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Drivers in Newport News, VA will be monitored by red light cameras as soon as next year– maybe. The snag? Money. The Daily Press reports that installing red light cameras at 18 intersections will cost the city around $882k. Just to recoup the initial investment, Newport News would need to snag 17,640 red-light runners at $50 a pop. Assistant Police Chief Dawn Barber puts a finer point on it: "And these are not tickets, but convictions.” City Manager Randy Hildebrandt gets the drift. "It won't be a money maker. I don't think we will be able to afford to have the equipment on all 18 intersections."
13 Comments on “One, Two, Three, 17,640; Red Light!...”
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I don’t see the funding problem…Just shorten the yellow light time like everybody else.
I don’t see a big problem with red light cameras as they will stop people from running red lights which is very dangerous. If I get caught and ticketed then I was in the wrong. However, for them to do this the lights must move traffic efficiently and have smart sensors. It’s frustrating when you are going 45mph coming onto a light and it changes to let one stopped vehicle go. The gas that is wasted stopping that moving car (making him hit his brakes really hard, wait for the light then reaccelerate) compared to a car that is already stopped and idling. I’d also like to see them at nights turn lights from regular stop lights but to flashing yellow (be cautious but do not stop) for major throughway and flashing red (stop and yield to traffic) lights for the minor streets.
From a personal freedom standpoint, I despise the concept. While I hope they prove out and help save lives, it seems that many “public safety” camera systems are overkill. In the case of automated ticket cams, I feel they are little more than money-sucking parasites.
Not that I have strong feelings on the issue, mind you. ;-)
You gotta love this:
Assistant Police Chief Dawn Barber puts a finer point on it: “And these are not tickets, but convictions.”
Those who govern and “protect” apparently view us not as citizens to be served, but as a source of revenue and fodder for the justice system. There is a severe disconnect here between the theory of democracy and its practice, and it isn’t just limited to cars.
jaje:
My best friend just got creamed by someone running a red light (cracked ribs, otherwise okay), so I can sympathize with the people touting the safety of these things, but as your “making him hit his brakes really hard” comment implies, wherever these cameras go up, so do rear-endings. It’s not really cut-and-dried that these cameras are a net win for safety.
Just put up signs for the cameras. It will be a while before people catch on.
Cops are nothing but armed revenue collectors. Next time you get pulled over, ask officer friendly if they have solved all the outstanding violent crime cases…Note his reaction.
It all depends on how smartly the red light cameras are applied. I find most yellow lights way too short for the speed people 80% of the drivers are in reality driving. I’ve seen lights before where the green light has a flashing strobe light indicating it will change soon (kind of a precursor to the yellow). It gives you the warning the light will change and you can adjust your speed by accelerating enough (not recklessly of course) to make it safely through the light or lift and apply the brakes to more gradually slow down so you don’t have to slam on the brakes.
I’ve also seen traffic flow patterns where you don’t get the frustration of waiting at a red light and the next intersection you are watching has a stale green that if you floor the car you can make it. Traffic patter planning is pretty bad in this country. Traffic circles work pretty well so long as those approaching have adequate vision and little obstacles. We have a traffic circle in town (25 mph entrance most people make) but there are houses and trees/bushes affront making it difficult to see. For safety and what traffic really does is they stop anyway…so why not just put a 4 way stop sign in.
If you can tell poorly timed red lights and poorly developed traffic patterns are a major pet peeve.
It sounds like these guys are being reasonable – it doesn’t sound like they’re doing it for the money, but rather for safety. Only they can’t do it at all if they can’t afford it. It’s still debatable, imo, but I feel better about these guys’ intentions than most red light camera locations.
Ive got a buddy who was approaching a yellow light, in the winter. So he applied the brakes and found that it was a bit slippery and he wasn’t going to be able to stop in time, so he decided to go through the yellow light (didn’t have ABS it was a Topaz). Out of the corner of his eye he saw a cop sitting, waiting at the red in the intersection, so he decides to stop instead of running the yellow and getting the grief from the cop (this is all in split seconds of course). So he pumps the brakes and ends up stopped finally, in the middle of the intersection. Now the light turns red and he puts it in low and drives the rest of the way through the intersection…only to be pulled over by that cop for running a red!
I’ve always said that I am sure there are tons of cops out there that are real people and have a soul…but you never meet them, you only meet the a-holes.
He could have easily contested that in court or talked to the prosecutor about the situation. Cops can be a$$hats at times but the court still needs to make the conviction and you are always gauranteed that chance.
The bright side of red light cameras is that they’ll only ticket you if the light is red when you enter the intersection. Cops, on the other hand, will often ticket people for going through a yellow light.
rpn453,
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a cop go after a red light runner here in So Cal, much less someone blasting through a yellow. But then again, traffic law enforcement here seems patchy at best, and the behavior of most other motorists definitely reflects that…