“Stop Red Light Running” Exposed As Corporate Lobbying Group
October 19th, 2007 Posted in Red-Light Cameras
The use of red light ticket cameras has spread to almost 300 cities across the United States. The ticket camera promoters publicly proclaim that these cameras improve traffic safety. Privately they tout the cameras’ revenue generating potential to state and local officials.
By masquerading as a public interest organization named “Stop Red Light Running” the ticket camera merchants attend trade shows and put on “dog and pony” events complete with victims, (courtesy of the MADD playbook) and local officials who tout the wonders of red light ticket cameras. On the public podium its all about safety, in the backrooms the name of the game is how much revenue can be generated.
Where’s the press? Why isn’t it pointed out that the “Stop Red Light Running” organization is nothing more than a public relations/lobbying organization funded by ticket camera companies? There are numerous independent studies that document the fact that red light ticket cameras increase accidents, injuries and property damage, but the average news article tells readers just the opposite and regurgitates the self-serving claims of ticket camera merchants and the cities that use this equipment.
One exception to this “asleep at the switch” pattern was the Washington Post’s review and analysis of Washington D.C’s camera enforcement program. The city proclaimed great safety benefits through the use of ticket cameras and, by the way, raked in tens of millions of dollars. However, when Washington Post reporters dug into the actual records they found traffic safety had declined in general and specifically at camera enforced locations.
When cameras took North Carolina by storm the press dutifully parroted the safety motivations for installing red light cameras. But, when the cameras were shut off because the cities couldn’t keep the fine money (constitutional requirement that fines must go to local school districts) no media sage was asking “why aren’t the cameras kept on for safety purposes?” The obvious answer is there was no safety purpose, the red light cameras were/are just a politically expedient way to rip off motorists.
The overwhelming majority of red light violations can be traced to poorly designed, improperly maintained, and incompetently operated traffic signal systems. To exploit these correctable shortcomings to raise revenue is unethical if not criminal.
Other Related Articles
- "National Campaign To Stop Red Light Running" Is A Sham Organization
- Florida Cities Exploit Legal Loophole For Financial Gain
- Local School Board Wants Ticket Camera Cash
- Help Us Stop Short Yellow Lights
- Short Yellow Light Times No Longer Going Unnoticed
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Outstanding! Keep up the fight NMA!
I don´t know. Maybe the potential loss of advertising revenue prevents the newmedia from reporting the entire story.
it’s way more than 300 cities, I’m afraid.
Don’t be afraid though, fight back. The last thing that the “Campaign” wants is for people to speak out.
Being from Louisville Ky, where running red lights is a rule, I have little sympathy for anybody who blows through a red light. In the last year I have been hit twice from these idiots. Unfortunatly our completly worthless Louisville Police are the worst offenders. It is so bad that I slow to a crawl late at night to keep from being pounded by a cop. I just hope that when I finally get nailed by someone I will be in my big ass truck and I will walk away, while the pond scum won’t be so lucky.
And by the way, as a person who drives a truck, don’t tailgate me, don’t hang on my passenger door, all turns don’t have to be made from the far opposite lane, and when my truck finally rolls over you because you insist on the above behavior, I will probably walk away, while you will leave and orphan (which of course my taxes will have to support).
I do agree DON’T RUN A RED LIGHT, what i dont agree with is when you are coming to a light and it goes to red, yellow light is a flash, so you want to slam your breaks on then you have to worry about the person behind you hitting you. I think this is a way for this city to make money.And by the way the DFW is full of them now.
Good for DFW. I’ve never seen a light flash yellow on it’s way to red. Perhaps sleeping while driving is not the best answer. Instead, look up once in a while to see what the traffic control signals are indicating.
When I come to an intersection I make sure the moron behind me is paying attention by not waiting for the last fraction of a second. When it turns yellow, I see if I can stop smoothly before entering the intersection; if not I procede on through. No trouble.
I am also not speeding, so the rate at which I have to slow is not as great as some on this website seem to think necessary.
The red light SCAMras in Baltimore are DEFINITELY there only for revenue enhancement!!! Local TV station did a study: on the intersections where they installed cameras, the yellow light duration had been shortened by an average of 5 seconds!! Friggin’ unsafe!
For those of you living in a state which allows referendum by the people to become law I have a suggestion. Start gaining signatures to a proposal reading thusly: “Because the state should not profit from the misbehavior of its citizens whatever amount of money is collected from traffic citations then the following year an equal amount will be deducted from the state fuel tax.” This would take the profit motive out of the highway harassment. Dangerous drivers would still be removed and those guilty of minor infractions will get a warning and the roads will be just as safe and the legislators will provide for city coffers the old fashioned way…an equitable tax on all citizens to fund legitimate government expenses. Selah
I agree with Left Blank on the subject of traffic citations given that some so trivial warning tickets with time periods for remedial action should have been given.I live between two townships where the most notorious revenue raisers issue citations for over $100.00 on such trivia as burned out lamps. A family member was arrested after having been stopped for a burned out lamp while driving in the rain during daylight because Tennessee has a lights on while wipers in use law is on the books. There was an outstanding warrant for his arrest years earlier in another state for failure to appear in court for a minor traffic ticket. He paid the fine by mail, but the out-of-state check was cashed, but never posted to the state of Georgia. He had the cancelled check with the courts stamp in his possession , but the state of Georgia told Tennessee that it was never taken care of. It cost him $2500.00 bail($250.00 bond ), five days lost work as a truck driver, Intimidation by the judge demanding he get an attorney after the judge dropped the driving on a revoked license charge from Tennessee, and the judge dismissed the driving without a headlight charge only after he retained an attorney. The court still had the audacity to charge him $180.00 for court costs after all of the harassment. It took three court dates.
In Alabama I was given a courtesy warning and seven days to fix it. The seven days included a warning that it was filed.
I believe Tennessee is a state where public referendum is available.
I highly suggest that every driver join the National Motorist Association (NMA). There is NO other voice today willing to take on these issues…..NONE. The price is small and donations to their foundation are tax-decuctible. It’s a small price to pay for your freedom. And if they are unsuccessful, the creeping govt bureaucracy will touch everyone of us. Even the folks that say they never speed, they never run a yellow light, they never have a glass of wine with dinner then drive home. They will be arrested with the rest of us. As they say, a conservative is a liberal who has been mugged. We only ask for fairness and justice. Not cops with credit card imprint machines on the dashboard of their cruisers.
You people just don’t understand!
The is a powerful looby in a lot of states to have red light cameras installed. The biggest fund raiser is Dunkin’ Donut. With the cameras out there, the police are free to stay at the shops much longer with the effect of generating more revenue for the donut companies. You can fight city hall, but you can’t fight money talking.
Why buy extra trinkets, when you have the man power? Because America is a “spend the taxpayers money” country. People NEVER go to the Village Hall or start groups to fight the programs. You can bet that everyone on my e-mail list is going to get this article sent to them. I have already gotten response from sending the “speedtrap” page.
I hope truckers see this note and pass it on…
The dirt poor town of Gunnison, Colorado has an apparent ruse going for truckers. A friend of mine was pulled over close to Gunnison for “being drunk and weaving” in his 18 wheeler, BASED solely on a phone call. Two PD cruisers pulled him over and said a “local retired attorney” called the PD on her cell and said “this trucker is drunk and weaving.” The cops could see he was not drunk nor drinking but they issued him a citation based solely on the phone call.
Homer- thats totally unenforceable. They cannot issue a citation based upon something they did not personally observe. It is a basic principle of evidence law.
[...] improve highway safety, reduce overall accidents, or improve traffic flow. Believing the claims of companies that sell photo enforcement equipment or municipalities that use this equipment is like believing any commercial produced by a company [...]
[...] March 2, 2009 · No Comments “Stop Red Light Running” Exposed As Corporate Lobbying Group [...]
There is something really wrong with a country where people complain about being caught when they break the law. You all really need to finally grow up and stop complaining about everything. Yeah, a bad corporation is pushing to install cameras so they could catch you and increase their revenies. STOP BREAKING THE LAW! STOP DRIVING THROUGH THE RED LIGHTS! Jesus Christ, people.
When there is an unjust law somebody needs to complain. If they made it a law to go outside during daylight hours would you still Yell at people for going out side. Granted this is a extreme example, but it makes the point they can literally make a law about anything. it is up to the people to determine if it is just. Shortening the yellow light so they can make more money is not just. Even though it increases the number of accidents. Yes it is proven the number of accidents getting rear-ended increase with red light cameras. A study also should that adding a single second to the yellow light decreased dramatically. No results don’t change after time, because people mainly run red lights because they don’t think they can stop in time, not because they are trying to beat the light.
Going back to the just part. If there is someone tailing you you feel that if you tried to stop you’ll get hit. That person stopped you go through the light, you get a ticket because you avoided a accident. This is the scenario that people are complaining about. You assume the people complain because that are trying to beat lights a feel they should be able to YOU ARE WRONG! Many people say that until they are the ones that get the ticket. If you live in an are were you have a lot of Red light cameras you WILL get a ticket or rear-ended it is just a matter of time.
My ticket I was .1 second late at the white line, the average human reflex time is .13 seconds. Had I not hit the breaks to see if could stop I would have made it through just fine. The camera had clock me doing 30mph. The road was a 35 zone.
I want to catch the a-hole that goes flying through a light knowing it going to be red taking the chance that he going to beat the crossroad traffic just as much as anyone, but punishing safe drivers to do it, that is just wrong, and so is making money off it knowing it does not help.
Is anyone honestly surprised they would stoop to something that low. Anyone who follows these issues know that the cameras create more of a danger than anything drivers were doing at the intersections where the cameras were placed. Its also a direct result of the cities that thought these cameras would be a cash cow are rethinking their “investment”. The best thing you can do to protect yourself is go to a site like http://www.gpscameradetector.com and learn how to avoid the speed and redlight cameras altogether.
Instead of red light traffic cams made to sucker everyone for what little slave money they earned at work, why not create an intelligent traffic system where it has motion sensors a few hydro poles from the light for input to change lights…???
Then tie them all in together so that it’s always green light for the majority of people, it could even weigh 20 cars one way vs 80 cars the other… In major cities I can’t believe the greed is so obvious as to not serve the public interest anymore.
Voting counts and giving great ideas like motion sensor cams to auto green your light to your local city MP will be how it can also be fought. Lengthen the yellow lights too. An extra second is good to keep the intersections clear…
I’d also be nice to have recommended speed signs to get to the light on the next green ahead. like if your 60km/hr and it says speed up to 80km/hr to make the light on a sign…
…or if you are 80 and it says drop to 50km/hr so that it goes red, turns green by the time you GET to the light…
THESE are the upgrades I want in place of these scameras!
The weight sensors are too late. I’m already stopped and wasted the brake/gas to make it know I need to cross the lights. Motion sensors could save me that hassle! (or hold a light green or yellow FOR me instead of the entrapment style that seems to be on this website being exposed to not serve society but rather the coffers of those who would make normal people look like they are street racers for trying to get to work and back each day…
Even though I no longer drive in places where these camera’s are located, they still are and have always been good for one thing and that is increased revenue. Same as photo radar, another cash cow. When you see new laws and regulations coming out in drones, you know it spells only one word, regardless what safety feature its supposed to initiate…”REVENUE ONLY!”
If the municpalities are so desperate for scrounging money, why don’t they just fine everyone living in the area $500.00 a year just for living there, no reason, no rhyme. It would make more practical sense rather than lying to the citizens straight faced as everyone knows authorities are all crooks.
[...] tout the cameras revenue generating potential to state and local officials.Read the full story here:http://www.motorists.org/blog/stop-red-light-running-exposed-as-corporate-lobbying-group-2/ Publicado por Aaron en [...]
[...] The full story is here:http://www.motorists.org/blog/stop-red-light-running-exposed-as-corporate-lobbying-group-2/ [...]
[...] Source:http://www.motorists.org/blog/stop-red-light-running-exposed-as-corporate-lobbying-group-2/ [...]
[...] Source:http://www.motorists.org/blog/stop-red-light-running-exposed-as-corporate-lobbying-group-2/ Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)McCain Fights To Hold Onto Red StatesTraffic Light CamerasCamera tricks part IIREPORT: Billings, MT rushes to install red-light camera before new state la… [...]
Vaseline on the camera would be better than on your plate.
Do they ticket commercial vehicles for actually physically not being able to stop?
took a right turn on red. Got a ticket. Said i went through a red light at 10 miles an hour. This system is not only innacurate its a hastle to everyone. Hire more traffic cops that can also protect us.