Rust-Oleum. America's ammo.
Posted on 04/20/2009 7:46:37 AM PDT by SmithL
In Elk Grove, thousands of drivers are chipping in to help balance a city budget that's in the red.
They're doing it by going into the red themselves – running lights at two intersections overseen by new high-tech video enforcement cameras.
In the year since Elk Grove put cameras at two spots on Laguna Boulevard, the city has banked $600,000 in revenue from citations.
Long promoted as safety devices, red-light cameras quietly are becoming modest money-makers in Elk Grove and other California cities, including Marysville and soon possibly Sacramento County.
Elk Grove's cash infusion hasn't come, however, from ticketing traditional red-light runners who drive straight through intersections, or turn left in front of oncoming cars, risking broadside crashes.
Instead, 96 percent of Elk Grove's citations are issued to drivers who make right turns on red without coming to a full stop, according to a review city police conducted at The Bee's request.
That hand count covered a one-week period in late March at both intersections, and represents Elk Grove's first statistical look at what the new cameras are capturing.
In total, the city issued 9,364 red-light tickets in one year at those two intersections.
Elk Grove officials said they aren't out to make money on right-turn violations. Mayor Pat Hume said the city hopes to change driver behavior, which eventually will mean less money into city coffers.
Police Chief Robert Lehner defended the city's emphasis on ticketing right turns. That turn is a complex maneuver, he said, and dangerous to drivers and pedestrians.
The bottom line, Lehner said, is "these are people violating the law."
Some drivers, however, feel unfairly picked on.
(Excerpt) Read more at sacbee.com ...
Say Cheese!
I'd guess by now the cameras in TX are armored, something TX DOT had to learn, apparently.
Gotta love those Texans. ;^)
Soon coming to Sac County??? There are already several intersections on Sunrise Blvd with these Cameras!!. And FYI - I do stop completely before turning right on a red light.
Rust-Oleum. America's ammo.
The law says “right turn on red after stop”. It’s just like running a stop sign. Yes, people do it, but it also is the cause of accidents, including hitting pedestrians.
Because the drivers, in order to roll through the red light, are looking left to see if there are any cars coming, and never look right to see if a pedestrian is stepping off the curb.
The police could put an undercover officer at every intersection, and ticket all these people. We have gotten very complacent about obeying the laws. The red-light cameras are an invasion of privacy, but the problem here isn’t the cameras, but people who have forgotten or are just ignoring the law.
I’ve been known to ignore traffic rules from time to time.
I do, but only after a couple near misses, once with me as the pedestrian and once with me as the driver. When I was the pedestrian I saw the driver was looking left at traffic and not right for me, so I stopped even though I had the right of way and slapped her car as she went by. Scared her to death because she thought she hit someone. I then informed her of my opinion on her driving ability and that she might need to consult a protologist to look for her head.
BWWWWHAAAAAA!!!
Yes that would do the trick, huh.
Sheer genius. ;^)
Some cities finding red-light cameras too costly
Five cities in Gwinnett County have put the brakes on red-light cameras at busy intersections, many saying that even though the cameras have reduced accidents, the service has proved too costly.
Duluth, Lilburn, Norcross, Snellville and Suwanee have either suspended use of the cameras or plan to stop the service altogether.
City officials agree the cameras, which monitor and record red-light violations, are working. Violations, accidents and injuries are down. But so are citations, which help pay for the automated ticketing program that can cost some cities more than $400,000 a year to Norcross-based LaserCraft.
The drop in citations is due, in part, to a state law that went into effect Dec. 31 that mandated a one-second addition to the yellow phase at all camera intersections.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.