Letter to Potomac Secret Agent

Dear Potomac Secret Agent;

I live near Persimmon Tree Road , am a professional and generally law-abiding person. I pay my taxes on time and don't generally dabble deeply in politics, particularly at the local level. I've had the same visceral reaction to the speed cameras that you have, and I wanted to compliment you on your initiative and your balanced approach to this issue.

There's a lot of silly hypocrisy out there on both sides of this issue: those attacking the practice of speed cameras are complaining about due process (I'm a lawyer, and I think this argument is nonsense), "big brother" and the like. On the other side, defenders of the speed cameras pontificate about safety and speeding.

In my view, here's what's wrong with speed cameras:

• First and foremost, they aren't safety devices. The person who likes to drive fast (I'm one myself) knows where the cameras are, slows down as he or she approaches them, and speeds up when as soon as he or she has passed them. This doesn't slow down drivers, but merely creates a momentary, awkward (and perhaps occasionally dangerous) disruption in the normal traffic flow. (I can't prove it, but I suspect that more than one driver has had to slam his or her brakes when the car in front suddenly sees the camera and stops abruptly.)
  
• Equally important, the cameras are not a substitute for a police officer's good judgment. Depending on weather and traffic, there are times when driving 10, 15 and even 20 miles an hour over the posted limit is not only perfectly safe, but it is in fact the speed at which virtually all drivers drive. At other times, closer adherence to the speed limit is important for safety. Drivers know this instinctively. So do police officers. Cameras don't.
  
•  If one is honest about it, we know that speed limits were set decades ago, when cars were dramatically less maneuverable or responsive to the driver's demands. Braking and handling are not remotely as difficult as in the past. Most roads are more safely constructed now. (I suspect you remember what Burdette Road looked like years ago, before the hills were removed, or Seven Locks, both above and below River Road.) Many main arteries have been widened; signage is better; traffic control is better. Sure, traffic is heavier than in the 1970's, but no one can credibly argue that 25 miles and hour, or even 35 miles an hour, is a realistic speed limit. (Speed cameras are more a local roads issue, but some folks remember the speed limit on I-95 was originally 75 MPH, which was perfectly safe, even with the big boats that we drove back in the 1960's, cars with drum brakes and loose power steering that were far less responsive than those today.)
  
• The speed camera's biggest flaw is that it promotes disrespect for the law. Law-abiding citizens, like you and me, are angry about them and feel that they are a foolish government expenditure, really intended more to produce revenue than to promote safety, and ineffective as to their state purpose. It builds contempt for our government, and that's not healthy for any of us.
  

As someone who is comfortable driving in New York City, Rome and London and feels at home in the most challenging traffic settings, I nonetheless rue every single trip to Potomac (sometimes several times a day) from Persimmon Tree Road . The turn from Persimmon Tree into River Road is one of the most challenging I have ever seen. The need for a traffic light there is obvious and compelling. In my 30+ years here, I've come to accept that the county simply isn't going to put a light on this corner.  (I fantasize that the County Executive should be made to turn left from Persimmon Tree toward Potomac during morning or evening rush hour just ten times. There would be a traffic light there the next day.) But imagine my irritation when, instead, a speed camera was installed near this intersection. It does nothing to improve the dangerous entry from Persimmon Tree, and stands as a testament to the core point: these things do not improve safety, but the county was more than willing to make an investment to generate some fresh revenue.

Anyway, thanks for your work on this subject. If you stay with it in any way, I'd be delighted to offer a hand.

P.S. I've been irritated about this for awhile, but, like you, I'm driven to action by a ticket. Not me; my wife. She was driving on East-West Highway at 11:30 p.m. That's a four-lane road, with no traffic on it at all at that hour. She was going 36 miles an hour and got a camera ticket. Of course, she was driving a perfectly safe speed and wasn't thinking about speed cameras, because she's a safe and cautious driver. This is not only unfair; it's absurd. An experienced speeder would be doing 60 on East West Highway at that hour, slowing momentarily for the camera (whose location he is sure to know and be thinking about), and then speeding off when he passes it. This is just wrong-headed law enforcement.