Red light cameras are back in the headlines. I’m not sure I’m going to break new ground here, but the topic seems to warrant a renewed response. Here’s mine – I don’t like them. In fact, I tend to avoid streets that use them.
Take West Washington Boulevard, for instance. I’ll avoid it. I’ll take Venice Boulevard instead. The risk of something going wrong, getting caught across the line at a red light and getting my picture snapped is a bit nerve-wracking. Actually, it’s the high-price ticket that is the cause of such anxiety.
I’ve heard anecdotally that these tickets run upward of $350. Someone put one in the ballpark of $500. For a community newspaper editor, a $500 ticket means the rent doesn’t get paid. My home is not worth jeopardizing on an alternative route that I don’t even think is any speedier.
And I understand that if you are unlucky enough to have your photo taken, a simple arm up in front of the face, so as to block one’s mug, is sufficient enough to get out of a home-displacing ticket. That’s exactly what I want – someone not only running a red light but driving blind with one hand on the wheel. I’ve seen it happen. Hell, I’ve ridden passenger when it’s happened. And I’m supposed to feel safer at these intersections? Isn’t that how the argument goes – cameras save lives?
As far as I’m concerned, traveling through intersections with red light cameras rather than ones without is far more likely to leave me homeless or dead.
So, for anyone who is waiting on me and I’m five minutes late, please understand that I’ve probably taken a more out-of-the-way course – one that has a greater likelihood of maintaining the comforts that I’ve grown accustomed to, namely shelter and life.