Winnipeg's new Mayor Sam Katz has been on the job for less than a month and he is quickly distancing himself from all things Glen Murrayesque in our fair city. Undoubtedly some would say that this is just the new guy trying to make his mark, and although there is some truth in that, it is refreshing we now have a mayor who is at least trying to inject some common sense into the public policy debate rather than go off on an emotional tirade and make decisions just for spite. On CJOB's Adler on Line earlier last week, Mayor Katz did not give a definitive answer that he would scrap policy decisions from the files of stupid-investments-r-us at City Hall, but things like the makes-no-sense rapid transit corridor and photo radar will be reviewed. This is encouraging considering the photo radar concept was sold to us under the clever guise of public safety.

When the photo radar issue first came up in Manitoba, there was no policy to set a goal and establish a purpose. Is it the purpose of photo radar to generate tax revenues for government, with safety as a possible secondary benefit Or is it the purpose of photo radar to enhance safety by reducing speed at high-risk locations, with revenue generation as a by-product or secondary consequence The answer is rather simple - photo radar is a cash grab that considers all drivers a menace to public safety.

The experience in other jurisdictions shows that it's generally the safe and respectable drivers who end up paying the piper, not the criminal elements that photo radar enthusiasts propose to target. Mike Cain, the BC spokesman for the anti-photo radar group SENSE (www.sense.bc.ca), said the photo radar program become an unpopular cash grab "that milked $100 million in traffic tickets out of motorists." BC axed their program.

According to Cain, public support for photo radar in BC hinged on the false belief that good drivers had nothing to fear. But to reach the ticket volumes that make photo radar and red light cameras profitable, police had to target more than just reckless drivers and speed demons. Everyone was getting nailed with tickets, from bus drivers to grandmothers. While good drivers are being picked off like flies with tickets, drugged-up and drunk drivers are free to roam without having to deal with a cop in their face. Better to get a speeding ticket in the mail than a breathalyzer in the mouth.

For public safety, cops need to patrol the streets to ensure traffic offenders are licensed, insured, competent, and unimpaired. Statistics Canada reports that drinking is still the number one factor contributing to fatal collisions.
Automated enforcement fines cannot do the job of police officers to stop and prevent reckless drivers. The city is better off with more cops to manage dangerous and drunk drivers than red light and photo radar cameras to nab safe and respectable motorists.

In 2003, the first year of operations, the photo radar program generated $9.7 million in regulation revenue; $7.8 million taxpayers spent 'administering' the program offset this.

Photo radar makes a mockery of the justice system with its vicarious liability. Despite your best "wasn't me" impersonation, the Magistrate will toss out your appeal because tickets are issued to the owner of the offending vehicle, not the driver.

How does photo radar serve society by penalizing innocent drivers It doesn't. But it does serve the city's endless appetite for new revenues, a cause seemingly far greater than the punishment of the dangerous traffic offenders. Get rid of it Mayor Katz, big brother doesn't need to watch us anymore.