For those of you who haven't read the right newspapers, or don't want to go searching about... The original article can be found
here.
Copied from the Ottawa Sun's web site, without permission.Thu, January 15, 2004
Radar loveCops, safety groups cheer possible return of unmanned speed trap
By LAURA CZEKAJ, Ottawa Sun[/b]
<advertisment removed> SMILE! Photo radar could be getting a replay. Local police and safety organizations were applauding a suggestion by Premier Dalton McGuinty yesterday that the controversial speed trap might be resurrected.
"I've long been a supporter of photo radar," McGuinty told reporters yesterday. "It's a revenue generator, absolutely."
Electronic enforcement on provincial highways is just one of several options the cash-strapped provincial government is considering while addressing a $5.6-billion deficit.
Although some of his senior cabinet ministers dismissed the concept, including Fiance Minister Greg Sorbara, McGuinty suggested photo radar could be part of the discussions in upcoming pre-budget consultations.
VOTED NAY IN '94
In 1994, the Liberals voted against the NDP's plans to install photo radar on provincial highways. The project used cameras in unmarked police vans to nab speeders. A copy of the licence plate photo and a hefty fine was then mailed to the vehicle's owner, regardless of who was driving when the picture was taken.
Photo radar was one of the first items rescinded when the Mike Harris Conservatives took power a year later.
Ottawa OPP said electronic enforcement would give them another tool to make roads safer.
"If we were given the opportunity to use it in Ottawa, we would use it on the highways," said Sr. Const. Eric Booth, adding installing photo radar on area highways would act as a deterrent to motorists with a need for speed.
"We would use it as a tool to help prevent crashes," Booth said. "If we get people to slow down, then there is a greater chance that people will be able to avoid a collision."
CANUCKS 'HIGH ON IT'
The Canada Safety Council lobbied the provincial government for a reintroduction of photo radar, saying it is a proven, cost-effective way of reducing speeding violations.
"We did a major survey on this electronic enforcement. Canadians right across the country are high on it," said president Emile Therien, explaining one in six fatal collisions involves speeding.
There's no substitute for a police presence, but hi-tech intervention is needed, Therien said. "We are a hi-tech nation."
But the Canadian Automobile Association said photo radar is a "tax grab" that does nothing to slow speeding drivers.
"The only way that this is going to save lives and improve traffic safety is if there's a deterrent involved," said spokesman Mark Arsenault. "Photo radar doesn't provide that."