I've been staying out of this one, as it has been active enough, but I just have to respond to this:
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Grizzly
Let's look at another minor misdemeanor crime through your eyes. Assault. Using your logic, if a guy kicked your ass...didn't necessarily hospitalize you but just pounded a few minor dents into your head, he wouldn't necessarily be guilty of assault because such a minor violation of the misdemeanor of assault shouldn't be taken so damned seriously and the cops should be spending their time chasing real bad guys.
Bad analogy. Speeding is a victimless "crime", assault (& battery) is not. Besides, we can surely agree that no matter whether I simply slap someone, or I pound them down and send them to the hospital, those are both examples of assault & battery. Many cops wouldn't bother to arrest for the slap though, and rightfully so. That's where some human thought and judgement comes in... and that's exactly what the camera doesn't have. Our laws are not absolute... they are (or were) meant to be interpreted by thinking, reasonable people. The unmanned traffic camera negates all of that. No ability to see that a truck was bearing down on someone, and they were speeding up for their own *safety*, or any of the thousand other valid reasons for doing 56 in a 55. The real world is not black and white... there are shades of grey.
The nice thing about these traffic devices is that they get everybody. A Police Officer is like a fisherman. He throws his line in the water and only catches as many as he can catch. These speed devices and red light cameras, however, catch 'em all, making them a much more powerful deterrent.
Like Brucelee said, sort of. If these devices concentrate on speed and red lights, the Police are then free to chase the aggressive drivers and other violators who make it even more dangerous for us than it already is.
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That made my point... no valid reasonable thought, just mail a ticket to everyone. And don't delude yourself, they are not being used to free up the cops to chase bad drivers, they are money-makin' machines... period. No health insurance, no pension, no benefits. Just a flow of money.
