The story about reckless driving, and the recent AP story about traffic deaths really missed the mark. PennDOT has said that the past decade has been the safest in history. Despite this, the state has been inflicting poor engineering and predatory ticketing upon us, which causes problems. The sources for quotes included people inside the revenue stream and car-haters.

One official mentioned speed cameras, so let’s look at automated enforcement in Pennsylvania. In Bensalem, the state voided a mountain of erroneous speed camera tickets and warnings. In Philadelphia, red-light cameras led to increased crashes, cameras that were three percent accurate, an FBI investigation, and whistleblowers. Sounds like a failure to me. In order to enact camera laws in Pennsylvania, there was little to no public notice for comments.

Ignored are engineering improvements like 85th percentile speed limits, longer yellow lights, and limited stop sign use. There is too much money in ticketing people to correct any problems. Sadly, you may not be able to comply with the law in some situations, and that is how all this is profitable. Ever see an absurd speed limit, short yellow light, or a school bus that has a super-short flashing yellow? How about a school bus on a busy arterial route that you cannot see?

So the state, municipalities, and schools put in red-light cameras, speed cameras, and stop-arm cameras for problems they actually caused. Now they want municipal police radar and other undesirable things too.

Time to contact your state representative, state senator, and the governor, and tell them to start treating drivers properly. As noted, the federal government has also jumped on the anti-driving bandwagon. With proper engineering, there is little need for enforcement. No money in that though. Pedestrians and bicyclists also must obey the rules.

James Sikorski Jr.

Pennsylvania Advocate,

National Motorists Association