Speed vans need more regulation
Between 2007 and 2009, the city of Chattanooga’s speed vans gave out 36,683 tickets. That is almost half of all tickets given by automated traffic cameras in Chattanooga.
The biggest problem with these cameras, though, is what they don’t detect. According to a study carried out by the U.S. Department of Transportation, speed is only a factor in around 9 percent of accidents. These speed vans only check for one thing, speed; therefore the driver of the vehicle could be driving drunk or have drugs in the car and, as long as they aren’t speeding, they will not receive a ticket.
These speed vans also are incredibly unfair to drivers. Signs are not required to warn drivers of speed vans, and somebody just driving with the flow of traffic a few miles over the speed limit can receive a ticket. While it’s true they were in fact speeding, if more traditional speed traps were being used those drivers would not be pulled over.
These speed vans need to be outlawed, and at the very least their needs to be more regulation in place for signage and location of speed vans.
ANTHONY INKLEBARGER