Visitor had no respect for law

Regarding Jack Hollingworth Jr.'s April 10 letter “‘Big Brother'watching costs C.R. business”:

It is gratifying that in Hollingsworth's visit for researching a business location in our corridor, he discovered many qualifying values. However, it is amazing that he found one quality of enough significance to base a rejection - respect for the rule of law. Having admittedly broken a speed law, he is upset at the method of law enforcement.

Should Hollingsworth have selected this area to locate his business, during his employees' daily commutes, our camera enforcement would offer a means to safeguard his company's investment in proposed high compensations. Further, this technology would continue to free police “on the ground” to safeguard their homes and his business site.

Technologies are a responsibility to be utilized judiciously. In Cedar Rapids, traffic camera citations are civil citations that do not appear on individual driving records, as they would if presented by police. Further, a citation can be appealed to a citizen volunteer hearing officer. If the violation is proven erroneous, there are extenuating circumstances, or the fine will cause undue financial hardship, the fine can be dismissed.

While speed limitations are laws “we the people” put in place to save lives, reaction to being caught speeding is always a jolt to the psyche. Our cameras to enforce speed laws have statistically proven effective in lives and tax dollars saved, thus they can hardly be considered a misapplication. We just find ourselves challenged to adapt to an updated “citation jolt” if we allow ourselves the indulgence to test our laws.

Jo Wasta

Cedar Rapids