Big Brother is Watching You

I understand that it's inevitable that more and more things are going to put people under the watchful eye of our "leaders" and government officials--It's pretty much inevitable just based on population and the need for regulation. But what's got me pissed off is the latest thing:

Traffic cameras.

Don't get me wrong--I am all for regulating and putting a stop to people running red lights. Here in my little town of Auburn, it's pretty rampant. It seems like this town has turned into a "transition" town, which means that everyone that drives here seems to be on the way to somewhere else. In this town, it is very common to see sometimes 2 or 3 cars speed through a red light.

The problem I have with traffic cameras is mainly the fact that I was taught (as many people were) that when you're making a left turn (unless you're on a red arrow signal) you pull out into the intersection and patiently wait your turn to go. That way, when traffic is thick and you may not get an opportunity to complete your turn during the green cycle, you will still get to make your turn when the opposing traffic stops for their yellow or red light. This insures that one car will always make it through the left turn cycle. Everyone I talk to was taught to do that, and it has nothing to do with "running" lights.

Traffic cameras don't see it that way. If your vehicle moves during a red light cycle, for whatever reason, you get a ticket.

I don't have a problem with people getting tickets that deserve them. People that stomp the gas pedal to the floor when a light turns yellow, or people that coast through right turns--Those are justifiable. I just don't like the "automatic" aspect of it: Flash, mail, and pay up.

The other problem I have with the traffic cameras is the slow but sure removal of the human element. Are humans reviewing all of these pictures? Are they reviewing any of them? We all know how good scanning software is these days... There are programs that can scan virtually anything automatically. I doubt if any humans ever look at these camera footages unless a challenge is issued.

What can we do about it? I'm not sure. Because I'm a proactive person instead of a reactive one, I'm trying to eliminate the problem before it becomes a problem. I'm considering buying a product called Photoblocker. It's a spray on stuff like clear spray paint. Here's a recent article on it from the Washington Post:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A222-2004Jul20.html

Part of me considers the product a scam though... I'm naturally leery of any product that costs $30 or so that is clear to the naked eye. I mean really... Is it real or is it just clear spray paint? We will never know.

It can't hurt...