What would George Orwell say about those red-light cameras that are popping up at a growing number of dangerous metro intersections?

"I tried to warn you about Big Brother," or, "It's about time"?

We'd like to think the visionary author of 1984 might even applaud the cameras, although we realize not everyone will agree. The cameras seem to be a beneficial application of modern technology, if the latest statistics don't lie.

As the Rocky recently reported, major collisions have been reduced by 60 percent at one of four Aurora intersections included in a red light camera pilot program there. Last year the cameras nabbed more than 9,000 drivers who ran red lights at those locations.

And Greenwood Village is so pleased with the results of its two camera locations that it recently convinced the Colorado Department of Transportation to allow installation of a set at the intersection of two state highways, Belleview Avenue and University Boulevard.

As with any Orwellian shadow cast upon individual freedom, there have been complaints about the red light cams. Greenwood police Sgt. Patrick Cillo told the Rocky his department receives eight calls a day from indignant drivers who don't like being photographed as they break the law that says red means stop.

And, perhaps not surprisingly, rear-end collisions have increased where the cameras are employed - even though signs announce the upcoming cameras. These rear-enders should subside, however, as people get used to obeying the law.

Neither the objections of those who don't like being watched, nor the mishaps of inattentive motorists, are valid reasons to back off on the use of red light cams, at least at the most heavily trafficked intersections.

Unlike mobile photo radar, which provides municipalities with a sometimes too-tempting means to create revenue-producing speed traps, red light cameras are a fair and consistent method of policing busy intersections on a continuing basis. As Sgt. Cillo says, "Everybody, no matter who you are, if you run the light, you get your picture taken."

This is as it should be. Those who ignore red, or treat yellow as green even as it is changing to red, are a threat to everyone on the road. They're a major reason insurance rates are as high as they are, too.

Nor do we find persuasive the objections of privacy advocates to camera enforcement. Any motorist snapped by the camera is in a public location violating the law. The camera system is connected to the traffic signal in the intersection where it's installed, and to sensors that monitor traffic flow. The camera is triggered by any vehicle that enters the intersection above a certain speed after the signal has turned red.

It is impossible to post traffic cops at the metro area's most dangerous intersections around the clock. The red light cameras can reliably supplement the presence of officers.

Aurora will decide this summer whether to keep its cameras and possibly add more. Given the evidence to date, the program should be preserved for sure and probably expanded to other accident-plagued intersections. And we encourage other cities in the metro area to follow suit at selected intersections, too.