Hallelujah! We're not alone

It looks like something is slowly happening. The hypocrisy of Red Light Cameras being used as Big Brother's new way of raising revenue might be finally exposed.

I keep hoping that people will finally understand the "rip off" factor of this outrageous scheme of skimming a little more from the battered citizen.

Here is some information from Texas:

Traffic cameras fall out of favor

DALLAS -- Public support for the use of red light cameras in Texas and across the country could be switching to yellow.

Maine, Mississippi and Montana banned red light cameras last year, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Six others have considered similar proposals.

In Texas, voters forced College Station to take down its cameras last fall even though the program brought $1 million in revenue to the city, while opponents in Houston say they have enough petition signatures to put the cameras to a vote this fall. Camera opponents in the Texas Legislature say they plan again to try to pass a measure phasing out the cameras statewide.

"There is a backlash, for sure," state Rep. Solomon Ortiz Jr., D-Corpus Christi. "City budgeters are counting on these fines as a revenue stream and simply using the argument of safety as cover."

But cities using the red camera systems, which capture images, and sometimes video of drivers running red lights, insist they have reduced intersection accidents and saved lives.

"They've performed much better than I ever imagined," said Elizabeth Ramirez, chief traffic engineer for Dallas.

She said Dallas has seen declines in red-light accidents at nearly every one of its 59 camera-equipped intersections since the first wave launched in January 2007.

While camera critics dispute the safety data, the money generated has raised eyebrows as collections have pushed into the tens of millions.

With most Texas cities charging civil fines of between $75 and $100 per violation, collections across the state have reached more than $103 million since a revised red-light camera law took effect in 2007. State figures show Houston has collected the largest amount: about $24 million through May.

A 2007 state law requires cities to set aside half of all profits to help fund regional trauma care centers. Most cities use their share for traffic safety and enforcement efforts.

Houston police Sgt. Michael Muench, who oversees that city's red-light camera program, said his department has put its revenues into crash-scene investigation equipment, extra traffic patrols, radar guns and other traffic-related improvements.

An analysis of state figures and the vendor agreements of about a dozen Texas cities show the contracts cities have with camera vendors are the biggest factor in whether a city makes money. Cities rent the cameras from vendors under negotiated terms. Houston's $24 million in collections since 2007 is more than triple the total fines collected by Dallas, according to figures from the state comptroller's office. And in the last two years, Dallas' program has cost more to run than Houston's.

Houston pays a flat monthly fee of $3,000 per camera, plus bonuses if a camera catches a high number of violations. Dallas pays its vendor $3,800 per camera per month. Houston, which has 70 cameras, uses American Traffic Solutions Inc., of Arizona. Dallas has 59 cameras and uses Dallas-based Affiliated Computer Services.

Paul Kubosh, a Houston traffic attorney who has led the Houston petition drive to repeal the cameras, accuses the city of "selling the streets to the highest bidder. It's a voter revolt."

Associated Press – July 6, 2010

Henry B. Nathan is a Florida Realtor at United Realty Group Inc.
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More Reasons to oppose Red Light Cameras

Let's talk about Traffic Cameras industry's contributions to elected officers' campaigns. I don't know if this is the case or will ever be the case with our Hallandale commissioners. But I tend to think that it, the way politics are conducted in this country, I wouldn't be surprised that one day it could be a factor. That would be an unacceptable, and regrettable reason, in additional to what we already know about the traffic cameras as revenue generator and a tax in disguise.

There is one more argument.Many experts are now affirming that these red light cameras could actually increase accidents.

Read on the following excerpt from an article published on Boston.com (affiliated to the Boston Globe) – Nov.13, 2009

Governor Deval Patrick is advancing a plan to make Massachusetts the 25th state to let cameras play traffic officer at red lights, an enforcement measure that many police chiefs and mayors have been seeking for years.

The administration’s push has set off a debate that is already unfolding in other states: whether the cameras are there to improve driver safety or whether they represent a new source of revenue for cash-strapped governments. The way Patrick introduced the measure, in a budget bill, has some detractors saying that it is a money grab.

……a newspaper investigation in Chicago showed that city leaders often place the cameras where they are likely to make money, rather than where they are likely to reduce accidents. And federal government studies say that cameras have actually increased some types of crashes, as drivers are tempted to stop short or speed up to avoid being photographed.

,,.. “By putting it in the budget, they’re admitting it’s about money and not about safety,’’ said Ivan Sever, state chapter coordinator of the National Motorists Association, an advocacy group that opposes the cameras. “That’s not right.’’

Sever said the for-profit companies involved in installing the cameras have been pushing cities to use them as revenue generators as part of their business model. And he points out that studies have shown the cameras actually increase rear-end crashes, perhaps because drivers stop suddenly when they notice the warning signs, only to get hit from behind.

But there are questions about both the money and the effectiveness involved in camera enforcement. Investigations by the Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune found that the vast majority of tickets were issued to drivers who failed to stop completely before making a right turn at a red light, a traffic violation that rarely leads to a crash. The Tribune report found that local officials were posting the cameras where they were likely to generate cash, rather than where the most serious crashes were occurring.

And although some cameras have generated $60,000 a month, the city of Dallas had to pull more than a fourth of its cameras because they were not earning enough fines to meet operating costs, according to the Dallas Morning News.

Members of the industry that sells the cameras and their relatives have given thousands of dollars to elected officials at the state level.

Michael Cohen, a spokesman for Lieutenant Governor Timothy P. Murray’s political fund, which has received at least $1,225 in contributions from industry employees since 2005, said the donations have not influenced his support. He has supported the technology for years, dating back to his time as mayor of Worcester.

Senator Steven A. Baddour, the Methuen Democrat who is cochairman of the Legislature’s transportation committee, received a $500 contribution from an account executive at Redflex Traffic Systems last year. He said he supports allowing the cameras but would like to reduce the maximum fine from $100. He said that police chiefs in his district support it and that he had never heard of the Redflex employee.

Treasurer Timothy P. Cahill has received more than $4,000 from an industry official at Affiliated Computer Services and his spouse since 2005. Though Cahill has no direct role in the decision on whether to allow the cameras, spokeswoman Alison Mitchell said “he is absolutely opposed to it.’’

“He feels that it’s a back-door way to raise revenue,’’ Mitchell said.

Henry B. Nathan is a Florida Realtor at United Realty Group Inc.
Visit my website: http://www.condo-southflorida.com
where you can search for Aventura Condos, Florida Condos, Sunny Isles Condos,