Should red light cameras be banned??

[Dee]

Yes, they should be banned.You have the right to face your accuser in court. A red light camera can't testify or be cross examined.


They are nothing more than a driving tax.

This one's the funniest! A picture of you running a red light IS EVIDENCE.   While I agree that many tools are misused, the fact is: You either ran the light, or you didn't. Not having an accident in the process of running the light, does not imply innocence.
While your spending "tax payer money" in court time, and paying a lawyer to "distort the truth" and make the ACCUSER (cop) out to be the bad guy, the picture TELLS THE TRUTH. But then again you seem to not want the "truth" in court. Not to feel different though. Most others don't want the truth there either. Thus the lawyer.

[magooch]

While I haven't had the pleasure of being caught by a traffic camera, how exactly does the camera take your picture and correlate that with which light was lit?  I don't have enough faith in electronics and computers, or whatever device is used to trust that it is fool proof.  Even the best of equipment must be calibrated, so that means it could be calibrated inaccurately and there has to be some allowance for glitches.
Driving in our town is much less stressful without the stupid cameras.  I believe the best deterent for habitual red-light runners might be to park a cop car prominently near problem intersections. 

[45-70.gov]

From personal experience with traffic cameras, I can say that they also cause a lot of undue worry and anxiety.  Often times the flash for the camera would trigger when you had done nothing wrong.  You couldn't help thinking that, Oh crap, now I'm going to have to go to stinking court and try to

Your mind set is up to you

red light cameras cause accidents and deaths...and don't prevent them


 The camera patrolled intersections cause panic braking...and panic braking can cause accidents, or crashes.....either way urban motrocyclists are aware that camera patrolled intesections can be the crossroads of death
.
..TM7 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

sounds  like they need to use cameras to enforce following too close also
panic.....is a choice


what about the savings on the tax payers if we have cameras doing the police work
''what  if it saves  one life''.....heard that before?

[308Win]

In New York City cameras are a must,T Boning is rampit and pedestrian roadkill was at an alltime high at intersections,from drivers running Red Lights.,
I don't like it but it is what it is!

[lakota]

Yes, they should be banned.You have the right to face your accuser in court. A red light camera can't testify or be cross examined.


They are nothing more than a driving tax.

This one's the funniest! A picture of you running a red light IS EVIDENCE.   While I agree that many tools are misused, the fact is: You either ran the light, or you didn't. Not having an accident in the process of running the light, does not imply innocence.
While your spending "tax payer money" in court time, and paying a lawyer to "distort the truth" and make the ACCUSER (cop) out to be the bad guy, the picture TELLS THE TRUTH. But then again you seem to not want the "truth" in court. Not to feel different though. Most others don't want the truth there either. Thus the lawyer.

And your statement is even funnier still! Simply being accused either by a cop or by a machine does not imply guilt. The last time I checked it was "innocent until proven guilty" not "guilty until proven innocent".

[Cuts Crooked]

My take on it is that if they are trying to slow down accidents, and it works, then it's a good thing. But it appears that for the most part they being used as revenue producers and nothing more.

And if an intersection has a huge problem with accidents, then they should put a real live traffic cop there,  with a fair supply of doughnuts, and let him do the job we pay him for. They should also be looking at the intersection itself to find out why it has a large accident problem, and correct it!

[curteric]

The camera patrolled intersections cause panic braking...and panic braking can cause accidents, or crashes.....either way urban motrocyclists are aware that camera patrolled intesections can be the crossroads of death. Sure, Drivers and riders have to take in all the parameters of driving safely...camera patroled intersections throw a monkey wrench into normal driving/riding safely. If CDQ is correct about the camera police auxillary fooling around with the yellow light duration__we have perhaps a bigger problem in the civics area.

Pick any intersection camera or not and take a radar gun, and monitor traffic, you will find out that there is a significant group that accelerate on yellow lights. They want to beat the red. There is no need to shorten the duration of the yellow. At 30 MPH you are traveling 44 ft/sec in 3 seconds you have 132 feet or about 6.5 car lengths to stop. You can do that without panicking. Some just run the red and some decide at the last minute that they have to stop. Studies show again and again that it's the nut behind the wheel that causes crashes.

[45-70.gov]

well  i guess   if you get caught on tape  robbing a convenience store [maybe killing]


that shouldn't be constitutional to bring   into court


be careful  of the president that may get set should a simple traffic ticket get thrown out


don't run lights
don't follow too close
don't panic
don't speed
QR  DON'T DRIVE.....stay  off the PUBLIC roads......behave......smile for the canera
the high ways are a dangerous place  grow up and behave
don't loan you car to some one irresponsible....or pay the fine

[magooch]

Well all of that is fine, but unless you are perfect in every reflex and decision, there are going to be times when you misjudge and when there is no harm, there should not be a stinking fine just for the sake of a fine.  I'm just happy that we no longer have the stupid cameras and so are the majority of drivers.

[45-70.gov]

Well all of that is fine, but unless you are perfect in every reflex and decision, there are going to be times when you misjudge and when there is no harm, there should not be a stinking fine just for the sake of a fine.  I'm just happy that we no longer have the stupid cameras and so are the majority of drivers.

you are correct


and some times people DIE as a result of a momentary lapse of attention


maybe a few too many tickets will  be an early warning to hang up the keys

[mcwoodduck]

In New York City cameras are a must,T Boning is rampit and pedestrian roadkill was at an alltime high at intersections,from drivers running Red Lights.,
I don't like it but it is what it is!

I understand the safety reasoning behind the cameras.
The problem comes when the city or company running the cameras shortens the time of the yellow light and makes them longer at lights that do not have cameras.  Giving the driver a false sense of how long a yellow light is and actually encouraging them to break the law.
If we were to make a national yello light time I would not have a problem with the red light cameras. 
 

[45-70.gov]

i  used to ride  a lot
to many air heads out on the road  now
i  had to remove my helmet to krack a few windsheilds[3]  when i was young and dumb
now-a-days  i might get myself shot.....LOL


the closer people follow  the slower i go......i am in no hurry
many on the road  signal to me that '' I AM #1'' with their middle finger
the  middle  finger  always amuses me and never upsets me....lets me know i am winning

[45-70.gov]

45-70....mmmmm, I see, I see.   
.
 Around my region driving below speed limits might get you a citiation, inciting road rage might get you into the dentist office.......be careful and ride safe....watchout for those accident causing red light cameras.
.
..
.
..TM7

over  50 have tried to send me to the dentist
none succeeded  but 2 did make me bleed and  2 more did hit me
but  over 50 out of over 50  were ''decisive''
i was fat and picked  on from a very young age
when  i was 6    i put an 8 year old in the hospital for stitches and concussion
he stole my plums....because he was bigger than  me
the pencil stabbing  is a story for another day


off  topic  but.....i drive as slow as i please
every one should approach any intersection with caution
at any  moment a car in front of you might slam on brakes over a kid on a bicycle
a  kid you might see had you not been following so close

[BUGEYE]

i  used to ride  a lot
to many air heads out on the road  now
i  had to remove my helmet to krack a few windsheilds[3]  when i was young and dumb
now-a-days  i might get myself shot.....LOL


the closer people follow  the slower i go......i am in no hurry
many on the road  signal to me that '' I AM #1'' with their middle finger
the  middle  finger  always amuses me and never upsets me....lets me know i am winning

this is my favorite post in this thread.  when I rode a mororcycle I did just like I do now.  I maintain a reasonable distance from the car in front.  if some idiot takes that space, I just drop back again.
safe driving is not that hard.  if you have somewhere to go, leave 15 minutes earlier and relax on your drive.  your heart and blood pressure will love you for it.

[Sourdough]

While visiting Tennessee last year, my brothers warned me of certain intersections that had those cameras.  One thing I noticed was when the light turned yellow everyone slammed on their brakes, and stopped then eased up to the intersection.  Now that's dangerous.

A few years back they started using them in Anchorage in school zones.  The guys running the cameras started taking pictures 10 minutes early, before the school zone was active.  They got me, and a bunch of other folks.  I recieved my ticket in the mail and refused to pay, the court date was preset.  In the mean time school kids got to throwing water balloons filled with paint at the cameras.  On the court date over 1600 of us showed up overwhelming the court.  The judge threw every one of them out and refused to accept any more camera tickets.  1300 were the number they caught the first day through out the city.  It came out on the evening news, anone recieving a camera ticket need not attend court, all tickets were thrown out.

The city ended up paying the contractor for a 90 day contract, but only used them 2 weeks.  The city refused to pay for the ruined cameras due to paint.

[45-70.gov]

how does slamming on brakes hurt any thing?......unless some one is following  TOO close


maybe we  need to ease  up to  ALL intersections


just chill out on the  road
you have no place to go worth  DIEING FOR