Red Light Cameras: What do you think?

[kick-ass-bob]

A corollary to the surveillance camera poll...

The ones that snap pics of people who run through a red light. THen they get a ticket in the mail from a company - but no points on the drivers license.

[LynneSin]

1. I would like to find out who discovered them

....so I can do thinks that should NOT be mentioned on a peaceful website

[kick-ass-bob]

2. Should I add that to the list?

:rofl:

[bearfan454]

3. Unconstitutional

It's surveillance without a warrant.

[WeRQ4U]

4. Perfectly fine with me.

A person has no expectation of privacy when he or she is on a public road, in his or her car and he or she is driving amongst other citizens. Besides it takes the mundane enforcement of minor traffic violations away from the police and allows them to be doing things of greater importance, like making sure little punks don't steal my fucking stereo.

[tridim]

5. They're "Guilty with no chance of defending yourself" machines

Complete bullshit. It's never happened to me, but I know people who have been scammed by them.. It's legal to enter an intersection on yellow if it's not safe to stop.. If the light turns red, too bad you get a ticket.

[Shell Beau]

6. I am so iffy on this.

People who run redlights cause so many accidents. Those who don't get caught may keep doing it. But I sure don't want to get a ticket in the mail. I just don't know! :shrug: Plus the possibility of abuse is a scary thing.

[Mutley]

7. They're okay I guess.

I didn't get my first ticket from one until a few months ago. I still think the light was yellow when I crossed the line.

[seemunkee]

8. I've lost two cars to red light runners

I'm OK with them.

[TX-RAT]

9. Most are owned by contractors.

They get a percentage of the fines.

[dogman]

10. There are several problems.

The technology is not yet foolproof. The people who use the technology are sometimes fools. These are used in Chicago and there have been tickets issued to cars that were not in the city due to clerical errors. The personnel copying the plate numbers have misread the photos. In addition cars in adjacent lanes have been issued tickets while the violators car has escaped the camera. People who have been wrongly ticketed have had to either pay up or lose pay from taking off work to fight the tickets in administrative hearings. Between the cost of the technology and the fine set for violators you could employ enforcement officers to put a stop to red light running.

[Jara sang]

11. Two words:

[SuperWonk]

12. How could anyone like these???

Hello, big brother...

[jody]

13. We accept parking tickets for a car, why not for running red lights? n/t

[bigwillq]

14. Don't like them.

WE shouldn't have cameras or robots taking jobs away from humans.

[jmowreader]

15. Very bad in one-plate states

Today's helpful household hint: If you're currently going through a nasty divorce, trade your car in. I don't care if the car you get has a door missing, trade your current ride in.

And the reason I tell you this is that one of our plumbing associates was going through a nasty divorce when his soon-to-be-ex-wife decided to really fuck him royal. She came down to the store while he was working, got his car, repeatedly ran every camera-equipped red light in town, then put his car back exactly where it was. About a week later, he got a letter from SafeLight (the camera vendor for Fayettenam) containing twenty photos of the back of his car and a bill for a thousand dollars. Fortunately for him, he sells a lot of installed water heaters--and the quotes you generate for an install have timestamps. The manager printed off the three water heater quotes he did while his estranged was out running red lights in his car and took them to the police station; a quick "the associate in question was in my store the whole time his car was out running red lights" sworn statement and the fine disappeared.

I can't imagine what would have happened without this backup; we make decent money but not THAT decent.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

16. Well, here goes nothing! I guess I'm out on a limb here, but I think

they are a VERY GOOD IDEA! Here's why: The cops can't be everywhere, but assholes are, and the assholes are running the lights, often blatantly. These jerks endanger other people, and they show increasing disregard for the laws. They need to be stopped, and the red light cameras will help stop them. Of course, the technology is imperfect, and this needs to be corrected. Enough uproar, and the technology will be fixed. So many times, I've been the first in the row at a red light, watching while the left turners against me run my green light. I finally have started to pull out aggressively against these assholes, honking at them, trying to scare them. It makes me so damn mad! Of course, I'm careful not to collide and I never have...but these people need educating, and I'm more than happy to provide it. But I'd rather see the cameras.
OK, flame away!

[MrSandman]

17. Too many times...

The companies have shortened the yellows, leading to MORE accidents.:wow:

[CaliforniaPeggy]

18. Obviously, this is a wrong thing to be happening...

The length of the yellow light should be standardized and enforced to be that way; otherwise there are/will be abuses.

[Rabrrrrrr]

19. They're pretty fuckin' efficient, so I applaud them for that, but I don't

like the idea.

I think the government needs to be on the human side - oif they want to catch us at something, they need to do it with a human being.

I don't like electronic surveillance - for the cost of one cop, they can put up 50 or more surveillance cameras.

Not that I'm off doing anything sneaky, but it means now that there are no safety zones, no areas in which Big Brother isn't watching, at least in the big cities.

NYC has cameras aimed pretty much at everything in Manhattan at least.

We still deserve and have an inalienable right to privacy, even in public.

But the visceral part of me loves the idea of nailing every fucking asshole who thinks he/she can run red lights and break other laws at will. Stupid fucking fucks. Nail 'em all the wall!!