LETTER: Las Vegas traffic cameras won’t lower deaths

I’ve lost confidence in Sheriff Kevin McMahill after reading in the Review-Journal that he supports the Orwellian use of cameras to enforce traffic laws. I’ve spent time in places where traffic cameras are used, and they’re not a solution.

We moved here fewer than five years ago and mostly love it. When friends back home in Washington ask, we tell them the only things we hate here are the school district and everything related to driving. Don’t get me wrong, the worst day of traffic here doesn’t hold a candle to an average day in Seattle, but the people here drive horribly and our auto insurance tripled.

Here’s a thought: Driver’s ed isn’t required for kids to get licenses — and it shows. Also, no one who’s impaired or driving a stolen car cares about cameras, and they’re the majority of the problem.

Cameras would be a burden on the average citizen who endeavors to obey the law. Canada uses speed cameras and they’re frequently inaccurate, forcing people to take time/expense to defend themselves. Their use also seems to empower the government to ignore more of their citizens’ rights. Do we want that here?

If you can find cameras that detect impaired drivers or can identify people driving stolen cars, we’d consider supporting that. Otherwise, it’s an emphatic “no” from my family. We have no faith in red light cameras when traffic officials here can’t even coordinate the traffic lights on Blue Diamond.