The battleground over traffic enforcement cameras may be shifting.
Nearly half of all states use cameras to track red-light or speeding violations, and some use both. But while the number of communities nationwide that use red-light cameras is gradually falling, the number of speed cameras is slowly rising.
New Jersey legislators recently discontinued the state’s red-light camera pilot program after five years. The program was marred by a computer glitch that voided thousands of tickets and a federal lawsuit that resulted in millions of dollars in refunds.
Lawmakers in other states have curtailed or modified their camera programs, though courts recently upheld the use of the cameras in Ohio, California and Illinois. A ruling is pending in Missouri’s Supreme Court.
(AP)
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One Response
Facts:
1) Red light cameras are a hated and dying industry, and speed cameras will soon decline as well. Ticket cameras lost 32 of 35 votes, by more than 70% in the 4 votes this year. The public has figured out that MONEY is the sole purpose and result of using red light cameras, and they are saying NO at almost every opportunity.
2) Red light cameras often INCREASE the total crash rates, but those in the revenue stream from the cameras including the for-profit camera companies, their for-profit government business partners, and the IIHS do NOT care if the cameras cause more crashes – so long at the high profits roll in to the partners.
3) Speed and red light cameras lose money unless the traffic safety engineering parameters are deliberately done improperly. Speed limits must be set lower than their safest levels, and the yellow intervals on traffic lights must be set shorter than the safest lengths for at least 85% of the drivers — or the total fines will not be enough to even pay the high costs of the cameras themselves. If the traffic engineering parameters are done for safety, you will find NO cameras because they would lose too much money and no governments would use them because MONEY is the first, last, and only purpose for ticket cameras. See our website for the science.
Speed and red light cameras are money grab scams that should be illegal to use in any state, as they are in some already.
James C. Walker, Life Member – National Motorists Association