Photo radar has been proven to decrease traffic fatalities, reduce speeding and create political headaches. The third effect should not be allowed to trump the other two.
Politicians in the Interior are calling for the return of photo radar, and the issue will be discussed at the Union of sa国际传媒 Municipalities convention in September.
Penticton mayoral candidate Garry Litke says photo radar should be installed in his city鈥檚 school and playground zones and other places where children are at risk. The Southern Interior Local Governments Association agrees and has asked the UBCM to support the proposal.
Focusing on children鈥檚 safety sounds like a strategy aimed at countering objections from those who see photo radar as an invasion of privacy or a cash grab, but if it鈥檚 good for the kids, it should be good for everyone.
Experience in sa国际传媒 and elsewhere shows the value of photo radar. In the six years before it was introduced in 1995, the average number of people killed on sa国际传媒 roads was 534. During the six years photo radar was used, the average dropped to 408. In the six years after photo radar was discontinued, the average rose to 439. After the first year of photo radar in B.C, a study found the number of daytime unsafe-speed collisions had decreased by 25 per cent and the number of fatalities by 17 per cent.
Other factors contributed to the decline, but photo radar played a major role. Similar results have been observed in other jurisdictions.
The sa国际传媒 Safety Council cites studies that show higher speeds result in more traffic fatalities, but it shouldn鈥檛 take studies to convince us of basic physics 鈥� the faster an object moves, the harder it is to stop and the more damage it will cause if it collides with another object.
But it鈥檚 politics that calls the shots, not physics. Getting a speeding ticket in the mail is annoying, especially if it comes months after the infraction, and photo radar was not popular. The sa国际传媒 Liberals tapped into that ire in their 2001 campaign, and one of the first things they did after being sworn in was to scrap the photo-radar program as promised.
The Malahat highway has a reputation as a dangerous stretch of road. Design and difficult terrain are partly to blame, but those problems are multiplied when speed turns fender-benders into fatalities. Photo radar wouldn鈥檛 solve all the Malahat problems, but it鈥檚 an inexpensive and effective way to reduce fatalities and the severity of crashes.
During the spring leadership debate, Premier Christy Clark said she would not bring photo radar back because it was brought in by the New Democratic Party and was a cash grab. Posting notices that photo radar is being used should allay many concerns about speed traps and cash grabs. The primary aim is to slow traffic and save lives, not to boost government revenues.
Granted, a photo-radar fine can be viewed as a tax, but it鈥檚 one of the few voluntary taxes. You have a choice 鈥� speed-limit signs are posted prominently along public roads. Those who exceed the speed limit shouldn鈥檛 complain about the consequences, whether the ticket comes in the mail or from a police officer at the side of the road.
Using technology to enforce laws raises concerns about invasion of privacy and misuse of information, but red-light cameras are already in use at sa国际传媒 intersections 鈥� photo radar isn鈥檛 much different.
No single solution will prevent all traffic accidents, but photo radar helps reduce the severity and number. Municipal politicians, through the UBCM, should call for its return, and the province should heed that call.
