I drive 30.7 miles each way to class, or so Google Maps tells me. About 80 percent of that drive is on Valley freeways, so I have definitely noticed the new speed cameras installed by the state.
Apparently, so have 40,000 other Valley residents.
In Thursday’s Arizona Republic, the Arizona Department of Public Safety stated that it had issued 40,401 tickets in the past two months for speeding. These tickets were activated by 60 cameras along the Valley’s freeways.
My first impression was that more than 40,000 tickets in two months seemed excessive. When I think of speeding tickets, I think of the people racing down freeway HOV lanes going at least 20 miles per hour over the speed limit.
But then I read that only 661 of those 40,401 tickets were for criminal speeding, or more than 20 miles per hour over the speed limit. The rest were for speeding between 11 and 19 miles per hour over the posted limit.
These are new cameras, so it could be a fluke while people adjust to them. Loop 101 in Scottsdale has had cameras for several years and their ticket count is not nearly as high. But the adjustment is part of the problem.
People have argued that the cameras slow down traffic when DPS officers cannot be present. This is true, but only for the 300 or so feet that the cameras cover.
I drive Interstate 10 frequently and pass no fewer than four photo enforcement zones on my commute to school. Too many times I have watched drivers speed past me going around 80 miles per hour, then slam on their breaks to get down to 60 when they see the photo enforcement signs, causing problems for everyone behind them.
That certainly doesn’t seem safe to me. And of those who aren’t driving ridiculously fast, many are driving far under the speed limit, impeding the flow of traffic.
Which leads to the question: Why don’t the cameras catch driving too slow as well as driving too fast? It seems that people driving significantly under the speed limit are just as much of a danger as those who drive above the speed limit.
In addition to the safety aspect, there is the issue of the fairness aspect. DPS officials told The Arizona Republic that tickets are discarded for those photos in which either drivers or license plates are obstructed.
However, it is technically legal in Arizona to use photo-blocking license plate covers, the transparent covers that block the numbers from photo radar but allows the plate to be read by police officers.
How is that logical? The plates sell for $40 online, so it seems that a smart speeder would simply buy the cover and escape the much more expensive tickets.
If the state is going to invest in the cameras, perhaps they should invest in making them actually work by revoking the law allowing the covers. There’s a law going into effect on Jan. 1 that makes it illegal to cover up the state name on a license plate, but the law says nothing about the plate number.
Then there is the issue of actually paying the ticket. Since not paying the ticket does not affect your driving record, nor does it add points to your driver license, there is really no incentive to pay the ticket at all.
So if you don’t have to pay the ticket, can evade the ticket with the license plate cover, and the cameras seem to cause more problems on the road, what is the real incentive with the cameras?
I have yet to find one.
People have also complained about the cameras for reasons ranging from a breach of privacy to violating the Constitutional right to face your accuser – which would technically be the camera. A local group called CameraFRAUD, now boasting more than 200 members, is working to get an initiative on the 2010 ballot that would disallow photo-radar cameras in Arizona.
All in all, the cameras are an illogical solution to the problem of speeders. Unless the kinks are fixed, they will simply continue to frustrate drivers, including those who aren’t even speeding.
Janne has thus far evaded the cameras, but knows people who haven’t been so lucky. Tell her your story at janne.gaub@asu.edu.
