New Traffic Enforcement in Toledo

It seems that some cops in West Palm Beach, Florida are dressing in drag to catch traffic violators. I wonder how long before Toledo gets wind of this and starts dressing up the photo cameras to resemble vacant buildings. And if that doesn’t work, how about dressing up officers as protesting Blade workers?

What gets under my skin about this, and the “red light camera” issue in general, is the portrayal as a safety issue. People who run red lights are going to run one at intersections with cameras or without. But, when the city is installing them at every high-traffic intersection, regardless of its accident record, it becomes quite apparent that money is the only motivating factor. The fines collected at no cost to the city are seen as cheap income – despite the fact that an out-of-town business (that employs no one in the city) is making far more than Toledo.

And, if that wasn’t enough, doesn’t this violate a whole bunch of privacy issues? By mailing the ticket, anyone at my home might open the envelope – and my child needs not know about my receiving a ticket. Oh that’s right, you have a right to privacy on phone calls to Al qaeda, but not in your car. And, what if the person registered to the car isn’t the one driving it? Try proving that in court – and you need to pay a fee to clear your name. I won’t even comment about your constitutional right to confront your accuser – the camera can’t answer and the “photo analyst” was not at the scene.

Margaritas ante Porcos,
Right Wing Toledo