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Saanich councillor fails to learn from history

Speed cameras are not the solution according to one resident
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Re: Proposal to curb Malahat speeders (Gazette, July 5)

Police feet on the Malahat will prevent far more deaths than cheapskate approaches like cameras and speed measuring systems that may not be able to identify the aggressive drivers weaving in and out of traffic.

Police eyes and minds can detect excessive speed for conditions (which may be well below the speed limit with ice and fog common there), impaired drivers, erratic drivers with medical problems (young and old), illegal equipment (such as tinted front side windows and exhausts exceeding noise limits), distracted driving, and throwing cigarettes out window, which can start grass fires.

Hidden cameras are not proper – this society was founded on protection of individuals against snooping – receiving a ticket in the mail weeks later works against disputing it. But police can sit quietly in the shade or against a building and use their eyes, radar devices, and direct speed measuring devices – if mechanized well. Then colleagues can apprehend the offending drivers for immediate impact on their thinking.

Those things are known and have been discussed for years. But politicians are too cheap to get police on the street more often to re-educate bad drivers, both on the Malahat and where most drivers live – in places like Colwood and Saanich.

The CRD fails to learn from history. I urge voters to develop and help elect candidates who will perform the government’s duty of protecting innocent people.

Keith Sketchley

Saanich