Traffic cameras do more good than harm

In his letter of April 4, titled “Ignoring Lessons,” Robert Garret raised some thoughtful points about red light cameras and speed cameras. I couldn’t help wondering, though, if it’s really that wrong for municipalities to raise revenues at the expense of drivers who break the law and make our roads less safe.

Would there be as much backlash if a municipality ramped up traffic law enforcement through aggressive action by police personnel?

On balance, it would seem the camera approach is more cost efficient and frees police for other duties. It also eliminates the problem of possible bias or profiling by police. And the accused are able to contest the charges, just as they work in a normal traffic stop.

Even if traffic cameras have only a small impact on driver behavior overall, isn’t that still a good thing?

And perhaps the additional revenues will take some pressure off governments to impose higher taxes. So what’s the big problem? Maybe we should all be just a little more mindful of how we drive.

Bob Dohn

Hoffman Estates