If you get caught by red-light camera,  just pay the fine

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5:44 PM Friday, November 19, 2010

I ran a red light and was ticketed by the camera police. The ticket was from some obscure intersection in an industrial area of Miamisburg at 7 p.m. There was zero traffic. Not being from the area, I had no idea the camera was present. I paid the fine.

Since getting nabbed by the camera, here’s what I have noticed about my driving habits. I now have a better idea where many cameras are mounted. I continually find myself looking overhead in search of the overhead spies. This requires taking my eyes off the traffic in front of me, lowering my defensive-driving abilities. I now find myself stopping abruptly at many yellow lights. In the past, I may have hit the accelerator and blasted through. This concerns me, as the person behind me may be anticipating blowing through the intersection as well.

Despite all this, if evidence shows cameras at intersections reduce accidents and injury, I am a proponent of their continued use. Police department manpower is declining, and resources may be better served elsewhere than sitting at intersections. Also the monies collected help local budgets.

We don’t seem to mind when a store surveillance camera surreptitiously films us, because the camera just may catch a holdup in progress. So why the outcry if we reduce intersection accidents that could cause monetary and bodily harm or even death?

If you get nailed, quit whining, pay up, and start hitting the brakes instead of the accelerator.

Gary Newcomer

Kettering

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