This reader not a red light patriot
Reporter Marni Pyke weighs in with the latest on the red light camera controversy. One reader says that the cameras are "counting on civil obedience for good citizens to support bloated governments." If you think your village government is "bloated" then the proper venue for protest or even civil disobedience is at a village board meeting or a ballot box, not a traffic intersection.
Ghandi didn't free India by running red lights.
Another reader said that red light cameras cause accidents, because people brake for yellow lights.
No excuses: a rear-end collision is the fault of the driver who neglects to maintain a safe distance.
A third reader thinks that rolling through right-on-red with a tap of the brakes is no big deal. Does he feel the same about stop signs in his neighborhood where his children play?
I am not surprised that the readers who made these comments received tickets for running red lights. If there have been abuses of red light cameras, they can and should be corrected. But I wish the sense of citizen outrage was raised more often by issues that didn't involve somebody paying $100 because he or she broke the law and risked other people's lives. I don't share some readers' sense of red light patriotism.
Dan Nuttle
West Dundee