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NEWS > 09 November 2007

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The Government MP John Quigley has contradicted evidence given to a Corruption and Crime Commission inquiry by a former undercover police officer involved in the case against Andrew Mallard.

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The Daily Beacon - Knoxville,T
09 November 2007
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Study probes ethics of speedin

The Tennessee legislature heard testimony late last month on the success of a program that uses cameras to ticket speeding motorists and reduce accidents on a particularly dangerous stretch of highway in Chattanooga. Around the same time, the legislature also funded a study led by UT professor of civil and environmental engineering Arun Chatterjee into what he called “legal, ethical and technical issues” involved in the placement of such cameras on parts of Interstate 40 and Interstate 75, as well as in other regions and states.

Darrell DeBusk, public information officer for the Knoxville Police Department, said the Chattanooga testimony led to some concerns that such a program might come to Knoxville, but he stressed that wasn’t the case.

“We are not trying to get speeding cameras. We’re not studying a proposal for the speeding cameras or doing a feasibility study — it’s not even on our drawing board,” DeBusk said. “That’s something that we are not looking into at all.”

Chatterjee said many people’s concerns stem from the fear that camera enforcement “may be used to increase the revenue of a city or state by using it at locations where a sudden change of speed is required and where many drivers cannot make that adjustment … that the technique may be used with a different motivation than public safety.”

But Chatterjee does not think this is an overwhelming concern.

“Many experts believe that if used properly, ethical issues can be resolved, and considerable gain in safety can be achieved in terms of reduced number of crashes,” he said.

Chatterjee said his study will examine any legal, ethical or logistical complications faced by other states and cities that have implemented automated camera-based speed enforcement. He also said he believed concerns over improper or unethical usage of the cameras were easily addressed.

“Misuse of the technique can be avoided if the legislation requires that locations where automated speed enforcement will be used must be selected based on appropriate analysis of traffic crashes and other related characteristics,” Chatterjee said. He added that the cameras should be implemented “only if it can be shown that considerable improvement would occur with regard to safety.”

Chatterjee is scheduled to make his report to the Tennessee Department of Transportation no later than July 1, 2008.

But even if this report does preface the installation of cameras on high-risk portions of I-40 and I-75, those cameras would not involve Knoxville police.

DeBusk said speed cameras “look like they could certainly be a beneficial tool for law enforcement” and praised red-light cameras for their effectiveness in reducing accidents. He also said the department would always support any initiative that improved public safety.

“It’s a tool to reduce the speed of motorists,” DeBusk said, “and that’s the goal of any traffic enforcement. … When you reduce the speed of motorists you automatically reduce the number of crashes you have, and that reduces the number of injuries and fatalities. That is the whole goal of enforcement, regardless of its type — to reduce the speed of motorists.”

Nevertheless, he said that speed-enforcement cameras would have to follow the same lengthy public, political and legal processes which red-light cameras went through before they appeared on Knoxville streets.

Those cameras, according to DeBusk, stemmed from “a committee of citizens and city council members … (looking) at ways to reduce speeding in neighborhoods and reduce crashes.” And DeBusk said speeding cameras “would be sort of in that same ballpark.”

“A committee would have to recommend it, and then of course it would be up to the discretion of the city council members,” DeBusk said. “They would have to say they want the police department to look at installing speeding cameras, and at that point we would be required to do a study. … It would take people coming to the city council and the council coming to us and saying this is something they want to do.”

Chatterjee said some communities which have enacted cameras also take additional steps to ensure the public they aren’t just after money.

“Some jurisdictions where this is being used are dedicating the surplus revenue (less costs) for either highway safety initiatives or for education,” he said.

 

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