| Speed Control Cameras in Hawai`i - Are They Really Safe? | ||||
| 1/9/02 Tonight KHNL broadcast news that the flash units used by the the speed control cameras are now responsible for at least one accident on the Likelike Highway. It was also reported that HPD has six other driver complaints on file about the blinding hazards caused by these same flash units over the past couple of weeks. I'd like to pose a question regarding the safety of the lasers being used. Recently we were told that of over 900 possible citations accumulated the first day, all but 158 were tossed because of operator error. This operator error leads to me to ask - how are we to be sure that operator error while using these lasers won't eventually lead to innocent driver eye injury or blindness? Is the CEO of Affiliated Computer Services willing to come down here and stand in front of his own cameras to publically demonstrate the cameras' laser safety? Until such a demonstration is performed publically with all the media in attendance, I for one, will have serious concerns about the safety of these lasers and of the safety of my own eyesight while traveling on city and state highways. We've all read stories about eye injuries caused by laser pointers and we've all read about the horrors of botched LASIK surgeries. What makes the lasers used in conjunction with these cameras any less dangerous? What happens when an expertly aimed speed camera laser is refracted off a chrome bumper or shiny car hood into an unsupecting driver's eyes? Does anyone really know? How can the public be assured that these lasers are absolutely 110% safe? Rabbett Internet Radio Hawai`i Your comment welcomed here. |
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