Non-Compliance Topples Arizona Traffic-Cam Program
I Say to the People of Arizona: Bravo! How Very American of You
And now the verdict is in. They shut it down. The citizens won '" not by fighting the state, but by ignoring the state.
The State, as an institution, thrives on confrontation. The best antidote is peaceful non-compliance. Simply ignore the State, disengage, and the State is rendered impotent.
Through the highway camera system, it was hoped that an additional burst of revenue would roll in. Instead, it became a massive drain on the state's budget. Not only did it not bring in the hoped-for revenue, it didn't even make enough money to pay for expense of installing and maintaining the cameras.
The citizens simply ignored the tickets that arrived in the mail. The state of Arizona doesn't have the money nor the resources to follow up on the unpaid tickets. To top that all off, a group of activists went around vandalizing the traffic cams '" icing on the cake.
A confused and befuddled Lt. Jeff King, photo enforcement district commander for the Dept of Public Safety, didn't understand why the public would be so upset about all the surveillance. (Who doesn't like being watched by strangers through cameras without consent, right?)
He was quoted in January as saying, "Instead of spending so much time focusing on getting rid of cameras, why don't they focus on the real problem, the root problem, which is getting people to drive the speed limit?"
In other words: do what the thug with the gun says, and no one will get hurt.
Another quote from Lt. King was, "If everyone was to drive the speed limit, the cameras would never flash." As if the flashing light was the real problem, and strangers with guns watching the through cameras is of no concern.
Sorry, Lt. King, but our American culture was built on the idea that we can '" and should '" tell the political class to piss off. The Founders refused to comply with political thuggery, and they revolted against the insolence of an elitist political class.
And so in response to the news that a total of 76 cameras will cease operation on Thursday in Arizona, I say to the people of Arizona: Bravo! How very American of you.
Sources:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/03/us/03arizona.html?ref=us
http://www.azfamily.com/outbound-feeds/yahoo-news/Freeway-speed-cameras-to-be-turned-off-this-week-98237994.html
Published by D.E. Paine
Husband, father, writer, nerd. View profile
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- In January of this year Arizona began considering the shut-down a state-wide traffic cam program.
- And now the verdict is in. They shut it down.
- The citizens won '" not by fighting the state, but by ignoring the state.
6 Comments
Post a CommentOK, john b, then we can start fighting every ticket. Oh, and demand a jury trial. These cameras are NEVER about the law; they're all about the money. Just make it cost more than it's worth.
The truth is that Arizona citizens have the the right to be served their photo radar tickets. Getting a ticket in the mail isn't enough under the law. So AZ citizens demanded the due process of the law and required that the law be followed. Now do you understand AZ 1070? The law must be enforced and followed.
I don't know how they set it up in Arizona, but in my state they won't renew your tags or driver's license if you have unpaid tickets.
This is unbelievable. Lt. King asserts that anyone obeying the law has no reason to worry when he says "If everyone was to drive the speed limit, the cameras would never flash." Since he appears to be an advocate of that approach, let's pass a new law in that state that allows anyone among the public to record (audio or video) any or all actions by law enforcement personnel at any time and any location. As long as those law enforcement personnel are obeying the law, they have nothing to worry about.
"Instead of spending so much time focusing on getting rid of cameras, why don't they focus on the real problem, the root problem, which is getting people to drive the speed limit?" Well, to me it would appear that the root problem is an artificially low speed limit.
"Lt. Jeff King, photo enforcement district commander for the Dept of Public Safety,"
So, since he is the "Commander", and an 'Officer', and the program failed, is he going to resign for 'Command' failure? I doubt it. There is always a 'New Program' that 'Safety' bureaucrats can while away their time, and our money until they retire on our dime, decades before us.