Speeding Cameras: Good or Bad for Society?

Imagine for a moment you arrive home from work and check your mailbox, only to discover a speeding ticket enclosed in an envelope from your local city police. You immediately attempt to recall your driving routes within the past few days, frantically trying to remember any encounters with a police officer. You would think if you got a speeding ticket, you would at least remember it. Alas, nothing. For many Americans, especially those in Akron, Ohio, this is becoming more of a reality.

On January 31, Ohio's Supreme Court ruled their state's unmanned speeding cameras completely legal, saying that they do not conflict with state law. Several critics argue the ethics behind the law. For example, the cameras themselves operate by photographing the license place of the speeding vehicle. However, the driver of the speeding vehicle may not be the actual owner. The result is the owner of the vehicle receiving a ticket for loaning his or her car to a friend or family member who just happens to have a bad habit of speeding. Fair?

Or perhaps the use of traffic cameras will allow local and state police to concentrate on more important issues, like murder, rape, robberies, and drug use, instead of driving around shooting radar at vehicles and looking for speeders. The outcome is the same isn't it? Drive too fast and you get a ticket. The only thing that has changed is the method by which the speeding is observed.

On another note, cameras watching down on us while we drive and photographing our license plates sounds a little like Big Brother doesn't it? In George Orwell's "1984" novel, the Oceania society, under rule of the enigmatic dictator, was under constant surveillance by authorities, mainly by use of giant telescreens. Should the government take these steps under the assumption it will keep our streets and highways safe from reckless drivers? Speeding cameras are being positioned at school crossings and intersections around school zones in an attempt to ensure the safety of children before and after school hours. One must ask whether parents will feel comfortable with their child being watched and filmed by a camera, despite the possibility of increased safety. One thing is certain: increased use of traffic cameras will continue to be hotly debated.