to the editor: The times drivers exceed local speed limits dropped nearly 80% after San Francisco installed speed cameras, and now Los Angeles is installing 125 cameras of its own in speeding-prone areas (“The speed cameras worked in San Francisco. Now they come to Los Angeles, with heavy fines.” April 29).
The conclusion reached by this article is that drivers are changing their behavior due to the presence of cameras. However, I wonder if their behavior is really changing or if they are complying enough to avoid being caught and cited rather than slowing down for safety reasons. I guess in any case, if cameras save lives (which has already been proven), the reasons drivers slow down are secondary as long as they drive slower.
With all the recent rhetoric and notoriety about AI and what it can do for us, why not upgrade new radars by allowing them to capture and photograph drivers who constantly run red lights and text on their phones, seriously distracting themselves? They could be called “DRS cameras” to detect distracted drivers, those who run red lights and those who speed.
It's actually a little sad that we need to create so many laws and law enforcement options just to keep people from killing others on the streets and highways we frequent so often. Many forget that driving is a privilege, not a right.
Bill Spitalnick, Newport Beach
