Let me level with you, right now! I do NOT have any sympathy for the scofflaws who are receiving tickets as a result of the Providence School Zone Speed Cameras. Any modicum of empathy would quickly disappear if you regularly drive, as I do, in Providence neighborhoods. Ask any city worker as well as to his experience traversing the streets of Providence. It’s the equivalent of the amusement park dodge 'ems as drivers who got their licenses from Sears and Roebuck’s routinely cut them off.

The fact that the violators are in a school zone also adds to my disdain. As Dan McGowan of WPRI has pointed out in his daily blogs about the capital city, nearly all the speeding tickets are coming from cameras in three locations: Mount Pleasant Avenue (8,102), Charles Street (5063) and Thurbers Avenue (3817). Meanwhile, cameras on Daniel Avenue and Peace Street have generated just 46 tickets between them. Now, politicians from these areas where tickets are mounting are trying to make a big deal about how the “poor” in these neighborhoods can’t afford the tickets. PLEASE! They should just learn to drive! Stop the coddling!

In fact, more cameras should be mounted in other cities and towns. Far too many Rhode Islanders have increasingly become rude on the roads. To expose children to these hot shots is unconscionable. Enforcing the school zone travel at 20 miles per hour via cameras is a wise investment since law enforcement officers shouldn’t be dillydallying with their valuable time better spent catching criminals.

Now, the chief lawmaker who sponsored the legislation is having second thoughts. His concern is misplaced. Nobody has a gun to the head of the speedsters in Providence or anywhere else. Let the law remain and enforce it.

It will be interesting to note in the upcoming months how the speed cameras modify behavior. Now that the word is out, it is a safe bet that people will slow down as they pass by the schools. I have noticed how drivers have stopped running the intersections at such places as Broadway/Atwells Avenue because of the cameras. It wasn’t so long ago that when the light changed there drivers in the next 2 cars would have to go through the light in order to avoid being rear-ended. It is a rarity now to see somebody gunning through.

So, kudos to Mayor Jorge Elorza for starting the program and to the legislators who supported it. As for the Providence lawmakers and lawbreakers, stop whining. Pay up or learn to drive correctly!

Certainly, if there are “vision” issues which some of the cameras apparently had, the traffic court judge should toss the violation, as both traffic court judges in Providence did for some tickets. Fixing the “eyesight” of the camera should be a priority to prevent future issues. Removing the cameras should not be the solution, however. If anything, the 17,116 speeding tickets issued as of last week clearly demonstrate the lack of respect for the traffic laws by drivers in Providence.
One final word. Wouldn’t it be great if cameras were mounted to catch those who are texting while driving? Now, that would be really something!

Arlene Violet is an attorney and former Rhode Island Attorney General.