Robotic revenuers banned
New Mexico is outlawing robotic highwaymen on "state-owned" highways. Some people may euphemistically call these robber-bots "traffic cameras".
This is good, as far as it goes, but it is a little like making it illegal for a mugger to use a switchblade while he robs and attacks you, but saying it's OK for him to keep robbing and attacking you as long as he uses a different weapon. Get rid of all the "laws" that legalize theft-by-state.
It is wrong to steal money from a driver who has caused no harm to any individual. "Might" hurt someone is a catch-all justification that could get us all at any time no matter what we are doing. Wearing the silly hat of government does not make an act of theft ethical.
Some people claim that the government owns the roads and can therefore set the rules however they like. Governments can not "own" roads, since nothing they possess was purchased with their own money, but was obtained by using theft ("taxation" and "eminent domain"), and a thief does not own the stolen property he possesses.
If a driver causes harm through carelessness or anything else, have him pay damages to the damaged individual; not to the government. More money in government hands is never a good idea.
Here is a list of some of the "state-owned" roads around Albuquerque that have been the scene of this particular form of theft in the recent past:
•Interstates 25 and 40
•Coors Boulevard
•Paseo del Norte
Remember that this only applies to "state-owned" highways and interstates and that these are not the only places where the electronic highwaymen are lurking. As long as a city, rather than the state, pretends to "own" a road the cameras may still be there continuing to commit theft on behalf of the city. Traveler beware.
