Five " red light " cameras in Wollongong are to be upgraded to serve a dual purpose - detect both those speeding and those running red lights.
No doubt this added capacity will also improve the revenue flow from fines, but there is something lacking when the only evidence of a driving infringement is the appearance in the mail of a demand for money letter.
This relates to something that happened - and has been long forgotten - weeks previously. It is usually met with a shrug of the shoulders - and a few well chosen swear words - but does nothing to improve road safety.
In comparison, the sight of a marked police car causes most drivers to urgently look at their speedometer - and the sight of a police car - lights flashing - behind a driver being booked - causes law conformity to improve instantly.
It seems that road safety is caught in a money squeeze. It is cheaper to buy and install more cameras and they give a better money return than police officers patrolling in marked cars. That is the reason we progressively see less police on our roads.
It is also the reason why the police patrol has disappeared from our streets. In today's IT age - the street cop has been replaced by a cctv camera !
And all this is happening in the guise of - progress !
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