Red Light Camera News EFFINGER: Traffic enforcement, whither thou goest? (RLC FAILS TO STOP WRECK!)
EFFINGER: Traffic enforcement, whither thou goest?
StoryDiscussionEFFINGER: Traffic enforcement, whither thou goest?
By Kirk Effinger North County Times - The Californian | Posted: Wednesday, May 18, 2011 6:01 pm | (2) Comments | Print
Font Size:Default font sizeLarger font size.I have for some time now grumbled about the sad and discourteous driving habits exhibited on our North County roadways. While our society's tolerance of selfish behavior is surely partially to blame, I suspect an even bigger factor is the complicity of our elected and unelected government leaders in watering down traffic enforcement.
A recent near-tragic incident involving close family members brought this into even clearer focus: When traveling through a major intersection supposedly guarded by a red light camera in a coastal North County community, their vehicle collided with a speeding car, its driver likely drunk, having ignored the red light commanding it to stop. The collision happened in such a way that the offending driver was able to speed off, leaving my relatives badly shaken, their vehicle literally a total wreck. They had come within perhaps two feet of severe injury or death.
Once the accident occurred, law enforcement officials sprang into action. A half dozen squad cars arrived on scene, taking statements, measuring skid marks, surveying damage, etc.
I wondered: How many traffic cops were on duty that Sunday night? As it turns out, it's complicated but essentially, not enough. If there had been more, could this guy have been caught before the crash? Probably not. But if there were more on duty every night, could more motoring malefactors be savoring the joys of Traffic Court? You bet.
Too many jurisdictions lately have leaned on red-light cameras as a substitute deterrent for one of the potentially most dangerous traffic infractions, red-light runners. Their effectiveness is in doubt.
What is an effective deterrent? Visible, aggressive police enforcement ---- cops on the corners. It's human nature that if you see a police car, especially if you see one with a driver pulled over for some infraction, you're going to check your speedometer, use your turn signal, in general be a little better driver, if only for a little while.
You don't get the same reaction when you see a camera box at an intersection or a warning sign.
Decision makers who set law enforcement priorities skew the bias heavily toward crime prevention. I get that. It's sexy, and it's what voters want to hear they are being protected from.
After all, which sounds better to most voters: "Violent and property crime was reduced again this year" or "We handed out more speeding tickets than last year"?
We've all endured the seeming endless parade of bad drivers who seem to be more the rule than the exception these days. Wouldn't it be worth whatever minor inconvenience or extra cost there might be to bring some safety and civility back to our roadways?
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