Letters: Speed cams show need to slow down
I am continually amazed by the people who write in complaining about the traffic-camera tickets they received and demanding more warning signs ["Speed cameras in focus," Letters, Oct. 19].
Instead of more signs, perhaps the Department of Motor Vehicles should mail each driver a copy of the state driver's manual. Last I checked, all drivers are supposed to abide by the posted speed limits and all other traffic laws, regardless of a warning signs.
It's time to slow down, Long Island.
Tony Fleck, Farmingdale
I know I am not in the minority for feeling that the red-light cameras and school speed cameras have nothing to do with safety. It's all about money and satisfying the greedy public servants' demands for more and more.
When my 81-year-old mother received her first red-light ticket for going 3 mph while making a right turn on red, I senselessly took her to contest it.
Finding the traffic court was not easy. It's down a dark alley, a place that will get people my age and older thinking about the Valentine's Day Massacre. After being yelled at by the judge and hearing "objection" from an actual prosecutor -- a young kid who must have been embarrassed -- I told myself that never again would I come here and be humiliated.
Now my mother has a school zone ticket for traveling 39 mph on South Oyster Bay Road. Lock her up before she kills someone.
Susan Giordano, Glen Head
After receiving a few speed-camera tickets, I am acutely aware of their locations. I am deliberately slowing down so as not to get any more tickets.
However, the tickets continue to pile up. If I'm at fault, then so be it, and I deserve to pay the fines. My issue is, how do we really know if these cameras are accurate?
If I were to take time out of my day to try and challenge one of these tickets, a judge would pull up the information on a computer, where it would say I was going 42 mph, and I wouldn't have a leg to stand on.
How do we know that the company that manages this program for Nassau County, that receives 38 percent of the fines collected, is being properly monitored for the accuracy of these cameras?
Wayne Seid, Plainview
This is for the letter writer who complained about getting two tickets for speeding in a school zone, and anyone who thinks like she does. Her complaint was that there were no warning signs or flashing lights. Really?
The speed-limit sign and the sign indicating that it was a school zone were your warning signs. Do you need to hit a child before you learn your lesson?
If you don't want a ticket, drive like you don't want a ticket. You don't need to be "Big Bang Theory" physicist Sheldon Cooper to figure this out.
Michael Saletel, Baiting Hollow
Nobody wanted middle seat in '71
Your Oct. 18 obituary for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's first chairman was well done ["William Ronan, 1912-2014"].
The photo from 1971 shows that even 43 years ago, no one wanted to sit in the middle seat. I would love to know if that train car is still in service, as it certainly looks familiar.
Glenn Tyranski, Huntington
Social Security hike is absurd
I read with trepidation about the low cost-of-living adjustments for Social Security recipients, disabled veterans and federal retirees in 2015 ["Benefit hikes to stay low," News, Oct. 19], and I would like to extend an open invitation to those in our government who concluded that a 1.7-percent increase is justified.
Come with me when I shop, and sit with me when I open my mail with notices of increases in everyday expenses. I have not received one notice that says, "Congratulations, your bill is less this month."
Feel free to watch me fill my gas tank. The story specifically indicated that gas prices are down. Yes, in the past two weeks, that's true. What about from January to October 2014?
We've been told about low cost-of-living adjustments for the past several years. Who are these mysterious people who make this decision that affects millions of seniors and disabled veterans, and where do they live? I'd like to know and perhaps move there!
We need an explanation that makes sense, not one that resembles a fairy tale.
Maia Gaiti, Bethpage
Food pantries available to all
I would like to correct the impression that there are no food pantries serving North Babylon ["North Babylon food pantry to open next month," News, Oct. 22].
Most of the 133 Catholic parishes in Nassau and Suffolk counties have food pantries that serve people in need, regardless of their religious affiliation. There are five in North Babylon.
Residents may contact the Catholic Charities Central Information and Referral Line at 516-733-7045.
Jan Jamroz, East Meadow
Editor's note: The writer is the director of the parish social ministry for Catholic Charities, Diocese of Rockville Centre.