Editor: It is with some amusement that I read about the pros and cons of photo radar. Let’s just step back and look at the big picture.
Photo radar is a cash grab, period. The time lag from infraction to punishment is a long one, so the relevance is lost.
Let’s just suppose that one of the self righteous people in a position of power were to say “let’s not fine people, let’s put points against the vehicle guilty of the traffic infractions and when a certain number in a given time frame accumulate, then the registration is pulled and the vehicle is off the road for a set period of time. Say it’s grounded.”
Does any sane person think this would fly if no cash value was attached? No, not a chance, baby. Remember that crime doesn’t pay, traffic fines pay. We are driving under some laws that were instituted in the ’30s and ’40s of the last century right?
Today’s vehicles come equipped with such options as fully tuned race-bred suspension, anti skid, anti sway, crossover four wheel disc brakes, proximity sensors, traction control, backup cameras, software-driven rack and pinion steering, antilock and the list goes on, we even now have first generation self driven cars.
I’ve really found that in the past 10 years our society has become one of crippling punitive punishment doled out in excess. So many get satisfaction from punishment of others.
On another note, I was walking my dog a few weeks ago on a Saturday morning downtown; behold, there was a peace officer chalking tires on vehicles parked off Main Street, but what made me begin to giggle hysterically was that he was wearing body armour … body armour.
You’ve got to be so paranoid as to be insane that a bylaw officer is going to be in need of a flak jacket.
In Canmore yet? Afghanistan, for sure. Oh ya, the revenue stream from traffic fines bought that? The guy is unarmed anyway, so why not drop a few grand on body armour; one never knows when he may require protection from a psycho feral rabbit.
Pat Cady,
Canmore
