Thus far, in the battle of humans versus machines—a.k.a., drivers versus traffic cameras doling out speeding tickets—it’s the machines that are kicking our fleshy tushes. Because it’s hard to beat the “Terminator”-like efficiency of a traffic camera in court, voters are choosing another strategy: removing the cameras entirely.
The humans have revolted, voting that the cameras be turned off in nearly a dozen municipalities, according to a Washington Post story. From the story:
Red-light or speed cameras or both are banned in all or part of 14 states. The Republican governor of Mississippi kicked them out of the Magnolia State earlier this year. The Democratic governor of Montana did the same in July. Sulphur, La., put the issue to a vote in April — and 86 percent of the populace voted to get rid of them.
The argument for traffic cameras, of course, is that they’ll make people drive slower, thereby making roads safer. Whether they accomplish this is arguable. One thing that’s perfectly clear is that the traffic cameras bring in serious bucks for their municipalities, especially because the citations hold up to challenges nearly 100 percent of the time.
One source quoted in the story offers an interesting reality check:
Gary Biller, executive director of the National Motorists Association, says his organization’s 5,000 members resent the “hypocrisy” that cities or states use cameras in the name of safety, when the actual data suggest that they produce only (a) lots of profit and (b) a tap on the brakes when drivers are passing through the speed zone.
“There’s a well-intentioned principle to get drivers to change their behavior, but there’s overwhelming evidence that doesn’t happen,” he says. “As soon as the cameras are gone, people go right back to driving what they were before.”
Related: