The city of Tucson has had automatic camera photo enforcement of red-light runners for at least a year and speed enforcement for several months. There is a vocal segment of the community which is offended their God-given right to run red lights is being infringed upon. And it’s true the cameras have their drawbacks.

Red light cameras can’t see the traffic context. They isolate each vehicle as if each incident involved only the subject vehicle and a traffic signal. But it can’t see the presence or movement of other cars or pedestrians. In the more than 54 years I have been driving, in rain and snow, I suppose most everything that can happen to a driver has happened to me, except I have been pretty lucky in avoiding accidents. But there have been times when I had to violate the rules to prevent a collision or to avoid striking a pedestrian or even a dog.

Other drivers can create an emergency situation you must compensate for, possibly commit an infraction for. No machine takes that into account. They do not have the ability to show the entire picture or the movements before and after the picture was taken. And they don’t show what you saw through your windshield.

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To gain relief from such a situation, you could demand a hearing and go before a court that trusts mechanical accusers because they have no incentive to lie. No one wants to go to court. Your time  probably is worth more than the fine. You can go to court just to vindicate the principle, but you’ll probably get a parking ticket while you are in there, and you may have to come back for the hearing on that at a later date.

There are circumstances when you drive that can be more complicated than the isolated split second the camera shows. I had to go through a red light once because I could see the driver behind me was not paying attention and was not slowing down. There was no cross traffic. If I had not gotten out of his way, I would have been struck. If there were a camera at that intersection it would have issued me a ticket and the other car would not even be in the picture.

I have had to take all kinds of evasive action to avoid harm that a camera just wouldn’t understand. Once I was driving on Wilmot Road south of Grant Road. Traffic was moving at a comfortable 40 miles per hour when a cocker spaniel wandered into my path. I could tell immediately by its walk it must have been pretty old, half blind and arthritic. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted an elderly woman who appeared to be suffering from many of the same ailments, looking distraught and trying — not too successfully — to chase the dog.

In an instant the whole situation became clear. But the driver behind me could not see the dog. I had the difficult job of avoiding both the dog and the car behind me and yet protecting the dog and its owner from other traffic, if possible. It was possible somehow and I was able to reunite the woman with her beloved companion. I hate to think what portion of that transaction would have been sent to court for adjudication.

Who hasn’t had a child run out from between two parked cars chasing a ball? It’s a classic case. Trial lawyers call that a “pedestrian knock-down,” Defense lawyers call it “a child dart-out.” The name of the game is “Drive Across Tucson.” I understand a Wii version will be released as soon as they edit the excessive violence out of it.

The object is to arrive at your destination on time while avoiding harm to the following, in order of importance: the child, yourself, your car, the ball, and the fire engine which is certain to respond. Give yourself five points for each objective you achieve.

These are not the same kind of points for which your insurance company will increase your rates when it learns you were responsible for an infraction.

But police statistics show that such equipment slows traffic through the intersection and reduces accidents. In fact, accident-related injuries dropped as much as 66 percent in some intersections in the year ended last September.

Yes, the cameras are not infallible and they infringe our freedom to drive fast and crazy, especially at intersections. But if they save lives and injuries, perhaps we should put up with them.

Who knows? The person you save injuries to might be someone you care about – like yourself.

Contact Lionel Waxman at territorial@waxmanmedia.com or visit his website: www.waxmanmedia.com. Lionel Waxman’s Flashpoint commentaries are published in The Daily Territorial.