Speed cameras help police, are costly to the irresponsible

Apparently, we continue to have a big problem with traffic cameras ("Speed cameras vs. vandals," June 28). The most interesting comment I read was about drivers (presumably caught) complaining about not seeing the camera. Well, how awful. A driver expected to be able to speed through a school zone without getting caught. Talk about missing the point.

Baltimore is trying to get by with reduced personnel and still deliver all the services its' citizens expect. One of those services is having the police catch bad guys, some of whom are speeders. Now there is technology to assist in the control of speeders and to let the police spend more of their limited time catching robbers and the like. It's a "force multiplier," freeing officers to do more critical tasks. And the city, rightfully, should turn a deaf ear to those people who whine about not being able to speed when it suits them.

I'm a victim of those dreaded cameras, too. I was caught on Stevenson Lane a couple years ago, and, more recently on North Charles Street near Loyola University Maryland. What did I do? I paid the fines and adjusted my driving to stay within the speed limit. I still got to my destination, and now, if I don't want to be late, I leave a little bit earlier. And that's the whole point of traffic cameras, to "encourage" drivers to slow down — especially in school zones — and make the roads safer.

The fact that the camera program is generating revenue demonstrates only that certain drivers simply don't catch on. They choose instead to continue contributing to Baltimore's bottom line.

Michael Baker, Baltimore