Police Chief: iPhone Traffic-Cam Beaters Lack “Courage”

The road to Hell may or may not be paved with yellow brick, but according to Washington, D.C.'s police chief, it may be paved with yellow-bellied cowards — lions and otherwise.

Police chief Cathy Lanier used the "C-word" to describe drivers who utilize iPhone apps to alert them when they're approaching a speeding or traffic-light camera — or worse, a drunk-driving checkpoint.  Lanier said the technology is a "cowardly tactic" and "people who
overly rely on those and break the law anyway are going to get caught"
in one way or another.  "I think that's the whole point of this program.  It's designed to circumvent law enforcement — law enforcement that is designed specifically to save lives."

Joe Scott, the founder and CEO of PhantomAlert (one of the camera-avoidance app makers), claims nine out of 10 police departments across the country support his software: "If police come against us, it's going to make them look like they
are only [after] revenue" from the camera-generated citations.

D.C. currently has 290 red-light and speed cameras — comprising nearly 10 percent of all traffic cameras in the U.S. — and annual revenues from traffic camera-aided ticketing comes to nearly US$29 million.

[Via the Washington Examiner]