Today’s Hattiesberg American reports that Mississippi governor Haley Barbour has signed into law a measure (which passed in their legislature by overwhelming margins) banning red-light cameras in the state.  Way to go, Guv!  At last, elected officials with the courage to value personal liberty as a matter of principle and policy.

The red-light camera debate has raged ever since some government tool decided that in the interest of “public safety,” we needed to install government cameras in public places, keeping an eye on the electorate so they didn’t misbehave.  I know otherwise sensible people who are perfectly at ease with the concept, even going so far as to advocate cameras on every street corner, traffic light or not, to monitor the goings-on in every neighborhood, all, again, under the guise of maintaining a safe, lawful society.  But what happens when the guys watching the cameras have a much more restrictive idea of what constitutes public safety?  Once installed, does anyone really think those cameras will go away?  Do that many of us believe in our hearts that an authoritarian regime could never happen here?  Those people are, to put it mildly, much more trusting than I in the good intentions of The State.

The truth about the proliferation of red-light cameras is that they have almost nothing to do with public safety.  They’re profit centers, pure and simple.  Red-light cameras generate enormous amounts of revenue, and local government can never get enough revenue.  Hence the typical revenue-sharing arrangement with the companies that install and maintain the systems.  It’s a way for The State to collect money without having to do a thing.  Install the cameras, generate the citations, and split the take.  For a money-grubbing government, what’s not to like?  If public safety were really the primary concern, there’s a much simpler, well-documented solution to the problem of running traffic lights.  Problem is, it doesn’t generate traffic citations and money.

Studies have repeatedly shown that the quickest, cheapest, most effective way to reduce the incidence of motorists running red lights is to lengthen the duration of the yellow light.  And your government traffic engineers are acutely aware of  it, as evidenced by the fact that several cities have been exposed for actually shortening yellow light durations at camera-monitored intersections, willingly adopting a policy that increases red-light violations.  See, that’s a case of government seeking to pad the public coffers at the expense of public safety.

Haley Barbour and the Mississippi legislature should be commended, but the government-first crowd is sure to vilify them instead.  It’s sad that so many people in this society remain convinced that the government acts in their best interest.  Government acts in the government’s best interest, and they’re only interested in expanding and consolidating their power over us.  Power should belong to the people.  Not as a group, but each individual person.  That’s the American Way.  At least it used to be.