Letter to the Editor

To the Editor:

The safety argument for speed cameras has been debunked. Studies have shown speed camera areas having an increase in crashes or the cameras had no effect. In the U.K., a substantial increase in crashes was seen due to panic braking.

Act 86 of 2018 puts speed cameras on interstates, the Pa. Turnpike, federal-aid highways, U.S. 1, and gives the state police LIDAR guns. That part is not germane to speed cameras. The whole bill was modified excessively, too. These reasons may make the law invalid.

The bill does not require best-practice engineering and enforcement, and the issue of errors is not addressed. Maryland speed cameras produced many errors. There was an accuracy double check in a previous bill, but it was removed.

Did PennDOT ever hear about using the zipper merge, night work, keeping multiple lanes open? Where is a requirement for 85th percentile speed limits? Do workers do unsafe things? Do rapid lane changes or slamming the brakes make sense for “Steer Clear”?

Ticket the actual driver and make the penalty community service, and see who wants cameras then. No more poor engineering and predatory ticketing either.

Also, the stop-arm cameras the state passed last year may not be legal.

James Sikorski Jr.

Wapwallopen, Pa.

Pa. Advocate

National Motorists Association

Editor’s Note: This letter was prompted by a story on Page B-10 of the Feb. 28, 2019, edition of the Herald, and which was also posted on the Herald’s website at http://www.mcheraldonline.com.