Red Light Cameras

[BusaWhipped]

No, I didn't get a ticket. I just get appalled when our rights as American citizens get revoked by our government. Red light cameras violate our right of innocent until proven guilty. They are a cash cow for the government and that seems to be more important than public safety or civil rights.

Intersections with the redlight cameras are showing increased accident rates. One reason is people slamming on the brakes instead of chancing that the yellow light won't hold. The second, which may be the reason for the paranoia, is that they shorten the length on the yellow light in the intersections with the cameras. Like the speed limits being set too low to encourage speeding to increase revenue, shortening the yellow increases the probability that the driver won't make it before yellow turns to red also increases revenue.

Guilty, until proven innocent.

http://www.caranddriver.com/feature...._column
http://www.myfoxstl.com/myfox....d=3.2.1
http://www.highwayrobbery.net/index.htm

 

[99'busa]

im glad we aint got any around me. YET

 

[JBradley0181]

hire some thug to shoot them out in your neighborhood im sure it would only cost as much as a ticket lol j/k yea they suck man was visting my father inlaw last month in Coral Springs and they put them up all over i went threw aleast 3 of them and didnt know it good thing i painted my plate with a heavy clear coat and have a tinted screen on it or im sure i would be getting a ticket

 

[HillbillyTom]

We got 'em here in Springtown too. Just throw some mud on your license plates and flip them a bird when you go through.

 

[runeight]

I posted a few weeks ago about Arizona posting huge sums of revenue last year. 90 million if not mistaken.

The Governor of our State said "In the interest of public safety we will be installing more".

Basically it is just another step toward "we know what's good for you".

Socialism.

Great post.

r8

 

[Rayabusa0818]

im glad we aint got any around me.    YET

Their springing up like dandelions around me

 

[runeight]

http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/21/2180.asp

Read the second paragraph. No, won't raise taxes Janet. But our insurance costs will rise due to points on our license. Attorneys should do well.

Read the last paragraph.

I love comments like she makes. Won't cost you a thing. More Liberal thinking.

r8

 

[TruWrecks]

We should just round up all the politicians in the U.S. and shoot them. Time to start over with a basic government.

 

[BusaWhipped]

Here's how they define "guilty" and "proof" in Missouri. The do not have to have a photo of the driver, just the plate. If the plate is blurry, they will guess at what the number is and mail the ticket. You are guilty unless you positively identify the driver, i.e. required to testify against another person without being subpoenaed. Maybe you can roll over on your spouse, but if the car is misidentified, you end up paying anyway. Not to mention the strong arm tacktics used to impart the "justice."

Big Brother has arrived.

<a href="http://www.riverfronttimes.com/2008-03-05/news/red-alert-st-louis-officials-really-don-t-want-you-to-know-too-much-about-those-pesky-traf
fic-light-cameras/" onclick="window.open(this.href,'_blank');return false;">http://www.riverfronttimes.com/2008-03....cameras</a>
http://www.emissourian.com/site....1&rfi=6

 

[Rayabusa0818]

Check out the Donna Miller case here. She was in the hospital when the ticket was issued, but the judge made her pay because she wouldn't rat out who may have been driving her car

http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_125397.asp

 

[jch364]

We have them in Dayton Ohio as well. In fact they have now started to install the capability of not only doing red light tickets but also speeding. The tickets are issued as a civil demand not criminal because no police officer witnessed the infraction. I have to say I have mixed feelings on this. As a leo I feel that this is a trick bag. Its my belief that this is an unlawful act by the government. The law on traffic violations is clear in the state of Ohio and the violation must be witnessed by a law enforcement officer in order to issue a citation. The city circumvents this buy issuing a civil demand for payment and if it goes unpaid then they sue in civil court. If you ask me its an underhanded way of dealing with this problem. In my opinion you need to play by the rules. You cant just change the rules just because it suits you. Nevertheless I suspect that the end result is fewer accidents in these intersections and slower driving speeds which contributes to fewer accidents as well. I wonder though, does the ends justify the means?
IF so whats next? Some how the appeals courts have ruled this constitutional so they are here to stay. Im on the fence about this but Im just stuck on the belief that if this is a problem then the government should follow the rules and have a leo there doing the enforcement. But of course if reducing accidents and improving safety was the concern then it would seem to me that a city would be doing this. Putting cameras up which cost the city nothing tells me that safety has nothing to do with it. In fact it is the revenue that drives this. The city pays nothing. The company that puts these cameras in take care of the entire cost of equipment and upkeep. The city gets a portion of the profit from the tickets and the company gets the rest. The city is out nothing and gets revenue for doing nothing. Make no mistake, this is the driving force behind all of this...jmo

 

[Procharger]

We should just round up all the politicians in the U.S. and shoot them. Time to start over with a basic government.

+ 1

 

[AZIROC]

since u need to be served the ticket.. and not it mailed 2 u... throw the SOB away.

 

[jch364]

The problem with throwing it away is that they will come after you in a civil judgement and it could lead to court order payment and such. It just wont go away. They will get their money one way or another.

 

[BusaWhipped]

They will get their money one way or another.

Exactly. Since its all about the money, they can't let people just not pay.

 

[Hot Rod Harv]

Sieg Heil!!!!! The traffic Nazis have arrived

 

[runeight]

They will get their money one way or another.

Exactly.  Since its all about the money, they can't let people just not pay.

The Governor of our State said "In the interest of public safety we will be installing more".

As stated in an earlier post and quoted above by our Governor. Who are they kidding.

Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano announced on Friday her expectation that the state's new freeway speed cameras would generate $90 million in net profit for fiscal year 2009, plus $34 million for the private companies selected to operate the program. In the following year, what the state labels "non tax increase revenue generation" will jump to $120 million, plus $45 million more for the ticket vendors, for a total of $165 million.

I love the line highlighted in bold.

r8