I find it ironic and ludicrous that Gov. Mike Leavitt has traveled all around the country championing states' rights while our own state Legislature is trampling all over local jurisdictions' rights. I am referring to the recently passed but not-yet-signed HB11, sponsored by Sue Lockman of Kearns. This bill attempts to place limits on the use of PhotoCop in local cities, and I strongly urge Leavitt to follow his own advice on local control and veto it.
Rep. Lockman and most of her colleagues in the Legislature don't even live in an area that uses PhotoCop. So why are they even concerned about it? Why are they stepping on the rights of local jurisdictions to decide the safety of their citizens? Why do they pass laws that encourage seat belt use and discourage drunken driving and then pass another law that encourages drivers to exceed the speed limit? Most important, why are they so opposed to a device that saves lives?Don't give me any of the worn-out, frivolous excuses that I always hear, like "it's impersonal," "it's unconstitutional" or "it's invading my privacy." Following logic like that, we might as well remove all burglar alarms and video surveillance systems that are in use in businesses, homes and public buildings. If it's wrong for a driver to get caught on film for breaking the law, then it should be wrong for robbers, rapists, intruders and others to get caught on video for breaking the law, right?
Studies have proven that PhotoCop lowers the average speed of drivers, drastically lowers the accident rate and rate of fatalities and makes the roads safer. Its use allows officers to spend their time on more serious offenses, and we all know that our law enforcement community is already overburdened. It is not in use to generate revenue for the cities, other than to cover the cost of its use. In fact, usually, its use is revenue neutral.
The legislators, who are overstepping their authority anyway, should not be curtailing its use. Instead, PhotoCop should be encouraged and adopted by more cities and counties. Even the Highway Patrol could use it on our dangerous freeways. I encourage my own city of Taylorsville-Bennion to adopt PhotoCop.
Please, Gov. Leavitt, veto this intrusion into our local jurisdictions' rights. If you hold a special session, encourage the state Legislature to concentrate on legislation that helps people and saves lives, not on bills that only a small minority of lawbreaking speeders supports.
Randy Farnsworth
Taylorsville-Bennion