Florida Red Light Camera Law Doesn't Care Who's Driving: Car Owner Fined

from the as-long-as-the-city-gets-paid,-who-cares? dept

There are an awful lot of problems with red light cameras -- starting with the fact that they don't actually decrease accidents or make the roads any safer. Most evidence suggests the only thing they're really good for is increasing the revenue for a city -- which is why a bunch of cities have broken the laws over the years and shortened the length of the yellow light to "catch" more red light runners -- while also actively ignoring any actual data around the cameras. Reader Gabriel Tane points us to a newly proposed law in Florida for red light cameras that, on top of everything else, would automatically fine the owner of the car even if he or she wasn't driving. It's difficult to see how this is reasonable... unless of course this law has nothing to do with making drivers safer, and is, instead, a way to raise extra money for a city.

Filed Under: florida, liability, red light cameras

Redlight Camera Operator Arrested For Scam Involving Shortening Yellow Light Timing

from the it's-about-money,-not-safety dept

We already know that at least six US cities have been found to have illegally reduced the timing on yellow lights at intersections where red light cameras were installed. However, over in Italy things have gone even further, with the guy behind one red light camera system now getting arrested for being a part of a scam involving decreasing the time on yellow lights from the required 5 seconds to 3 seconds. Apparently a bunch of police officers and municipal government employees are under investigation as well -- though it was a suspicious police chief questioning why they were seeing so many red light offenders, that resulted in the scam unraveling.

Filed Under: italy, red light cameras, scams

More Problems With Redlight Cameras: Denver Not Looking At Required Data

from the oops dept

With Arizona getting rid of its speed cameras, after realizing they did nothing to make the roads safer (and may, in fact, have done the opposite), now it's time to move on to red light cameras, which have a pretty troubling history themselves. The latest, as pointed out by Jeff Nolan, is that Denver has failed to enforce the contract it had concerning red light cameras. Specifically, part of the deal was that the contractor running the cameras would deliver data on whether or not the cameras were effective (including a potential refund of money if they were not). However, the contractor, Redflex Traffic Systems, apparently simply hasn't delivered the data. Actually, to be clear, they haven't delivered any data. It's not just that some data has been left out, but that none has been delivered.

Filed Under: denver, red light cameras
Companies: redflex

New York Times Takes On Red Light Cameras

from the good-for-them dept

Over the past few years, we've seen plenty of stories about problems with red light cameras, from the fact that they tend to cause more accidents (though, rear end accidents, rather than t-bone accidents) to the fact that some cities have been caught lowering the yellow light time in order to catch more red light runners. One thing that seems quite clear at this point is that the cameras are not about promoting safe driving at all, but are purely about increasing revenue (both for the local government and for the private companies who usually manage the cameras for a cut of the fees). And while there have been some mainstream press reports about the problems with the cameras, there haven't been many public calls from the mainstream press to do something about them.

That is, until a NY Times reporter got dinged by a red light camera (though, for some odd reason, he didn't find out about it until years after it happened). And then we get a nice report on all of the problems with red light cameras and how cities could easily increase safety by merely increasing the amount of time a light is yellow. It's nice to see this issue getting some more attention. Road safety is an important issue -- and it's a shame that governments have been making roads less safe in an attempt to increase revenue when there are much better solutions out there.

Filed Under: accidents, red light cameras
Companies: new york times

Cities Caught Illegally Tampering With Traffic Lights To Increase Revenue Of Red Light Cameras

from the this-again? dept

Just last month there was the latest in a rather long line of reports noting that red light cameras tend to increase the number of accidents because people slam on their brakes to stop in time, leading to rear-ending accidents. Time and time again studies have shown that if cities really wanted to make traffic crossings safer there's a very simple way to do so: increase the length of the yellow light and make sure there's a pause before the cross traffic light turns green (this is done in some places, but not in many others). Tragically, it looks like some cities are doing the opposite! Jeff Nolan points out that six US cities have been caught decreasing the length of the yellow light below the legal limits in an effort to catch more drivers running red lights and increasing revenue. This is especially disgusting. These cities are actively putting more people in danger of serious injury or death solely for the sake of raising revenue -- while claiming all along that it's for safety purposes. Is it any surprise that one of the six cities is Dallas? Remember, just last month Dallas decided it wasn't going to install any more red light cameras because fewer tickets had hurt city revenue.

Filed Under: cities, red light cameras, revenue

Special License Plates Let Certain California State Employees Avoid Tolls, Red Light Cameras

from the abusing-the-system dept

With all the fuss recently over red light cameras, Boing Boing points us to a fascinating story about how somewhere around one million Californians have special license plate that basically shield them from toll booth transponders and red light cameras. Basically, the system was originally designed for police, putting their license plate info in a special secret database to shield home addresses from criminals who might want to hurt them. That system is no longer needed because DMV records are all now private. But one of the unintended consequences of the system was that it became nearly impossible to send a remotely recorded ticket (such as via a toll booth reader or a red light camera) to the guilty party -- since you couldn't get their address. It even works in some cases when people are pulled over by police, because once the plate is looked up the record indicates that the plate is in this protected category, so officers often let the driver off for being "protected."

To make matters worse, California has made it quite easy for state employees of all different types to get their license plate on the list, and from the sound of it, at least a few folks are abusing the privilege. The article found some who owed tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid fines for abusing toll lanes. It seems clear that many state employees are aware of these "benefits." The article notes that museum security guards actually made sure to include a clause in a recent labor agreement that would allow them to get these secret plates. At this point, it would appear there's simply no reason to keep these secret license plates in existence, but they're still there basically just to be used by folks who want to disobey traffic laws and get away with it for free, no matter how often they're caught.

Filed Under: california, license plates, red light cameras, tolls

Yet Another Study Shows Red Light Cameras Cause More Accidents And Aren't Needed

from the it's-all-about-the-money dept

Over and over again, we've seen studies that have shown that red light cameras tend to increase, not decrease auto accidents, and certainly don't do much to improve safety. The Agitator points us to yet another study, this time from researchers at the University of South Florida, who again point out that red light cameras tend to increase the number of accidents. The research also points out that accidents from running red lights are rather rare, and it's hardly a problem that requires automation. As for the few studies that have shown better safety from red light cameras, every single one came from a group poised to make money off of the cameras -- and they certainly do make money. It's just unfortunate that it seems to come at the expense of more car accidents, all in the bogus name of public safety. Update: Of course, just after publishing this, I see a story on Engadget about how Dallas has found that red light cameras are effective in preventing red light violations (no word on rear end collisions from people slamming on the brakes however). Yet, here's the irony: because of that, the city gov't doesn't want to install any more, as it's cutting into revenue.

Filed Under: accidents, insurance, public safety, red light cameras