Posted on 03/07/2008 3:08:10 PM PST by Daffynition
In a high-profile defeat for Gov. M. Jodi Rell, a key legislative committee on Thursday rejected her plan to install radar cameras to ticket speeders on a dangerous stretch of I-95.
Invoking fears of Big Brother, lawmakers shot down Rell's plans for a pilot program in southeastern Connecticut by a 13-9 vote. The Democratic committee co-chairmen were split on an issue that came down to an unusual philosophical discussion over the rights of drivers and the power of government.
The majority on the committee said the public's right to privacy outweighs the risks to public safety from speeding. They said more troopers should be on the road to saturate the area and stop speeders and drunken drivers before they hurt or kill someone.
Rep. Stephen Dargan, D-West Haven, the longtime committee co-chairman, voted for the cameras, saying he wanted to give the benefit of the doubt to the governor because similar radar programs have worked in other states.
"I've stayed consistent in voting for this in the past, and I'll stay consistent again," said Dargan, who has 18 years of experience at the Capitol.
But co-chairwoman Sen. Andrea Stillman, D-Waterford, said her constituents were opposed to the idea of cameras watching them.
Rell spokesman Christopher Cooper said results from other states show "that cameras do slow people down, prevent accidents and save lives. It is unfortunate that a proven technology was not even given a chance for a trial period in a very limited but dangerous stretch of I-95."
Although Thursday's vote was clearly a blow to Rell's plan, the idea could be resurrected later in the legislative session by Republicans through amendments on the House or Senate floor.
In pushing for the program, the state police gave lawmakers a booklet of more than 25 pages with details of how the concept worked in other states.
But the idea has been controversial in various spots across the country, ever since the cameras were first introduced in Texas more than 20 years ago.
Many places have abandoned the systems because of opposition from drivers uncomfortable with being photographed on highways.
Rell called for the cameras initially to be set up from Old Lyme to New London on the Connecticut Turnpike, close to where three drivers died in November when a tanker-trailer barreled through metal dividers in East Lyme at Exit 75 and crashed head-on into traffic. If it reduced the number of speeders and traffic-related deaths, the technology would be rolled out in other areas of the state, Rell said.
Rell plans to hold a news conference today at the police station in Old Lyme, but Cooper said it had been scheduled previously to discuss Rell's overall plan that includes 100 additional troopers over the next five years to enhance traffic-enforcement efforts.
During a meeting Thursday of the public safety committee on its deadline day, nearly every committee member stated an opinion about the bill.
All seven Republicans voted in favor, along with two Democrats: Dargan and Rep. Betty Boukus of Plainville. Thirteen Democrats voted against, including some from southeastern Connecticut.
"The camera will take a picture, and 10 seconds later, someone will get into a catastrophic accident," said Rep. Ernest Hewett, D-New London. "This is about revenue."
Rep. Linda Orange, D-Colchester, said the bill was well-intentioned, "but it does violate civil rights."
Rep. James A. Shapiro, D-Stamford, said the smartest way to improve drivers' behavior is to increase the presence of troopers.
"Cameras aren't proven to make any one safer," he said.
In a recent interview, Shapiro said the cameras would mostly be photographing drivers who weren't breaking the law.
"State surveillance of our law-abiding citizens is not an area in which I am looking for Connecticut to lead," Shapiro said. "A lot of other right-thinking people have made that judgment, and that's why these cameras have not caught on.
"Placing importance on our civil liberties is an American characteristic. Benjamin Franklin said the man who trades his liberty for temporary security deserves neither."
"Placing importance on our civil liberties is an American characteristic. Benjamin Franklin said the man who trades his liberty for temporary security deserves neither."
And from a Democrat no less. Heh. Looks like Rhino-Rell got a small put down.
If this stretch of highway is so dangerous, why not station marked police cars with lights flashing so that everyone can see them, and slow down.
Shhhhh ... that's not the real reason for the cameras ....
Check that man's breath!
Because that makes too much sense. What they need to do is FIX the road ... it’s too dangerous because it is too narrow for the volume.
IMO, this is about nothing more than handing out more tickets to get more money for the state.
In lieu of tolls, this is the Rino-Rell’s solution. GRRR!
I grew up in East Lyme. In fact, I always joke that my hometown was Exit 73. I’ve driven on that stretch of the Connecticut Turnpike a lot.
Not mentioned in that article is the fact that the Connecticut Turnpike was built back when all those towns along the coast were sleepy little villages. East Lyme High School was built when I was in the sixth grade, in the late 1960s. Now those towns have ten times the population. East Lyme used to have a Cumberland Farms and a gas station on the corner of Flanders Road; now there are motels, fast food, strip malls, you name it.
The turnpike, however, remains the same.
The solution to me seems to be restructuring the highway to fit the higher use from more people.
Just my two cents.
You are correct. The road needs to be widened ...and the cost over-runs would probably exceed the BigDig! It would take years of aggravation, delays and billions. But that is what needs to be done. Not speed cameras.
[I miss the Flanders Fish Market sooooooo much] ;-D
My county began installing a total of 14 fixed cameras about a year ago. They are issuing 500 photo tickets a day and collecting well over $100,000 a week.
I feel safer already.
Flanders Fish Market??!? What the heck is that? All I can recall is the IGA at Flanders Four Corners and that car dealership... I used to drink beer at some place between the Four Corners and Exit 74, and I can’t recall the name of that place, either... and then there was the Scotsman Motel, which was deserted when I went back to town in 2001....
I can also see by google earth that a lot of the woods I used to play in between Lovers Lane, Dean Road, and the turnpike are now subdivisions.
Memories. It was a nice place to grow up. I live in Alaska now, though, and when I returned to visit East Lyme and the east coast in general it seemed really tiny and crowded.
It was good to see East Lyme in a post, though, and it’s good to hear that there is at least one conservative left in Connecticut.
Did you ever follow this crazy story from East Lyme? [1993] I had bought a few cars from David and knew him as a really nice guy. He's OK but lost his eye in the shooting.
Over the decades, a large percentage of the summer places on the shoreline have been converted to year-round residences and remain quite pricey. Places that were bought by your grandparents for a few grand are now $450K+ ... quite a ROI.
Yep. It's crowded, unpleasant with tourists in the summer and still lovely after Labor Day. You're lucky you got out when you did. ;-D
Lawmakers shoot down the law or citizens shoot down the cameras. Guess they made the right choice.
Thanks for the update on my old hometown and the reason why I didn’t remember the Flanders Fish Market - I left town in 1979. Sad article about your friend getting shot, though. I also noticed that the New York Times got the info wrong about the guy driving in I-95 - from the Four Corners to my exit is south on the turnpike, not north.
I went back with my family and I was surprised at how seedy Niantic looked. We did stop at the Friendly’s, though - those square burgers and fries are etched in my memory. Those sundaes, too. I’m still wracking my brain trying to remember the name of that bar I used to hang out in - Flanders House? In any case, my brain was getting wracked at the time. It was sad to see that Brower’s Nursery was closed when I went back, too. Progress.
The interesting thing about East Lyme was that I spent nearly every waking moment in those woods in my backyard, and it prepared me well for living here 280 miles from the end of the road system.
Now the punchline. Ask my son where he wants to live. He tells me, “New York.” LOL
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