This is one of the sneakier bad ideas our legislature has had in a while. While there is sincere, soundly-reasoned opposition to installing these cameras, it's easy to brush off the opposition (even if it includes people like the National Motorists' Association); after all, who could be opposed to traffic cameras? They make the streets safer, right? Who in their right mind would be opposed to safety?
Well, as it turns out, quite a few people. And it's not that people like me are opposed to safety; it's that we don't trust the cameras, based either on inherent mistrust of government (especially with regards to surveillance) or on solid reasoning. Either way, both are supported by historical precedents and research.
There is a much greater problem with cameras that have been proven to be unreliable at best than our legislators want to admit. Places from Virginia to Australia have found that red light cameras do not achieve the intended goal of preventing more accidents. They do, however, increase revenue for the city, which is the real reason they're being installed. And hey, the ends justify the means, right? What's a little invasion of privacy in exchange for a feeling of safety?
