Can we shudder red-light cameras at intersections?

Rant, Red-light cameras

Finally, somebody in the St. Louis media has come out with some information about the “I-can-believe-they’re-not-illegal” red-light cameras you see at just about every intersection in the St. Louis area. The piece, an editorial in today’s St. Louis Post-Dispatch, can be read here. However, I don’t think the editorial goes far enough.

Though I’ve never received a “nonmoving” violation for running a red light (knock on wood), there has to be a court somewhere that can put these clown companies out of business. (Yes, American Traffic Solutions, I’m talking about you and similar firms.) Cities and, sadly, these parasitic companies, make a ton of money off of these tickets, and the cameras have shown that they don’t even reduce accidents (click here). It’s all about the money. And, my god, a $100 fine for a nonmoving violation in which you are actually “moving.” Plus the owner of the car is fined and not the driver??? Absurd. How can this possibly be legal?

Whew… Well, that’s my rant for today. What do you think?

33 thoughts on “Can we shudder red-light cameras at intersections?”

  1. In Nevada it is not legal to issue tickets using the cameras! The city of North Las Vegas is doing an experiment to see if they help cut down on red light runners, and thus make the roads safer. They installed the cameras on a couple of main intersections and are counting the red light runners. After a certain period of time the post signs about the camera etc. and again count the runners. If the data goes the way they want they are going to try to change law. We will see…..

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  2. I don’t think the red light tickets make the roads safer … HOWEVER, people are receiving tickets for running red lights, a ticketable offense in the first place. Plus, the money made from running the red lights is usually given to the school district or libraries. What’s so bad about that? What I don’t agree with is the fact that you can’t argue the ticket. My friend Meg received a ticket in Arnold (actually her relative whose car was registered received the ticket) and in the photograph included with the ticket were two lights, one yellow and one red. She clearly still had the yellow when she began going through the intersection. If she went to court to fight the ticket and lost, it would go from a non-moving violation to a moving violation and she’d also get points on her license.

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  3. If there’s “free” money to be had, I wouldn’t be suprised to see that law reversed. The computer-generated system could make them millions, I’m sure, over the course of a year. I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you, though.

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  4. I’m not advocating breaking the law by any means. It’s just the fact that you’re being charged with a “nonmoving” violation for a “moving violation.” How can that be right? And how can a parking ticket, the most common nonmoving violation, cost about 10 bucks, while something like this costs about $100? Redflex, for example, makes $40 off each citation in Scottdale, Ariz., according to USA Today. I’m all for helping schools, too, by why should Redflex be allowed to rake in so much money? They are projected to have earnings of $86.1 million this year, and $112 million in 2009. Yes, $112 million! And for what? For sticking cameras atop every frickin’ traffic signal they can get their greedy hands on?Plus, whenever the government allots certain funds toward schools, they just shift it from someplace else. Review some back stories on Missouri casinos and the tax revenue they generate to see what I mean. It always sounds good, “This money will help our children, who are our future.” And the money does go there — they’re not lying. They’ll just buget out the same funding and put it toward highways or whatever.

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  10. There was an article in the Dallas Morning Snooze last week that said the Red light cameras are working so well here that they can not make enough money to keep running them! Red light violations dropped by 50%. Opps!

    Reply

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