The City of Seattle announced this week that it will begin a pilot project to test the viability of using “red light” cameras at intersections. They’re going to start with four intersections, to be determined. If you run a red, a camera snaps a photo of your license plate, and you’re promptly mailed a ticket for a hundred and one smackers.

Yee-HAW! This is exactly the kind of cool, technology-oriented, passive-aggressive law enforcement I love best. The only thing better would be giant steel barriers that shoot up out of the ground at a high rate of speed to block the road the instant the light goes red (though this would, I have to admit, be a titch more on the “aggressive” side).

Of course, the project will have its detractors. There are bound to be some glitches, and there’s always some twit who claims that they were targeted unfairly, and of course there will be a temporary boom in the sale of those dark-tinted “license protectors”. But overall I see this as a good thing. For one, it is a form of enforcement that requires little in the way of resources. Second, it will be a great source of pocket change for the state, unless it results in drivers abandoning the practice of running red lights, in which case the entir exercise will be worth it anyway.

Finally, it will save me the hassle of having to buy a Bradley Fighting Vehicle so I can pull into the intersection when the light turns green regardless of the selfish and antisocial behavior of others.