[mindslight]

Cameras discourage dangerous driving even less, because automated systems tend to only look at superficial metrics (eg speed) rather than actual dangerous behavior such as rapidly darting between lanes or tailgating.

As far as traffic stops creating needless hazards, the solution there is simple - change the expectation for motorists to only pull over where there is enough room (so not just in the breakdown lane), and prohibit officers from carrying weapons on traffic stops. If a motorist escalates to violence, the correct answer is to retreat and form a new plan that reflects the changed circumstance and higher severity of crime, not to jump into playing Rambo.

[only_as_i_fall]

You could pretty easily change that though. Having a cop drive around in a patrol car seems way less effective that if the same resources were used to pay someone to look at traffic cams and send out fines for dangerous driving.

[mindslight]

I'm reminded of those arguments in favor of making supply chains ever leaner. In reality, cops sitting on the side of the road are on call and ready to go in case something else more important comes up. I'm certainly not defending cops sitting around playing Candy Crush while waiting for the radar's alarm to go off, but abstracting and outsourcing seems like the wrong way to go here.

Cameras also have a serious due process problem in that if you get a notification even one week later, you're unable to collect evidence to defend yourself. If it's a daily commute, you might not even remember the weather conditions.