Traffic Camera Tickets - Against the Peace and Dignity of the Human Race

I wrote a letter to the Houston Chronicle as a last ditch effort to express my opinion regarding the greed driven desire to permit the installation of cameras that will automatically send out traffic citations. My attempts to contact responsible representatives have landed on deaf ears. As with so many parts of government, the primary goal is to obtain as much money as possible without causing the public to revolt. The old story of how to you boil a live frog comes to mind; warm the water a little at a time.

Here is what I sent to the Editor:

If the Texas Senate fails to do their job, get ready for Camera enforcement of traffic laws, “Coming to a Corner Near You!” ( play the Imperial Trooper music from Star Wars )

There must be human observation to determine the severity of traffic violations prior to creating a case against a citizen. A mechanical device is not capable of that human quality and can only be setup to a predetermined threshold. There can be no questioning of that kind of “witness” for any of the endless reasons used to impeach a witness.

One line on any complaint that goes before the court is, “against the peace and dignity of the State”. If we do not act to secure our rights we will have given away the most basic requirement of the law; the right to confront our accuser. That will be “Against the Peace and Dignity of the Human Race”.