Comments on: No more red light cameras

By: JLo

JLo — Mon, 21 Feb 2005 17:55:19 +0000

Lawmakers like the cameras, but they’re not lifesavers. AAA has come out against them because they increase the rate of accidents at camera-enabled intersections. They seem like a good idea on the face of it, but the reality is that they generate a healthy stream of revenue in a time when local governments are struggling to make the numbers work. Selective enforcement doesn’t necessarily serve the public desire for safety.

By: Ricky

Ricky — Sat, 19 Feb 2005 16:39:21 +0000

We have the same problem here in Houston as well.

By: Tiff

Tiff — Sat, 19 Feb 2005 15:07:07 +0000

It didn’t make people behave better, it made people slam on their brakes harder and get rear-ended more often. It also made local authorities shorten the duration of yellow lights at those intersections in order to catch more people, and therefore increase ticket revenue. Some safety innovation.

And Virginia has recently figured out that citations sent by mail are actually not legally valid anyway…

By: Dawn

Dawn — Sat, 19 Feb 2005 12:28:22 +0000

I am actually in favor of the cameras. No, it’s not fun to get a photo in the mail of your ass-end going through a light, but I think it made people behave a wee bit better than they normally would have. Besides, I’d rather have a no-muss ticket mailed to me rather than the production that comes with being pulled over by a real-life cop, especially with all those fake cops assaulting women on the highways.

By: Chavez

Chavez — Fri, 18 Feb 2005 22:15:00 +0000

We’ve got the same situation in Houston. Thankfully, the Texas Legislature is passing a bill to prohibit Houston from using the cameras.

Good luck!

By: JennB

JennB — Fri, 18 Feb 2005 21:13:25 +0000

Eh, I was just going with the article I read. The lawmakers seemed to think they’re life-savers.

By: Tom Bridge

Tom Bridge — Fri, 18 Feb 2005 20:35:06 +0000

Red Light cameras are just revenue devices, not life-savers.