was back at Lambert, airline officials were able to determine the passenger was not on the watch list. He was cleared to fly.

What is the purpose of the "normal backup method" if it can't be relied upon? How similar does a name have to be before it is or isn't considered to be "the name" on the terrorist screening watch list? Who are "airline officials"?

Just wondering.