Joe Crawford
They’re arguing about the effectiveness of red light cameras again in St. Louis. That’s not really surprising is it?
Well, actually it is. You see one of the most vociferous groups arguing against the use of red light cameras in the city of St. Louis is none other than the police department itself.
You’d think the police would like nothing better than an automatic ticket writer to do their job for them while they sit parked next to other police cars chewing the fat with their fellow law enforcement buddies. That’s kind of like the fire department arguing against the use of smoke detectors.
One of the complaints of the police department revolves around the strange loophole created for city aldermen who get nabbed by the electronic paparazzi. It seems the high-tech computer system designed to nab these lead foot lawbreakers has trouble processing any tickets against them. Must be a quirky flaw in the software.
So in response to the outrage generated by this strange immunity granted to city officials, a Missouri Senator has introduced a bill requiring red light cameras to positively identify the driver of the vehicle caught in the speed trap. Good luck with that one.
If the bill passes there will probably be a temporary run on Halloween masks and Groucho Marx disguises as drivers scurry to hide their identities from the intersection nanny cams. Pretty soon there would be multiple warrants issued for Spiderman, Superman, the Incredible Hulk and Barack Obama.
Personally I don’t hold out much hope for the removal of red light cameras any time soon. I think the Cubs will win a World Series before that ever happens. And if I had to choose between the former or the latter, I’d much rather pay the fine rather than be forced to watch anybody in Wrigley Field hoisting the World Series Trophy.
And if that happens, I won’t believe it until a red light camera catches it on film. That is as long as it can clearly identify the players as actual Cubs and not some impersonators.