Photo radar works

> Edmonton and the case for Canadian speeding policy

Jamal Al-Bayaa
Staff Writer

 

[I Edmonton, speeding drivers
are caught and subsequently
ticketed through an extensive
network of “photo radars” that
measure speeds and capture
licence plate numbers. Edmonton
residents accuse the system of
being nothing more than a cash
grab, and they argue that the
“corrupt politicians” who put the
system in place are doing nothing
but lining their pockets, while
failing to make roads a safer place.

On a regular basis, calls can
be heard for these systems to be
scrapped. Editorials discuss how
they’re not effective. Comments
on Edmonton news websites
become the battlegrounds on
which angry commuters argue
that the systems making them
unable to speed actually makes
the road a more dangerous
place—as if excessive speeding
wasnt the cause of 27 per
cent of fatal accidents in their
neighbouring province, BC.

As an outsider to the
province, I see the culture of
Alberta as it relates to driving.
What I observe is that despite

How to know when to

what people say, Edmonton
residents know that they can’t
speed, so they simply don't.

The critics have one thing
right, though. Photo radars, on
their own, can’t make roads a safer
place. Policing has to be involved,
as well as human judgment. A
computer program can’t yet detect
unsafe left turns, reckless driving,
or distracted driving. What photo
radar systems can do—and what
they are doing in Edmonton—is
fund projects that effectively
curb that kind of behaviour.

> Weighing the pros with the cons

Aaron Guillen
Staff Reporter

 

| aving a workplace with

perfect coworkers, an
intelligent boss, and a constant
uplifting atmosphere is a rarity
to come across. Perhaps you’ve
worked a part-time job while
going to school. For most, you will
have to deal with the hell that is
customer service.

The work-school life balance
that you must hold on your
shoulders is insurmountably
difficult to maintain. While
professors pile on hefty amounts
of reading, you have to deal with
idiotic customers who complain
about everything. This is a brief
look into the average life of a
college student.

Up until three weeks ago, I
was convinced that I wanted to
stay at my current employer until
the end of the school year. Now,
I've already resigned and opened
my time up to focus on studies

and passions. How did I come to
this decision? It took four simple
steps.

Step #1: Take a moment and
think to yourself why you got
the job in the first place. Was it
for an income? Was it to please
someone else? Was it to prove
your independence? No matter
what your reason was, now is the
time to reevaluate whether these
reasons still apply to you today.
For me, I got my job as a deli clerk
at an organic grocery store back
in May 2015 because I felt the
urge to contribute to my college
tuition—and a newspaper delivery
job I had held for 2 years wasn’t
going to cut it. Today, I’ve saved a
decent amount of money and I'm
more willing to let go of my job
than before.

Step #2: Think about what
you love about your job. During
my training period, everything
was new and exciting. I had so

Edmonton raked in $48.5
million in revenue from the
system in 2015. One hundred per
cent of that went to traffic safety
initiatives. Asa result, Edmonton
streets have become a safer place
to drive and walk every year since
the program’s inception in 2007,
exactly opposite what critics say.
Looking at the data, one can see
that from 2007 until 2015, the total
number of fatal and injurious
collisions decreased by 27 per cent,
even though the city increased
in population by 16 per cent.

(¥ How to know when to quit your job

{¥ Stop glorifying people who live in vans

( Terrible and shameful political coverage

And more!

 

Image via www.huffingtonpost.ca

So let’s put an emergency
brake on any argument that
says photo radar isn’t effective
at making the roads a safer
place. It is. It just does so
via indirect methods.

Somebody certainly needs
to fund these programs though,
and Councillor Andrew Knack
points out that the best candidates
are the drivers who contribute to
making roads unsafe. Otherwise,
you'd have to tax the transit-taking
citizens, increase the premiums on
car insurance, and appoint more

quit your job

much to learn in so little time,
but that made my day challenging
and worthwhile. In the beginning,
my manager gave me praise and
made me feel welcome in a new
environment. | had been given
flexible hours to choose when

I was available, and I enjoyed

that freedom of choice. Lastly,

my coworkers made every day
worthwhile. They made me laugh
and were always willing to lend

a helping hand. But, as everyone
knows: Good things must come to
an end.

Step #3: Think about what
you hate about your job. While I
had been excited about the new
work environment I had entered,
I dismissed little details. First of
all, the location was the worst.
It took me over an hour to reach
work, which meant I was losing six
hours every week that I could have
been spending more productively.
In addition, I hadn’t considered
the massive change that college

 

would bring. I wasn’t able to get
much sleep with early opening
hours at 7 a.m., and closing shifts
running until 1 p.m. (plus the
commute). Lastly, my manager,
who I once saw as a sweet person,
showed her true colours and
revealed her suspicious, micro-
managing, condescending side.
In a recent interaction, she told
me that if I couldn't give her the
hours she wanted of me (during
school), I might as well leave the

money to roads than bike lanes
and infrastructure development.
The system is effective. It
makes money, it makes the roads
safer, and it’s replicable. Why
isn't the BC government applying
it? They put it in place once in
1996, yet it only lasted six years.
Why? Because voters in BC
felt the same way that citizens
in Edmonton do. So the Liberal
party made removing the NDP’s
photo radar system one of their
top campaign promises, and
proceeded to do so when they
won the election. After seeing
the success of throwing away
logic for voters, all the major
political parties now refuse to
even consider the idea, lest they
alienate their voter base. This
is a system that BC needs to
return to, now more than ever.
To start, the radar should
be implemented in high-
traffic and high-crash areas.
Technology is needed to free
police up for more pertinent
matters. It’s that, or continue
suffering through highway
deaths, ICBC insurance hikes,
annually increasing TransLink
prices, and a lack of funding for
the province's major goals.

Image via thinkstock

job. I stood in silence as the words
echoed from her voice. “But we
love you here!” she half-heartedly
offered. That’s when I knew I had
to make a decision.

Step #4: Decide what is
important to you. Whether it be
money, a degree, or following your
passion, do it. This life is short,
and it’s a waste to spend all your
time doing something that doesn’t
fulfill you.