The Texas House of Representatives yesterday crafted a compromise measure aimed at eliminating red light cameras in the state. The legislative body adopted a series of amendments to Senate Bill 1119 requiring cities to produce concrete evidence whether the devices reduce accidents or merely are revenue raisers. Unless the legislature is convinced of the latter by September 1, 2009, the cameras would be unplugged.
Oh, yeah, and Nevada:
The Nevada state Senate overwhelmingly rejected red light cameras by a 15-6 vote last month. Nevada is one of a growing number of jurisdictions with a specific statute banning automated photo ticketing.
I live in north San Diego County, non-stop sorta’ suburbia forever, and the red light runners were out of control. We have a fair share of cameras around, and they have done wonders for that problem. They have done good work.
I am an aggressive, fast driver, but I believe in being safe. I believe that aggressive and fast doesn’t mean illegal ( except speed limits on fast roads), or being dangerous.
My car handles well at 100, the roads and tires are good for more than that, and I am a sober and aware driver. I don’t expose other people to my … breakages of law. Running red lights is reaching out and interfereing with others.
My dispute is not with safe driving and penalizing those that put us all at risk. My dispute is with a system intended primarily for revenue, not safety; a system outside the normal protections a citizen has under law; a system law enforcement officers themselves seem to oppose; a system without documentation that it actually works.
Ken, that’s a fine line between revenue and safety; our society has sorta’ decided on economic penalties, and there is a considerable overhead in what looks like roboCop automation. If we just wanted punishment as a teaching method to get safety, declining any revenue, we could just shoot out the windshields of traffic infractors. Bang! There! Quit doing that!
If you get a camera ticket, it is backed by an on-duty real cop, who ties a time series to a series of photos. These (photos and cop) can be used by both sides if ticket is contested. They are hard to beat, but doable. My buddy beat one this year by showing camera timing was wrong – a fair
misinterpetation because he was in a slow camper that lingered so long that it seemed he ran it. Also, I have seen people set off the camera by deciding to turn right on red from a normally (straight) thru lane.
I hate to sound like the right wingewrs speaking of loss of Constitutional protections ” if you’re not guilty, what’s the problem? – but … .
I’m serious, we had a severe problem out here. I drive a 5.0 Mustang, and generally stop too early; I’m often first at a light. I also need some front end work. It was almost a daily occurance where I would watch a redrunner approach and do it, while I sat there and said to myself, “I,m fast, I could get out there in his way, and make him hit me.” DAILY.
Plenty of people are fast. Not that many are super-observant.
For the record, I have never gotten a citation in New Mexico from a camera or anyone else. (I only get caught in speeding traps in places like Maryland and Washington State, and then only at places where the speed limit drops from 70 to 55 on downhill grades.)
While you may now appeal the camera ticket in Albuquerque, it wasn’t that way at first. There was no appeal. Period. In fact, once the appeal system was established, as I remember it, there was no staff to handle it and at one time they had to dismiss 1500 appeals because they couldn’t be heard timely.
I believe the Albuquerque system is handled exclusively by the contractor who sets up the lights and cameras.
I have not read, anywhere, that the red light and speeding cameras were set up to bolster the city’s coffers. Although I am not a fan of Marty Chavez, he has finally done something that I believe is correct. The cameras, fines (which our standard, below average intellect councilors have recently lowered), and the improved safety that forces leaden footed, aggressive, fast drivers to stay within posted speed limits has without question increased the safety of Albuquerque’s dangerous street corners.
I’m not sure what you mean by “…system is handled exclusively by the contractor….” The cameras and sensors? The ticketing? The servicing?
Ooops, I beg your pardon, our own State Senator, one William Payne from Albuquerque, wants the city to share the revenue with the State. Now that’s something you should complain about, not about the increased safety at say, San Mateo and Montgomery, or Wyoming and Montgomery.
I know you’ll disagree with this but: I also believe that after the fourth speeding and/or red light running conviction, the driver’s license of the offender should be taken away for 6 months.
Why? I lost two dear friends because of a half wit who just had to get somewhere 30 seconds sooner than he would have if he had stopped for the red light.
For Richard Crews: I recently had the distinct displeasure of driving on Cal’s freeway 10 in the San Diego area. Since I consider that as the world’s largest parking lot, how the heck can anyone drive 100 on a road where the average speed is probably about 25 mph? And that in bumper to bumper traffic.
The old saw, “Speed Kills” still hasn’t changed. The only thing that has, apparently, is the number of people with a death wish.
Oh, but Catmoves, I would consider removing the license on the THIRD moving violation within a specified period.
Show me please where it is demonstrated that these cameras have in fact reduced accidents.
Show me please where it is written that camera-created fines could not be handled in traffic court rather than in the kangaroo-court style at present. (It wasn’t even a kangaroo court at first. There was NO appeal.)
I am not opposed to strict traffic law enforcement. I am opposed to silly laws and silly systems.
As I understand it:
1) The cameras and other equipment are provided by and installed free of charge by Lockheed-Martin.
2) The equipment is serviced by Lockheed-Martin.
3) The photos are analyzed by and all correspondence with the accused are done by Lockheed-Martin. If a particular intersection is falling behind in revenues, the light timing is adjusted to raise the revenue.
4) Lockheed-Martin provides all these services for a cut of the ‘fines’ collected.
5) Since the accused can’t confront their accuser the penalty is a civil one not a criminal one. That’s why the infraction doesn’t appear on the accused’s record.
6) Some law enforcement people argue that the result of using the cameras at a particular intersection results in MORE accidents at that corner since people that know about the camera tend to stop abruptly (inviting a rear end collision) when the light turns yellow.
Redflex Group supplies the service.
Here’s the City of Albuquerque site for Red Light Cameras.
The city says, “In 2006, accidents in the City of Albuquerque were down 8% citywide and 30-40% at red-light camera enforced intersections. In addition, the Albuquerque Fire Department reports a 23% decrease in Level 1 trauma calls at red-light camera enforced intersections.” The city also says that violations are also down at the longer-established camera locations.
Here’s the Results of Red Light Camera Program.
Hmmmm.
http://www.motorists.com/pressreleases/redlightrevenue.html
When I was 15-16, I was intensely interested in driving – for freedom, control, power, all of that and more. But, without any Zen, I wanted to be perfect. I wanted to know every rule, and follow every rule ( except speeding, of course). That was our norm. We argued over lane change distances,
Now, young men drive like zombies. There is no love or awareness. There is no respect for anything but forward impellment. They need the rules hammed down.
This road mannerisms are part of the deteriorating social scene. There’s too much self-esteem and not enough courtesy. This directly translates to the modern day mass shooters. It used to be that the losers would crawl off in a corner and rot, even kill themselves. Nowadays, the losers think we all are in their world. That’s bad.
It’s all related, and we need BIG QUESTIONS and BIG ANSWERS.