The main problem you have here is what you call the slippery slope. Every year in every way, more electronic devices monitor us and watch us, checking our behavior. They are put there for "safety", which really means enforcing rules.
Let me give you an example of where it is not a good thing. Normally I stop at every red light. In fact, I'm pretty conservative about it. But here are a few scenarios:
1) As I'm approaching, it turns yellow. As is normal, I look in my reaview mirror as I begin to downshift in preparation for stopping. Behind me, though, is an ancient pickup truck, about 4 inches off my bumper. Deciding that I don't want to risk being rear-ended, I enter the intersection just as the light turns red. The pickup truck has slammed on its brakes and stops, its nose perhaps 3-4 feet into the intersection, 6-7 feet past the cross walk. This happend once. I got a ticket, and lost it in court. Had I stopped, I'd probably be dead.
2) Its a rainy day. The light turns yellow. As has happened a few times, when I step on my brakes, my ABS light comes on. ABS computer failure- or I screwed up and pumped the brakes accidentally and shut the thing off (an odd MB feature that I find both useful and frustrating). Either way, if I brake hard I'm going to enter the intersection anyway, probably sideways. Run through the intersection after taking my foot off the brake.
3) Its a cold winter day. No precipitation recently, no reason to suspect ice. Driving along at the speed limit or slightly above. Light turns yellow at that point where its flip a coin as to whether to stop. As I'm approaching I see that at some point something spilled on the road right near the intersection. It is now a sheet of ice. If I brake through it, I'm going to slide into the intersection. Take my foot off the brake and go through.
In each situation, unusual, but not obvious, circumstances prevailed that made a normally unsafe action (running a red light) not only wise, but the safe choice. Cameras can't see that. There are people in this country who have run red lights, with damned good reasons to do so, with tickets and points on their license for doing so.
So already we are using these watchdogs to the detrement of people who were doing the careful, safe option. A cop watching the red light would have seen the truck up my six. He would have pulled over the truck, and left me alone. A cop would probably have pulled me over for the second one, but I could show him the lit ABS light and explain why I did it. He'd probably let me off. I could probably explain the third one, too- and the cop could walk back and look to see the ice on the road.
But the camera can't see any of this. Standing in the location, a cop can gauge the reasonableness of the story. In court, it sounds like BS with no supporting evidence. By the time I know I'm ticketed, the truck has moved on, I've shut off my car (ABS computer resets) and that sheet of ice has long evaporated.
Where does it end? At what point do we decide that we are beginning to infringe on people's privacy. At what point do we decide that safety has reached a point where furthering it is less then then the detriment to our quality of life and freedom?
An engineer is supposed to do his job. Shouldn't read war and peace. But what about that engineer running a Sunset Limited that is spending 4 or 5 hours sitting. Is it not reasonable for him to have the oppurtunity to read, or even call his wife to tell her that he will be VERY late for dinner? Abnormal circumstance. But they exist.
I'm not that concerned about this camera. Probably won't be too concerned about the next. But how long is it from now that I have to be watched taking a dump in a public restroom so as to make sure I do the safe thing, wiping down the seat with disinfectant wipes? (I do clean up after myself in restrooms, incase you were wondering)
Tell me, VentureForth- where DOES it end?