Freeway Camera Protests on US 60

About 15 to 20 protestors showed up at the Longmore overpass to the US 60 to protest the speed cameras and they are pledging to continue their efforts. There have been reports from several people who have reported that these protests caused major traffic jams on the 60, taking some people nearly twice as long as usual to get home. At least they probably stopped a few people from getting tickets from the cameras.

I agree that something needs to be done about these cameras. They certainly cannot simply be a cashcow to fill the state coffers. I still dislike them, but I do have to admit that they have changed the way I drive. I would guess that my average unchecked freeway speed when I am cruising was somewhere in the 70 to 75 mph range. The other weekend, on an open road, I looked down to notice that I was naturally traveling around 65 mph without looking at the speedometer. This decline in my speed is directly related to the speed cameras. Is 65 safer than 70? I don't know.

However, the key here is that the program can't stay as its currently put together. $160 is too steep and without any points to the license, its almost meaningless. If they want to raise revenue from this, then lower my tags, reward me for being a good driver. How about setting a budget for car related taxation. When its met through tags and speed cameras, start giving some of the money back.

Government shouldn't really be looking for ways to spend financial windfalls.