The goal of any traffic law ought to be making roadways safer.
To that end, we were glad to see Gov. Bill Ritter last week sign into law a measure that will require authorities using red-light cameras and photo-radar systems to post big signs about their use.
The bill, which was sponsored by Sen. Kevin Lundberg, R-Berthoud, requires signs with 4-inch upper-case letters and nearly 3-inch lower-case letters to be placed in a “prominent” location near the traffic control activity.
It may seem like a picayune detail, but it strikes us as fair and useful legislation. The warning signs now can be easily missed.
Conducting those operations in a way the public perceives as fair — and not just a money-making operation for local government — perhaps will nip in the bud some of the retribution that some motorists have exacted on photo radar and red light cameras.
In some parts of the world, such as Britain, where there are thousands of traffic control cameras, there is public hatred of them and they are frequently sabotaged.
Furthermore, more prominent notice is likely to get people to slow down and stop blowing through red lights — the ultimate goal.
Lundberg told the Fort Collins Coloradoan that one of the reasons he asked for more prominent signs has to do with the imminent use of photo radar enforcement in highway work zones.
As early as this summer, the Colorado Department of Transportation will begin using photo radar to ticket drivers who speed in such areas.
Given that 57 CDOT employees have died in the line of duty since 1929, using photo radar and prominent signs intended to deter speeders seems a good course of action.
Overall, we find systems that detect red-light runners and speeders are valuable tools that allow sworn officers to attend to more serious crimes.
But prominently warning motorists of the use of automated systems ultimately will make them even more effective by getting people to heed traffic laws.
