Sometimes the best of intentions can lead to unexpected consequences.
Four cities in South Snohomish and North King counties are either looking at or close to implementing red light cameras. The intentions are good – use the cameras to catch drivers who run red lights, which local police hope will lead to greater compliance and reduce accidents at selected intersections.
Who can argue with those goals? How about those concerned with privacy issues.
During a Mill Creek City Council debate on red light cameras, two council members, Terry Ryan and Rosemary Bennetts, expressed valid concerns about possible Big Brother-like uses for the cameras.
State law currently limits camera use to stoplights, railroad crossings and school speed zone violations. Use is also restricted to catching specific violations, like running a red light, and photos or images cannot reveal the faces of drivers or passengers, just the vehicle and license plate number.
Laws, however, are fluid. They can be changed, sometimes quickly. The state’s seatbelt law is a good example. When enacted, that law said drivers could be cited for not wearing seatbelts, but couln’t be stopped solely because they were not wearing. Now, after the laws were changed, drivers can be stopped for the sole transgression of not buckling up.
Although Ryan and Bennetts did not bring up any specific examples of what the cameras could be used for, it is possible they could be used, for example, to enforce a ban on cell phone use while driving. The cameras could also be used to catch drivers who don’t wear seatbelts.
As debates continue in Mill Creek and Mountlake Terrace, and as Lynnwood prepares to implement the technology, elected officials must not be blinded by the sacred-cow mantra of public safety at the expense of personal privacy. And even if all of the cities adopt the cameras, everybody, from public officials to the average citizen, must be vigilant in ensuring they remain at their original use.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
