There’s some good news on this front: The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) has halted allowing any further red light cameras on state roads while it studies the issue. My opinion is this is a very difficult issue to study, so I think a proper study should take at least 20 years to perform. By that point, we will all probably have permanent government microchips implanted in our permanently attached safety helmets, so red-light cameras will be totally moot.

MoDOT’s current director cuts through the canard that cities advance suggesting the cameras are there for safety purposes (parentheses in the original):

“Whether speed or red-light running cameras, they are taking this and using it as a moneymaking, revenue-generating activity, and that’s not fair,” [interim state Transportation Director Kevin] Keith said. “I can’t say everyone is doing it. We have enough indications that there are (communities) doing that. It gives us pause.”

If anyone out there actually believes what the cities say about safety, I have a toll bridge over Lake of the Ozarks to sell you. It’s the only one in the state, so it’s pretty valuable.

There are benefits to having a large number of small governments in Missouri, and particularly in St. Louis County. There are also costs. The primary benefit is the difficulty of enacting comprehensive government planning in an area with so many separate governments. The two primary costs are the fiscal cost of redundant services and the consistent abuses of traffic regulations for revenue purposes by small cities. I commend MoDOT for attempting to halt some of those abuses.