Feedback on Rell’s Radar Cam Plans

In the wake of Governor Rell’s call for photo-radar speed limit enforcement on one stretch of I-95, the Courant took the opportunity to see what some users of I-95 thought of the proposal:

“It’s a public safety issue,” said Frank, who supports the cameras. “Speeding is not a matter of privacy, it is not a First Amendment right. Jeopardizing the lives of others is not constitutionally protected. … What bothers me on I-95 the most are the guys who go 90 mph don’t get ticketed. When I go as fast as I think I can, and then probably some more, guys tailgate and fly by me.”

Holub, who agrees safety is compromised by I-95 speeders, argues a bolstered state police presence is the answer to deter dangerous drivers — not a highway Big Brother.

I’m leery of the idea, myself. I’m not as concerned on the privacy rights aspect as others might be. Instead, I’m concerned about the implementation.

If, for example, the cameras were a fixture at a predefined point on the interstate, I would question whether that would solve the problem of crazy speeding. Folks would slow down for the known location of the camera, and then speed back up once clear.

If the cameras were more mobile, I’d wonder about the ability for “fair warning” to be granted. The automated nature of the cameras would make it rather difficult to defend one’s self from them unless you knew where they were. And true, you’d think that “just obey the speed limit” would be sufficient defense—given the imprecision of speedometers, as well as the risk of being rear-ended that one faces if one obeys the speed limit when traffic is free-flowing, obeying the speed limit is something easier said than done.

I think that I’d have to come down on the side of increased enforcement being a better answer. I believe that enforcement has been stepped up CT and MA in the past few years, at least in the sense of seeing more state troopers on the freeways, and more drivers pulled over for speeding. Connecticut has even been doing a much better job of cloaking its unmarked cars. So, I assume that it’s not my imagination that speed (when free-flowing) is a little bit lower on the freeways I’m familiar with around here.

Of course, I’d think that a better answer would be a combination of:

• Speed-enforcement,
• selective redesign of the highways to make them safer (including closing some interchanges, getting reflectors on lane markers, and even tolling existing roads to discourage casual use and to pay for the enhancements), and
• Adjusting speed limits where appropriate, to make them credible indicators of safe traveling speed, rather than seeming to be a revenue-generation tactic and/or product of political whim.