TRAFFIC camera scam. 1 extra second

[sarahgop]

Washington Times - EDITORIAL: The traffic-camera scam

"The addition of one second has made a significant reduction in red-light violations," Norcross, Ga., Police Chief Dallas Stidd wrote in a Feb. 5 memorandum. "We along with other jurisdictions have seen a significant decrease in citations. This will cause a shortfall in our budget for this program." After revenue projections were diminished, the safety argument was abandoned by the Norcross City Council, which voted March 2 to terminate its red-light camera program. The Georgia towns of Duluth, Lilburn, Rome, Snellville and Suwanee all cancelled their photo-enforcement programs when violations dropped as much as 80 percent due to the extra second for yellow lights.

This progress exposes the dirty little secret of the red-light camera industry. As reported on thenewspaper.com, about 80 percent of citations are issued to vehicles photographed making split-second, technical violations that are in most cases invisible to the unaided eye. The trigger on red-light cameras in Fremont, Calif., was so quick that the shutter clicked faster than the signal itself could change from yellow to red. According to the California State Auditor, the city was forced to cancel 459 tickets taken for violations "during which both the yellow and red lights were displayed on some photographs."

The truth about traffic cameras is that the real motivation behind the programs is revenue, not safety. For this reason, the systems are often rigged to guarantee a large yield of tickets. In Fairfax County, at the intersection of U.S. 50 and Fair Ridge Drive, the yellow light was shortened just three days after the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors signed a contract to implement red-light cameras in October 1999. When the longer yellow time was restored in 2001, violations decreased by 90 percent. "

this is all about making money for govt.

 

[xotoxi]

I've never been fond of these take-a-picture-of-the-car-and-send-a-ticket-to-the-owner policies. The ticket should go to the driver of the car, not to the registered owner.

If a police department wants to increase revenue by ticketing, they should do it the old fashioned way - with officers, not with cameras.

 

[dilloduck]

Washington Times - EDITORIAL: The traffic-camera scam

"The addition of one second has made a significant reduction in red-light violations," Norcross, Ga., Police Chief Dallas Stidd wrote in a Feb. 5 memorandum. "We along with other jurisdictions have seen a significant decrease in citations. This will cause a shortfall in our budget for this program." After revenue projections were diminished, the safety argument was abandoned by the Norcross City Council, which voted March 2 to terminate its red-light camera program. The Georgia towns of Duluth, Lilburn, Rome, Snellville and Suwanee all cancelled their photo-enforcement programs when violations dropped as much as 80 percent due to the extra second for yellow lights.

This progress exposes the dirty little secret of the red-light camera industry. As reported on thenewspaper.com, about 80 percent of citations are issued to vehicles photographed making split-second, technical violations that are in most cases invisible to the unaided eye. The trigger on red-light cameras in Fremont, Calif., was so quick that the shutter clicked faster than the signal itself could change from yellow to red. According to the California State Auditor, the city was forced to cancel 459 tickets taken for violations "during which both the yellow and red lights were displayed on some photographs."

The truth about traffic cameras is that the real motivation behind the programs is revenue, not safety. For this reason, the systems are often rigged to guarantee a large yield of tickets. In Fairfax County, at the intersection of U.S. 50 and Fair Ridge Drive, the yellow light was shortened just three days after the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors signed a contract to implement red-light cameras in October 1999. When the longer yellow time was restored in 2001, violations decreased by 90 percent. "

this is all about making money for govt.

I thought all fines were

 

[sarahgop]

I've never been fond of these take-a-picture-of-the-car-and-send-a-ticket-to-the-owner policies. The ticket should go to the driver of the car, not to the registered owner.

If a police department wants to increase revenue by ticketing, they should do it the old fashioned way - with officers, not with cameras.

i agree. the last thing a city wants is for people not to run red lights. they depend on people running them to make money.

 

[KittenKoder]

I've never been fond of these take-a-picture-of-the-car-and-send-a-ticket-to-the-owner policies. The ticket should go to the driver of the car, not to the registered owner.

If a police department wants to increase revenue by ticketing, they should do it the old fashioned way - with officers, not with cameras.

That is the only flaw with them that I see. People who are driving their own cars, yes they are more careful because of them, but not everyone does, and those who are not driving their own cars are just not as likely to care.

 

[HUGGY]

I've never been fond of these take-a-picture-of-the-car-and-send-a-ticket-to-the-owner policies. The ticket should go to the driver of the car, not to the registered owner.

If a police department wants to increase revenue by ticketing, they should do it the old fashioned way - with officers, not with cameras.

That is the only flaw with them that I see. People who are driving their own cars, yes they are more careful because of them, but not everyone does, and those who are not driving their own cars are just not as likely to care.

They recently put one of those systems at 15th and market in Seattle. The mostly norweigan community called ballard is not fairing well with it. The older scandinavian drivers there are shall we say a little slower than most.

Oh ya pussy..how did that snitching to Gunny go when he told you I have at least three IPs all in Seattle?

 

[KittenKoder]

I've never been fond of these take-a-picture-of-the-car-and-send-a-ticket-to-the-owner policies. The ticket should go to the driver of the car, not to the registered owner.

If a police department wants to increase revenue by ticketing, they should do it the old fashioned way - with officers, not with cameras.

That is the only flaw with them that I see. People who are driving their own cars, yes they are more careful because of them, but not everyone does, and those who are not driving their own cars are just not as likely to care.

They recently put one of those systems at 15th and market in Seattle. The mostly norweigan community called ballard is not fairing well with it. The older scandinavian drivers there are shall we say a little slower than most.

Oh ya pussy..how did that snitching to Gunny go when he told you I have at least three IPs all in Seattle?

First, since you are bringing something out in the public that probably should have remained between you and Gunny (I will leave him to handle that to his discretion being new to admin and all myself) I will inform you that I never talked to Gunny, or anyone for that matter, about you, everything I posted to help make you look a fool I did in the open. It's not me to whine like a crybaby when someone challenges my assertions, that seems to be your forte.

Secondly, this is completely off topic and a derailment, though I shouldn't have, I expected more from a "native" to my city. Thanks for demonstrating yet again why my beloved Western Washington is being torn asunder.

As for that cam you are mentioning, it's only one of many we have. There are 5 I know of downtown, just from walking about (I don't, won't, and have never driven in my life). The one by the library was actually a good one, it has cut down on light runners there, though ultimately, if you reread my post I pointed out that the inherent flaw in these is that the wrong people are more likely to be ticketed, not the ones truly breaking the law, and I pointed it out with logic not a whining complaint and attempt to change the topic, try to do the same more please.

 

[sarahgop]

lets get back on topic. i despise govt spying on me.

 

[dilloduck]

lets get back on topic. i despise govt spying on me.

How do you feel about just an average peeping tom ?

 

[KittenKoder]

lets get back on topic. i despise govt spying on me.

The government spying is one bad thing, yes, but in this case that doesn't really address the problems since it's a public area they are monitoring and it's not really the government, it's law enforcement doing it. High volumes of traffic with little support for law enforcement has forced them to seek "out of the box" ways to do their jobs. What we really need to do is start funding them better, let them hire more cops, so they don't need to consider flawed plans like this anymore.

 

[auditor0007]

I always make certain I flip the camera the bird when the light flashes.

 

[sarahgop]

lets get back on topic. i despise govt spying on me.

The government spying is one bad thing, yes, but in this case that doesn't really address the problems since it's a public area they are monitoring and it's not really the government, it's law enforcement doing it. High volumes of traffic with little support for law enforcement has forced them to seek "out of the box" ways to do their jobs. What we really need to do is start funding them better, let them hire more cops, so they don't need to consider flawed plans like this anymore.

this isnt about law enforcement and it isnt about safety. they want people to run red lights. this is a money making scheme

 

[dilloduck]

lets get back on topic. i despise govt spying on me.

The government spying is one bad thing, yes, but in this case that doesn't really address the problems since it's a public area they are monitoring and it's not really the government, it's law enforcement doing it. High volumes of traffic with little support for law enforcement has forced them to seek "out of the box" ways to do their jobs. What we really need to do is start funding them better, let them hire more cops, so they don't need to consider flawed plans like this anymore.

this isnt about law enforcement and it isnt about safety. they want people to run red lights. this is a money making scheme

That's what the government is all about

 

[KittenKoder]

lets get back on topic. i despise govt spying on me.

The government spying is one bad thing, yes, but in this case that doesn't really address the problems since it's a public area they are monitoring and it's not really the government, it's law enforcement doing it. High volumes of traffic with little support for law enforcement has forced them to seek "out of the box" ways to do their jobs. What we really need to do is start funding them better, let them hire more cops, so they don't need to consider flawed plans like this anymore.

this isnt about law enforcement and it isnt about safety. they want people to run red lights. this is a money making scheme

I can't disagree with that, but you must admit you are oversimplifying the issue.

 

[DiveCon]

lets get back on topic. i despise govt spying on me.

How do you feel about just an average peeping tom ?

are you offering your services again?

 

[DiveCon]

The government spying is one bad thing, yes, but in this case that doesn't really address the problems since it's a public area they are monitoring and it's not really the government, it's law enforcement doing it. High volumes of traffic with little support for law enforcement has forced them to seek "out of the box" ways to do their jobs. What we really need to do is start funding them better, let them hire more cops, so they don't need to consider flawed plans like this anymore.

this isnt about law enforcement and it isnt about safety. they want people to run red lights. this is a money making scheme

I can't disagree with that, but you must admit you are oversimplifying the issue.

there is no expectation of privacy in public