The New York Times

In a setback to traffic safety advocates, the State Legislature this week again failed to vote on a bill that would allow the Bloomberg administration to use so-called speed cameras at dangerous intersections to enforce the city’s 30-mile-per-hour speed limit.

Unhappy with Albany’s pace, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg suggested on Friday a different tack: public shaming of leadfooted drivers.

“We’ll put up their names and pictures someplace,” Mr. Bloomberg said on his Friday radio show. “Maybe we can shame them, and we should look at that, because if Albany is not going to let us do this stuff, we’ve got to save lives.”

The cameras record the speeds of passing cars, snap a photograph of the license plate, and automatically issue a violation. The city had hoped to issue fines up to $100 for multiple offenders.

Mr. Bloomberg came upon the shaming idea while thinking about ways to use the cameras without raising revenue from the violations, which the city is blocked from doing until Albany gives permission.

“Only in the crazy world of Albany,” Mr. Bloomberg said, could an upstate lawmaker decide the city’s ability to use the camera technology as it sees fit.

But the mayor’s thoughts led City Room to ponder another question: what other irritating, dangerous, and otherwise objectionable activities might New Yorkers be publicly shamed for?

To our knowledge, New York has no modern equivalent to ye olde village pillory. But between Twitter, Facebook, and the mayor’s own Flickr page, we can imagine a few contemporary equivalents.

So put your suggestions in the comments, and let us know whether you think public shaming could be an effective deterrent for speeding drivers, or just another loudmouth-attracting reality show for the masses.