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Editorial - June 2003 |
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Camera monitoring an unnecessary intrusion |
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Published June 6, 2003 |
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If cities and towns in North Carolina are having problems with motorists speeding and running traffic lights, then they should put a patrol car at those intersections and streets and enforce the law, as they have been doing for most of the past century with a fair amount of success. That’s called law enforcement. Putting up automatic cameras to catch violators on film crosses the line from security surveillance to intruding on the privacy of citizens. It’s called meddling. Or call it a city hall money machine. Charlotte-Mecklenburg police received approval from the state Senate Wednesday to experiment with using radar cameras to photograph and ticket speeders. It’s a bad precedent and has drawn complaints from lawmakers and motorists who think it’s more about revenue than safety. Several cities are already using cameras to catch red light runners. The city of Raleigh earlier this year negotiated a $1 million contract to put traffic cameras all around the city. The cameras snap pictures of drivers who run red lights and then the city send them $50 tickets through the mail. Elected officials in North Carolina and most other Southern states traditionally have maintained a view that intrusive government regulations should be avoided unless absolutely necessary. This batch of legalized speed traps and government spying is completely unnecessary. If this trend continues we will soon have our “big brother” local governments taking pictures of us at ever dark corner in hopes of finding some minor violation that would sock another $50 into town coffers. There are times when urgent safety measures are needed. A dangerous railroad crossing might need a crossing arm. Highly traveled highways need guard rails. Some intersections are so bad they need four-way stop signs. We have the tools to handle these problems. A camera lens secretly handled by government officials should not be one of them.
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© 2001 Lincoln Times-News |
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