Photo-Radar Machine Gets Mixed Reviews From Speeders

Some called it “entrapment,” others assailed it as a “Big Brother” tactic and thought it was unconstitutional, but a majority of drivers who responded to a survey after being caught speeding by the Pasadena Police Department’s new photo-radar device support the system.

About a quarter of the 1,420 drivers sent warnings after speeding by the radar-equipped camera responded to a police survey, with 53% supporting the system.

The tally was close--221 of the people who took part in the survey favored the system, 191 opposed it and 12 were undecided.

Some of the drivers politely thanked police for their efforts, but many outraged speeders attacked the system as an Orwellian device that threatens civil liberties. One driver thought it was an unidentified flying object.

8 M.P.H. Over Limit

Pasadena police used the photo-radar device for 62 hours between Nov. 10 and Dec. 18 to record license plate numbers of drivers traveling at least 8 m.p.h. above the speed limit, Lt. Robert Huff said.

When the system is implemented, police will use the license number to track down the registered owner of the car, who will be sent a ticket by mail.

The drivers photographed during the test period were sent warnings instead of tickets, and were asked to respond with their opinion of the system.

“I refuse to support your ‘new system’ of spying and entrapment. This is just another step toward George Orwell’s ‘1984,’ ” wrote one Pasadena woman who received a warning.

“It is a total invasion of my privacy,” another woman wrote. “It will produce paranoid drivers who are too busy looking for cameras to pay attention to traffic.”

A Pasadena woman reported that her husband liked the photo-radar plan, “but I just don’t like the idea of being watched electronically. Too much like Big Brother.”

Other speeders were appreciative of the photo-radar device’s capabilities.

“I think it will work because if it got me, it will catch anyone,” a proud speeder wrote.

Many drivers wanted police to issue at least two warnings before giving tickets, but Huff said once the system goes into effect--in the next several months--the tickets sent to speeders will be the real thing, with fines ranging from $20 to $200.

Other drivers complained that they didn’t want to be responsible for tickets incurred by friends or relatives who use their cars, and Huff said they wouldn’t necessarily be.

Registered owners who can prove they weren’t driving the car will have the citations removed, he said, but they will be asked to identify the driver who appears in the photo.

The photo-radar system will be operated by Traffic Monitoring Technicians, a Friendswood, Tex., company that develops the film, traces the speeders and sends out the citations in exchange for a portion of every ticket paid. The company wants $20 per ticket, but Pasadena officials are trying to negotiate a lower fee so the department can “break even,” Huff said.

Court Test Possible

Huff conceded that drivers, such as one survey writer who promised, “See ya in court,” will try to test the constitutionality of the machine, which has never before been used in California. A similar system is being used in Paradise Valley, Ariz., he said.

Many of the drivers who responded to the survey, even those who supported the system, said they were concerned about privacy and having their rights violated.

“It’s an unconstitutional invasion of privacy. Blah! Go bother someone else with your high-tech police games. Vive le Autobahn!” wrote one driver, who had praise for the high-speed highways in Germany, where 100 m.p.h. speeds are common.

“The whole exercise strikes me as entrapment,” another driver wrote, while another man called the photo-radar system a “Gestapo-type device.”

Some respondents to the survey said the machine, which is built into a Chevrolet Blazer that can be moved from street to street, would be a deterrent to speeders.

“Ouch. I’ve heard about the new system. Now I’ve felt it,” one Pasadena resident wrote. “Do you want an idea of how this will affect my driving? I’m definitely slowing down and being more careful. At least I’ll keep a closer eye on parked station wagons.”

Other drivers were concerned about the potential for the system to foul up and victimize unsuspecting drivers.

“It’s another area where our lives are being taken over and ruled by those computers,” wrote a driver who thought the system was not user-friendly.

“I don’t recall ever having been in Pasadena in my lifetime,” a befuddled driver wrote. “Is this a ploy to make one respond to your poll?”