The city where I live, notorious for unskilled and unlearned drivers, is about to install cameras at certain intersections to deter us from running red lights. Apparently the cameras shoot a photo when the light changes, and if your license plate shows up in no-no land, you get a ticket. It doesn’t matter if you happen to be in
As you might expect, we are awash in controversy over the legal and moral implications of this action. You got your “safety at any cost” zealots going one way and you got your “save the constitution” contingent going the other.
As a moral issue, I think the controversy itself is immoral, so I propose two solutions that have not been considered.
Rather than cameras, why not install police sharpshooters on street corners? Set up a high hide, an officer with a rifle, when someone runs a light, POW! It’s a mix of “survival of the fittest” and “genocide” to weed out dangerous drivers. Within months, the red light runners would be gone, dead or moved to
The other option not yet considered is that we could just stop running red lights.
Big Brother is watching you. They did this in Long Beach CA about 8 years ago. They sent the photo along with the tickets. A wife not only saw her husband's license plate, she saw his mistress. They started blocking out faces in driver's seats, like they do on "Cops".
Posted by: mary | May 30, 2006 4:25 PM | Permalink to Comment