Photo Radar. Yep. Another cash grab of our hard earned money. Imagine if you will that you have an emergency at home so you speed a bit but youÕre alert and careful. FLASH! Ticket is in the mail. If a cop had stopped you when I you were speeding, you could of then explained the situation and be on your way. Maybe got a warning. With photo radar it's FLASH! Now your guilty, now pay up.
I thought that in this country you were innocent until found guilty. Now with photo radar you are found guilty first, then you have to go to court and prove your innocence while taking time off work to loose even more money. Is there no respect for taxpayers anymore, or are we just cattle living to be milked? I for one am very disturbed by this "bag em and tag em" mentality our government has now. What next. "Sorry Sir, but the radar satellites indicate that you were watering your grass on an off day. Here is your $225 dollar fine. Have a nice day!"
Some people have told me, well thatÕs the law. You shouldn't be speeding. I then ask, "What is the difference between a Democracy and Fascist State?" What I am seeing with the photo radar is guilty first, then fight for your innocence at your own expense. Democracy?
Frankly speaking, I really donÕt see cars piled up on the side of roads from speeding. Speed doesn't kill, drunk drivers and inexperienced young drivers do. I lived right near a bar and heard drag racers racing over a hundred miles an hour down the highway. Nothing was ever done. Where were the photo radars? Well the radars were out catching evil speeders like us law abiding citizens because "speed kills." Does this mean that if anyone speeds the odd time that they are killers?
Speed does not kill. Slow drivers that force people to pass into on coming traffic endangers people's lives. I have many times been on the highway stuck behind people going 25 mph. And I have also seen so many near misses because of it. Lives are saved when there is a steady stream of cars moving at a reasonable rate of speed. The more government lowers speed limits in order to force people to speed so they can increase profits, the more of a drain it is going to be on ICBC. A fast steady stream of traffic endangers nobody.
The propaganda commercials that tells us, "Speed Kills" are false. Statistics have proven that when speed limits are reduced, there is then a sudden increase in accidents. Here are some real facts.
-Speeding over the posted limit is the principle cause of only 2% - 3% of all fatalities.
-BC fatality rates are below the Canadian average and are low by world standards.
-For decades, many studies have established that those drivers who travel in excess of the speed limit by 10 to 30 km/h, have the lowest accident risk of all drivers. These drivers are the ones that will be targeted by photo radar.
-57% of respondents regard slow drivers as more of a problem than fast drivers.
The commercials on TV are so silly. One shows a car moving along. A little girl is chasing a ball or something. The car then slams into her implying that the driver was going too fast to stop in time. How about reducing the speed limit to 20 miles an hour. Or better still, ban driving all together because cars kill.
Maybe our government should track all cars by satellite, so that the second someone ÒmomentarilyÓ speeds up, bang! Ticket in the mail. Yep. Bag em and tag em! Just like shooting ducks in a barrel. Mr. Government Sir, I am not a cash cow. I am a human being! Please treat me with the respect I disserve and keep your hands out of my wallet! You stole enough with the your GST.
Richard Vizzutti