Posted on 11/26/2014 8:32:12 AM PST by MichCapCon
Legislation was recently introduced that would prohibit communities from using automated traffic enforcement devices as the basis for issuing traffic tickets.
House Bill 5921 was introduced Nov. 6 by Rep. Mike Shirkey, R-Clarklake, in response to Senate Bill 1063, which – if enacted – would permit traffic tickets to be issued on the basis of photographs taken by unmanned cameras.
“This (House Bill 5921) was a bill we had been looking at doing, similar to the newer driver protections they are passing in states like South Dakota and New Jersey,” Rep. Shirkey said. “They’re going 180 degrees out there, from embracing them to now rejecting them.
“House Bill 5921 still needs some language changes to fully address the full range of entities we want to prohibit, but after the new speed camera bill was introduced in the Senate, we felt this bill would be a good countermeasure,” Rep. Shirkey added. “Cameras for automated enforcement create a slippery slope for government mischief we need to avoid.”
Neither measure is expected to move in the lame duck session of the Legislature. Similar legislation, however, could be introduced in 2015. If that were to happen, both sides of the “photo cop” debate could land in the same committee. Rep. Shirkey was elected to the Senate on Nov. 4. He will join Sen. Virgil Smith, D-Detroit, who was re-elected to a second term and is the sponsor of SB 1063.
The key language in HB 5921 states:
A law enforcement agency shall not use an unmanned traffic monitoring device to detect or enforce any of the following:
(A) - Moving violations involving traffic signs, signals, or markings.
(B) - Speed limitations.
(C) - Proof of financial responsibility requirements.
The measure would also prohibit the Michigan Secretary of State from assessing points against Michigan drivers for violations that occur in other states that were based on unmanned camera systems. HB 5921 has been assigned to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
“People who support the use of photo radar devices and the camera companies that make the equipment are very persistent at trying to find ways for government to put the systems in place,” said John Bowman, spokesman for the National Motorists Association. “The easiest way to combat them is to simply ban photo-enforcement, as some other states have done.
“About 15 states have banned the use of photo radar devices for law enforcement, either through legislation or through the courts,” Bowman added.
Sen. Smith's office did not respond to a phone call seeking comment.
The problem with traffic cameras is that they generate lots of revenue for a few months... after that, people wise-up and they don’t generate enough revenue to cover their cost. That tempts municipalities and vendors to tweak the yellow light time or lower the speed limit to generate more revenue again, in a never-ending cycle.
:: House Bill 5921 was introduced Nov. 6 by Rep. Mike Shirkey, R-Clarklake, in response to Senate Bill 1063, which – if enacted – would permit traffic tickets to be issued on the basis of photographs taken by unmanned cameras. ::
Ummmmm, that says the exact opposite of the headline.
Tyranny is a tough road to follow.
THAT is the continuous cycle.
A deliberate red light runner almost killed my daughter. They shouldn’t ban such cameras. What they need to do is set decent standards on the timing of the yellow lights.
And 4 or 5 of the sites in my hometown actually had more accidents.
Then there was the money that had to returned where right on red is allowed. That was thousands of tickets and dollars if IRC.
It's all about revenue. Just like the meter maids. And God forbid you put a dime in someone's meter that's getting "close". The solution was changing the type of meters...and it's a stupid system.
I agree but government is not working for the people. It has become a business and their only job is to bring in more revenue for their perks. Government has lost is true job and for the most part out of control.
Houston had red light cameras for a while before they were taken down. I was beginning to see an improvement in red light running. It was a learning process that looked good to me. There may have been more rear end accidents but it is usually those broadside accidents that kill people.
My 18 year old son was killed in one of those broadside accidents in 1984. The Mexican illegal who killed my son said that he had the green light but someone called us the next day and said our son had the green. A red light camera would have settled that.
Like I said people were beginning to stop for red lights and as soon as the cameras were removed it was back to running through them.
Unfortunately, most local police forces and courts have been turned into revenue collection agencies. They don’t care about the details just that you cough up the cash. Most of the twenty somethings view them as highway tax collectors with a badge. At my son’s college, the police officer taking courses couldn’t understand the animosity toward police in general until he was informed that most of the students had received speeding tickets for going as little as a mile or two over the speed limit in the area around the college. These tickets were not cheap and they viewed it as nothing more than harassment. They also asked him when he was going to police crime if all the police did was issue traffic violation tickets.
“A red light camera would have settled that.”
Actually a CAMERA would have settled it. Either a dashcam or a traffic camera. No need to punish people making right turns just to have monitoring (which is a good idea).
If an intersection has a lot of accidents, all you have to do is increase the yellow interval to decrease accidents.
“The problem with traffic cameras is that they generate lots of revenue for a few months... after that, people wise-up and they don’t generate enough revenue to cover their cost.”
True, but the other problem is that once people start getting slapped with tickets and fines, they QUICKLY DISCOVER that it’s not always THE OTHER GUY getting the tickets, but rather themselves making right turns (90% of the time), or themselves trying to make it through a now super-short yellow light (8% of the time). The rest, the clean runners, do also get popped - but there simply isn’t enough of them to cover expenses (lunches for councilmen, propaganda efforts, and propping up of city coffers).
In effect, for 98% of the people that get tickets, it’s simply a tolling system.
“Red Light” Cameras are there for ONE PURPOSE, MONEY for WORTHLESS States/Counties/Cities! THE BASTARD Town of Council Bluffs Iowa IS LOUSY with them. THE BASTARD State of Iowa’s “Supreme Court” Legalized them some years ago! I HATE Iowa sometimes!
It is very poorly written. The house bill would prohibit red light camera based tickets. The senate bill does the opposite - it allows them.
I had to read it several times to decipher what appeared to be an obvious contradiction.
good - they should be banned, as should a whole lot other CCTV cameras
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