I wrote my lawmakers.
#traffic #laws #trafficlaws #nevada #lasvegas #lasvegasnv #sincity
The proceeding is an edited version of what I emailed to the Nevada Department of Public Safety and Transportation... Specifically the Nevada Advisory Committee on Traffic Safety, as they are the group that is drafting new legislation to have red light cameras with license plate recognition systems installed at intersections. It was the article from 8 News Now that caught my attention. There's no indication of which intersections are going to be affected, or how many will be installed, or how much this is going to cost the state/county/city, but I'm sure that information will be public soon enough.
I also know there have been attempts in the past to get speed cameras installed, and those have all been unsuccessful. It's something that California and other—less freedom loving—states have implemented in an attempt to dissuade motorists from committing minor traffic infractions under the guise of safety. Let's be real though, this is just the authoritarian state overreaching again.
There were a couple of embarrassing typos, but I wrote it fairly quickly on my break at work, and wanted to make sure that I actually sent it rather than simply throwing it into one of my my many drafts folders to sit and go stale. So here we are, and these are some random thoughts regarding traffic cameras. The major typos were corrected, but the structure was preserved for posterity.
I vehemently and adamantly oppose the implementation of red light or speed cameras in this city.
While I was born here in Las Vegas back in 1986, I've lived all over the country (Upstate New York, Iowa, and Long Beach, CA). I came back to Vegas I have been a permanent resident for approximately 17 years (2008). Since being back I've lived in several different areas across the Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas metropolitan area, and I've watched as the city and surrounding areas have grown along with the increased population, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. I understand the impetus to try and combat bad drivers, and using available and proven technology makes sense. However, in this instance it is not logical and only serves as palliative legislation.
My experience dealing with red light cameras in southern California was that they did little to actually curb bad driving and imposed a serious logistical burden on the state (for an example, see the news article about the guy who decided to put “NULL” on his license plate). Effectively the cameras snap a picture of the license plate, process a fine, and send notice to the registered owner. Well that's fine and dandy in a homogenous state with uniform residents. But I live 20 minutes from the Strip, and my commute to work is relegated to a small portion of the city west of the 15 and south of the 95, and it only takes me 15-30 minutes of my morning and evenings to and from. Yet, EVERY SINGLE DAY, I lose track of the number of cars I see with out-of-state license plates and/or NO license plate at all. I'm constantly being cut off by people who have no idea where they're headed, people driving on the shoulder because they're not local and don't realize it's not a lane, people driving too slow, people driving too fast, etc. This is the reality of a city comprised of an infinite combination of different driving styles that have all been imported from different areas of the country and the world. The number of people who live and work in Las Vegas and who were actually born and raised here is less than a quarter of the population (~22%), compare that number with places like Los Angeles where over 60% of the population was born and raised there.
What are traffic cameras supposed to do to make people (who can't even be bothered to switch their license plates to Nevada plates) actually obey the traffic laws here? For that matter, how does this serve the residents and combat transient traffic offenders who may never receive the fine in the mail, or may have a different non-offending license plate affixed to their car the next time they drive through our city? It's wasted time and money for equipment to enforce traffic laws that non-residents never had any intention of following anyway.
Provided that the LPR systems hooked up to the traffic cameras are even able to access information and data on out-of-state drivers, what is the point the spending countless dollars to serve hundreds or thousands of fines on people who won't be here to pay them?
Perhaps you have already thought of these issues and debated or waxed intellectual on these nuances. I would encourage you to think very seriously about the fiscal and logistical impacts that this will have. AI isn't going to solve everything, we still need actual people involved in the process, which will mean more work for the people in the offices of LVMPD and our already over-burdened Justice and Traffic Courts.
As easily as we've been able to play host and entice businesses, sports entertainment, and premier events to contribute to our community, it's wasteful spending and petty legislation like this that could sour the appeal of Vegas, and have driven those very same businesses and entrepreneurs out of states like California into our arms. We have a very unique situation in this state, and specifically with the city of Las Vegas, it is an environment that is unlike anywhere else in the US. Adopting a system that may show statistically significant drops in minor traffic violations for places like LA or Phoenix are not proven to work for here.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
We'll see if anyone reads it (or if I get any responses). I'll keep my eye our for the bill to hit the legislature, and once it gets sponsored, I'll be sure to write my representatives or the directly. I can always use a variation of the above text.