Posted on 11/22/2006 9:49:08 AM PST by weegee
Scofflaw was just asking to get red-light citation
Driver says he's testing the legality of camera monitors
Bail bondsman Michael Kubosh got just what he wanted in Houston city court Monday — a $75 civil fine for running a red light at a camera-monitored intersection.
Kubosh committed the violation deliberately on Sept. 20 to set up a legal challenge of the city's use of cameras to catch red-light violators at 20 intersections.
Represented by his brother, lawyer Paul Kubosh, Michael Kubosh asked a city administrative judge to dismiss the citation he received for running the red light at Milam and Elgin. The judge declined.
Paul Kubosh said he will appeal the case to another municipal court Dec. 6 to exhaust the city appeals process. He expects that ruling also will go against him, after which he plans to file suit in state district court challenging the red-light camera ordinance.
The basis of the challenge is that red-light violations caught by camera are civil violations. The Kubosh brothers argue that the city can't make red-light running a civil offense when state law makes it a misdemeanor criminal offense.
City Attorney Arturo Michel has said he does not expect the argument to hold up.
Michael Kubosh announced in advance that he would run a red light Sept. 17 to challenge the law. A police officer was waiting and issued a criminal ticket, thwarting Kubosh's effort to get a civil citation he could challenge.
He ran the light again three days later, was caught on camera and received a civil citation.
Houston PING
Texas is so proud of its "no state income tax" situation, yet the cities are putting up these red light cameras as fast as they can build them strictly for revenue generation.
Click! $75 ka-ching!.... Click! $75 ka-ching!.... Click $75 ka-ching!....
I can't wait for all the congestion from all the rear-end crashes to start piling up from people slamming on the brakes at red lights.
Scofflaw is such a cool sounding word.
In San Fernando Valley and Ventura County (Southern California), try $331.00 KA-CHING for a camera-redlight violation!!!!
It seems that way, but it is mostly limited to the big cities like Houston, Dallas, and their suburbs, which are run by liberal to panty-waist moderate city councils.
The big cities are also where most of the crime happens so you get any number of local Al $harpton/Je$$e Jack$on types that are ready to scream "racism" and "police brutality" at the drop of a hat.
Get into the rural parts of Texas and things are much more, shall I say, TEXAN in nature.
Running a red light sounds like a dangerous way to make a point. I remember the last article. Like this one, there was NOTHING in it that said there were any precautions took to keep from plowing into the side of someone elses car. Remember, red light cameras do NOT take pictures of someone who entered the intersection on a yellow light. They only take pictures of people who enter the intersection on a red light.
I think we can assume the guy only wanted to challenge the legality of the camera law and had no intention of hurting anybody in the process.
There are, indeed, many "nanny state" laws in my home state - as in all states. This one is purely a reaction to the rampant, hedonistic, arrogance displayed by a large number of drivers who refuse to recognize their responsibility to drive in accordance with the traffic laws and safely.
In Taiwan, much denser traffic has fewer (in proportion) accidents and violations enforced because drivers cooperate with one another, rather than insist on exercising their own rights to a given piece of road.
Selfish attitude behind the wheel is dangerous. Makes me (as a motorcycle rider) all the more wary of intersections.
Yeah, it is pretty obvious they're after yer money, but, ya know, if ya start slowin' down when the light turns YELLOW, ya might not have to slam on the brakes when it turns red...
Or are you one o' them folks that thinks "...yellow means go real fast."
Kubosh was on a local talk radio show talking about this yesterday. He had arranged for the intersection to be blocked off before he ran the red light at a slow speed. I doubt he will win, but I wish him well in getting the State courts to shut down this unconstitutional moneymaking scheme by the city of Houston.
What about all the profitable instances people claim where the yellow light is a millisecond flash?
Actually, that never happened. What happened is that in California, the local municipality was using the standard ITE (Institute of Transportation Engineers) formula for setting the yellow light length (it is at least 3 seconds and at most 5 seconds). A smart lawyer found a State law that set the minimum length of time for yellow. It was a fraction of a second less that what the ITE formula was in that particular case. The cases were all dismissed.
Somehow that has morphed on the Internet to "where the yellow light is a millisecond flash". Quite a bit of difference between the two.
Here in NC, the red light cameras were put on hold when it was noted that something like 80% of all traffic fines must go the school system. But the companies that run these systems were getting about 1/3 of the fine amount by contract. In other words, the city would lose money to the school system for every ticket the system generated. Example: $90 ticket - $30 (for system mgt) = $60, but they owe the school system 80% of the original ticket which is $72. With only $60 left over, they lose $12 per ticket.
We need to start destroying these things in the wee hours like is happening in the U.K..
Thanks for the additional information. It was not in this or previous articles. Just out of curiosity, I wonder if you know any of the details on "how" he arranged for the interseciton to be blocked off? The City was certainly not going to help him. It is not impossible that private individuals blocked it off, but, if so, they were taking a chance of being arrested for doing that.
I also doubt he will win. There are plenty of studies out there that red light cameras make intersections safer (I know that there are some activist sites that have their "own" studies that show differently, but they don't meet peer review). Yes, they slightly increase the number of rear end accidents, but they greatly reduce the number of "T-bone" accidents, which are the real killers.
I was hit by a person who ran a red light about 10 years ago. I was lucky that it was only car damage (although it was substantial). Another 1/4 of a second, he would have come through my car door instead of taking out the engine. Afterward, he lied, lied, and lied some more. It was only after the trial was decided that his very substantial accident history (including other red-light crashes) became known. I would have dearly loved to have a red light camera at that time.
The way I see it... it doesn't matter what I think it means... it's what the guy BEHIND me thinks it means.
Should be even easier here with guns available.
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